Examples by Number of Authors
Rules of Text Citations
Referring to Specific Parts of a Source
| Example 1 | In 2015 Earhart reported that aeronautical engineering careers are taking off. |
| Example 2 | Earhart (2015) reported that aeronautical engineering careers are taking off. |
| Example 3 |
A report cited that aeronautical engineering careers are taking off (Earhart, 2015). |
| Example 1 | In a 2010 study, Ball and Vance determined eating chocolate covered cherries can lead to illness. |
| Example 2 | Ball and Vance (2010) determined eating chocolate covered cherries can lead to illness. |
| Example 3 |
Research shows eating chocolate covered cherries can lead to illness (Ball & Vance, 2010). |
| 1st Citation | Goodall, Curie, Carson, and Fossey (2018) proved that young women choosing science careers are likely to follow the career path of an icon. |
| 1st Citation | Researchers proved that young women choosing science careers are likely to follow the career path of an icon (Goodall, Curie, Carson, & Fossey, 2018). |
| 2nd Citation, Same Para. |
Goodall et al. determined that women graduating college in 2017, as compared to those graduating in 1977, are 37% more likely to enter a science career. |
| 2nd Citation, Same Para. |
Researcher has determined that women graduating college in 2017, as compared to those graduating in 1978, are 37% more likely to enter a science career (Goodall et al.). |
|
Citation in Subsequent |
The Goodall et al. (2018) research set precedent for promotion of science careers in elementary education. |
| Citation in Subsequent Paragraphs |
Current research set precedent for promotion of science careers in elementary education (Goodall et al., 2012). |
| 1st Citation | Research by Brontë et al. (2015) established that there is no reason to write just one type of literature. |
| 1st Citation | The 2015 research conducted by Brontë et al. established that there is no reason to write just one type of literature. |
| 1st Citation | Research has established that there is no reason to write just one type of literature (Brontë et al., 2015). |
|
Subsequent |
Research by Brontë et al. (2005) established that there is no reason to write just one type of literature. |
| 1st Author Named Washington | A study by G. Washington (2000) determined that power does not necessarily corrupt. |
|
2nd Author Named Washington |
Research by B. T. Washington (2009) established that education and entrepreneurship were more successful tools for fighting oppression than laws. |
| 3rd Author Named Washington | D. H. Washington, III (2014) proved that the level of fame of a spokesperson improves monetary donations to a philanthropic cause. |
| Reference List Name | National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2018). |
|
1st Text Citation |
(National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health [NCCIH], 2018). |
| Following Citations | (NCCIH, 2018). |
| Article Example | Researchers demonstrated that faculty love APA style, but students do not ("New Findings," 2001). |
|
Book Example |
The book Go Ask Alice (1971) was additionally controversial because some critics believed it to be nonfiction while others believed it to be fiction. |
| Example | The book Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics describes Governor Bill Clinton's first campaign for president (Anonymous, 1996). |
| Multiple Sources Supporting the Same Evidence or Idea | Multiple recent research studies (Demicheli, Rivetti, Debalini, & Di Pietrantonj, 2012; Jain et al., 2015; Uno, Uchiyama, Kurosawa, Aleksic, & Ozaki, 2015) were unable to replicate Wakefield's findings from the 1998 12-child study published in the Lancet in which Wakefield claimed a correlation between the MMR vaccination and autism. |
|
1 Important Source and Multiple Other Sources Supporting the Same Evidence |
A positive correlation between social media and political participation is demonstrated in multiple scientific studies (Macafee & De Simone, 2012; see also Ekström, Olsson, & Shehata, 2014; Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2011; Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2013). |
Rule #2: Author(s) & Year of Publication
Each text citation must include at least two pieces of information:
Many times, this information will appear in parentheses like this (Earhart, 2015). However, the same information may appear in other ways. (See examples on this page under Examples by Number of Authors.)
Rule #3: Citing a Specific Idea or Concept
When taking a quotation from a source, always indicate the specific place the quotation comes from, so that readers can find that quotation again easily. Generally, this will mean including the page number(s) in the text citation:
If citing a source that does not include page numbers (such as a website), use either a paragraph number or section header instead of a page number:
Rule #5: AND versus Ampersand (&)
In text citations where et al. is required, do not italicize et al., even though it is the abbreviation of a foreign word – APA considers it to be common enough it scientific writing to not need italics.
When citing a specific part of a source, include the appropriate information such as:
When quoting, always include the page number.
| Example 1 | Kinsey stated, “We are recorders and reporters of the facts…” (1953, p. 5). |
| Example 2 | Discussing female sexuality, the author proclaims… (Kinsey, 1953, Chapter 9). |
| Example 3 |
Data demonstrates that females within specific age and education levels report significantly greater sexual activity than do their male partners (Kinsey, 1953, Table 6). |
For electronic documents that do not have page numbers (such as a website or an article written in HTML that appears as one long page on the screen), give the paragraph number or the section name to indicate what part of the document being referred to. Examples for this table are based on an article from PubMed.
| Example 1 | The consequences of risky sexual behaviors among teenagers is a worldwide concern with global implications (Landry, Turner, Vyas, & Wood, 2017, para 1.) |
| Example 2 | Landry, Turner, Vyas, and Wood required participants to track how often they texted friends, family, and romantic partners (2017, Methods). |
| Example 3 |
This study determined that adolescents are exposed to increased pressure to engage in risky sexual behaviors due to increases in social media participation (Landry, Turner, Vyas, & Wood, 2017, Discussion, para. 2). |
