Apa 7th edition in text citation with multiple authors

Groups as authors

First narrative citation: National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 1987)

Subsequent narrative citation: NASW (1987)

First text citation: (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 1987)

Subsequent text citation: (NASW, 1987)

Works with no authors

Cite the work in your text using the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title). Put double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure or report:

The policy stated in the article (“Services for Disabled Children,” 1992)

The policy stated in the book Access to Services for Children (1995)

Specific parts of a source

Indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in your text. Give page numbers for quotations, and use the abbreviations for the words page and chapter:

(Aranda & Knight, 1997, p. 344)

(Ell & Castaneda, 1998, chap. 5)

Personal communications

This format applies to emails, messages from nonarchived discussion groups, electronic bulletin boards, personal interviews, telephone conversations, etc. Do not list personal communications in your reference list as they are not recoverable by your reader. In your text, provide initials and surname of communicator and as exact a date as possible.

(M. Flynn, personal communication, September 20, 1999)

If you are citing a source that has multiple authors, follow the directions below.

  • 2 Authors
  • 3 or More Authors:

Always cite both authors' names in-text every time you reference them.

Examples:

Johnson and Smith (2019) found...

...was their conclusion (Johnson & Smith, 2019).

APA Manual p.266, Section 8.17

If a document has three or more authors, simply provide the last name of the first author with "et al." from the first citation to the last.

Example:

   Ramirez et al. (2017) likened abnormal psychology to...

   ... distractions (Ramirez et al., 2017).

Important Note: If you have two or more documents that look the same when shortened, please follow the guidelines set out in the Authors and Dates Matching section.

APA Manual p.266, Section 8.17

How many authors?

APA has strict rules for how to show the author's names in the text of your assignment and in your reference list. You need to check the number of authors you have for your work, and then format your references accordingly:

  • 1-2 authors
  • 3-20 authors
  • More than 20 authors

See the tabs on this box for details.

Things to Note:

Pay attention to the use of commas, the ampersand (&), and the word "and".

  • You use the word "and" when you are using the author's names as part of your sentence, but an "&" when the names are in the brackets or the reference list.
  • In text, you will always use a comma after each author (except the last one) when you have more than two names. In your reference list, you put a comma after each author (except the last one).

You always put a full stop after the al. in et al., because it is short for "et alia" ("and others").

For one or two authors, always mention the names of all authors

In Text:

Narrative citation: Zhang and Webb (2019) noted that students who read bilingual books performed better in vocabulary tests.

Parenthetical citation: Students who read bilingual books may perform better in vocabulary tests (Zhang & Webb, 2019).

In Your Reference List:

When you have 3 or more authors, you only use the first author's surname in text, and abbreviate the rest of the list with "et al." (Latin for "and others"). In your reference list, you list all of the authors (up to 20).

In Text:

Narrative citation: Boers et al.'s (2017) research into the use of pictures in glosses found they may decrease the amount of attention given to the words.

Parenthetical citation: Using pictures to illustrate glosses may, in fact, decrease the amount of attention given to the words (Boers et al., 2017).

In Your Reference List:

Boers, F., Warren, P., He, L., & Deconinck, J. (2017). Does adding pictures to glosses enhance vocabulary uptake from reading? System, 66, 113-129. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.system.2017.03.017

When you have more than 3 authors (regardless of how many), you only use the first author's surname in text, and abbreviate the rest of the list with "et al.". In your reference list, you list the first 19 authors and the last one, using an ellipses (...) to show that some authors have been omitted (do not use an ampersand &).

In Text:

Narrative citation: Tobler et al.'s (2017) research found genetic evidence that suggests Australian Aboriginal people have inhabited the Australian landmass for approximately 50,000 years.

Parenthetical citation: Genetic evidence suggests the Australian Aboriginal people have inhabited the Australian landmass for approximately 50,000 years (Tobler et al., 2017).

In Your Reference List:

Always include no more than twenty names, the first 19 and the last one:

Tobler, R., Rohrlach, A., Soubrier, J., Bover, P., Llamas, B., Tuke, J., Bean, N., Abdullah-Highfold, A., Agius, S., O'Donoghue, A., O'Loughlin, I., Sutton, P., Zilio, F., Walshe, K., Williams, A. N., Turney, C. S. M., Williams, M., Richards, S. M., Mitchell, N., ... Cooper, A. (2017). Aboriginal mitogenomes reveal 50,000 years of regionalism in Australia. Nature, 544(7649), 180-184. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21416

How do you cite multiple authors in APA 7th edition?

APA in-text citations with multiple authors If a work has two authors, separate their names with an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation or “and” in a narrative citation. If there are three or more authors, only include the first author's last name followed by “et al.”, meaning “and others”.

How do you cite 7th edition in APA with 3 authors?

When you have 3 or more authors, you only use the first author's surname in text, and abbreviate the rest of the list with "et al." (Latin for "and others"). In your reference list, you list all of the authors (up to 20).

How do you cite 7 authors in APA 7th edition?

List by last names and initials; commas separate author names. After the sixth author's name, use an ellipsis in place of the author names. Then provide the final author name. There should be no more than seven names.

How do you cite more than 3 authors in APA?

A Work by Three or More Authors List only the first author's name followed by “et al.” in every citation, even the first, unless doing so would create ambiguity between different sources. In et al., et should not be followed by a period. Only "al" should be followed by a period.