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APA 7th

APA (American Psychological Association) 7th edition is an author-date referencing style requiring an in-text citation within the text of your document and a related entry in a reference list at the end of your document.

Author Variations

This section covers things to be aware of in the way of author variations.

In-text citations

If you are using both references by the same author within the same reference (brackets), name the author only once and list the publication dates chronologically.

Parenthetical citation

... was found to be the case (Clarkson, 2006, 2007).

Narrative citation

Clarkson (2006, 2007) found that exertional ...

Reference list

Different works by the same author are listed in chronological (date) order.

Example

Clarkson, P. M. (2006). Case report of exertional rhabdomyolysis in a 12-year-old boy. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 38(2), 197-200.

Clarkson, P. M. (2007). Exertional rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure in marathon runners. Sports Medicine, 37(4-5), 361-363.

Clarkson, P. M. (2011). Another great year in the making. Exercise & Sport Sciences Reviews, 39(1), 1.

In-text citations

If you are using both references by the same author within the same reference (brackets), name the author only once and list the publication dates chronologically.

Parenthetical citation

.. a health information strategy is needed for all New Zealanders (Ministry of Health, 2003, 2007b, 2008c).

Narrative citation

Ministry of Health (2003, 2007b, 2008c) stated that the health of New Zealanders ...

Reference list

If several works have the same date, as well as the same author, works are distinguished by suffixes a, b, c, etc. These are allocated in the reference list where they are ordered alphabetically by title.

Example

Ministry of Health. (2003). Child health information strategy .

Ministry of Health. (2007a). New Zealand smoking cessation guidelines.

Ministry of Health. (2007b). Wha¯nau ora health impact assessment.

Ministry of Health. (2008a). The B4 school check: A handbook for practitioners.

Ministry of Health. (2008b). Pacific cultural competencies: A literature review. https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/pacific-cultural-competencies-literature-review

Ministry of Health. (2008c). A portrait of health: Key results of the 2006/07 New Zealand health survey.

Note: When the author is also the publisher, omit the publisher details.

If the first author has the same surname (last name) but has different initials, include the first author's initials in all in-text citations, even if the year of publication differs. Do not include initials for second or subsequent authors in in-text citations.


In-text citations

Parenthetical citation

... getting results from the team (B. Robertson & Osborne, 1984; I. Robertson, 1980).

... achieving success in rugby (I. Robertson, 1980).

Narrative citation

B. Robertson and Obsorne (1984) discussed coaching techniques ...

I. Robertson (1980) described the best way to ...


Reference list

In the reference list, list alphabetically by the initial of the first author.

Example

Robertson, B., & Osborne, B. (1984). Rugby coaching the New Zealand way. Hutchinson.

Robertson, I. (1980). Success in rugby. John Murray.

Woods, C. T., & Robertson, S. (2022). Is playing at home really an advantage? In M. Gomez-Ruano, R. Pollard, C. Lago-Penas (Eds.), Home advantage in sport (pp. 194–203). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003081456-21

In-text citations

... (B. Robertson & Osborne, 1984).

... (I. Robertson, 1980).

... (Woods & Robertson, 2022).

Note: In the parenthetical citations example above, although all three examples have an author named Robertson, only B. Robertson and I. Robertson are cited with initials in the text because the other Robertson is not the first author.

In-text citations

For a work that has three or more authors, cite only the first author followed by et al. However, if multiple works shorten to the same in-text form, e.g. (Bloomfield, et al., 2003), avoid ambiguity by including as many authors as needed until there is a difference.

Parenthetical citation

... the effect of undernourished pregnant ewes (Bloomfield, Oliver, Giannoulias, et al., 2003).

... preterm birth can be affected by nutrition at the time of conception (Bloomfield, Oliver, Hawkins, et al., 2003).

Narrative citation

Bloomfield, Oliver, Giannoulias, et al. (2003) discussed undernutrition in late-gestation sheep.

Bloomfield, Oliver, Hawkins, et al. (2003) found that nutrition at the time of conception can impact ...


Reference list

In the reference list, list by the first author; after which, the order is determined by the next author who is different, e.g. Bloomfield, Oliver, Giannoulias, would go before Bloomfield, Oliver, Hawkins.

Example

Bloomfield, F. H., Oliver, M. H., Giannoulias, C. D., Gluckman, P. D., Harding, J. E., & Challis, J. R. (2003, Jul). Brief undernutrition in late-gestation sheep programs the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in adult offspring. Endocrinology, 144(7), 2933-2940. https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2003-0189

Bloomfield, F. H., Oliver, M. H., Hawkins, P., Campbell, M., Phillips, D. J., Gluckman, P. D., Challis, J. R., & Harding, J. E. (2003, Apr 25). A periconceptional nutritional origin for noninfectious preterm birth. Science, 300(5619), 606. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1080803


Applying et al. rules

In-text citations

For a work that has three or more authors, cite only the first author followed by et al. However, if multiple works shorten to the same in-text form, e.g. (Bloomfield, et al., 2003), avoid ambiguity by including as many authors as needed until there is a difference. But, if the use of et al. leaves only one surname, then include all the authors, as et al. means "and others". For example, (Clarkson, Kroll, Wai, et al., 1981) is incorrect, as there is only one author after Wai.

Parenthetical citation

... composition of fibre (Clarkson, Kroll, & Melchionda, 1981).

... looked at isometric strength (Clarkson, Kroll, Wai & Kamen, 1981).

... athletes isometric strength (Clarkson, Kroll, Wai, & McBride, 1981).

Narrative citation

Clarkson, Kroll, and Melchionda (1981) compared the rate of ...

Clarkson, Kroll, Wai and Kamen (1981) compared the measurement of fat cells ...

Clarkson, Kroll, Wai and McBride (1981) discussed athletes' strength ...


Reference list

Example

Clarkson, P. M., Kroll, W., & Melchionda, A. M. (1981). Age, isometric strength, rate of tension development and fiber type composition. Journal of Gerontology, 36(6), 648-653.

Clarkson, P. M., Kroll, W., Wai, J., & Kamen, G. (1981). A comparison of four methods to measure fat cell size. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34(10), 2287-2290.

Clarkson, P. M., Kroll, W., Wai, J., & McBride, T. C. (1981). Maximal isometric strength and fiber type composition in endurance athletes. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 44, 35-42.