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APA Citation Style

This guide provides basic instruction about the APA Citation Style.

Author

Author refers to the person or group responsible for the work. Here is a list of guidelines for formatting authors:

  • place the author(s) at the beginning of the citation
  • give the author(s) in inverted form (i.e., give the entire last name, then the first and middle initials)
  • do not include titles, positions, or ranks with names in reference entries (e.g., General, Reverend, President, or PhD)
  • provide last names and initials for first names of up to 20 authors
  • when there are two to 20 authors' names, use an ampersand before the final author's name
  • use a comma to separate an author's initials from additional author names, even when there are only two authors
  • for 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors followed by an ellipsis, then include the last author's name

For more detailed guidelines, see the APA Publication Manual, 7th, ed., Ch. 9.8 Format of the Author Element

Examples

One author:

Goldman, C. (2018, November 28). The complicated calibration of love, especially in adoption. Chicago Tribune​​​​​​.

2 - 20 authors:

Ahmann, E., Tuttle, L. J., Saviet, M., & Wright, S. D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD coaching research: Implications for college students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. 31(1), 17-39. https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/archived-jped/jped-colume-31

21 or more authors:

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deavan, D., Gandin. L., Iredell, M., Saha, S., White, G., Woolen J., Zhu, Y., Chellilah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Janowiak, J., Mo, K. C., Ropelewski, C., Wang. J., Leetma, A.,...Joseph, D. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 77(3), 437-471. https://doi.org/fg6rf9