Subject Guides: Referencing: APA Style 7th Edition: In-text citations

In-text citations: General notes

Insert an in-text citation to indicate that your work has been influenced by someone else's work. For example: when you directly quote someone else's work or when you paraphrase someone else's work The in-text citation consists of author family name(s), surname followed by the year of publication.

Rule:	Surname of author, no initials or suffixes such as Jr. The year of publication is also included.
Citation examples:	...This was seen in a South African study (Naidoo, 2018). OR Naidoo (2018) suggests that . . . OR In 2018, Naidoo conducted a study which showed that . . .

Placement of citations can be important depending on the emphasis that you wish to apply

There are two styles of citation, known as author-prominent and information-prominent. Both styles are equally acceptable and you can use both styles within one text. Information prominent citation: The in-text citation occurs at the end of the sentence in the following, with the author’s name and publication date appearing within brackets. "Scientists are questioning whether existing vaccines might not be effective against newer COVID variants." (Callaway 2021)

In author prominent citations, the author's surname is included in the text of the sentence, outside the brackets, and the date is inserted in brackets immediately after the author's name. Callaway (2021) reports that scientists are questioning whether existing vaccines may be less effective against newer COVID variants.

APA 7th in-text citation checklist

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

One author

Rule:	Surname of author, no initials or suffixes such as Jr. The year of publication is also included.
Citation examples:	. . . This was seen in an Australian study (Couch, 2017). OR Couch (2017) suggests that . . . OR In 2017, Couch conducted a study which showed that . . .

Two authors

Rule:	Cite both surnames every time the reference occurs in the text.
Citation examples:	. . . (Zikhali & Hadebe, 2019) OR Zikhali and Hadebe (2019) . . .

Three or more authors

Rule:	Cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the year of publication. Note: There is a full-stop (.) after al (see below).
Citation examples:	. . . (Mkhize et al., 2020). OR Mkhize et al. (2020) . . .

Rule:

Cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the year of publication. Note: There is a full-stop (.) after al (see below).

Citation examples:

. . . (Mkhize et al., 2020).

OR
Mkhize et al. (2020) . . .

Multiple references

Rule:	List the citations in alphabetical order and separate with semicolons.
Citation examples:	. . . (Badenhorst, 2017; Mgababa, 2013; Naidoo & Mkhize, 2019).

Rule:

List the citations in alphabetical order and separate with semicolons.

Citation examples:

. . . (Badenhorst, 2017; Mgababa, 2013; Naidoo & Mkhize, 2019).

Multiple works by same author

Rule:	When cited together, give the author's surname once followed by the years of each publication, which are separated by a comma.
Citation examples:	. . . (Shembe, 2017, 2018). OR Shembe (2017, 2018) . . .

Rule:

When cited together, give the author's surname once followed by the years of each publication, which are separated by a comma.

Citation examples:

. . . (Shembe, 2017, 2018).

OR
Shembe (2017, 2018) . . .

Multiple works by same author AND same year

Rule:	If there is more than one reference by an author in the same year, suffixes (a, b, c, etc.) are added to the year. Allocation of the suffixes is determined by the order of the references in the reference list, not by the order in which they are cited. Suffixes are also included in the reference list, and these references are listed alphabetically by title. If cited together, list by suffix as shown below.
Citation examples:	Sabelo (1980b) . . .later in the text . . . (Sabelo, 1980a). OR . . . (Sabelo, 1980a, 1980b).

Rule:

If there is more than one reference by an author in the same year, suffixes (a, b, c, etc.) are added to the year. Allocation of the suffixes is determined by the order of the references in the reference list, not by the order in which they are cited. Suffixes are also included in the reference list, and these references are listed alphabetically by title. If cited together, list by suffix as shown below.

Citation examples:

Sabelo (1980b) . . .later in the text . . . (Sabelo, 1980a).

OR
. . . (Sabelo, 1980a, 1980b).

Websites (but not a specific document on that site)

Rule:	When citing an entire website with no mention of a specific page or particular information on the website, it is sufficient to give the address of the site in the text. No reference list entry is required.
Citation examples:	Apple is one of the most visited consumer technology websites in the world (https://www.apple.com).

Web page with author

Rule:	Family name and year of publication.
Citation examples:	In a recent article on the 1918 flu pandemic Tobias (2021) suggested … OR . . . in the 1918 pandemic (Tobias, 2021)

Rule:

Family name and year of publication.

Citation examples:

In a recent article on the 1918 flu pandemic Tobias (2021) suggested …

. . . in the 1918 pandemic (Tobias, 2021)

Web page with corporate author

Rule:	Organisation name and year of publication.
Citation examples:	A webpage regarding educational discounts offered by Samsung (2021) states . . OR Information on education discounts are offered by one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies (Samsung, 2021)

Rule:

Organisation name and year of publication.

Citation examples:

A webpage regarding educational discounts offered by Samsung (2021) states . .

Information on education discounts are offered by one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies (Samsung, 2021)

Web page, unknown author

Rule:	Give the first few words of the title. If the title is from an article use double quotation marks. Also include the year of publication.
Citation examples:	A South African government agency recommend checking rainwater tanks in Namaqualand (“Unsealed rainwater tanks”, 2016).

Web page, no date

Rule:	Use the letters n.d. - an abbreviation of the words ‘no date’.
Citation examples:	In a self-published autobiographical article, audiovisual organisation Bose (n.d) mention . . . OR The company’s history is outlined in a self-published autobiography (Bose, n.d.)

Rule:

Use the letters n.d. - an abbreviation of the words ‘no date’.

Citation examples:

In a self-published autobiographical article, audiovisual organisation Bose (n.d) mention . . .

The company’s history is outlined in a self-published autobiography (Bose, n.d.)

Citing specific parts of a source

Rule:	For a direct quotation the page number(s) must be given. Indicate page, chapter, figure, table, etc. as specifically as possible. Use accepted abbreviations, e.g., p. for page, para. for paragraph.
Citation examples:	As one writer put it, "the darkest days were still ahead" (Westerhof, 1966, p. 53). OR Westerhof (1966) argued that "the darkest days were still ahead" (p. 53). This theory was put forward by Sooklal (2019, chap.11)

Rule:

For a direct quotation the page number(s) must be given. Indicate page, chapter, figure, table, etc. as specifically as possible. Use accepted abbreviations, e.g., p. for page, para. for paragraph.

Citation examples:

As one writer put it, "the darkest days were still ahead" (Westerhof, 1966, p. 53).

OR
Westerhof (1966) argued that "the darkest days were still ahead" (p. 53).

This theory was put forward by Sooklal (2019, chap.11)

Citation of a secondary source (i.e., a source referred to in another publication)

Rule:	Note: APA 7th guidelines specify that secondary citations should ONLY be used where the original is unavailable (e.g., out-of-print). Wherever possible, read and cite the original source. If the original source is not available, ONLY include the details of the source that you actually read. In the example below, the original source would be Farrow (1968), which you saw cited in a paper by Ward and Decan (1988). Only the reference for Ward and Decan would be included in the reference list.
Citation examples:	. . . (Faried, 1966, as cited in Walied & Duma, 1987). OR Faried (1966, as cited in Walied & Duma, 1987) . . . OR Walied and Duma (1987) cited Faried (1966) as finding . . .

Rule:

Note: APA 7th guidelines specify that secondary citations should ONLY be used where the original is unavailable (e.g., out-of-print). Wherever possible, read and cite the original source.

If the original source is not available, ONLY include the details of the source that you actually read. In the example below, the original source would be Farrow (1968), which you saw cited in a paper by Ward and Decan (1988). Only the reference for Ward and Decan would be included in the reference list.

Citation examples:

. . . (Faried, 1966, as cited in Walied & Duma, 1987).

OR
Faried (1966, as cited in Walied & Duma, 1987) . . .

OR
Walied and Duma (1987) cited Faried (1966) as finding . . .

Personal communications

Rule:	These include private letters, e-mail, and conversations. As personal communications are not accessible to others, they are not included in the reference list. However, an in-text citation is required.
Citation examples:	. . . (R. Smith, personal communication, January 22, 2021). OR R. Smith (personal communication, January 22, 2021) . . .

Rule:

These include private letters, e-mail, and conversations. As personal communications are not accessible to others, they are not included in the reference list. However, an in-text citation is required.

Citation examples:

. . . (R. Smith, personal communication, January 22, 2021).

OR
R. Smith (personal communication, January 22, 2021) . . .

Quotation from an electronic source

Rule:	Where page numbers are not provided, use paragraph numbers.
Citation examples:	. . . (Chamisa, 2019, para. 8)

Referencing: APA Style 7th Edition

In-text citations: General notes

One author

Two authors

Three or more authors

Multiple references

Multiple works by same author

Multiple works by same author AND same year

Websites (but not a specific document on that site)

Web page with author

Web page with corporate author

Web page, unknown author

Web page, no date

Citing specific parts of a source

Citation of a secondary source (i.e., a source referred to in another publication)

Personal communications

Quotation from an electronic source

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