APA in-text parenthetical citations
The American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines require that you use parenthetical citations to document quotations, paraphrases, summaries, and other material from a source used in your paper. These in-text citations correspond to the full bibliographic entries found in a list of references included at the end of your paper. Unless otherwise noted, electronic sources follow the same pattern as printed ones.
One work by one author
Place the author’s last name followed by a comma and the year of publication in parentheses. If the author's name appears as part of the narrative, include only the year of publication in parentheses. For a quotation, the page number, preceded by p., appears in parentheses after the quotation.
The tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences is referred to as a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (Sennett, 1980, p.11).
Social historian Richard Sennett (1980) names the tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (p. 11).
One work by multiple authors
List all the authors' names for the first reference.Kintgen, Kroll, and Rose (1988) maintain that "just as a single definition of literacy is insufficient, so is scrutiny from within the confines of a single academic discipline" (p. xv).
In subsequent references, use just the first author’s last name plus et al..
Six or more authorsIn assessing the educational quality of our schools, it is important to remember that, as Kintgen et al. (1988) explain: "the contemporary asymmetry between reading and writing can be related to use in a particular socioeconomic context" (p. xvii).
Cite only the last name of the first author followed by et al. and the year for the first and subsequent citations.
Groups as authors (organization, association, etc.)As Williams et al. (1999) demonstrated, the internet holds the potential to open consumer markets in new and unexpected ways.
The name of the group is usually spelled out each time it appears in a text citation. If the name of the group is long and cumbersome and if the abbreviation is familiar or readily understandable, you may abbreviate it in second and subsequent citations.
FIRST CITATION (Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 1996)
Authors with the same surnameLATER CITATION (FDA, 1996)
If a reference list includes publications by two or more primary authors with the same last name, include the first author's initials in all text citations, even if the publication year differs.
Works with no author.When a work has no identified author, use the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use quotation marks around the title of an article, chapter, or web page, and italicize the title of a journal, book, or report.
Bible passageSeveral critics of the concept of the transparent society ask if a large society would be able to handle the complete loss of privacy ("Surveillance Society," 1998, p. 115).
Email messageUnfortunately, the president could not recall the truism found in Prov. 20-22 that "Wisdom is a fountain to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools" (New Oxford Annotated Bible).
Web pageRobinson's argument has since been dismissed by scholars of American history (V. Baker, personal communication, October 28, 2002).
The cabin at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site is designed to be "symbolic of the one in which Lincoln was born" (National Park Service, 2003, para. 1).
Note: page or chapter number should be included if available on the web site.
Have more questions?
For up-to-date information on citing electronic sources, go to the APA Style Guide to Electronic References or Online! For citing government documents, or if you have additional questions, consult the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, available from the Perkins and Lilly Reference desks.
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