LibGuides: APA Help (6th edition): In-Text Citations

In-Text Citations

In-text citations paraphrase
Basic format	(Author’s Last Name, Year Published, Paragraph or Page Number)
Paraphrase citation at the end of text	Interventions in the community should encourage health and fitness within schools, organizations and churches (Courtenay, 2000, p. 174).
Paraphrase citation within text	Courtenay (2000) stated that community intervention will promote physical activity (p. 174).

When paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another work, provide a paragraph or page number, especially when it would help an interested reader locate the relevant passage.
Use the abbreviation para.for paragraph, and use paragraph numbers in place of page numbers.

When using a corporation or organization as the author, replace the author's last name with the name of the corporation/organization.

In-text citations quotations
Basic format	(Author’s Last Name, Year Published, Paragraph or Page Number)
Quotation less than 40 words	Americans are always taking nutrients to fulfill their diets but "food should provide all the nutrients people need to be healthy" (Courtenay, 2000, p. 171).
Quotation more than 40 words	Premises of the guidelines for Americans are that food should provide all of the nutrients that an individual needs to be healthy. Although dietary supplements and fortified foods may be useful sources for one or two nutrients, they cannot replace a healthy diet. The 2005 guidelines place greater emphasis on decrease calorie consumption (Courtenay, 2000, p. 171).

If a quotation has fewer than 40 words enclose the quotation with standard quotation marks.
If a quotation has more than 40 words, leave out quotation marks and indent the paragraph 0.5 inches from the left margin.
When quoting, always provide the author, year and page or paragraph number (see p. 174 of the APA Manual for exceptions to the rule).
Use standard quotation marks to identify the phrase you have borrowed from your source.
Use the abbreviation para. for paragraph and use p. for page and pp. for pages.

When using a corporation or organization as the author, replace the author's last name with the name of the corporation/organization.

Type of citation	First citation in text	Subsequent citations in text
Basic format	(Author's last name, Year Published)
One author	(Courtenay, 2000)	(Courtenay, 2000)
Two authors	(Burhardt & Nathaniel, 2008)	(Burhardt & Nathaniel, 2008)
Three authors	(Pender, Murdaugh, & Parsons, 2011)	(Pender et al., 2011)

When a reference has two authors, cite both names every time the reference occurs in text. See section 6.16 (Basic Citation Styles box- right) for additional guidance.
If you are citing six or more authors, use (First authors last name et al., Year of Publication) on every citation throughout your document.
Use et al. to shorten lists of authors' or editors' names to make referencing citations easier.
et al. is the Latin abbreviation for ‘and others'.
et al. is used when you have three or more names.

When using a corporation or organization as the author, follow the format for one author.

In-text citations with no author or editor
Basic format	(“Title or Shortened Form of the Title” and Year Published)
Works with no author or editor	on free care ("Study finds," 2007)

When a reference has no identified author, mention the work’s title in the signal phrase or give the first word or two of the title in the parenthetical citation along with the year.
Titles of articles and chapters are put in quotation marks.
Titles of books and reports are italicized.

Corporations and organizations can be authors. Please double check the resource before determining it has no author.

In-text citations with no date to the publication
Basic format	(Author's Last Name, n.d.)
Works with no date	Research has shown media influences the community (Jones, n.d.).

Use the abbreviation “n.d." within the parentheses followed by a period if there is no date to the publication.

When using a corporation or organization as the author, replace the author's last name with the name of the corporation/organization.

Citation examples on this guide are from:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Online material without pagination
Basic format	(Author’s Last Name, Year Published, Paragraph Number)
Electronic source without page numbers	Basu and Jones (2007) went so far as to suggest the need for a new "intellectual framework in which to consider the nature and form of regulation in cyberspace" (para. 4).
Electronic source without page or paragraph numbers	Verbunt, Pernot, and Smeets (2008) found that "the level of perceived disability in patients with fibromyalgia seemed best explained by their mental health condition and less by their physical condition" (Discussion section, para. 1).
Electronic source with a long title no page or paragraph number	Empirical studies have found mixed results on the efficacy of labels in educating consumers and changing consumption behavior (Golan, Kuchler, & Krissof, 2007, “Mandatory Labeling Has Targeted,” para. 4).

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Use a short title enclosed in quotation marks for the parenthetical citation. (In the example above, the heading was “Mandatory Labeling Has Targeted Information Gaps and Social Objectives.”)
If the document includes a heading and no paragraph or page numbers, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it.
Use the abbreviation para. for paragraph.
Credit direct quotations of on-line material by giving author, year and page number in parentheses.
Use standard quotation marks to identify the phrase you have borrowed from your source.

When using a corporation or organization as the author, replace the author's last name with the name of the corporation/organization.

Basic Citation Styles

Table 6.1. Basic Citation Styles
A quick guide to citing reference sources. This guide is found in American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (p. 177).

A quick guide to citing reference sources.

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