NOTES (https://www.scribbr.

com/apa-style/in-text-citation/)
APA Generator - follow link.

APA in-text citation for multiple authors

When including an APA in-text citation for a source with multiple authors, some specific rules
apply. The table below provides an overview of what to do in each case.

Overview of APA in-text citations

In the running text
Number of First in-text Subsequent in- In the running text
(subsequent
authors citation text citations (first mention)
mentions)
1 author (Taylor, 2018) (Taylor, 2018) Taylor (2018) states Taylor (2018) states
(Taylor & Kotler, (Taylor & Taylor and Kotler Taylor and Kotler
2 authors
2018) Kotler, 2018) (2018) state (2018) state
(Taylor, Kotler, Taylor, Kotler,
3–5 (Taylor et al., Taylor et al. (2018)
Johnson, & Johnson, and Parker
authors 2018) state
Parker, 2018) (2018) state
(Taylor et al., (Taylor et al., Taylor et al. (2018) Taylor et al. (2018)
6+ authors
2018) 2018) state state

Using “et al.” in APA style

When a source has many authors, use “et al.,” which means “and others.” In the overview above,
you can see exactly when you should make use of “et al.”

Punctuation
 Separate multiple author names using commas. Only the final name in the list should be
preceded by an ampersand sign (“&”).
 When using the abbreviation “et al.,” always include a period (“.”).
 Include a comma between “et al.” and the publication date (e.g. Taylor et al., 2018).
 There should be no punctuation between “et al.” and the author’s name preceding it.
 The period ending the sentence always comes after the citation (even when quoting).

Never use an ampersand symbol (“&”) in the running text. Instead, use the full word “and.”

 Taylor and Kotler concluded … (2018).

 According to research of Taylor & Kotler … (2018).

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Quotes and in-text citations
When you quote a source, you need to include an in-text citation, according to APA style. The
same format applies for any other APA in-text citation. However, when quoting, you also need to
include the page number(s) from the original source. It looks like this:

If the quote covers only one page, use “p. 16.” If the quote covers two or more pages, use “pp.
16-18” instead.

There are again three ways to include the in-text citation:

 This is also true from the business plan: “creating an APA Citation Generator is a lot of
work but many students benefit from it” (Swaen, 2014, pp. 14–15).
 Swaen (2014) states the following: “making an APA Citation Generator is a lot of work
but many students benefit from it” (pp. 14–15).
 In 2014, Swaen wrote as follows: “making an APA Citation Generator is a lot of work
but many students benefit from it” (pp. 14–15).

No page numbers available

In case there are no page numbers, such as for a website, start at the title and count from there to
determine the paragraph number from which the quote originates. If the title is very long, then
you can shorten it in your citation.
Example: quote with a heading instead of a page number

This is also true from the business plan: “making an APA Generator is a lot of work but many
students benefit from it” (Swaen, 2014, Conclusion, para. 2).

Quote of fewer than 40 words

When citing a section of text fewer than 40 words, you use double quotation marks directly
before and directly after the quote.
Example: Quote of fewer than 40 words

The definition of soccer is, according to Van Persie (2014), “running back and forth with each
other and whoever scores the most, wins” (p.15).

A famous soccer player always said, “playing soccer with each other on a beautiful Sunday
afternoon is the greatest thing there is” (Sneijder, 2013, pp. 2-3).

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Quote of 40 words or more
If the quote contains 40 words or more, then place the quote in a separate block that begins on a
new line and is indented in its entirety.

When you have a quote with multiple paragraphs, further indent the first line of every paragraph
after the first paragraph.

If the quote ends with a period, then you note the source reference only after the period. See the
example below for more explanation.
Example: Quote of more than 40 words

The second anniversary of Scribbr was widely reported in the press:

Scribbr is now two years old and that is being celebrated with the introduction of a new
version of the APA Generator. Now that more and more students make grateful use of the
APA Generator, it is high time for a new version, according to the founders.

The APA Generator is very popular because the APA Style has many exceptions. As a
result, it is difficult for many students to really get the hang of the APA Style. In addition,
the APA Generator saves many students a great deal of time. (Schlagers, 2014, p. 3)

Lists and in-text citations

When referencing a list of items from a source, you also need to include an in-text citation. If a
list comes from one source, then put the citation after the last list item. It if comes from several
different sources, add citations for each item.
Example of list from one source:

The following factors are identified:

 Wired lifestyle
 Time pressure;
 Risk aversion;
 Internet experience; and
 Social interaction (Johnson, 2016).
Example of list from several sources:

The following two basic characteristics were found in the literature:

 Consumers experience greater risk for online purchases (Writers et al., 2016).
 Young consumers experience no additional risk for online purchases (Porter, 2016).

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Exceptions and missing information
When citing sources, you may notice that the basic APA guidelines cannot be applied to every
source. Information can be missing, confusing for the reader or simply different. We listed the
most common exceptions and included instructions on what to do when you encounter them.

No author and/or no date

It may happen that you can’t find the name of the author(s) or the year of publication. This is a
common problem for internet sources.
No author

If the author is unknown use the title of the article (example: “U.S. flood risk could be worse
than we thought”, 2015).
No date

If the year of publication is unknown, use “n.d.” which stands for “no date” [example: (Johnson,
n.d.)].

An organization as author

It’s also common that instead of a person, an organization is listed as the author. When this
happens, use the name of the organization as the author.

Multiple sources one citation

Say you’ve found multiple sources supporting a statement. You can then combine the in-text
citations and separate them using semicolons.
Example multiple sources one citation

Several studies show that … (Porter, 2004; Swaen, 2017; Brown & Brody, 2009).

Multiple publications from the same author(s) in the same year

When you use multiple publications from the same author that are also published in the same
year, the in-text citation looks exactly the same. To indicate to the reader that they’re different,
you should distinguish them by adding a suffix after the publication year.
Example multiple publications of the same author:

Research by Swaen (2014a) shows that …

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Repeated use of the same source

If you use the same source multiple times in a paragraph or section, then you will have to include
the citation each time. However, you can be creative about it. The important thing is to make it
clear to the reader that the information comes from a source.
Example repeated use of the same source:

Research by Swaen (2016) shows that students think the APA Citation Generator is a useful tool.
Swaen also states that universities are increasingly using the generator. Scribbr is therefore
continuing to develop the APA Citation Generator (Swaen, 2016).

Different authors with the same surname

If the surname of two authors is the same, you should include the initials of these authors, even if
the publication year is different.
Example different authors same surname:

B. Swaen (2017) states that … , as does G. H. Swaen (2008).

Citing a source within a source

If you want to cite a source that you have found in another source, you can do one of two things.
First of all, you should try to find the primary source, in which case you can cite it using the
regular APA guidelines.

If you are not able to find the primary source, you should cite it through the source that led you
to it. APA style has special guidelines for this. The in-text citations looks like this:
Examples: citing a paraphrased indirect source

 Porter (in Johnson, 2017) states that… .

 Five possible causes are stated (Porter, in Johnson, 2017).
Example: citing a quoted indirect source

 Porter (as cited in Johnson, 2017) states that… .

 Five possible causes are stated (Porter, as cited in Johnson, 2017).

Note that you only need to include the publication year of the source you consulted (here
Johnson)

5
 Material Type Reference List/Bibliography
A book in print Baxter, C. (1997). Race equality in health care and education.
Philadelphia: Ballière Tindall.
A book chapter, print version Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the science of
subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The
science of subjective well-being (pp. 17-43). New York, NY:
Guilford Press.
An eBook Millbower, L. (2003). Show biz training: Fun and effective
business training techniques from the worlds of stage, screen,
and song. Retrieved from http://www.amacombooks.org/
An article in a print journal Alibali, M. W. (1999). How children change their minds:
Strategy change can be gradual or abrupt. Developmental
Psychology, 35, 127-145.
An article in a journal without Carter, S., & Dunbar-Odom, D. (2009). The converging
DOI literacies center: An integrated model for writing programs.
Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy,
14(1), 38-48. Retrieved from http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/
An article in a journal with Gaudio, J. L., & Snowdon, C. T. (2008). Spatial cues more
DOI salient than color cues in cotton-top tamarins (saguinus
oedipus) reversal learning. Journal of Comparative
Psychology, 122, 441-444. doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.122.4.441
Websites - professional or The World Famous Hot Dog Site. (1999, July 7). Retrieved
personal sites January 5, 2008, from
http://www.xroads.com/~tcs/hotdog/hotdog.html
Websites - online government U.S. Department of Justice. (2006, September 10). Trends in
publications violent victimization by age, 1973-2005. Retrieved from
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/vage.htm
Emails (cited in-text only) According to preservationist J. Mohlhenrich (personal
communication, January 5, 2008).
Mailing Lists (listserv) Stein, C.(2006, January 5). Chessie rescue - Annapolis, MD
[Message posted to Chessie-L electronic mailing list].
Retrieved from http://chessie-l-owner@lists.best.com
Radio and TV episodes - from DeFord, F. (Writer). (2007, August 8). Beyond Vick: Animal
library databases cruelty for sport [Television series episode]. In NPR
(Producer), Morning Edition. Retrieved from Academic
OneFile database.
Radio and TV episodes - from Sepic, M. (Writer). (2008). Federal prosecutors eye MySpace
website bullying case [Television series episode]. In NPR
(Producer), All Things Considered. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
Film Clips from website Kaufman, J.C. (Producer), Lacy, L. (Director), & Hawkey, P.
(Writer). (1979). Mean Joe Greene [video file]. Retrieved
from http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/ccmp/meanjoe_01g.ram

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Film Greene, C. (Producer), del Toro, G.(Director). (2015).
Crimson peak [Motion picture]. United States: Legendary
Pictures.
Photograph (from book, Close, C. (2002). Ronald. [photograph]. Museum of Modern
magazine or webpage) Art, New York, NY. Retrieved from
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=108890
Artwork - from library Clark, L. (c.a. 1960's). Man with Baby. [photograph]. George
database Eastman House, Rochester, NY. Retrieved from ARTstor
Artwork - from website Close, C. (2002). Ronald. [photograph]. Museum of Modern
Art, New York. Retrieved from
http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?
object_id=108890