APA Side By Side

Sometimes, the easiest way to think about your in-text citations and references (and how they must match) is to see them side by side. The following examples provide reference information and corresponding in-text citation information for common source types and situations you are likely to encounter while working with your sources.

And, remember, in your paper, your in-text citations and your references must match or correspond. This means that you must have an in-text citation for any source that appears on your References list, AND you must follow APA formatting guidelines so that the first part of each of your References entry matches up with your in-text citation.

Click on the following items below to learn more.

7th Edition6th Edition

Book

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
Larson, M. S. (1977). The rise of professionalism. University of California Press.
(Larson, 1977, p. 121). According to Larson (1977), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 121).

Note: Page numbers are only required for direct quotes.

Online Book

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
Presnall, J. J. (1995) Rachel Carson. Lucent Books. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1436989M/Rachel_Carson
If the electronic book has page numbers, the citations would look as they look for a traditional book. However, if there are no page numbers, APA recommends paragraph numbers or names of the headings.

(Presnall, 1995, para.35).

or

(Presnall, 1995, Chapter 3).

Presnall (1995) argues, insert quote or paraphrase here (para.35)

or

Presnall (1995) argues, “insert quote here” (Chapter 3).

Note: Paragraph numbers or chapters/sections are only required for direct quotes.

Online or Database Journal Article: With DOI

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
Herbst-Damm, K. L. & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24(2), 225-229. https://doi.org/10.1037/027806133.24.2.225
(Herbst-Damm & Kulik, 2005, p. 225). According to Herbst-Damm and Kulik (2005), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 225).

Note: Page numbers are only required for direct quotes.

Online or Database Journal Article: Without DOI

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
Gasinska, A. (2016). The contribution of women to radiobiology: Marie Curie and beyond. Reports of Practical Oncology & Radiotherapy, 21(30), 250-253. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5002019/
(Gasinska, 2016, p. 251). According to Gasinska (2016), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 251).

Note: Page numbers are only required for direct quotes.

Web Page

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
Boyd, V. (2012). About Zora Neale Hurston. https://zoranealehurston.com/about
(Boyd, 2012, para. 10). According to Boyd, (2012), insert quote or paraphrase here (para. 10).

Note: Paragraph numbers are only required for direct quotes.

Video

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
Ezekial, S. (Lecturer). (2012, March 21). MIT understanding laser and fiberoptics: Fiberoptics fundamentals [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=0DCrIAxEv_Y
(Ezekial, 2012). According to Ezekial (2012), insert quote or paraphrase here.

Source with Two Authors

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
Barker, D., & Pollan, M. (2015, December 15). A secret weapon to fight climate change. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2015/12/04/fe22879e-990b-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.html
(Barker & Pollan, 2015, para. 5). According to Barker and Pollan (2015), insert quote or paraphrase here (para. 5).

Note: Page or paragraph numbers are only required for direct quotes.

Source with Multiple Authors (3 or more)

Reference Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
(Any source type may have multiple authors. This example shows a book, but if you have a different source, simply model the author portion from this sample and the appropriate portion for your source from another sample).

Rivano, A. S., Hoson, A. & Stallings B. (2001). Regional integration and economic development. Palgrave.
For three or more authors, APA requires using the first author’s last name followed by et al. on all in-text citations.

(Rivano et al., 2001, p. 42).

According to Rivano et al. (2001), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 42).

Note: Page numbers are only required for direct quotes.

Book

Reference Standard In-Text Citation In-Text Citation with Author Set Up
Larson, M. S. (1977). The rise of professionalism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
(Larson, 1977, p. 121). According to Larson (1977), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 121).

Online Book

Reference Standard In-Text Citation In-Text Citation with Author Set Up
Austen, J. (1813). Pride and prejudice. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1342
If the electronic book has page numbers, the citations would look as they look for a traditional book. However, if there are no page numbers, APA recommends paragraph numbers or names of the headings.

(Austen, 1813, para.35).

or

(Austen, 1813, Chapter 3).

Austen (1813) writes, “insert quote here” (para. 35)

or

Austen (1813) writes, “insert quote here” (Chapter 3).

Online or Database Journal Article: With DOI

Reference Standard In-Text Citation In-Text Citation with Author Set Up
Herbst-Damm, K. L. & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24(2), 225-229. doi: 10.1037/027806133.24.2.225
(Herbst-Damm & Kulik, 2005, p. 225). According to Herbst-Damm and Kulik (2005), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 225).

Online or Database Journal Article: Without DOI

Reference Standard In-Text Citation In-Text Citation with Author Set Up
Gasinska, A. (2016). The contribution of women to radiobiology: Marie Curie and beyond. Reports of Practical Oncology & Radiotherapy, 21(30), 250-253. Retrieved from http://www.rpor.pl/
(Gasinska, 2016, p. 251). According to Gasinska (2016), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 251).

Web Page

Reference Standard In-Text Citation In-Text Citation with Author Set Up
Boyd, V. (2012). About Zora Neale Hurston. Retrieved from http://zoranealehurston.com/about
(Boyd, 2012, para. 10). According to Boyd, (2012), insert quote or paraphrase here (para. 10).

Video

Reference Standard In-Text Citation In-Text Citation with Author Set Up
Ezekial, S. (Lecturer). (2012, March 21). MIT understanding laser and fiberoptics: Fiberoptics fundamentals [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtube.com/watch?v=0DCrIAxEv_Y
(Ezekial, 2012). According to Ezekial (2012), insert quote or paraphrase here.

Source with Multiple Authors (2-7)

Reference Standard In-Text Citation In-Text Citation with Author Set Up
(Any source type may have multiple authors. This example shows a book, but if you have a different source, simply model the author portion from this sample and the appropriate portion for your source from another sample).

Rivano, A. S., Hoson, A. & Stallings B. (2001). Regional integration and economic development. New York, NY: Palgrave.
APA formatting categorizes in-text citations differently from reference formatting. For two authors, both authors are listed in the citation. For three to six authors, all authors are listed in the first citation, but the first author and et al. is used in any following citations.

First citation:

(Rivano, Hoson, & Stallings, 2001, p.42.)

Second or subsequent citations:

(Rivano et al., 2001, p. 42).

First citation:

According to Rivano, Hoson, and Stallings (2001), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 42).

Second or subsequent citations:

According to Rivano et al. (2001), insert quote or paraphrase here (p. 42).



NOTE: For blocked quotes, the period will be placed before the in-text citation.

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