Using In-text Citation

Parenthetical documentation or in-text citation tells

the reader where you got any and all information
that did not come from inside your own head. This
is more obvious when you are directly quoting from
a source, but it is also needed when you have
summarized or paraphrased from a source and even
if you got an idea from somewhere else.
• In order to avoid plagiarism, it is extremely
important that you cite all words and ideas that
you got from somewhere else.
Include an in-text citation when you refer to,
summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another
source. For every in-text citation in your paper,
there must be a corresponding entry in your
reference list.
A Work by One Author
• The APA manual recommends the use of the
author-date citation structure for in-text citation
references. This structure requires that any in-
text citation (i.e., within the body of the text) be
accompanied by a corresponding reference list
entry. In the in-text citation provide the surname
of the author but do not include suffixes such as
"Jr.".
As Ahmed (2016) mentions...

(Ahmed, 2016)
A WORK BY TWO AUTHORS

• Name both authors in the signal phrase or in

parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the
word "and" between the authors' names within the
text and use the ampersand in parentheses.
• Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports...
• (Wegener & Petty, 1994)
A WORK BY THREE OR MORE
AUTHORS
List only the first author’s name followed by “et
al.” in every citation, even the first, unless doing
so would create ambiguity between different
sources.

(Kernis et al., 1993)

Kernis et al. (1993) suggest...
In et al., et should not be followed by a period. Only "al" should be
followed by a period.

If you’re citing multiple works with similar groups of authors, and the
shortened “et al” citation form of each source would be the same,
you’ll need to avoid ambiguity by writing out more names. If you cited
works with these authors:

Jones, Smith, Liu, Huang, and Kim (2020)

Jones, Smith, Liu, Huang, and Kim (2020)
Jones, Smith, Ruiz, Wang, and Stanton (2020)
They would be cited in-text as follows to avoid
ambiguity:

(Jones, Smith, Liu, et al., 2020)

(Jones, Smith, Ruiz, et al., 2020)
Since et al. is plural, it should always be a
substitute for more than one name. In the case
that et al. would stand in for just one author,
write the author’s name instead.
UNKNOWN AUTHOR
If the work does not have an author, cite the
source by its title in the signal phrase or use the
first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of
books and reports are italicized; titles of articles,
chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks.
APA style calls for capitalizing important words in
titles when they are written in the text (but not
when they are written in reference lists).
A similar study was done of students learning to
format research papers ("Using Citations," 2001).
Note: In the rare case that "Anonymous" is used
for the author, treat it as the author's name
(Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the
name Anonymous as the author.
ORGANIZATION AS AN AUTHOR
If the author is an organization or a government
agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase
or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite
the source, just as you would an individual person.

According to the American Psychological Association

(2000),...
If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, you may include
the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and
then use only the abbreviation in later citations. However, if you
cite work from multiple organizations whose abbreviations are the
same, do not use abbreviations (to avoid ambiguity).

First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000)

Second citation: (MADD, 2000)
TWO OR MORE WORKS IN THE SAME PARENTHESES

When your parenthetical citation includes two or more

works, order them the same way they appear in the
reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-
colon.

(Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)

If you cite multiple works by the same author in
the same parenthetical citation, give the author’s
name only once and follow with dates. No date
citations go first, then years, then in-press
citations.

(Smith, n.d., 1995, 2002, in press)

AUTHORS WITH THE SAME LAST
NAME
To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last
names.

(E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998)

TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME
AUTHOR IN THE SAME YEAR
If you have two sources by the same author in the
same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the
year to order the entries in the reference list. Use
the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text
citation.
Research by Berndt (1981a) revealed strong
correlations. However, a parallel study (Berndt,
1981b) resulted in inconclusive findings.
INTRODUCTIONS, PREFACES,
FOREWORDS, AND AFTERWORDS
When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword,
or Afterword in-text, cite the appropriate author
and year as usual.

(Funk & Kolln, 1992)

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION

For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-

person communication, cite the communicator's name,
the fact that it was personal communication, and the
date of the communication. Do not include personal
communication in the reference list.

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).

CITING INDIRECT SOURCES SOURCES

Generally, writers should endeavor to read primary

sources (original sources) and cite those rather than
secondary sources (works that report on original
sources). Sometimes, however, this is impossible. If you
use a source that was cited in another source, name
the original source in your signal phrase. List the
secondary source in your reference list and include the
secondary source in the parentheses. If you know the
year of the original source, include it in the citation.
Johnson argued that... (as cited in Smith, 2003, p.
102).
(Johnson, 1985, as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).
UNKNOWN AUTHOR AND UNKNOWN
DATE
If no author or date is given, use the title in your
signal phrase or the first word or two of the title
in the parentheses and use the abbreviation
"n.d." (for "no date").
Another study of students and research decisions
discovered that students succeeded with tutoring
("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).
SOURCES WITHOUT PAGE NUMBERS
When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try
to include information that will help readers find the passage
being cited. Use the heading or section name, an abbreviated
heading or section name, a paragraph number (para. 1), or a
combination of these.

According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind Over Matter section, para.

6).
https://uscmed.sc.libguides.com/c.php?
g=477787&p=3266941#:~:text=APA%20in%2Dtext%20citation
%20style,numbers%2C%20use%20a%20paragraph%20number.