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How to cite in APA when there are multiple authors

This article covers how to cite a reference in APA style (7th ed.) when there are multiple authors. Broadly speaking, in an APA style “the author” refers to the person(s) or group(s) who should be given credit for the work being referenced.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

In-text citations when there are multiple authors

Reference list entries when there are multiple authors, troubleshooting.

APA 7th ed. uses the author-date citation system for citing references in text. Unless you are citing a source with no author in APA , the structure in parenthetical citations includes placing the author’s last name/surname, followed by a comma, and the publication year in parentheses. In narrative citations, this information is incorporated into the sentence.

Parenthetical citation for one author:

(Author Last Name, Year Published)

(Curtis, 2020)

Narrative citation for one author:

Author Last Name (Year Published)

Curtis (2020)

Two authors

For a work with two authors, include both authors’ last names in every in-text citation, whether narrative or parenthetical. In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between the authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for two authors:

(1st Author & 2nd Author, Year Published)

(Curtis & Williams, 2020)

Narrative citation for two authors:

1st Author & 2nd Author (Year Published)

Curtis & Williams (2020)

Three or more authors

When citing a journal paper in APA with three or more authors, only enter the last name of the first author listed and add “et al.” after it. “Et al.” is Latin for the phrase “and others,” which is why it is used as a substitute for two or more authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for three or more authors:

(1st Author et al., Year Published)

(Harris et al., 2020)

Narrative citation for three or more authors:

1st Author et al. (Year Published)

Harris et al. (2020)

Here is a page with more information on when to use “et al.” in APA style .

Group authors

The same guidelines for in-text citations apply when the authors of a source are a distinct group or organization such as a government agency, association, nonprofit organization, business, hospital, task force, or study group. To confirm whether a reference was written by individual author(s) or a group, check the cover or title page.

Hint: for an online resource, the author could be the name of the organization hosting the webpage or website, rather than the name of just one content contributor.

Before using an abbreviated group name as the author of your citation, spell out the abbreviation and define the group one time first in the text. Afterward, use the abbreviation of the group name throughout the rest of the paper.

Group author in-text citation examples:

First parenthetical citation with group abbreviation included: (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU], 2020)

Subsequent parenthetical citations: (AJCU, 2020)

First narrative citation with group abbreviation included: The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU] (2020)

Subsequent narrative citations: The AJCU (2020)

Avoiding ambiguity in in-text citations

Sometimes, in-text citations that have three or more authors, some of whom have the same last name, and the same publication year can look like they are the same reference when using the et al. abbreviation. For example, Curtis et al. (2020) could refer to

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Tyler (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, Key, Smith, and Esparza (2020)

To avoid this ambiguity and confusion for the reader, write out as many names as possible for the in-text citation until the references are distinguished, and then add “et. al” to abbreviate the other authors’ names.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, et al. (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, et al. (2020)

When only the final author is different, list all of the names in every citation to avoid any confusion.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Esparza (2020)

APA has slightly different reference structures for different source types (e.g., book, website, journal article, etc.), but each structure generally includes the following:

Author last name, Author initials. (Date Published). Title. URL or DOI if available .

Need more help with citing a particular source? Find further guidance in this APA citations guide.

One or two authors

For references with one or two authors, cite using the four-part structure.

Two individual authors example:

Smith, J., & Jones, S. (1994). Making a movie star. Behind the Scenes Stories: A Journal of Celebrity Life, 44 (2), 192–200. https://doi.org/l4nds0r

One group author example:

The American Marine Society. (2003). Whale mating patterns in the new millennium. The American Marine Society Magazine , 17-20 . https://fams.gov/article/2003/whale-mating-patterns-in-the-new-millennium

2 – 20 authors

In APA 7th ed., up to 20 authors should be included in a reference list entry. Write out the last name and first initial(s) for each contributor.

2–20 authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., Fountain, A. (2020). Styling royalty. London Bridge Press.

21+ authors

For references with more than 20 authors, after listing the 19th author replace any additional author names with an ellipsis ( … ) followed by the final listed author’s last name and first initial(s).

21+ authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., . . . Booker, T. (2020). Eating well: Tips from 23 lifestyle authors. Food Magazine. https://foodmag.com/article/2020/tips-from-22-lifestyle-authors

Solution #1: How to order the names of multiple authors in an APA reference

Authors should be cited in the exact order that they are listed by the source, even if they have not been listed alphabetically.

Solution #2: How to cite an article with more than 20 authors in APA style

If an article has more than 20 authors, all authors do not need to be listed in the reference. Instead, name the first 19, then use an ellipsis (…), then add the name of the final author listed. The ellipsis acts as a substitute for all the names between the first 19 and the final authors. No ampersand (&) is needed before the final name.

For example:

Richards, B.A., Lillicrap, T. P., Beaudoin, P., Bengio, Y., Bogacz, R., Christensen, A., Clopath, C.

Costa, R. P., de Berker, A., Ganguli, S., Gillon, C. J., Hafner, D., Kepecs, A., Kriegeskorte,

N., Latham, P., Lindsay, G. W., Miller, K. D., Naud, R., Pack, C. C., … Kording, K. P. (2019). A deep learning framework for neuroscience. Nature Neuroscience ,  22 (11), 1761–1770. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0520-2

When making an in-text citation, only write the first author’s last name followed by “et. al.” This applies to both parenthetical and narrative citations.

(Richard et al., 2019)

Richard et al. (2019)

Solution #3: How to cite an article written by an organization in APA style

• Organization as author

When an article is written by an organization, use the typical four-part APA structure (author, date, title, publisher) and cite the organization as the author.

American Nurses Association. (2019). 2018 Annual Report, American Nurse Today, 14 (6), 29-36.

https://www.nursingworld.org/~49d621/globalassets/docs/ana/ana-annual-report-for-

• Organization as author and publisher

If the organization that authored an article is also its publisher , omit the publisher’s name in the citation.

• In-text citation when an organization is an author

Use the organization’s name as the author. For example:

American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

If an organization’s name is long, abbreviate it by doing the following:

• First, write the organization’s name in full the first time, followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis.
• After this, you may use the abbreviation without including the complete name.

1 st in-text narrative citation: American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

1 st in-text parenthetical citation: (American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

After this distinction is made, abbreviations in-text can be used as demonstrated below:

Narrative citations: The ANA (2019)

Parenthetical citations: (ANA, 2019)

Published October 28, 2020.

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To cite a source with multiple authors and an edition number in APA style, you need to know the names of the authors, title of the book, edition number, and publisher. The in-text citation of a book with multiple authors and an edition number is similar to citing a journal or a book reference with multiple authors. An example of a book reference with three authors and an edition number, along with a template, is given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname et al. (Publication Year)

LeBuffe et al. (2012)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(LeBuffe et al., 2012)

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., & Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Book title (edition number). Publisher

LeBuffe, P. A., Naglieri, J. A., & Manderth, A. (2012). Devereux early childhood assessment for preschoolers (2nd ed.). Kaplan Early Learning Company.

Use numerals to indicate an edition number. The word “edition” is abbreviated as “ed.” Italicize the book title and follow sentence case for capitalization.

Citing a source that has multiple authors with the same last name and same initials is the same as citing a source with different authors. There is no need to add the initials of the authors in in-text citations as all surnames (although the same) appear in a single source. Examples of a book reference with three authors with the same last name and initials and their templates are given below:

Dunn et al. (2007)

(Dunn et al., 2007)

Author Surname, F. & Author Surname, F. (Publication Year). Book title. Publisher.

Dunn, L. M., Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (2007). Peabody picture vocabulary test-IV. American Guidance Service.

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APA 7th Edition Citation Guide Multiple Authors

Source with two authors.

Rules for citing more than one author apply to all sources, regardless of format. Below is an example of a book with two authors.

Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use an ampersand (&) for parenthetical citations.

Reference Page Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of Publication). Format the remainder according to resource type.

Reference Page Example:

Loveless, D., & Griffith, B. (2014).  Critical pedagogy for a polymodal world . Birkhäuser.

In-text Citation Examples:

According to Loveless and Griffith (2014) ... ...(Loveless & Griffith, 2014). ...(Loveless & Griffith, 2014, p. 121).

Source with Three to Twenty Authors

For all sources with three to twenty authors, include all of the authors on your References page. 

For in-text citations, sources with three or more authors can be abbreviated to only the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example, (Author et al., Year).

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C. (Year of Publication).  Format the remainder according to resource type .

Somerville, I., Purcell, A., & Morrison, F. (2011). Public relations education in a divided society: PR, terrorism and critical pedagogy in post-conflict Northern Ireland.  Public Relations Review, 37 (5), 548-555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.09.008

According to Somerville et al. (2011) ... ... (Somerville et al., 2011). ... (Somerville et al., 2011, p. 549).

Source with Twenty-One or More Authors

For sources with twenty-one or more authors, write out the first twenty authors on the References page, add an ellipsis (...), and end with the last author. 

For in-text citations, sources with more than twenty authors can be abbreviated to only the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example, (Author et al., Year).

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., Author, T. T., . . . Author, Z. Z. (Year of Publication).  Format the remainder according to resource type .

Aad, G., Abbott, B., Abdallah, J., Abdinov, O., Aben, R., Abolins, M., AbouZeid, O. S., Abramowicz, H., Abreu, H., Abreu, R., Abulaiti, Y., Acharya, B. S., Adamczyk, L., Adams, D. L., Adelman, J., Adomeit, S., Adye, T., Affolder, A. A., Agatonovic-Jovin, T., Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A., Alen, S. P., . . . Woods, N. (2015). Combined measurement of the Higgs boson mass in pp collisions at √s=7 and 8 TeV with the ATLAS and CMS experiments.  Physical Review Letters, 114 (19), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.191803

According to Aad et al. (2015) ... ... (Aad et al., 2015). ... (Aad et al., 2015, p. 20).

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APA Format & Citation Style, 7th edition

• Journal Article with 3 or More Authors
• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
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• Three or More Authors or Editors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with One Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
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• Web Page with No Author
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• Government Document
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• APA Handouts & Guides This link opens in a new window

Journal Article with Three or More Authors

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname et al., Year).

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Author Surname et al., Year, page number).

References:

Surnames and initials for  up to twenty authors  should be provided in the reference list.  For more than 20 authors, list the first 19, followed by an ellipses, then list the final author.

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle.  Journal Title, Volume (issue), page range. http://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxxx [if available]  OR  [nothing - if in an online database and does not have a doi]  OR  URL to document on website if readers can access.

(Yonkers et al., 2001, p. 1859)

Written within the sentence:

Yonkers et al. (2001) argued " . . . " (p.1859).

Yonkers, K. A., Ramin, S. M., Rush, A. J., Navarrete, C. A., Carmody, T., March, D., Heartwell, S., & Leveno, K. J. (2001). Onset and persistence of postpartum depression in an inner-city maternal health clinic system.  American Journal of Psychiatry, 158 (11), 1856-1863. http://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.158.11.1856

Helpful Tips:

DOI:  If a journal article has a  Digital Object Identifier (DOI)  listed, you will always include this identifier in your reference  as a URL . You will not have to include a different URL or the database from which you retrieved the article if a DOI is available.  Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.

Online Database:  If you viewed a journal article in an  online database  and it does not have a DOI, the reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work. In other words, nothing after the page numbers will appear.

Website/Online:  If an online work (not including academic research databases), provide the URL in the reference (as long as the URL will work for readers).

Print:  If you viewed a journal article in its  print format , be sure to check if it has a DOI listed. If it does not, your reference to the article would end after you provide the page range of the article.

Date:  When possible, include the year, month, and date in references. If the month and date are not available, use the year of publication.

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APA Style (7th Edition) Citation Guide: Journal Articles

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Table of Contents

Journal article from library database with doi - one author, journal article from library database with doi - multiple authors, journal article from a website - one author.

Journal Article- No DOI

Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

This Microsoft support page contains instructions about how to format a hanging indent in a paper.

• APA 7th. ed. Journal Article Reference Checklist

If an item has no author, start the citation with the article title.

When an article has one to twenty authors, all authors' names are cited in the References List entry. When an article has twenty-one or more authors list the first nineteen authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name. Rules are different for in-text citations; please see the examples provided.

Cite author names in the order in which they appear on the source, not in alphabetical order (the first author is usually the person who contributed the most work to the publication).

Italicize titles of journals, magazines and newspapers. Do not italicize or use quotation marks for the titles of articles.

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title. If there is a colon in the article title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.

If an item has no date, use the short form n.d. where you would normally put the date.

Volume and Issue Numbers

Italicize volume numbers but not issue numbers.

Retrieval Dates

Most articles will not need these in the citation. Only use them for online articles from places where content may change often, like a free website or a wiki.

Page Numbers

If an article doesn't appear on continuous pages, list all the page numbers the article is on, separated by commas. For example (4, 6, 12-14)

Library Database

Do not include the name of a database for works obtained from most academic research databases (e.g. APA PsycInfo, CINAHL) because works in these resources are widely available. Exceptions are Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, ERIC, ProQuest Dissertations, and UpToDate.

Include the DOI (formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/...) if it is available. If you do not have a DOI, include a URL if the full text of the article is available online (not as part of a library database). If the full text is from a library database, do not include a DOI, URL, or database name.

In the Body of a Paper

Books, Journals, Reports, Webpages, etc.: When you refer to titles of a “stand-alone work,” as the APA calls them on their APA Style website, such as books, journals, reports, and webpages, you should italicize them. Capitalize words as you would for an article title in a reference, e.g., In the book Crying in H Mart: A memoir , author Michelle Zauner (2021) describes her biracial origin and its impact on her identity.

Article or Chapter: When you refer to the title of a part of a work, such as an article or a chapter, put quotation marks around the title and capitalize it as you would for a journal title in a reference, e.g., In the chapter “Where’s the Wine,” Zauner (2021) describes how she decided to become a musician.

The APA Sample Paper below has more information about formatting your paper.

• APA 7th ed. Sample Paper

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number

Smith, K. F. (2022). The public and private dialogue about the American family on television: A second look. Journal of Media Communication, 50 (4), 79-110. https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.x

Note: The DOI number is formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.xIf

In-Text Paraphrase:

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Smith, 2000)

In-Text Quote:

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number)

Example: (Smith, 2000, p. 80)

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number

Note: Separate the authors' names by putting a comma between them. For the final author listed add an ampersand (&) after the comma and before the final author's last name.

Note: In the reference list invert all authors' names; give last names and initials for only up to and including 20 authors. When a source has 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors’ names, then three ellipses (…), and add the last author’s name. Don't include an ampersand (&) between the ellipsis and final author.

Note : For works with three or more authors, the first in-text citation is shortened to include the first author's surname followed by "et al."

Reference List Examples

Two to 20 Authors

Case, T. A., Daristotle, Y. A., Hayek, S. L., Smith, R. R., & Raash, L. I. (2011). College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 3 (2), 227-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.010

21 or more authors

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, J., Mo, K. C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetma, A., . . . Joseph, D. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 77 (3), 437-471. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1996)077<0437:TNYRP>2.0.CO;2

In-Text Citations

Two Authors/Editors

(Case & Daristotle, 2011)

Direct Quote: (Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57)

Three or more Authors/Editors

(Case et al., 2011)

Direct Quote: (Case et al., 2011, p. 57)

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any.  Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if given). URL

Flachs, A. (2010). Food for thought: The social impact of community gardens in the Greater Cleveland Area.  Electronic Green Journal, 1 (30). http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bh7j4z4

Example: (Flachs, 2010)

Example: (Flachs, 2010, Conclusion section, para. 3)

Note: In this example there were no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers; in this case you can cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. If there are no page or paragraph numbers and no marked section, leave this information out.

Journal Article - No DOI

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any.  Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. URL [if article is available online, not as part of a library database]

Full-Text Available Online (Not as Part of a Library Database):

Steinberg, M. P., & Lacoe, J. (2017). What do we know about school discipline reform? Assessing the alternatives to suspensions and expulsions.  Education Next, 17 (1), 44–52.  https://www.educationnext.org/what-do-we-know-about-school-discipline-reform-suspensions-expulsions/

Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017)

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page number)

Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017, p. 47)

Full-Text Available in Library Database:

Jungers, W. L. (2010). Biomechanics: Barefoot running strikes back.  Nature, 463 (2), 433-434.

Example: (Jungers, 2010)

Example: (Jungers, 2010, p. 433)

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• Writing Tips

How to Cite Multiple Authors in APA style

3-minute read

• 18th June 2023

According to the Guinness Book of World Records , the highest number of authors to work on a single peer-reviewed academic paper is 15,025. While you may not ever encounter a source with that many authors during your own research , you’ll probably come across works with more than one author.

In this post, we’ll show you how to cite multiple authors in APA style, both in the text and on the reference page.

Creating a Reference List Entry for Two Authors

To write a reference list entry for a work with two authors, follow this basic format when listing the authors:

List the authors by their last names and initials, and use a comma followed by an ampersand to separate the two names. Here’s an example of what this might look like for a book entry:

Citing 3–20 Authors on a Reference Page

APA 7 differs from APA 6 on how to cite 3–20 authors on a reference page. APA 6 requires listing up to six names in full, followed by an ellipsis and the final author’s name. APA 7 requires that you list all the authors’ names, with an ampersand separating the last two. Follow this basic format for up to 20 authors in APA 7:

Here’s what this might look like for a book on the reference page:

Citing More than 20 Authors on a Reference Page

In APA 7, if a work contains 21 or more authors, list the surnames and initials of the first 19, followed by a comma, an ellipsis, and the name of the final author. Follow this basic format:

Note that you should not use an ampersand in this scenario, only an ellipsis.

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How to Cite Multiple Authors in the Text

When writing a narrative citation for a work with two authors, use “and” between the authors’ names rather than an ampersand. Immediately follow the authors’ names with the year of publication in parentheses. For example:

However, for a parenthetical citation , use an ampersand between the authors’ names, followed immediately by a comma and the year of publication. For example:

When citing a work with three or more authors, include the first named author, followed by “et al.” and the year of publication. In a narrative citation, this will look like:

And here’s an example of this in a parenthetical citation:

For direct quotations, you should also include the page number(s) along with the names and year.

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How to Cite Multiple Authors in APA

Last Updated: July 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Cara Barker, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Cara Barker is an Assistant Professor and Research and Instruction Librarian at Hunter Library at Western Carolina University. She received her Masters in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. She has over 16 years of experience working with libraries across the United States. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 159,745 times.

In many social science disciplines, you'll use the citation method of the American Psychological Association (APA) to identify the references you used in your paper. When writing a research paper, you may encounter works that have more than 1 author. To cite multiple authors in APA style, include the names of all authors unless there are more than 6.

Cite Multiple Authors in APA Template

Citing 2 to 6 Authors

• For instance, an author named Francis Leanne Montgomery would be listed as "Montgomery, F. L."
• If the author's middle name or initial is not provided, just use their first initial. For example, "Powell, J."
• Separate names of authors with commas. Check to make sure you have a comma after each last name and after each set of initials. For example: "Sunshine, S. J., Summers, P. T., & Autumnwood, S."

• Alphabetize entries in your reference list by the last name of the first author listed.

• The ampersand is always preceded by a comma. For example: "Sunshine, S. J., & Davis, T."

• For example: "Sunshine, S. J., Summers, P. T., & Autumnwood, S. (2010)."
• There is no comma between the last author's initial and the opening parenthesis.

• If the work also has a subtitle, include it after a colon. You'll also capitalize the first word of the subtitle.
• The title may be in italics, depending on the type of work you're citing. This stays the same regardless of the number of authors. For example, a book title would be italicized, but an article in a scholarly journal would not be italicized.

• For example, if you're citing a book written by 3 authors, your citation might be "Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association."

Citing 7 or More Authors

• Keep the names of the authors in the order they are listed on the title page of the book.

• Check your word processing app for an ellipsis style function – it looks like it's just a string of 3 periods, but they are spaced further apart than regular periods.

• For example: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D."
• For example: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D. (2015)."
• For instance: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D. (2015). Creating APA citations for multiple authors."

• For instance: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D. (2015). Creating APA citations for multiple authors. London: Johnson Publishing Group."

Writing In-Text Citations

• Use an ampersand (&) before the last author's name if you are doing a parenthetical citation. If you're incorporating the authors' names into your text, you would spell out the word "and." For example: "(Sunshine, Clark, & Lane, 2010)" or "This truth is reflected in the work of Sunshine, Clark, and Lane."
• If the work has more than 5 authors, you would simply list the last name of the first author, followed by the Latin abbreviation "et al." For example: "(Lane et al., 2014)".

• For example, a parenthetical in-text citation might read "(Sunshine, Summers, & Autumnwood, 1984)."

• For example: "(Sunshine et al., 2010)."

• For example: "(Lane, Clark, & Winters, 2016, p. 92)."

• Use the word "and" immediately before the last author's name. Make sure you have a comma after the next-to-last authors' name as well.
• For example: "According to Sunshine, Summers, and Autumnwood (2010), pizza is a great afternoon snack."
• If there are more than 5 authors, use the first authors' name followed by the Latin abbreviation "et al." when you mention them in your text, just as you would in the parenthetical citation. For example, "Sunshine et al. (2010) further described the value of pizza."

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• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/author-date
• ↑ https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA/journal-article-7-or-more-authors
• ↑ https://morningside.libguides.com/APA7/authors
• ↑ https://research.moreheadstate.edu/c.php?g=107001&p=695202
• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext

About This Article

To cite multiple authors in APA in text, list the last names of the authors in parentheses at the end of the sentence you're sourcing, followed by the year of publication. You should also use an ampersand instead of writing out "and" before the last author's name. For example, you would write, "(Smith, Clark, & Lane, 2018)." However, if there are more than 5 authors, only list the first author's last name, followed by the Latin abbreviation "et al." Regardless of how many authors there are, you should use "et al." for all subsequent in-text citations. For more tips from our Librarian co-author, like how to cite multiple authors in your bibliography, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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APA Citations (7th ed.)

• General Formatting
• Professional Paper Elements - Title Page
• Student Paper Elements - Title Page
• In-text Citation Basics
• In-text Citation Author Rules

Citing Multiple Works

• Personal Communications
• Classroom or Intranet Resources
• Secondary Sources
• Periodicals
• Books and Reference Works
• Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Conference Sessions and Presentations
• Dissertations and Theses
• Data Sets and Software
• Tests, Scales, & Inventories
• Audiovisual Works
• Audio Works
• Visual Works
• Social Media
• Webpages & Websites
• Basics & Formatting
• Avoiding Plagiarism

Multiple Works

Sometimes, you may be citing sources that share the same ideas or argue for the same viewpoint. In these cases, you may want to cite multiple works in a single in-text citation.

Remember, while this is possible, readers may find long strings of citations confusing.

Only include citations needed to support your immediate point.

When citing multiple works parenthetically, place the citations in alphabetical order, separating them with semicolons.

     (Barton & Bryant, 2015; Calhoun et al., 2018; Goodwin, 2019)

Arrange two or more works by the same authors by year of publication. Place citations with no date first, followed by works with dates in chronological order.

     (Coffey et al., n.d., 2017a, 2017b, 2019)

To highlight the work(s) most relevant to your point in a given sentence, place those citations first within parentheses in alphabetical order. Then insert a semicolon and a phrase, such as "see also," before the remaining citations, which should also be in alphabetical order.

     (Velasquez & Estrada, 2017; see also Carillo, 2016; Macias, 2015; Serrano et al., 2015)

If multiple sources are cited within the narrative of a sentence, they can appear in any order.

     Beltran (2014), Randall (2016, 2017), and Holden and Daughtery (2015) examined...

See pp. 263-264 of the manual for more about citing multiple works.

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• Next: Interviews >>
• Last Updated: Oct 26, 2022 10:46 AM
• URL: https://morningside.libguides.com/APA7

APA 7th Edition Citation Guide

• APA 7th Edition Home
• Formatting the Paper Itself
• When and What to Cite

In-Text: Multiple Authors

• In-Text: First and Subsequent Citations
• In-Text: Authors and Dates Matching
• In-Text: Direct Quotations
• In-Text: Secondary Sources
• Reference Examples: Print
• Reference Examples: Electronic
• Reference Examples: Audiovisual Media
• Step 1: Author (Names)
• Step 2: Date
• Step 3: Titles
• Step 4: Source
• Help and Training
• Related Guides

This citation guide is based on The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed., 2020). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.

Content in this guide was copied with permission from Bethel University (TN) Library .

How to Use This Guide

Citations in APA style include two parts: (1) in-text citations, which are connected to (2) reference list citations.

This guide will help you create in-text citations that correlate with the corresponding reference list citations. Please see Reference Examples  for more details on the reference list.

Note: All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper except for Personal Communications and similar unrecoverable sources.

Multiple Authors

If you are citing a source that has multiple authors, follow these basic steps.

Two Authors

Always cite both authors' names in-text every time you reference them.

Johnson and Smith (2009) found...

Three or More Authors

If a document has three or more authors, simply provide the last name of the first author with "et al." from the first citation to the last.

Thomas et al. (2007) likened abnormal psychology to...

... distractions (Thomas et al., 2007).

• << Previous: In-Text Citations
• Next: In-Text: First and Subsequent Citations >>
• Last Updated: Feb 16, 2024 4:01 PM
• URL: https://utsouthwestern.libguides.com/APA7

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Journal Article with 2 Authors

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with 1 Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
• Journal Article 21 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

What is a DOI? A DOI ( digital object identifier ) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

NOTE: It is regarded as the most important part of the citation because it will accurately direct users to the specific article.

Think of it as a "digital fingerprint" or an article's DNA!

The rules for DOIs have been updated in the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. They should be included as URLs, rather than just the alphanumeric string.

Correct:  

• http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
• http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-114

Incorrect:     

• doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
• Retrieved from http://doi:10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
• FREE DOI Look-up (Cross-Ref)
• DOI System: FAQ
• Looking up a DOI
• DOI Flowchart

Journal Article with Two Authors (p. 198)

Helpful Tips:                 

DOI: If a journal article has a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) listed, you will always include this identifier in your reference as a URL.

Online Database: For works from databases that publish works of limited circulation (such as the ERIC database) or original, proprietary material available only in that database (such as UpToDate), include the name of the database or archive and the URL of the work. If the URL requires a login or is session specific, meaning it will not resolve for readers, provide the URL of the database or specific archive home page or login page instead of the URL for the work.

Print: If you viewed a journal article in its print format , be sure to check if it has a DOI listed. If it does not, your reference to the article would end after you provide the page range of the article.

Date: When possible, include the year, month, and date in references. If the month and date are not available, use the year of publication.

General Format 

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): 

(Author Surname & Author Surname, Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Author Surname & Author Surname, Year, page number)

References:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume (issue), page range. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxxx

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Sillick & Schutte, 2006)

(Sillick & Schutte, 2006, p. 43)

Sillick, T. J., & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate between perceived early parental love and adult happiness. E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 2 (2), 38-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010800

ePub Ahead of Print

ePub Ahead of Print  articles, also labeled  Advanced Online Publication  articles, may not have a volume number, issue number, or page numbers assigned to them. If you cannot find a fully published version of the article that includes this information, you can cite the article as an advanced online publication, noting its status where you would usually include the volume, issue, and page numbers. If possible, update your reference to the final version of the source when it becomes available.

Muldoon, K., Towse, J., Simms, V., Perra, O., & Menzies, V. (2012). A longitudinal analysis of estimation, counting skills, and mathematical ability across the first school year.  Developmental Psychology . Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028240

Subject Guide

• << Previous: Journal Article with 1 Author
• Next: Journal Article with 3–20 Authors >>

• Last Updated: Feb 6, 2024 11:45 AM
• URL: https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA

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Citation Guides

• APA: Introduction
• APA: Articles
• APA: Websites and Software
• APA: Film, TV, Video
• APA: Images, Photographs
• APA: Talon, Guidelines, Policies, Emails
• APA: In-text Citations

In-Text Citations for APA Style

In-text citations examples for various authors and situations.

• APA: References Page Formatting
• MLA: Articles
• MLA: Websites
• MLA: Social media (Instagram, TikTok, etc.)
• MLA: Film, TV, Video, Audio
• MLA: Photos, Images, Artwork
• MLA: Talon, Self-citing, Interview
• MLA: Generative AI, ChatGPT
• MLA: Formatting
• MLA: In-text Citations
• MLA: Tutorials
• MLA: Details on core elements
• Citation Managers
• Chicago Style

What is an in-text citation and how is it different from the Reference List citation?

APA style uses a two-part system, where each source used will have an in-text citation and a reference list citation. The in-text citation appears within the narrative of your work and is a shortened version of the reference list citation, which appears after the end of the narrative. The in-text and reference list citation will both include the author's name and the date published. See APA website for a detailed discussion of in-text citations. 

When should I use an in-text citation in my writing?

Use an in-text citation when you summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote a source. If it isn't your original idea, cite it. In-text citations are generally placed at the end of a sentence.

What information is included in the in-text citation?

In-text citations include the author's last name(s) and the year of publication. It also includes the page number if citing a direct quotation. If the author's name and the year are included in the sentence this is called a "narrative citation" and no in-text citation in parentheses is needed.

In what order do I put the quotation mark, parentheses and period?

In-text citations are generally placed at the end of a sentence. The period at the end of the sentence comes after the closing parenthesis. If there is a direct quotation, the quotation mark goes before the parentheses. For example:

• (Smith, 1972).
• "...in treatment" (Smith, 1972, p. 81).

However, if the in-text citation follows a block quote, the period goes at the end of the sentence instead, before the parentheses of the in-text citation.

How do I cite something that the source quoted? That is, a second-hand or secondary source?

Generally it is good practice to track down the original source, if possible, and quote it directly. If this isn't an option, use the phrase "as cited in". For example:

• Brown (as cited in Jones, 2010) wrote that...

(Luna, 2020)

According to Luna... (2020).

Two authors

(Salas & D'Agostino, 2020)

According to Salas and D'Agostino... (2020).

Three or more authors

• Use the last name of the first author, then the phrase "et al." to indicate that there are more authors found in the reference list citation.

(Martin et al., 2020)

According to Martin et al.,... (2020).

Group author

• The first time you include an in-text citation for a group author, write out the whole name. If the group's name is very long, also include an abbreviation in brackets right after. When you cite it after that, you may just use the abbreviation instead of writing out the whole name.

(Stanford University, 2020)

(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020)

According to the National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH]... (2020).

(NIMH, 2020)

• If the source has no author given in your reference list citation, use a shortened form of the title.

("Super," 2017, para. 5)

• A source with no date is handled in the same way as in the reference list citation, with "n.d." 

(Trask, n.d.)

Personal communications

• Sources that are from personal communications or other unpublished communication not available to your audience do not need a reference list citation, but do still need an in-text citation.
• Give the first initial and last name of the person you communicated with.

"I was stationed at Pearl Harbor" (J. Rivera, personal communication, March 24, 2019).

Direct quotations

• When including a direct quotation include the author and year as usual. After the year, include a page number (p. 82), a paragraph number (para. 5), or a timestamp for audio or video recording (4:30)

Bede and Xing found that "the most commonly prescribed treatment is often ineffective" (2015, p. 10).

"The crowd laughed loudly and long" (Johnson, 2015, para.23)

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• Next: APA: References Page Formatting >>
• Last Updated: May 1, 2024 2:20 PM
• URL: https://guides.kirkwood.edu/citation

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