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APA 7th edition

In-text Citations

 

  • Appear in the body of your paper to signal that an idea, evidence, or finding is not your own. 
  • Correspond with sources listed on the reference list.
  • Provide the author(s) name(s) and the year of publication.
  • Direct quotes include the page number.

 

  • TIP: It is usually easier to do your References first, then use them to write your in-text citations.
Author Type Parenthetical citation Narrative citation
One author (Chopak, 2018) Chopak (2018)
Two authors (Hogan & Hiro, 2017) Hogan and Hiro (2017)
Three or more authors (Chander et al., 2017) Chander et al. (2017)

Group author with abbreviation

First citation

 

Subsequent citations

 

(Alberta Health Services [AHS], 2018)

 

(AHS, 2018)

 

Alberta Health Services (AHS, 2018)

 

AHS (2018)

Group author without abbreviation (NorQuest College, 2019) NorQuest College (2019)

Same author, same year

... (Gill, 2020a, p. 47).

... (Gill, 2020b, p. 58).

Gill ... (2020a).  Gill (2020b) also... .

This table is modeled on the example provided in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. 

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is when you put another person's ideas into your own words. 

When paraphrasing, name the author and include the publication date but you do not have to cite the page number:


Chopak (2018) found that dogs bark to get attention.

OR

Dogs typically bark as a means of seeking attention (Chopak, 2018).



Cite both authors every time; use “and” between the names in the sentence, and an ampersand (&) between the names in the parentheses:

Hogan and Hiro (2017) concluded that …….

OR

(Hogan & Hiro, 2017)



List the first author followed by et al. each time you cite the source:

(Chander et al., 2017)

OR

Chander et al. (2017) confirmed that...



For an organization as author use the full name of the organization within the sentence and the first parentheses:

NorQuest College (2019) proposed that...



Show the abbreviation in square brackets next to the full name the first time it is cited:

(Alberta Health Services [AHS], 2018)

Subsequently, cite the abbreviation:

(AHS, 2018)



If one parenthetical citation includes two or more references, order them the same way they appear in your References list, and separate them with a semi-colon:

(Huang, 2018; Santos, 2020)

Reprinted materials

 

For a reprint of original material where there are two dates, one being the original publication date and the second being the date of publication of the reprint, use both dates in chronological order separated by a slash:

(Solarin, 2016/2020) 

Quotes

Direct quotes should be used sparingly in your papers.

 

If your quote is less than 40 words, put it in "quotation marks". In addition to the author(s) name(s) and year of publication, the page number is included if the citation is for a direct quote: 

As Milaney et al. (2020) stated, "Women’s experiences of homelessness are largely influenced by high rates of adverse childhood experiences and mental health diagnoses" (p. 5). 

OR

(Milaney et al., 2020, p. 5). 

 

If your quote is more than 40 words, the complete quote must be indented another 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) from the left margin. The paragraph will be double-spaced with the page number in parentheses after the final punctuation of the paragraph. There is no punctuation after the parentheses. Block quotes do not have quotation marks, unless there is a quotation within the block quote itself.

Many famous persons have commented on the process of lifelong learning. Krishnamurti (1981) noted the following:

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. (p. 57)

 

If a direct quote is from audiovisual material, cite the screen name/author, publish date, and timestamp:

(16x9onglobal, 2016, 2:09)

 

If a direct quote is from online material without pagination,

  • Cite the paragraph number if there is one: (Healing Lodges, 2013, para. 4).

OR

  • Cite the heading or section and number of the paragraph: (Johnson, 2020, Social Penalty section, para. 3).

OR

  • Cite the chapter: (Bailey, 2021, Chapter 14).

OR

  • If the heading is very long, use a shortened heading title in quotation marks: (Federal Accessibility Legislation Alliance, n.d., "How would organizations" section).

Indirect Quotes

 

Name the original source and include the year of publication in the sentence, but list the secondary source in your reference list and in the parenthetical citation:

Original source author(s)(year) concluded that "...exact words..." (as cited in secondary source author(s), year, p. xx)

Madaki (2016) concluded that "…exact words…." (as cited in Garcie, 2018, p. 55).

 OR

Original source author(s)(year) concluded that ...paraphrase... (as cited in secondary source author(s), year)

Madaki (2016) concluded that …paraphrase… (as cited in Garcie, 2018).

 OR

(Original source author(s)(year), as cited in secondary source author, year)

(Madaki, 2016, as cited in Garcie, 2018).

Editing Quotes

You can make the following changes without an explanation:

  • first letter of the first word in a quotation to upper or lowercase.
  • punctuation at the end of a sentence in order to make it grammatically correct.
  • single quotation marks to double and vice versa.
  • signals to footnotes or endnotes can be removed. 

Three ellipsis points ( . . . ) may be used to indicate that you have omitted words from the original quotation.

Original Sentence:

"Qualitative research tries to gain in-depth understanding of life as it unfolds in a natural setting without manipulating it" (Davies & Logan, 2012, p. 9).

Example:

Qualitative research is a type of research "to gain in-depth understanding of life . . . in a natural setting without manipulating it" (Davies & Logan, 2012, p. 9).



Use a period and 3 points (. ...) if the omission is between two sentence: 

Original Sentence:

"Please note that using a structured questionnaire with a few open-ended items for the participants to state their views and opinions is not "qualitative" research. Although the researcher will use a simplified content coding process similar to methods used in qualitative research, the overall spirit of the study is an attempt to quantify, and thus is considered a quantitative and not a qualitative study."

 

Example (using a period and three spaced ellipsis points):

Davies and Logan (2012) stated that "using a structured questionnaire with a few open-ended items for the participants to state their views and opinions is not "qualitative" research".  ... and thus is considered a quantitative and not a qualitative study" (p. 18).



Use square brackets [ ] to insert an addition or explanation to give a quote context or make it grammatically correct (e.g. capital letter):

Original sentence: There were over a hundred cat staying at the local shelter.

Example (with correct grammar): There were over a hundred cat[s] staying at the local shelter.

Original sentence: "Its members are 22 years old or younger, so it's too soon to tell how Gen Z will fare in the nursing workplace" (College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta, 2018, p. 13)

Example (with explanation): "Its members are 22 years old or younger, so it's too soon to tell how Gen Z [born between mid-1990s to mid-2000s] will fare in the nursing workplace" (College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta, 2018, p. 13).



Tables begin with the word Table followed by an Arabic number, in bold, above the table. This is followed on the line below (double-spaced) by a title in italics, also above the table:

Example: 

Table #

Table Title

Provide a note immediately beneath the table to provide copyright attribution for reprinted or adapted material.
This is the word Note: (in italics) followed by descriptive note(s) for the table, then the source of the table (if not created by the author).

Example:

Note: From [Adapted from] Title of webpage, by A. B. Author and C. D. Author, year. http://url


See Table 7.14 (p. 218)


Table 9

APA 6th edition Research guide Page Hits 2013

Note: Adapted from NorQuest College Library Research Guides Usage Statistics by Springshare Libguides, 2014. http://libguides.norquest.ca/admin_stats.php

  • All abbreviations and special formatting (italics, parentheses, dashes, boldface, etc.) must be explained.
  • Everything is double-spaced in the table title and notes (not the table itself).
  • Within the table every column must have a column head and vertical lines are NOT used (only horizontal).
  • The table must be referred to by number in the text. e.g.: ...as shown in Table 4, the responses of.... Do not say, "in the table above".

Personal Communication

 

For personal communications such as letters, memos, emails, personal interviews and telephone conversations, cite the personal communication in the text, and include the author's initials in addition to the author's last name and provide a date as specific as possible:

Example:

(J.J. Gill, personal communication, December 3, 2018)


Indigenous Elders & Knowledge Keepers

 

Note: This is an internally developed reference template.

Unlike other personal communications, Elders and Knowledge Keepers are cited in-text and in the reference list. The in-text citation should follow the same guidelines noted for a paraphrase or direct quote:

Name of Elder/Knowledge Keeper with year of communication.

Delores Cardinal described the nature of the... (2018).

OR

The nature of the place was... (Cardinal, 2018).

Note: If you would like to approach an Elder or Knowledge Keeper for teachings, remember to follow protocol or if you are unsure what their protocol is, please ask them ahead of time.