Skip to Main Content

APA 6th referencing style

A guide to using the APA 6th referencing style.

One work by one author

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format (Author last name, Year) (Author last name, Year)
Example

.....finding information (Berkman, 1994)

OR

Berkman (1994) claimed that …

....finding information (Berkman, 1994)

OR

Berkman (1994) claimed that …

Reference list

 

Format

Author(s) – last name and initials.
Example

Berkman, R. I. (1994). Find it fast: How to uncover expert information. New York, NY: Harper Perrenial.

One work with two authors

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format (Author last name & Author last name, Year) (Author last name & Author last name, Year)
Example

(Kendall & Watson, 2015)

Kendall and Watson (2015)

(Kendall & Watson, 2015)

Kendall and Watson (2015)

Reference list

Format

List both author names - last name, initials. Use & between the author names. 
Example

Moir, A., & Jessel, D. (1991). Brain sex: The real difference between men and women. London, England: Mandarin.

One work with three to five authors

In-text reference:

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

(Author last name, Author last name, Author last name, & Author last name, Year)

Author last name, Author last name, Author last name, and Author last name, (Year)

 (First Author last name et al., Year)
Example

(Hoges, Jensen, Olsen, & Forgan, 2013)

Hoges, Jensen, Olsen, and Forgan  (2013)

(Hoges et al., 2013)

Hoges et al. (2013)

Reference list

Format

List all author names - last name, initials.

Use & between last two author names.
Example

O'Keefe, J. H., Bell, D. S. H., & Wyne, K.L. (2009). Diabetes essentials. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

One work with six or more authors

In-text reference

Format

(First author last name et al., Year)

First author last name et al. (Year)
Example

(Johnson et al., 2016)

Johnson et al. (2016)

Reference list

Six or seven authors

Format

List all author names - last name, initials.

Use & between last two author names.
Example

Churchill, R., Ferguson, P., Godinho, S., Johnson, N. F., Keddie, A., Lets, W., & Mackay, J. (2013). Teaching: Making a difference. Sydney, Australia: Wiley.

Eight or more authors

Format

Cite the last names & initials of the first six authors then follow with a comma and three spaced ellipsis points (. . .), then the last author’s name. 
Example

Johnson, L., Lewis, K., Peters, M., Harris, Y., Moreton, G., Morgan, B., . . . Smith, P. (2005). How far is far? London, England: McMillan.

Authors with same last name

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

(First author - first name initial. last name, Year)

First author - first name initial. last name  (Year)

(First author - first name initial. last name & second author - last name, Year)

First author - first name initial. last name and second author - last name (Year)

(First author - first name initial. last name, Year)

First author - first name initial. last name (Year)

(First author - first name initial. last name & second author - last name, Year)

First author - first name initial. last name and second author - last name (Year)
Example

(J. P. Lewis, 2007)

J. P. Lewis (2007) argues that….

(R. Lewis & Morgan, 2007)

R. Lewis and Morgan (2007) stated that...

(S. Lewis, Johnson, & Edwards, 2015) found that .....

S. Lewis, Johnson, and Edwards (2015) found that .....

 

(J. P. Lewis, 2007)

J. P. Lewis (2007) argues that….

(R. Lewis & Morgan, 2007)

R. Lewis and Morgan (2007) stated that...

(S. Lewis et al., 2015) found that .....

S. Lewis et al. (2015) found that .....

Include each first author’s initials in all citations. Do this for the first author only when there are multiple authors in a single reference. 

Initials are included even if year of publication differs.

For more than two authors, use as format as required by APA 6th (see above examples)

Different authors with same last name and first initial

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

(Author - full first name last name, Year)

Author - full first name last name (Year) has argued that ....

 

(Author - full first name last name, Year)

Author - full first name last name (Year) has argued that ....

 
Example

(Jessica Lewis, 2017)

Jessica Lewis (2017) has argued that ....

(James Lewis, 2014)

James Lewis (2014) notes that ....

(Jessica Lewis, 2017)

Jessica Lewis (2017) has argued that ....

(James Lewis, 2014)

James Lewis (2014) notes that ....

Reference List

  • Use author(s) full first name in square brackets if there are different authors with the same last name and first initial
  • Place the first name after the first name initial eg. Lewis, J. [Jessica]

Work with groups as authors (with known abbreviation)

Also known as corporate authors

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

(Group Name [abbreviation], Year)

Group Name (abbreviation, Year)

(Abbreviation, Year)

Abbreviation (Year)
Example

(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2012)

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, 2012)

(AIHW, 2012)

AIHW (2012)

Groups as authors include government departments, professional associations, company names, organisations

Work with groups as authors (no abbreviation)

Also known as corporate authors

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

(Group Name, 2015)

Group Name (2015)

(Group Name, 2015)

Group Name (2015)
Example

(Tourism Queensland, 2016)

Tourism Queensland (2016)

(Tourism Queensland, 2016)

Tourism Queensland (2016)

Work with no author(s) or editor(s)

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

("First words of article, chapter title", Year)

"First words of article, chapter title" (Year)

(Title of book, journal, Year)

Title of book, journal (Year)

("First words of article, chapter title", Year)

"First words of article, chapter title" (Year)

(Title of book, journal, Year)

Title of book, journal (Year)
Example

("Social media", 2013)

"Social media" (2013)

(Social media security, 2014)

Social Media Security (2014)

("Social media", 2013)

"Social media" (2013)

(Social media security, 2014)

Social Media Security (2014)

For title of article, chapter or web page with no author, use double quotation marks ".....". 

For the title of a journal, book, brochure or report with no author, italicise the title. 

Work with Anonymous designated as author

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

(Anonymous listed as author name, 1996)

Anonymous listed as author name (1996)

(Anonymous listed as author name, 1996)

Anonymous listed as author name(1996)
Example

(Anonymous, 1996)

Anonymous (1996)

(Anonymous, 1996)

Anonymous (1996)

Only ever use Anonymous when it is the listed author. If no author is listed, use the title. See "Work with no author(s) or editor(s)".

Abbreviating groups as authors

“The names of groups that serve as authors (eg. corporations, associations, government agencies…) are usually spelled out each time they appear in a text citation. The names of some groups are spelled out in the first citation and abbreviated thereafter. In deciding whether to abbreviate the name of a group author, use the general rule that you need to give enough information in the text citation for the reader to locate the entry in the reference list without difficulty. If the name is long… and the abbreviation is familiar…, you may abbreviate the name in the second and subsequent citations. If the name is short or if the abbreviation would not be readily understandable, write out the same each time it occurs”. (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 176)

Group author - organisation, association, company, government department

Example

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

One work with multiple authors with same last name & same year

In-text reference

  First Use Subsequent Uses
Format

(Author last name, Author last name, Author last name & Author last name, 2017)

Author last name, Author last name, Author last name and Author last name (2017)

Follow usual format required for number of authors.

(Author last name, Author last name, Author last name et al., 2017)

Author last name, Author last name, Author last name et al. (2017)

Follow usual format required for number of authors.
Example

(Harris, Lewis, Peterson, & Kendall, 2017)

Harris, Lewis, Johnson, and Taylor (2017)

Include author last name and as many of the subsequent author last names to distinguish them.

 

(Harris, Lewis, Peterson et al., 2017

Harris, Lewis, Johnson, et al. (2017)

Include author last name and as many of the subsequent author last names to distinguish them. For remaining authors, replace with et al.