The author-date format of APA in-text citations provides a helpful structure for giving credit to sources. However, some cases may not fit this standard format, such as when dealing with multiple authors, sources without publication dates, or incorporating more than one source in a single sentence. Explore the following sections to learn more about handling these common in-text citation variations.
When citing sources with multiple authors or organizations as authors, or even those without a known date or author, use the author-date format typical of APA style. However, you may need to apply some slight variations.
When using a source with two authors, include both last names in every citation in your writing.
For narrative citations, use the word “and” between the names.
Dusek and Spates (2023) noted the need for increased funding for technology in schools.
For parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between the author’s last names.
Schools would benefit from increased technology funding (Dusek & Spates, 2023).
For a source with three or more authors, list the first author and “et al.” (meaning, “and others”) for all citations.
Here is how this would look for a source authored by Sookochoff, Lai, and Bakke, published in 2023, for both a narrative and parenthetical citation.
There is no comma between the author's last name and "et al." The period goes only after the "al.”
Sometimes et al. can create confusion if you have multiple sources that could shorten to the same citation. The APA Style website provides guidance on how to handle these special cases.
Cite Works That Shorten to the Same “Et Al.” Form (APA Style)
If a group, organization, or government agency is the author, you may use that information in place of the author’s name.
Sometimes, organization names can be reduced to abbreviations. However, you should introduce the abbreviation as part of your first citation of that source. After that, you may use the abbreviation.
First parenthetical citation:
Recent health guidelines recommend increased screenings (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023).
Later citation after abbreviation is introduced:
New protocols have improved patient outcomes (WHO, 2023)
First narrative citation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2023) established new screening protocols.
CDC (2023) continues to monitor these outcomes.
To learn about other uses of abbreviations in APA style, review our resource on Abbreviations
For sources with no author listed, use the title and year of publication for citations. In cases where the author is listed as “Anonymous,” you can use that as the author.
When using an article, a chapter, or a web page, place the title in quotation marks. If the title is long, shorten it to the first few words.
Early studies on remote learning showed mixed results ("Distance Education Trends," 2023).
If you are citing a whole journal or periodical, a book, a brochure, or a report, use italics for the title.
Digital Learning in Higher Education (2022) presented evidence for hybrid models.
If a source lists “Anonymous” for the author, use that in place of the author’s name.
The impact of social pressures on academic performance remains significant (Anonymous, 2023).
For a source with no date, use “n.d.” in place of the year to signal “no date.” This is used in both narrative and parenthetical citations.
There may be times when several studies come to the same conclusions, multiple authors discuss the same fundamental concepts in your field, or one author publishes several studies in the same year. In these cases, you'll need to slightly modify how you handle citations.
You might come across the same information in multiple sources. In these cases, you may want to cite multiple works in one citation to show the various sources that have the information you’re citing.
For parenthetical citations, list each source alphabetically by the first author, which is the same order the sources appear in your reference list. Each source is separated by a semicolon.
Several studies have linked reading comprehension skills to strong writing skills (Cappell, 2012; Lenard & Swann, 2009; Richardson, 2012).
For narrative citations, you can list the sources in alphabetical order, but APA allows for some discretion here, so you can list the sources in whichever order you prefer.
Cappell (2012), Lenard and Swann (2009), and Richardson (2012) linked reading comprehension skills to strong writing skills.
Be cautious when citing multiple sources in one citation. Including too many sources can be distracting and difficult to follow, so only cite those directly relevant to your immediate point.
When authors publish more than one work in the same year, it's common for them to explore similar topics. This can lead to situations where you need to cite multiple sources by the same author (or authors) from the same year.
To reduce confusion for your readers and clearly identify which source you’re referring to, you’ll need to add a lowercase letter (like “a” or “b”) after the year in the citations.
The lowercase letters are assigned when the sources are arranged in alphabetical order by title in the reference list.
In some situations, you may want to incorporate information from sources like interviews, emails, translated works, previous assignments, or republished material. Each of these situations will require some special considerations for citations.
Personal communications may include private letters, memos, some electronic communications (like e-mails), personal interviews, and telephone conversations. The defining characteristic of personal communication is that readers cannot access it. Because of this, personal communication is cited in the text but not included in the references list.
In parenthetical citations, use the words "personal communication" and the exact date that the personal communication occurred.
Fruity candy is much better than chocolate (J. Smith, personal communication, October 10, 2024).
In narrative citations, add the words “personal communication” with the exact date in parentheses. You don’t need to repeat the source’s name in parentheses.
J. Smith proudly stated that fruity candy is much better than chocolate (personal communication, October 10, 2010).
Participant interviews in a doctoral capstone study are treated differently from personal communication. The APA Style website and Form and Style Editors have additional guidance for doctoral students.
Citing a source within a source (citing a secondary source) is generally acceptable within academic writing if these citations are kept to a minimum. You should use a secondary source only if you are unable to find or retrieve the original source of information.
Imagine you found a quotation from Culver that you wish to use in your paper. However, you found this information in Jones and were unable to locate Culver’s original article. In this scenario, Culver would be the primary source, and Jones would be the secondary source.
You will mention the primary source in your text (Culver), but the reference list and citations will credit the secondary source (Jones) that you read.
According to Culver (2006, as cited in Jones, 2009), learning APA "can be tough, but like any skill, it just takes practice" (p. 23). In addition, the mastery of APA increases an author's chance of scoring well on an assignment (Culver, 2006, as cited in Jones, 2009).
Include only the secondary source in your reference list.
OASIS offers additional resources to help you identify and understand secondary sources.
Include the original publication date and the republish date for translated, reprinted, republished, and reissued works. Separate the dates with a forward slash (/).
If you have published writing, such as articles in a local newsletter or blog, follow APA rules for citations by using your name as the author, just like you would with other sources.
If you are considering the reuse of previously submitted Walden coursework for a new course or term, there are specific guidelines. OASIS has a resource dedicated to reusing your work that also discusses important connections to the Walden Student Code of Conduct.
OASIS