Use the author–date citation system to cite references in the text in APA Style. In this system, each work used in a paper has two parts: an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry.
In-text citations may be parenthetical or narrative.
The format of the author element of the in-text citation changes depending on the number of authors and is abbreviated in some cases.
The following table shows the basic in-text citation styles:
Author type | Parenthetical citation | Narrative citation |
---|---|---|
One author |
(Luna, 2020) |
Luna (2020) |
Two authors |
(Salas & D’Agostino, 2020) |
Salas and D’Agostino (2020) |
Three or more authors |
(Martin et al., 2020) |
Martin et al. (2020) |
Group author with abbreviation First citation a Subsequent citations |
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020) (NIMH, 2020) |
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2020) NIMH (2020) |
Group author without abbreviation |
(Stanford University, 2020) |
Stanford University (2020) |