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How to cite in APA when there are no authors

This article covers how to cite in APA Style (7th ed.) when there are no known authors for a reference or when the author is unknown or cannot be reasonably determined. Before treating a reference as though it has no author, consider whether a group or organization (such as a government agency, association, nonprofit organization, business, hospital, task force, or study group) could be the author by checking the cover or title page.

Citing in-text when there are no authors

APA 7th ed. uses the author-date citation system for citing references in-text. In parenthetical citations, this structure includes the author’s last name and the publication year (with a comma separating them) in parentheses. In narrative citations, the author’s last name is incorporated into the sentence. This formatting applies if your source has one author or if you are citing a source with multiple authors in APA .

Parenthetical citation for source with author:

(Author Last Name, Year Published)

(Cheung, 2013)

Narrative citation for source with author:

Author Last Name (Year Published)

Cheung (2013)

If a reference has an unknown author, the title of the work substitutes as the author name in the in-text citation.

  • The title should have each significant word capitalized (basically sentence case).
  • This means it is part of a larger work (like when citing a journal article from a journal in APA ).
  • If the source title is italicized in the reference list entry, italicize the title in the in-text citation (example: books when cited in APA ).

No author, source title italicized:

(Source Title , year published)

( Park Avenue Summer , 2019)

No author, source title in quotes:

(“Source Title,” year published)

(“22 New Apple Varieties,” 1997)

Author designated as “Anonymous”

Only use the capitalized word “Anonymous” in place of the author’s name when it’s overtly designated, not as a general substitute for a reference with an unknown author.

“Anonymous” as author name:

(Anonymous, year published)

(Anonymous, 2020)

Citing in the reference list when there are no authors

To add a reference with no author to the reference list, first move the title of the reference to the author position in your citation . For further information on creating reference list citations, see this guide on APA citations.

Reference list examples:

Park avenue summer. (2019). Penguin Random House.

22 new apple varieties. (1997). Food Magazine . https://foodmag.com/article/1997/22-new-apple-varietites

If the reference is overtly signed “Anonymous,” then you can add the entry to the reference list as if “Anonymous” were the author’s last name.

Anonymous. (2020). Navigating the high seas. Sea Life. https://sealife.gov

Alphabetizing the reference list for sources with no known author

Reference list entries without an author are alphabetized by the first significant word of the title.

  • Ignore the words “A,” “An,” and “The” when putting your reference list in order.
  • Begin the entry with the word “Anonymous” only if the work is signed “Anonymous.”
  • If the reference has no author and is not signed “Anonymous,” then you can alphabetize it in the reference list based on the work’s title.
  • If the title begins with a number, alphabetize the reference as though the number were spelled out. For example, you would alphabetize the number 22 as though it were written as the word “twenty-two.”

Alphabetical order of reference list example:

22 new apple varieties. (1997). Food Magazine . https://foodmag.com/article/1997/11/new-apple-varietites

Published October 28, 2020.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

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Citation Examples

  • Book Chapter
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  • Website (no author)
  • View all APA Examples

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To cite a source with no author or no date in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the title of the work, publisher if it is a book reference or volume and page details if it is a journal reference, and/or URL (uniform resource locator). The templates and examples for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book with no author and a book with no date are given below.

Book with no author

In-text citation template and example:

Books with no author in general, but not always, are given as parenthetical citations. If the book does not have an author, cite it by its title. If the title is too long, shorten the title in the in-text citation. Italicize the title in the in-text citation. Follow title case in the in-text citation even though the book title is in sentence case in the reference list entry. A parenthetical citation might look like this:

( Title of the Book , Publication Year)

( The Cultural Politics of Emotion , 2014)

Reference list entry template and example:

Title of the book . (Publication Year). Publisher.

The cultural politics of emotion . (2014). Edinburgh University Press

The title of the book is in italics and sentence case. While arranging the reference entry alphabetically in the reference list, arrange the entry by treating the title as author name. Remember that articles (A, An, and The), if present at the beginning of the title, should not be considered for alphabetization. When you have a numeral used in the title, consider it to be in the spelled-out form and arrange it accordingly in the reference list.

  Book with no date

If you cite a book without a date, use “n.d.” in place of the year.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cohen (n.d.)

Parenthetical:

(Cohen, n.d.)

Cohen, J. (n.d.). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

To cite a book with no author in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the title of the book, publisher, and/or URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book along with examples are given below:

In-text citation template and examples:

Books with no author in general, but not always, are given as parenthetical citations. If the book does not have an author, cite it by its title. If the title is too long, shorten the title in the in-text citation. Italicize the title in the in-text citation. Follow title case in the in-text citation even though the book title is set in sentence case in the reference list entry. A parenthetical citation might look like this:

( Addressing Uncertainty in Oil and Natural Gas Industry , 2009)

Title of the book . (Publication Year). Publisher. URL

Addressing uncertainty in oil and natural gas industry greenhouse gas inventories: Technical considerations and calculation methods . (2009). American Petroleum Institute. http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/EHS/climate-change/Addressing_Uncertainty.pdf

You need to set the title of the book in italics and sentence case. While arranging the reference entry alphabetically in the reference list, arrange the entry by treating the title as author name. Remember that articles (A, An, and The), if present at the beginning of the title, should not be considered for alphabetization. When you have a numeral used in the title, consider it to be in the spelled-out form and arrange it accordingly in the reference list.

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APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Book with No Author

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Formatting your References

Once you type your references on the reference page, you will need to put in a hanging indent and double-space the entire reference list. In Microsoft Word, highlight the references from A to Z, then find the paragraph function in the Word ribbon. Select Hanging under Indentation and Double under spacing. See the Formatting your References tab for instructions on doing this on a Mac or in Google Docs.

Abbas, D. D. F. (2020). Manipulating of audio-visual aids in the educational processes in Al-Hilla University College. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24 (3), 1248-1263. https://doi.org.db12.linccweb.org/10.37200/ijpr/v24i3/pr200875

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apa citation book with no author

Referencing a book with an unknown or anonymous author

(including encyclopedias and dictionaries with no author).

When referencing a book with neither an individual nor corporate author, use the title of the book in place of the missing author's name  in both the reference list entry and your in-text citations. If the title is especially long, use a shortened version of it in text.

Title of book in italic sentence case . (Date). Name of Publisher.

The complete encyclopaedia of garden flowers .  (2007).   Bateman.

Reference list entry

The complete encyclopaedia of garden flowers .  (2003). Bateman.

Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.

Narrative The Complete Encyclopaedia of Garden Flowers  (2003) depicts ... (p. 19). Parenthetical ... ( The Complete Encyclopaedia of Garden Flowers , 2003, p. 19).

How do I reference a resource with an unknown or anonymous author?

See  Publication Manual  (7th ed.), section 8.14, pp. 264–265.  

Locating the author of a source

A flowchart of steps to determine the author of a source. If the source names an individual as the author, use that person't name when referencing. If the source does not have an individual author but does have the name of a company, organisation, government department, etc., use that as the author when referencing. If neither are present, reference the source as having no author.

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Book with no Author

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

( Book title [usually shortened], Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

( Book title [usually shortened], Year, page number)

References:

Book title: Subtitle. (Year). Publisher.

( Merriam-Webster's , 2005)

( Merriam-Webster's , 2005, p. 3)

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2005). Merriam-Webster.

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Book with No Author

  • If books have no author or editor, they should be alphabetized by the first significant word of the title in your reference list.
  • For in-text citation, use a shortened version of the title, or the whole title if it is short, in place of the author's last name. 
  • Be consistent with your in-text citations through your entire paper.

Example:  

           Reference: 

           The Torah: The five books of Moses (3rd ed.). 2015. The Jewish Publication Society. (Original work published 1962)

           In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

           ( The Torah , 1962/2015)

           In Text Citation (Direct Quote):

           ( The Torah , 1962/2015, p. 746)

Carrie Forbes, MLS

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Page References

Citation information has been adapted from the APA Manual (6th Edition). Please refer to page 264-265, 284, 289, and 325 of the APA Manual (7th Edition) for more information.

Helpful Tips

-Be mindful of hyphenated names, particularly hyphenated first names in your reference list. If an author or editor has a hyphenated first name, include first initials for both separated by a hyphen. For example: Lamour, J.-B. for Jean-Baptiste Lamour.

-If your reference list includes publications by two or more authors with the same last name, you should include the first initial in all in-text citations in order to help the reader avoid confusion.

-Suffixes like "Jr." or "III" are not included in in-text citations but are included in the reference list.

- Electronic books and books from electronic databases are cited exactly the same way print books are, there is no difference. The only time you differentiate is if you use an audio version of the book. 

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Citing a part of a book vs citing the whole book, book with one author (print or ebook from library database), book with two to twenty authors (print or ebook from library database).

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Book with Editor(s), but no Author(s)

Chapters, short stories, essays, or articles from a book (anthology or collection), ebook from a website with one author, ebook from a website with two to twenty authors, open textbook (free online textbook), translated book.

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Two or More Works by the Same Author With the Same Year

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Hanging Indents:

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.

Hyperlinks:

It is acceptable for hyperlinks to be blue and underlined (live) or black without underlining.

All hyperlinks must include https://

Do not put a period after DOIs or hyperlinks.

How Can I Tell if it's a Book in Print or an eBook?

A print book means it's printed on paper. If you checked the book out of a library or bought it from a bookstore, it's print.

An eBook is a book you can read entirely online.

Note that most of the time, references are exactly the same for a print copy of a book and an eBook copy of the same book from a library database.

Editions - What to do when a book has an edition

Some books have specific editions listed. Include the edition  after  the title of the book in the reference list. You do not have to include the edition if it is the first edition. Shorten the word "edition" to "ed.".

Gasher, M., Skinner, D., & Lorimer, R. (2016).  Mass communication in Canada  (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Authors/Editors

An author won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or company, for example Health Canada. These are called group or corporate authors.

If a book has no author or editor, begin the citation with the book title, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.

If an author is also the publisher, put the word "Author" where you'd normally put the publisher name. This happens most often with corporate or group authors.

When a book has one to twenty authors or editors, all authors' names are cited in the Reference List entry. When a book has twenty-one or more authors or editors, 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.

Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title. If there is a colon (:) in the title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.

Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people. Example: Canada

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given . Publisher Name often shortened.

Place of publication is not required when using APA 7th edition.

For eBooks, the database is not required. 

If the book is a numbered edition (for example many textbooks) include this information. See the "Tips" box on this page for an example.

Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given . Publisher Name often shortened. 

Authors' names are separated by commas. Put a comma and an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author cited.

Must include ALL names in the reference list for publications with up to 20 authors.

For library eBooks, the database is not required.

Book With Group or Corporate Author

Name of Corporate Author. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given . Publisher Name often shortened.

If the Corporate Author is also the publisher of the book, omit the Publisher Name.

Editor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Ed.). (Year of Publication).  Title of book: Subtitle if given . Publisher Name often shortened. 

For a book with more than one editor, follow name conventions for a Book with Two to Twenty Authors

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of chapter, article, essay or short story. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if Given. Editor's Last Name (Ed.), Title of book (pp. first page number-last page number). Publisher Name often shortened.

If you have more than one editor list their name(s) after the first editor listed in the book, giving their initials and last name. Put an ampersand (&) before the last editor's name.

When you have one editor the short form (Ed.) is used after the editor's name. If you have more than one editor use (Eds.) instead.

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given . Publisher. URL

Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given . Publisher. URL

No place of publication is required when using APA 7th edition.

Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given . Publisher. URL

APA style does not require you to identify the format of an eBook (PDF, Kindle, ePUB). However, be sure to read your assignment guidelines carefully in case your instructor would like you to include this or any other extra information.

When citing a book that has been translated, you include the translator's information in the References list after the title of the book and add a parenthetical note to the end of the citation. You also adjust the in-text citation as well.

In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors

If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title/name of the item you are citing instead. Follow the title/name of the item with the date of publication, and the continue with other citation details.

Remember : an author/creator may be an organization or corporation, for example Health Canada. If you don't have a person's name as the author, but do have the name of an organization or corporation, put that organization/corporation's name as the author.

If and only if an item is signed as being created by Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name.

When you have no author, use a shortened version of the title where you'd normally put the author's name.

If you're citing something which is part of a bigger work, like an article from a magazine, newspaper, journal, encyclopedia, or chapter/short story from a book, put the shortened title in quotation marks in your in-text citation:

Example, paraphrase: ("A few words," 2014)

If you're citing an entire work, like a book, website, video, etc., italicize the shortened title in your in-text citation:

Example, paraphrase: ( A few words , 2014)

When you are citing two different sources that share the same author and year of publication, assign lowercase letters after the year of publication (a, b, c, etc.). Assign these letters according to which title comes first alphabetically. Use these letters in both in-text citations and the Reference list.

Example In-Text :

This is paraphrased content from the first source by this author (Daristotle, 2015a). "Now I am quoting from the second source by the same author" (Daristotle, 2015b, p. 50).

Example Reference List entries:

Daristotle, J. (2015a). Title of book used as first source . Toronto, ON: Fancy Publisher.

Daristotle, J. (2015b). Title of book used as second source . Toronto, ON: Very Fancy Publisher.

In-Text Citation for Group or Corporate Authors

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APA Citations

In APA Style, there are two elements needed to properly cite each of your sources:

The reference list entry - information about the article that appears at the end of your paper in the list of references

The in-text citation - brief information that appears in the body of your paper to indicate a direct quote or paraphrase.

Several of the examples in this guide were drawn from the APA Manual (6th ed.). 

Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the APA Manual (6th ed.). 

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Book with no Author

How to find the place of publication.

The place of publication is the name of the city where the publisher is located (p. 186).  The place can be found on the title page or verso (back) of the title page. Use the first city listed or the city where the publisher's headquarters is located.

See this example to help you locate a book's place of publication, publisher name, and other info required for an APA citation.

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Examples of formatting an in-text citation for this item are outlined below:

Remember, in-text citation formatting may change depending on a number of factors .

See  Number of Authors , Publication Date , and  Page/Paragraph Number or Heading  for more information.   

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Web Page with No Author

  • General Style Guidelines
  • One Author or Editor
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  • Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
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  • Edition other than the First
  • Translation
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  • Journal Article with 1 Author
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Document from a Web site with no Author

  • When citing sources that you find on the Internet you only need to include a retrieval date if the information you viewed is likely to change over time.  If you reference an article from a news source (e.g., CNN, NBC, Washington Post) or a site that may experience continuous updates, you would then need to include a retrieval date.
  • New in 7th edition: You must include the site name in your citation, unless the site name is the same as the corporate author. For example, a citation of a CDC report would not include the site name.

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  • Beginner’s guide to APA in-text citation

APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing Info

Published on November 4, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on September 30, 2022.

In-text citations briefly identify the source of information in the body text. They correspond to a full reference entry at the end of your paper.

APA in-text citations consist of the author’s last name and publication year. When citing a specific part of a source, also include a page number or range, for example (Parker, 2020, p. 67) or (Johnson, 2017, pp. 39–41) .

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Table of contents

Apa in-text citations explained in 4 minutes, parenthetical vs. narrative citations, apa in-text citations with multiple authors, no author, date or page number, multiple sources in one parenthesis, avoiding ambiguity in apa in-text citations, citing indirect sources (“as cited in”), citing personal communication, general mentions of websites and software, example paragraph with in-text citations, frequently asked questions.

The in-text citation can be placed in parentheses or naturally integrated into a sentence.

  • Parenthetical : There is a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers (Parker, 2019) .
  • Narrative: Parker (2019) found a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers.

The publication year appears directly after the author’s name when using the narrative format. The parenthetical citation can be placed within or at the end of a sentence, just before the period. Check out a full example paragraph with in-text citations .

If a work has two authors, separate their names with an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation or “and” in a narrative citation. If there are three or more authors, only include the first author’s last name followed by “et al.”, meaning “and others”.

Group authors known by their abbreviations (e.g., CDC) are written in full the first time and are abbreviated in subsequent citations.

If the author of a source is unknown, try to determine if there is an organization or government responsible for creating the content. If so, include its name in the in-text citation (and reference entry).

Alternatively, use the source title in place of the author. Italicize the title if it’s italicized in the reference entry (except for court cases , which are italicized in the in-text citation but not the reference entry). Otherwise, enclose it in double quotation marks.

Apply title case capitalization, and shorten long titles. The first word of the title should always be included so readers can easily locate the corresponding reference entry.

  • (“U.S. Flood Risk,” 2015)
  • ( Thinking, Fast and Slow , 2017)

No publication date

If the publication date is unknown, write “n.d.” (no date) in the in-text citation.

No page number (alternative locators)

Page numbers are only required with direct quotes in APA . If you are quoting from a work that does not have page numbers (e.g., webpages or YouTube videos ), you can use an alternative locator, such as:

  • (Liu, 2020, 03:26 )
  • (Johnson, 2019, Chapter 3 )
  • (McCombes, 2016, para. 4 )
  • (Davis, 2016, Slide 15 )
  • (Flores, 2020, Table 5 )
  • (Streefkerk, 2020, “No page number” section )

Note that Bible citations always use chapter and verse numbers, even when page numbers are available:

If a statement is supported by multiple sources, the in-text citations can be combined in one parenthesis. Order the sources alphabetically, and separate them with a semicolon.

When citing multiple works from the same author, list the years of publication separated by a comma.

When in-text citations are ambiguous because they correspond to multiple reference entries, apply the solutions outlined in the table below.

If you want to refer to a source that you have found in another source, you should always try to access the original or primary source .

However, if you cannot find the original source , you should cite it through the secondary source that led you to it, using the phrase “as cited in”.

If the publication date of the primary source is unknown, include only the year of publication of the secondary source.

Only include a reference entry for the secondary source, not the primary source.

Personal communications , such as phone calls, emails, and interviews, are not included in the reference list because readers can’t access them. The in-text citation is also formatted slightly differently.

Include the initials and last name of the person you communicated with, the words “personal communication,” and the exact date in parentheses.

General mentions of a website or software don’t have to be cited with an in-text citation or entry in the reference list. Instead, incorporate relevant information into the running text.

  • The website of Scribbr (www.scribbr.com) contains various useful resources.
  • Statistical software SPSS (version 25) was used to analyze the data.

When citing a webpage or online article , the APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).

If you’re quoting you should also include a locator. Since web pages don’t have page numbers, you can use one of the following options:

  • Paragraph number: (Smith, 2018, para. 15).
  • Heading or section name: ( CDC, 2020, Flu Season section)
  • Abbreviated heading:  ( CDC, 2020, “Key Facts” section)

Instead of the author’s name, include the first few words of the work’s title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, and reports.

If the publication date is unknown , use “n.d.” (no date) instead. For example: (Johnson, n.d.).

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:

Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).

Always include page numbers in the APA in-text citation when quoting a source . Don’t include page numbers when referring to a work as a whole – for example, an entire book or journal article.

If your source does not have page numbers, you can use an alternative locator such as a timestamp, chapter heading or paragraph number.

If you cite several sources by the same author or group of authors, you’ll distinguish between them in your APA in-text citations using the year of publication.

If you cite multiple sources by the same author(s) at the same point , you can just write the author name(s) once and separate the different years with commas, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021).

To distinguish between sources with the same author(s) and  the same publication year, add a different lowercase letter after the year for each source, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021a, 2021b). Add the same letters to the corresponding reference entries .

In an APA in-text citation , you use the phrase “ as cited in ” if you want to cite a source indirectly (i.e., if you cannot find the original source).

Parenthetical citation: (Brown, 1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) Narrative citation: Brown (1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) states that…

On the reference page , you only include the secondary source (Mahone, 2018).

An APA in-text citation is placed before the final punctuation mark in a sentence.

  • The company invested over 40,000 hours in optimizing its algorithm (Davis, 2011) .
  • A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018) .

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Streefkerk, R. (2022, September 30). APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing Info. Scribbr. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/in-text-citation/

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APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)

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In-Text Citations

Resources on using in-text citations in APA style

Reference List

Resources on writing an APA style reference list, including citation formats

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In-text citation

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  • Referencing home

The APA 7th style uses in-text citations when referring to or quoting people’s work. The essential elements of an in-text citation are the author surname/s and year.

Two types of in-text citations

1. author prominent format.

Use this format if you want to emphasise the author. Their name becomes part of your sentence.

Jones (2018) concluded that the treatment was effective in 74% of cases.

Author prominent citations are also referred to as parenthetical citations.

2. Information prominent format

Use this format if you want to emphasise the information. It cites the author’s name, typically at the end of a sentence.

...as evidenced by a recent Australian study of the treatment's effectiveness (Jones, 2018).

Information prominent citations are also referred to as narrative citations.

The following examples show how to form in-text citations according to number of authors and other considerations.

Surname, Year

Hawkins (2020) reported that the results of the study were inconclusive.

. . . the results of the study were inconclusive (Hawkins, 2020).

Two authors

Both surnames in the order listed on the publication and the year.

For author prominent citations, use “and” between the author names.

For information prominent citations, & between the author names.

Bovey and Hede (2013) argue that . . .

. . . is a significant factor (Bovey & Hede, 2013).

Three or more authors

Cite the first author followed by et al. and year

Robbins et al. (2017) note that leadership empathy and good communication are key to negotiating successful organisational change.

They may be required to work harder now there are … perform the same tasks (Robbins et al., 2017).

Different authors, same surname

When two or more authors have the same surname, add their initials to distinguish between them

P. R. Smith (1945) adopted a unique approach . . . . . . later in the text . . . This idea was first advanced by S. Smith (1935).

Research conducted by W.O. Brown and Jones (1985) was influenced by the work of S.A. Brown and Smith (1961).

The corresponding information prominent citations would be:

(P.R. Smith, 1945)

(S. Smith, 1935)

(W.O. Brown & Jones, 1985)

(S.A. Brown & Smith, 1961)

Multiple authors, ambiguous citations

Distinguish identical multiple-author citations with the same year by adding an additional surname, followed by a comma and et al.

Instead of just Brown et al. (1998), add additional author surnames to distinguish between separate works that Brown co-authored that year:

Brown, Shimamura, et al. (1998)

Brown, Taylor, et al. (1998).

The corresponding information prominent citations would be (Brown, Shimamura, et al., 1998), and (Brown, Taylor, et al., 1998).

  • For further guidance see the APA Style website - Citing multiple works…

Same author, two or more works

Author surname, then years separated by a commas, in chronological order.

Reimer (2017, 2018, 2019) considered this phenomenon across various studies . . .

. . . this phenomenon was considered across various studies (Reimer, 2017, 2018, 2019).

Same author, multiple works and same year

Assign a suffix of a, b, c, d, etc. after the year, according to alphabetical listing by title in the reference list.

Stairs (1992b) examined . . . . . . later in the text . . . According to Stairs (1992a) . . .

. . . was recently considered (Stairs, 1992b) . . . . . . later in the text . . . . . . the results were inconclusive (Stairs, 1992a).

  • For multiple references by the same author with no date, after n.d. add a hyphen and then the suffix e.g. (Dreshcke n.d.-b)

Multiple works from various authors

You may want to cite works from various authors to more strongly support a particular point you are making.

List each work alphabetically by surname in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons.

. . . as proposed by various researchers (Adams et al., 2020; Green, 2019; Hall & Clark, 2021).

Green (2019), Adams et al. (2020), and Hall and Clark (2021) analysed . . .

  • In the author prominent citation there is no requirement to order the citations alphabetically

If the author is identified as 'Anonymous'

Use 'Anonymous' as the surname.

Anonymous (2019)

(Anonymous, 2019)

Unknown author

Give the first few words of the title. If the title is from an article or a chapter, use double quotation marks. If the title is from a periodical, book brochure, or report, then use italics.

. . . the worst election loss in the party's history ("This is the end," 1968).

Corporate or group author

If the organisation has a recognisable abbreviation

First listing: Organisation name [Abbreviation], Year Subsequent: Abbreviation, Year

Where the organisation abbreviation is not widely known

Use the name in full every time

Census data gives valuable insights into... (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2021).

Australia's next census will be held on 10th August 2021 (ABS, 2021).

Author quoted directly

Occasionally it may be necessary to include in your work a quotation from an author.

Always include a page number when you have to cite directly from a source.

If no page numbers are available (e.g. in a website), include a paragraph number.

Use accepted abbreviations like p. for page and para. for paragraph

Gittins (2006) suggests that "the key to understanding microeconomics is to realise that its overwhelming focus is on the role of price" (p. 18).

Weston (1988) stated "the darkest days were still ahead" (p. 45).

A patient is in pain when they tell you and "it is important to believe the patient so as to build a trusting relationship" (Phipps et al., 1983, p.45).

Personal communications

Private letters, e-mail and conversations require only an in-text citation, which includes the date of the communication (Month DD, YYYY).

Personal communications are not included in reference lists, as they are not accessible to others.

R. Smith (personal communication, January 28, 2020) . . .

. . . (R. Smith, personal communication, January 28, 2020)

Author referred to in a secondary source

The original author is cited together with the secondary author.

Only do this when the original is unavailable and only include what you have actually read.

Farrow (1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988) . . .

Ward and Decan (1988) cited Farrow (1968) as finding . . .

. . . (Farrow, 1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988).

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  2. Book citation in APA

  3. How do you cite a PDF with no author and no date in APA?

  4. What to do when citing a website with no author?

  5. How do you cite 3 authors in APA 7?

  6. APA Style Citation

COMMENTS

  1. How do you cite a reference to a book when there is no author or editor

    Alphabetize books with no author or editor by the first significant word in the title ( Merriam in this case). In text, use a few words of the title, or the whole title if it is short, in place of an author name in the citation: ( Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 2005). Example (electronic version): Heuristic. (n.d.).

  2. How to cite in APA when there are no authors

    To add a reference with no author to the reference list, first move the title of the reference to the author position in your citation. For further information on creating reference list citations, see this guide on APA citations. Reference list examples:

  3. LibGuides: APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Book with No Author

    References Abbas, D. D. F. (2020). Manipulating of audio-visual aids in the educational processes in Al-Hilla University College. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24 (3), 1248-1263. https://doi.org.db12.linccweb.org/10.37200/ijpr/v24i3/pr200875 Book with No Author Jan 23, 2024 11:38 AM https://irsc.libguides.com/APA

  4. No Author, Date, or Title in APA Style

    Revised on January 17, 2024. Webpage citations in APA Style consist of five components: author, publication date, title, website name, and URL. Unfortunately, some of these components are sometimes missing. For instance, there may be no author or publication date.

  5. How do I cite a source with no author in APA Style?

    When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization—e.g., a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company's website—use the organization's name as the author in the reference entry and APA in-text citations.

  6. LibGuides: APA 7th Edition Referencing Guide1: Book with no author

    When referencing a book with neither an individual nor corporate author, use the title of the book in place of the missing author's name in both the reference list entry and your in-text citations. If the title is especially long, use a shortened version of it in text. Title of book in italic sentence case. (Date). Name of Publisher.

  7. APA Citation Style, 7th edition: No Author

    The following format will be used: In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words. For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue. In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

  8. LibGuides: APA Format & Citation Style, 7th edition: No Author

    General Format In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): ( Book title [usually shortened], Year) In-Text Citation (Quotation): ( Book title [usually shortened], Year, page number) References: Book title: Subtitle. (Year). Publisher. Example In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): ( Merriam-Webster's, 2005) In-Text Citation (Quotation): ( Merriam-Webster's, 2005, p. 3)

  9. APA Citation Style, 7th Edition: No Author

    If books have no author or editor, they should be alphabetized by the first significant word of the title in your reference list. For in-text citation, use a shortened version of the title, or the whole title if it is short, in place of the author's last name. Be consistent with your in-text citations through your entire paper. Example: Reference:

  10. Reference List: Author/Authors

    The following rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors apply to all APA-style references in your reference list, regardless of the type of work (book, article, electronic resource, etc.). Cite your source automatically in APA Cite Using citation machines responsibly Powered by

  11. APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : No Author, No Date etc

    If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title/name of the item you are citing instead. Follow the title/name of the item with the date of publication, and the continue with other citation details. Note: an author/creator won't necessarily be a person's name.

  12. LibGuides: APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Books & eBooks

    Put a comma and an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author cited. Must include ALL names in the reference list for publications with up to 20 authors. Place of publication is not required when using APA 7th edition. For library eBooks, the database is not required. Book With Group or Corporate Author Name of Corporate Author.

  13. How to Cite a Book in APA Style

    Revised on January 17, 2024. A book citation in APA Style always includes the author's name, the publication year, the book title, and the publisher. Use the interactive tool to see examples, or try the free APA Citation Generator to create your citations automatically. Cite a book in APA Style now: Table of contents Basic book citation format

  14. Reference List: Books

    Cite a book automatically in APA Cite book Using citation machines responsibly Powered by Note: If available, APA 7 requires a DOI for all works that have one — whether print or digital. If a print work does not have a DOI do not include it in the reference citation. Basic Format for Books Author, A. A. (Year of publication).

  15. No Author

    APA Citations. The reference list entry - information about the article that appears at the end of your paper in the list of references. The in-text citation - brief information that appears in the body of your paper to indicate a direct quote or paraphrase. Several of the examples in this guide were drawn from the APA Manual (6th ed.).

  16. In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

    Though the APA's author-date system for citations is fairly straightforward, author categories can vary significantly from the standard "one author, one source" configuration. There are also additional rules for citing authors of indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers. A Work by One Author

  17. Book with Editor (s), No Author

    Reference Format In-text Citation Format TEMPLATE: Editor, A. A., Editor, B. B., & Editor, C. C. (Eds.). (Year of publication). Title of work in italics and sentence case: Capitalize first letter of subtitle. Publisher. EXAMPLE: Tart, C. T. (Ed.). (1969). Altered states of consciousness: A book of readings. Wiley. Notes:

  18. APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Web Page with No Author

    When citing sources that you find on the Internet you only need to include a retrieval date if the information you viewed is likely to change over time. If you reference an article from a news source (e.g., CNN, NBC, Washington Post) or a site that may experience continuous updates, you would then need to include a retrieval date.

  19. APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.)

    In-text citations briefly identify the source of information in the body text. They correspond to a full reference entry at the end of your paper. APA in-text citations consist of the author's last name and publication year. When citing a specific part of a source, also include a page number or range, for example (Parker, 2020, p.

  20. APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)

    Basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper Author/Authors Rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors that apply to all APA-style references in your reference list, regardless of the type of work (book, article, electronic resource, etc.) Articles in Periodicals Books

  21. In-text citation

    Two types of in-text citations. 1. Author prominent format. Use this format if you want to emphasise the author. Their name becomes part of your sentence. Example. Jones (2018) concluded that the treatment was effective in 74% of cases. Author prominent citations are also referred to as parenthetical citations. 2.

  22. How do you reference a web page that lists no author?

    When there is no author for a web page, the title moves to the first position of the reference entry: Example: All 33 Chile miners freed in flawless rescue. (2010, October 13). Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809/ns/world_news-americas/ Cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year.