how to cite author with phd apa

How to Reference a Person With a PhD

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As you have probably noticed, many authors of books and articles are learned individuals who have received doctorates. Therefore, you may sometimes find that you need to cite authors who have the suffix "Ph.D." listed after their names. However, if you listed "Ph.D." after the name of every author who had one, your term paper would quickly devolve into alphabet soup. Both American Psychological Association (APA) and Modern Language Association (MLA) styles agree on this point: never include the suffix "Ph.D." after an author's name when you are citing sources.

Omit the suffix "Ph.D." from the author's name when citing sources in your reference list. For example, a book authored by Jordan Jones, Ph.D. would be listed as being authored by Jordan Jones. In MLA style this would appear as: Jones, Jordan. In APA style, this would appear as: Jones, J.

Omit as well any titles such as "Ph.D." from the names of translators, editors, or any other names that might appear in your reference list entries.

Omit titles such as "Ph.D." from your in-text citations as well. Use only the last names of authors, editors and other persons in parenthetical citations. In MLA style, an in-text citation for the work of Jordan Jones, Ph.D. should appear as follows: (Jones 86). In APA, the same citation should appear as follows: (Jones, 2009, p. 86).

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How to cite a PhD thesis in APA

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To cite a PhD thesis in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
• Title of the PhD thesis: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
• URL: Give the full URL where the document can be retrieved from.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a PhD thesis in APA style 6th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis (PhD thesis). Retrieved from URL

If the thesis is available from a database, archive or any online platform use the following template:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Publication number: Give the identification number of the thesis, if available.
• Name of the degree awarding institution: Give the name of the institution.
• Name of Platform: Give the name of the database, archive or any platform that holds the thesis.
• URL: If the thesis was found on a database, omit this element.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a PhD thesis in APA style 7th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis ( Publication number ) [PhD thesis, Name of the degree awarding institution ]. Name of Platform . URL

If the thesis has not been published or is available from a database use the following template:

• Location: Give the location of the institution. If outside the United States also include the country name.

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis (Unpublished PhD thesis). Name of the degree awarding institution , Location .

If the thesis is not published, use the following template:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis [Unpublished PhD thesis]. Name of the degree awarding institution .

APA reference list examples

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a PhD thesis citation in action:

A PhD thesis found in an online platform

Confait, M. F . ( 2018 ). Maximising the contributions of PhD graduates to national development: The case of the Seychelles ( PhD thesis ). Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2060

Confait, M. F . ( 2018 ). Maximising the contributions of PHD graduates to national development: The case of the Seychelles [ PhD thesis , Edith Cowan University ]. Edith Cowan Online Repository . Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2060

An unpublished PhD thesis

Bowkett, D . ( 2015 ). Investigating the ligandability of plant homeodomains ( Unpublished PhD thesis ). University of Oxford , London, UK .

Bowkett, D . ( 2015 ). Investigating the ligandability of plant homeodomains [ Unpublished PhD thesis ]. University of Oxford .

This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ( 6 th edition).

More useful guides

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General Rule:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis  (Publication No. #) [Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Name of Database.

Davis, P. M. (2010). Access, readership, citations: A randomized controlled trial of scientific journal publishing . (Publication No.   3429815 )  [Doctoral dissertation, Cornell University].  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.  

Author, A. A. (year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis  [Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis, Name of Institution]. Name of Website. URL

Buckman, A. (1997). MOOSE Crossing: Construction, community, and learning in a networked virtual world for kids [Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. DSpace@MIT.  https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/33821

Author, A. A. (year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis  [Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis]. Name of Institution.

Long, R.P. (1972). A study of instructional objectives and methods for interpersonal communication. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. West Virginia University.

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• In-Text Citations
• Commonly Used Sources

Author/Authors

One author or editor, 2 authors or editors, 3-20 authors or editors, more than 20 authors or editors, group author, 2 or more works by the same author, 2 or more works by the same author in the same year, additional name formatting rules, video: authors in an apa reference.

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Last name, First initial(s).

Follett, K. (2020). The evening and the morning . Viking.

Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to be antiracist . One World.

Coates, T.-N. (2015). Between the world and me . Spiegel & Grau.

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical: (Follett, 2020)

Narrative: Follett (2020)...

Last Name, First Initial(s)., & Last Name, First Initial(s).

Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2012). Learning, attentional control, and action video games. Current Biology, 22 (6), R197-R206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.02.012

Parenthetical: (Green & Bavelier, 2012)

Narrative: Green and Bavelier (2012)...

Last Name, First Initial(s)., Last Name, First Initial(s)., Last Name, First Initial(s)., & Last Name, First Intial(s).

Primack, B. A., Carroll, M. V., McNamara, M., Klem, M. L., King, B., Rich, M., Chan, C. W., & Nayak, S. (2012). Role of video games in improving health-related outcomes: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 42 (6), 630-638, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.02.023

Parenthetical: (Primack et al., 2012)

Narrative: Primack et al. (2012)...

First 19 authors., . . . Last author.

Arsenault, K. R., Shukla, S., Hazra, A., Getirana, A., McNally, A., Kumar, S. V., Koster, R. D., Peters-Lidard, C. D., Zaitchik, B. F., Badr, H., Jung, H. C., Narapusetty, B., Navari, M., Wang, S., Mocko, D. M., Funk, C., Harrison, L., Husak, G. J., Adoum, A., . . . Verdin, J. P. (2020). The NASA hydrological forecast system for food and water security applications. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101 (7), E1007–E1025. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0264.1

Parenthetical: (Arsenault et al., 2020)

Narrative: Arsenault et al. (2020)...

Full Name of Group.

Full Name of First Group & Full Name of Second Group

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020, April). Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2019 (Report 1085). https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2019/home.htm

Belize Central Statistical Office & U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). 1999 Belize family health survey: Males . https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/8236

Parenthetical:

• (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020)
• (Belize Central Statistical Office & U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001)
• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020)...
• The Belize Central Statistical Office and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2001)...

When no person or group can be identified as the author, the title moves to the author spot in the reference.

Sally spreading torrential rainfall, flooding to Georgia, Carolinas, Virginia. (2020, September 17). The Weather Channel . https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-09-17-tropical-depression-sally-forecast-georgia-carolinas-virginia

In-Text Example

Parenthetical: ("Sally Spreading Torrential Rainfall," 2020)

List the works by order of date, oldest to newest. Works with no dates come before works with dates.

Benjamin, K. (n.d.).

Benjamin, K. (2014).

Benjamin, K. (2019).

• (Benjamin, n.d.)
• (Benjamin, 2014)
• (Benjamin, 2019)
• (Benjamin, n.d., 2014, 2019)
• Benjamin (n.d.)...
• Benjamin (2014)...
• Benjamin (2019)...
• Benjamin (n.d., 2014, 2019)...

First check to see if a specific date for each work can be found and list them in chronological order. Works with only a year should be listed before works with a more specific date (ex: 2020 would come before 2020, September). If two works have the same publication date, organize them alphabetically by the title of the work. Assign letter suffixes to the year so that readers can find the correct reference from the in-text citation (examples (2019a), (2019b) etc.)

Berndt, T. J. (2004a). Children’s friendships: Shifts over a half-century in perspectives on their development and their effects. Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 50 (3), 206-223.

Berndt, T. J. (2004b). Friendship and three A’s (aggression, adjustment, and attachment). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88 (1), 1-4.

• (Berndt, 2004a)
• (Berndt, 2004b)
• (Berndt, 2004a, 2004b)
• Berndt (2004a)...
• Berndt (2004b)...
• Berndt (2004a, 2004b)...

2 Groups as Authors

Hyphenated names, surnames with prefixes, double surnames, names with ii, iii, iv or jr., performance, literary, and celebrity names, social media names, asian names.

Don't use a comma between the two names (unlike the personal names).

• American Psychological Association & National Institutes of Health
• Parenthetical: (American Psychological Association & National Institutes of Health, Year)
• Narrative: The American Psychological Association and National Institutes of Health (Year)...

Keep the hyphens in the names if spelled that way.

• First name, each capitalized: Billie-Jo Goulais would be Goulais, B.-J. (no space between first name initials)
• First name, 2nd one not capitalized: Lee-ann Raboso would be Raboso, L.
• Last name: Julia Louis-Dreyfus would be Louis-Dreyfus, J.
• (Goulais, Year)
• (Raboso, Year)
• (Louis-Dreyfus, Year)
• Goulais (Year)...
• Raboso (Year)...
• Louis-Dreyfus (Year)...

The last name prefixes are included as part of the last name. Include them, keeping the spacing and their preferred capitalization.

• Leonardo Del Vecchio would be Del Vecchio, L.
• Rafael van der Vaart would be van der Vaart, R.
• Bruce McLaren would be McLaren, B.
• Eilidh MacLeod would be MacLeod, E.
• Mary Ann O'Shea would be O'Shea, M. A.
• (Del Vecchio, Year)
• (van der Vaart, Year)
• (McLaren, Year)
• (MacLeod, Year)
• (O'Shea, Year)
• Del Vecchio (Year)...
• van der Vaart (Year)...
• McLaren (Year)...
• MacLeod (Year)...
• O'Shea (Year)...

Some surnames contain more than one part separated by a space.  Many Spanish surnames are formatted this way.  Include all surname parts in both the reference and in-text citation.

Gabriel García Márquez would be García Márquez, G.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón would be Ruiz Zafón, C.

(García Márquez, Year)

(Ruiz Zafón, Year)

García Márquez (Year)…

Ruiz Zafón (Year)…

See also 'Hyphenated Names' tab in this section

When suffixes are part of the name to distinguish them from others of the same name, include them in the reference, but not in the in-text citation. 

• Martin Luther King, Jr. would be King, M.L., Jr.
• John Lucas, II would be Lucas, J., II
• (King, Year)
• (Lucas, Year)
• King (Year)...
• Lucas (Year)...

Do not include titles.

• President Gerald R. Ford would be Ford, G.R.
• Colonel Leslie MacDill would be MacDill, L.
• Christiaan Barnard, MD would be Barnard, C.
• Rachel Maddow, PhD would be Maddow, R.
• (Ford, Year)
• (MacDill, Year)
• (Barnard, Year)
• (Maddow, Year)
• Ford (Year)...
• MacDill (Year)...
• Barnard (Year)...
• Maddow (Year)...

When people are known by a single name, a performance name, or a username, spell it out completely in the same order, not reversing it.

• Lady Gaga would be Lady Gaga (not Gaga, L.)
• Banksy would be Banksy
• Malcolm X would be Malcolm X
• Plato would be Plato
• Fe4RLess would be Fe4RLess
• (Lady Gaga, Year)
• (Banksy, Year)
• (Malcolm X, Year)
• (Plato, Year)
• (Fe4RLess, Year)
• Lady Gaga (Year)...
• Banksy (Year)...
• Malcolm X (Year)...
• Plato (Year)...
• Fe4RLess (Year)...

When social media names include the @ sign, such as on the Twitter and Instagram platforms, use the real name with the @ name in square brackets after. For ones that don’t (Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, etc.), use their real name or if they are only known by their account name, see the example under Performance, Literary, and Celebrity Names .

• @BillGates would be Gates, B. [@BillGates]
• Parenthetical: (Gates, Year)
• Narrative: Gates (Year)...

In some Asian cultures, last names/surnames are listed first, then the first name (Chang Yi-Chun). When publishing in English publications, they may default to the English language order (Yi-Chun Chang). Sometimes the surname is listed in all capital letters (CHANG Yi-Chun). Try to determine the surname. In APA any of the variations of Chang Yi-Chun’s name will be Chang, Y.-C.

2nd Example

• Kim Jong-un would be Kim, J.
• (Chang, Year)
• (Kim, Year)
• Chang (Year)...
• Kim (Year)...

APA 7: Authors in an APA Reference

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.

Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .

Guide Overview

Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.

Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.

Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.

In-text citation example:

• Parenthetical :  (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
• Narrative :  Ames & Doughty (1911)

If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:

• The institution is presented in brackets after the title
• The archive or database name is included

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.

Examples 1:

Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.

In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.

If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.

In-text citation examples :

• Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
• Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL

Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf

Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745

It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.

In-text citation examples:

• Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
• Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
• Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)

We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.

If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.

To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :

• Undergraduate thesis
• Master’s thesis
• Doctoral dissertation

You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .

When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:

• Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
• Year published
• Title of thesis or dissertation
• If it is unpublished
• Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
• Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
• Thesis or dissertation
• Name of institution awarding degree
• DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)

Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.

To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:

• Unpublished thesis or dissertation
• Published thesis or dissertation from a database
• Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database

American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cartmel (2007)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Cartmel, 2007)

Reference list entry template and example:

The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL

Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf

To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:

Author Surname (Year)

Averill (2009)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Averill, 2009)

The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.

Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.

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Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title

See Ch. 10 pp. 313-352 of APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

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Are titles such as doctor included in author's name on the References page?

Author titles such as MD and PhD are not included on the References page or in-text citations in APA Style.

From the APA Blog:

If mentioning an author’s academic credentials or professional title in the text because it is relevant to the discussion, use the format without periods (for example PhD, not Ph.D.)

• Titles may be used in the body of the paper, according to some Instructors at Baker College.
• If the professor at your college says otherwise, follow their advice.

For more examples of APA style, visit the   APA Help guide.

Thank you for using ASK US. For further assistance, please contact your Baker librarians .

• Last Updated May 09, 2023
• Views 39659
• Answered By Baker Librarians

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Comments (4)

• The answer given about the use of titles in text has been difficult to find. A professor at a different college told me to never use authors titles such as "PhD" or "Dr." However, this site states otherwise. Is information about the use of titles in text on an APA website so that I can check for verification? Thanks! by Mary-Ann on Apr 17, 2017
• You are correct that titles are not used in APA for in-text citations or on the References page. A faculty person in the English department at Baker College said that titles may be used in the body of the paper if you wish, but if your professor says otherwise, follow his or her advice. by ASK US on Apr 18, 2017
• What about situations in evaluations when you are noting how a patient was seen by a physician? Example: Which is correct: A: "JohnnyBoy is seen regularly by his pediatrician, Jane Doe, MD., who referred him to optometrist, Isee More, OD." B: "JohnnyBoy is seen regularly by his pediatrician, Dr. Jane Doe, who referred him to optometrist, Dr. Isee More." C: "JohnnyBoy is seen regularly by his pediatrician, Jane Doe, who referred him to optometrist, Isee More." by fosgate3 on Sep 03, 2019
• I found this on the APA Blog: Note that if you do want to mention an author’s academic credentials or professional title in the text because it is relevant to the discussion, you should use the format without periods (e.g., PhD, not Ph.D.) So, your answer of A above is correct, except there would not be period after the MD. by ASK US Librarian on Sep 18, 2019

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Note:  This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here .

APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

Citing an Author or Authors

A Work by Two Authors: Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

Six or More Authors: Use the first author's name followed by et al. in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

Unknown Author: If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks. APA style calls for capitalizing important words in titles when they are written in the text (but not when they are written in reference lists).

Note : In the rare case the "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.

Organization as an Author: If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations.

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-colon.

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works from the same author, list the years of publication in sequence, with the earliest first. Provide in-press citations last. Only list authors' surnames once for each list of dates. 

Following this pattern, multiple works from multiple authors can be contained within a single parenthetical. Separate authors' sources with a semicolon. Note, however, that the authors' names should be provided in the order they appear in the reference list regardless of when their sources were published.

Authors With the Same Last Name: To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year: If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords: When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword in-text, cite the appropriate author and year as usual.

(Funk & Kolln, 1992)

Personal Communication: For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.

Citing Indirect Sources

If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses.

Note: When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma, as above. Also, try to locate the original material and cite the original source.

Electronic Sources

If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.

Unknown Author and Unknown Date: If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the abbreviation "para." followed by the paragraph number (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If the paragraphs are not numbered and the document includes headings, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading. Note that in some electronic sources, like webpages, people can use the "find" function in their browser to locate any passages you cite.

Note: Never use the page numbers of webpages you print out; different computers print webpages with different pagination.

Other Sources

The APA Publication Manual describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the manual does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of APA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard APA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite. For example, a sensible way to cite a virtual reality program would be to mimic the APA's guidelines for ordinary computer software .

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the APA Manual . In cases like this, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.