APA Style Guide: In-Text Citations and Reference Formatting
American Psychological Association (APA) Referencing and Citation Style · Also known as: APA 7th edition, APA citation, author-date citation
APA (American Psychological Association) Style is a citation and formatting standard widely used in psychology, education, social sciences, and increasingly in health sciences. APA uses author-date in-text citations (e.g., Smith, 2021) linked to a reference list at the end of the manuscript. The 7th edition (2020) is the current standard and requires DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for all works that have one. APA style covers not only citations but also manuscript formatting (margins, spacing, headings, figure captions), promoting consistency and clarity across scholarly communication.
Read the full method
Sign in with a free account to read this section.
Method map
The neighbourhood of related methods — select a node to explore.
When to use it
Use APA style in psychology, education, social sciences, nursing, health sciences, and increasingly in business and economics. Many journals in these fields explicitly require APA style in author guidelines. If your target journal requires APA, use it. If a journal accepts multiple styles, choose APA if you are writing for a primarily North American or social sciences audience. Never mix citation styles (e.g., APA in-text citations with Vancouver reference list). Check the journal's author guidelines for any modifications to standard APA (some journals have minor variations).
Strengths & limitations
- Author-date transparency: readers immediately see who said it and when, supporting critical evaluation and the ability to assess recency.
- Ease of reading: narrative citations ('Smith found that') flow naturally in academic prose, improving readability compared to numbered systems.
- DOI requirement: ensures stable, machine-readable references; reduces broken links and enables automated cross-referencing.
- Flexible in-text citation: can embed citations in narrative (narrative style) or at sentence end (parenthetical style) depending on writing flow.
- Comprehensive formatting guide: APA covers not just citations but manuscript formatting, tables, figures, and accessibility, promoting consistency.
- Verbose reference list: full format (author, year, title, publisher, DOI) is longer than some systems (e.g., Vancouver), increasing manuscript length.
- Complex for multiple authors: et al. rule (three or more authors) means many citations look identical to readers; nuance is hidden.
- Capitalization conventions: sentence case for article titles can obscure important terms (e.g., 'the COVID-19 pandemic' vs 'The COVID-19 Pandemic'), and varies across languages.
- No page numbers in many in-text citations: paraphrases lack page numbers (though optional), making it harder to locate specific passages.
- Frequent updates: APA updates the style guide periodically; institutions and journals may lag in adopting new editions.
Frequently asked
Do I need to include the DOI even if I found the article on a database like Scopus or Web of Science?
Yes. The DOI is a permanent identifier assigned by the publisher; it is the same whether you found the article through a database, publisher's website, or Open Access repository. Always use the DOI in the reference list. Do not use URL if DOI is available (APA 7th edition). The format is: https://doi.org/10.XXXX/XXXXX.
How do I cite a book chapter in APA?
Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. chapter pages). Publisher. https://doi.org/10.XXXX/XXXXX. Example: Smith, J. (2021). The role of memory. In A. Jones (Ed.), Cognitive psychology today (pp. 45-67). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1234/cognitive.2021. Use 'Ed.' for one editor, 'Eds.' for multiple.
What if a source has no author, such as a government report or website?
Use the organization name as the author. Government source: National Institutes of Health (2020). Research guidelines on experimental design. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Website with organization author: World Health Organization. (2023). COVID-19 pandemic response. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/... If the organization is long, use the acronym in subsequent in-text citations: (NIH, 2020).
How should I handle works in press or under review?
For accepted manuscripts not yet published: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (in press). Title of article. Journal Title. For works under review or submitted: cite as: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (manuscript submitted for publication). In-text: (Author & Author, manuscript submitted for publication). Note: do not cite unpublished work unless it is essential; reviewers may not be able to verify claims.
Should I include the issue number if the journal has continuous pagination across volumes?
No. Include the issue number only if the journal paginates each issue separately (i.e., Issue 1 starts at p. 1, Issue 2 starts at p. 1, etc.). Format with issue: Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page-range. Format without issue: Journal Title, Volume, page-range. Example with issue: Psychology Today, 45(2), 12-18. Example without issue: Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 45, 123-139.
Can I shorten the author list in subsequent citations?
Yes. On the first in-text citation, list all authors up to 20. For all subsequent citations (including the first if there are more than three authors), use et al. Example: First citation: (Smith, Jones, Brown, & Lee, 2021) if 4 authors. Subsequent: (Smith et al., 2021). For two authors, always cite both (Smith & Jones, 2021).
Sources
- American Psychological Association (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 978-1-4338-3216-1
- American Psychological Association (2023). APA Style Guide. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/ link ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 3). American Psychological Association (APA) Referencing and Citation Style. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/academic-writing/apa-style-guide
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- IMRaD StructureAcademic Writing↔ compare
- Journal Submission ProcessAcademic Writing↔ compare
- Scientific Writing ClarityAcademic Writing↔ compare
- Vancouver Referencing StyleAcademic Writing↔ compare