References and In-Text Citations in APA Style 7th ed.

By Joan Boersma and Meagen Chorney

1. The in-text citation for works with three or more authors (instead of six) is
now shortened for all citations (including the first). Include only the first
author’s name and “et al.”.

6th ed. First citation: (Taylor, Kotler, & Johnson, 2018)

7th ed. First citation: (Taylor et al., 2018)

2. Citations for Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions of Indigenous

Peoples has been added. If the source is published, it should be cited and
referenced by its source type (but should be analyzed carefully for the
accurateness and appropriateness of its content). If the source is oral, use
an adjusted personal communication citation including nation/specific
Indigenous group, location, and other relevant details.

7th ed. We spoke with Anna Grant (Haida Nation, lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
personal communication, April 2019) about . . .

3. The publisher location (books) is no longer included in the reference.

*When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher as well.

6th ed. Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in
personal change. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
7th ed. Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in
personal change. Simon & Schuster.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (7th ed.).

4. Surnames and initials for up to 20 authors (instead of seven) must be

provided in the reference list. For sources with 21+ authors, replace all
authors after the 19th (except the final) with ellipses, followed by the final
author.

6th ed. Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S.
T., … Lee, L. H. (2018).
7th ed. Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T.,
Lewis, F., Lee, L. H., Cox, G., Harris, H. L., Martin, P., Gonzalez, W. L., Hughes, W.,
Carter, D., Campbell, C., Baker, A. B., Flores, T., Gray, W. E., Green, G., … Nelson,
T. P. (2018).

5. DOIs are formatted as hyperlinks. The label “DOI:” is no longer necessary.

To make a DOI hyperlinked, add the https://doi.org/ before the actual DOI
(the number starting with 10.). Use the https://doi.org/ beginning rather
than older versions, such as http://dx.doi.org/

6th ed. doi: 10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449

7th ed. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449
6. URLs are no longer preceded by “Retrieved from”.

6th ed. Worland, J. (2015, July 27). U.S. flood risk could be worse than we thought.
Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/3973256/flooding-risk-coastal-cities/
7th ed. Worland, J. (2015, July 27). U.S. flood risk could be worse than we
thought. Time. https://time.com/3973256/flooding-risk-coastal-cities/

7. Do not include database information for works from most academic

research databases (eg. CINAHL, EBSCOhost, Medline, Ovid, Science
Direct, Wiley). It is assumed that both students & instructors have access
to the same databases. Provide a DOI (if available) or omit the retrieval
information if a DOI is not available.

One Author 7th ed. (No DOI)

Anderson, M. (2018). Getting consistent with consequences. Educational Leadership, 76(1),
26-33.

Group of authors 7th ed. (DOI available)

De Vries, R., Nieuwenhuijze, M., Buitendijk, S. E., & the members of Midwifery Science Work
Group. (2018). What does it take to have a strong and independent profession of
midwifery? Lessons from the Netherlands. Midwifery, 29(10), 1122-1128.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2013.07.007

8. Include the word ‘Article’ before an article number or eLocator for a journal
article without a page range.

6th ed.
Burin, D., Kilteni, K., Rabuffeti, M., Slater, M., & Pia, L. (2019). Body ownership increases the
interference between observed and executed movements. PLOS ONE, 14(1),
e0209899.
7th ed.
Burin, D., Kilteni, K., Rabuffeti, M., Slater, M., & Pia, L. (2019). Body ownership increases the
interference between observed and executed movements. PLOS ONE, 14(1), Article
e0209899.

9. Article from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Treat like

periodical articles but give the database in the Reference list in italics.

Mehrholz, J., Pohl, M., Platz, T., Kugler, J., & Elsner, B. (2018). Electromechanical and robot-
assisted arm training for improving activities of daily living, arm function, and arm
muscle strength after stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006876.pub5

10. Article from the UpToDate database. Treat like periodical articles but give
the year of the last update; include a retrieval date and URL. *A retrieval date
is appropriate in this case because the entries in the database are intended to change
frequently.

Morey, M.C. (2019). Physical activity and exercise in older adults. UpToDate. Retrieved July
22, 2019, from https://www-uptodate-com.athena.rrc.mb.ca:2047/contents/practical-
guidelines-for-implementing-a-strength-training-program-for-
adults?search=physical%20activity%20and%20exercise%20in%20older%20adults&s
ource=search_result&selectedTitle=2~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=2
11. Ebooks from academic databases are treated the same as print books. Do
not include database information. *Include a DOI or non-database URL if
available.

6th ed. Zeanah, C. H. (2019). Handbook of infant mental health. New York, NY: The Guilford
Press. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.athena.rrc.mb.ca:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk
&AN=1843598&site=eds-live

7th ed. Zeanah, C. H. (2019). Handbook of infant mental health. The Guilford Press.

12. Webpages (including gray literature, reports, news websites, organizational

websites) are referenced slightly differently than periodicals. An article
should only be considered a webpage when it does not fit into any other
reference category. Italicizing of the title and source of a webpage is
opposite to the italicizing of a periodical (journal, magazine, newspapers,
blogs).

7th ed. (Online Newspaper Article - Periodical)

Guarino, B. (2017, December 4). How will humanity react to alien life? Psychologists have
some predictions. The Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speakingofscience/wp/2017/12/04/how-will-
humanity-react-to-alien-life-psychologists-have-some-predictions

7th ed. (News Article – Webpage on a Website)

Avramova, N. (2019, January 3). The secret to a long, happy, healthy life? Think age-
positive. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/health/respect-toward-elderly-leads-
to-long-life-intl/ndex.html

13. Clear guidelines are provided for including contributors other than authors
and editors. When citing a podcast episode, the host of the episode should
be included; when citing a TV series episode, the writer and director of that
episode are cited.

7th ed. Vedantam, S. (Host). (2015-present). Hidden brain [Audio podcast]. NPR.
https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain

14. For dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia entries, use the source as
author (if there is no person as author), not the entry/title. Provide a
retrieval date if the dictionary entries are intended to frequently change
(such as the Merriam-Webster website).

6th ed. Self-report. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-report

7th ed. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Self-report. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved

July 12, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-report
 15. Dozens of examples are included in Chapter 10 for online source types
such as podcast episodes, social media posts, and YouTube videos. The
use of emojis and hashtags are also explained.

Inclusive and Bias-Free Language

Reduce bias around topics such as gender, age, disability, racial and ethnic identity,
and sexual orientation, as well as being sensitive to labels and describing individuals at
the appropriate level of specificity. Some examples include:

16. The singular “they” or “their” is endorsed as a gender-neutral pronoun.

6th ed. A researcher’s career depends on how often he or she is cited.

7th ed. A researcher’s career depends on how often they are cited.

17. Instead of using adjectives as nouns to label groups of people, descriptive

phrases are preferred.

6th ed. The poor

7th ed. People living in poverty

18. Instead of broad categories, use exact age ranges that are more relevant
and specific.

6th ed. People over 65 years old

7th ed. People in the age range of 65 to 75 years old

APA Paper Format

Different paper format guidelines for professional and student papers.

19. Increased flexibility regarding fonts:

Options include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, and
Georgia 11.

20. The running head is omitted in student papers but may be requested by an
instructor. If used, the running head is identical on all pages including the
title page. No ‘Running head:’ notation on the title page.

6th ed. (Title page) Running head: THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE ON THE INTERNET
7th ed. (Title page) THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE ON THE INTERNET
21. Student title page guidelines are updated. Title on the title page is bold with
an extra space between the title and author’s name; no student number;
department is added to the school; date is added.

6th ed. Nursing Student Paper Title

Student Name
Student Number
Red River College
Course Name
Instructor: Instructor Name

7th ed. Nursing Student Paper Title

Student Name
Nursing Department, Red River College
Course Name
Instructor Name
Date

22. Title of paper and references headings are both first level (bold, centered,
title case).

6th ed. Title of Paper

(Introduction here)

References

(Reference list here)

7th ed. Title of Paper

(Introduction here)

References

(Reference list here)

23. Heading levels 1-3 are usually sufficient for the length and depth of student
papers. Updated format for level 3. (see tables at end of document)

24. Tables and figures have standardized formatting. Above the table or figure,
place a bold table/figure number (i.e. Table 1 or Figure 1) with a title under
it (italicized, title case). A note can be added below the table or figure.

7th ed. Table 1 / Figure 1

Example of a Proper Table or Figure

(Actual Table or Figure Here)

Note. Provide any necessary information about the table here.

Mechanics of style
25. Use only one space after a period at the end of a sentence.

26. Use double quotation marks to refer to linguistic examples (e.g. APA
endorses the use of the singular pronoun “they”) instead of italics.

6th ed. APA endorses the use of the singular pronoun they
7th ed. APA endorses the use of the singular pronoun “they”

Headings

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association: The official guide to APA style (7th ed.).

Streefkerk, R. (2019). APA Manual 7th edition: The most notable changes. Scribbr.
https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-seventh-edition-changes/