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Streefkerk, R. (2022, September 30). APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing Info. Scribbr. Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/in-text-citation/

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How to cite in APA when there are multiple authors

This article covers how to cite a reference in APA style (7th ed.) when there are multiple authors. Broadly speaking, in an APA style “the author” refers to the person(s) or group(s) who should be given credit for the work being referenced.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

In-text citations when there are multiple authors

Reference list entries when there are multiple authors, troubleshooting.

APA 7th ed. uses the author-date citation system for citing references in text. Unless you are citing a source with no author in APA , the structure in parenthetical citations includes placing the author’s last name/surname, followed by a comma, and the publication year in parentheses. In narrative citations, this information is incorporated into the sentence.

Parenthetical citation for one author:

(Author Last Name, Year Published)

(Curtis, 2020)

Narrative citation for one author:

Author Last Name (Year Published)

Curtis (2020)

Two authors

For a work with two authors, include both authors’ last names in every in-text citation, whether narrative or parenthetical. In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between the authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for two authors:

(1st Author & 2nd Author, Year Published)

(Curtis & Williams, 2020)

Narrative citation for two authors:

1st Author & 2nd Author (Year Published)

Curtis & Williams (2020)

Three or more authors

When citing a journal paper in APA with three or more authors, only enter the last name of the first author listed and add “et al.” after it. “Et al.” is Latin for the phrase “and others,” which is why it is used as a substitute for two or more authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for three or more authors:

(1st Author et al., Year Published)

(Harris et al., 2020)

Narrative citation for three or more authors:

1st Author et al. (Year Published)

Harris et al. (2020)

Here is a page with more information on when to use “et al.” in APA style .

Group authors

The same guidelines for in-text citations apply when the authors of a source are a distinct group or organization such as a government agency, association, nonprofit organization, business, hospital, task force, or study group. To confirm whether a reference was written by individual author(s) or a group, check the cover or title page.

Hint: for an online resource, the author could be the name of the organization hosting the webpage or website, rather than the name of just one content contributor.

Before using an abbreviated group name as the author of your citation, spell out the abbreviation and define the group one time first in the text. Afterward, use the abbreviation of the group name throughout the rest of the paper.

Group author in-text citation examples:

First parenthetical citation with group abbreviation included: (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU], 2020)

Subsequent parenthetical citations: (AJCU, 2020)

First narrative citation with group abbreviation included: The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU] (2020)

Subsequent narrative citations: The AJCU (2020)

Avoiding ambiguity in in-text citations

Sometimes, in-text citations that have three or more authors, some of whom have the same last name, and the same publication year can look like they are the same reference when using the et al. abbreviation. For example, Curtis et al. (2020) could refer to

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Tyler (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, Key, Smith, and Esparza (2020)

To avoid this ambiguity and confusion for the reader, write out as many names as possible for the in-text citation until the references are distinguished, and then add “et. al” to abbreviate the other authors’ names.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, et al. (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, et al. (2020)

When only the final author is different, list all of the names in every citation to avoid any confusion.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Esparza (2020)

APA has slightly different reference structures for different source types (e.g., book, website, journal article, etc.), but each structure generally includes the following:

Author last name, Author initials. (Date Published). Title. URL or DOI if available .

Need more help with citing a particular source? Find further guidance in this APA citations guide.

One or two authors

For references with one or two authors, cite using the four-part structure.

Two individual authors example:

Smith, J., & Jones, S. (1994). Making a movie star. Behind the Scenes Stories: A Journal of Celebrity Life, 44 (2), 192–200. https://doi.org/l4nds0r

One group author example:

The American Marine Society. (2003). Whale mating patterns in the new millennium. The American Marine Society Magazine , 17-20 . https://fams.gov/article/2003/whale-mating-patterns-in-the-new-millennium

2 – 20 authors

In APA 7th ed., up to 20 authors should be included in a reference list entry. Write out the last name and first initial(s) for each contributor.

2–20 authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., Fountain, A. (2020). Styling royalty. London Bridge Press.

21+ authors

For references with more than 20 authors, after listing the 19th author replace any additional author names with an ellipsis ( … ) followed by the final listed author’s last name and first initial(s).

21+ authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., . . . Booker, T. (2020). Eating well: Tips from 23 lifestyle authors. Food Magazine. https://foodmag.com/article/2020/tips-from-22-lifestyle-authors

Solution #1: How to order the names of multiple authors in an APA reference

Authors should be cited in the exact order that they are listed by the source, even if they have not been listed alphabetically.

Solution #2: How to cite an article with more than 20 authors in APA style

If an article has more than 20 authors, all authors do not need to be listed in the reference. Instead, name the first 19, then use an ellipsis (…), then add the name of the final author listed. The ellipsis acts as a substitute for all the names between the first 19 and the final authors. No ampersand (&) is needed before the final name.

For example:

Richards, B.A., Lillicrap, T. P., Beaudoin, P., Bengio, Y., Bogacz, R., Christensen, A., Clopath, C.

Costa, R. P., de Berker, A., Ganguli, S., Gillon, C. J., Hafner, D., Kepecs, A., Kriegeskorte,

N., Latham, P., Lindsay, G. W., Miller, K. D., Naud, R., Pack, C. C., … Kording, K. P. (2019). A deep learning framework for neuroscience. Nature Neuroscience , 22 (11), 1761–1770. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0520-2

When making an in-text citation, only write the first author’s last name followed by “et. al.” This applies to both parenthetical and narrative citations.

(Richard et al., 2019)

Richard et al. (2019)

Solution #3: How to cite an article written by an organization in APA style

Organization as author

When an article is written by an organization, use the typical four-part APA structure (author, date, title, publisher) and cite the organization as the author.

American Nurses Association. (2019). 2018 Annual Report, American Nurse Today, 14 (6), 29-36.

https://www.nursingworld.org/~49d621/globalassets/docs/ana/ana-annual-report-for-

Organization as author and publisher

If the organization that authored an article is also its publisher , omit the publisher’s name in the citation.

In-text citation when an organization is an author

Use the organization’s name as the author. For example:

American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

If an organization’s name is long, abbreviate it by doing the following:

1 st in-text narrative citation: American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

1 st in-text parenthetical citation: (American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

After this distinction is made, abbreviations in-text can be used as demonstrated below:

Narrative citations: The ANA (2019)

Parenthetical citations: (ANA, 2019)

Published October 28, 2020.

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To cite a source with multiple authors and an edition number in APA style, you need to know the names of the authors, title of the book, edition number, and publisher. The in-text citation of a book with multiple authors and an edition number is similar to citing a journal or a book reference with multiple authors. An example of a book reference with three authors and an edition number, along with a template, is given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname et al. (Publication Year)

LeBuffe et al. (2012)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(LeBuffe et al., 2012)

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., & Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Book title (edition number). Publisher

LeBuffe, P. A., Naglieri, J. A., & Manderth, A. (2012). Devereux early childhood assessment for preschoolers (2nd ed.). Kaplan Early Learning Company.

Use numerals to indicate an edition number. The word “edition” is abbreviated as “ed.” Italicize the book title and follow sentence case for capitalization.

Citing a source that has multiple authors with the same last name and same initials is the same as citing a source with different authors. There is no need to add the initials of the authors in in-text citations as all surnames (although the same) appear in a single source. Examples of a book reference with three authors with the same last name and initials and their templates are given below:

Dunn et al. (2007)

(Dunn et al., 2007)

Author Surname, F. & Author Surname, F. (Publication Year). Book title. Publisher.

Dunn, L. M., Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (2007). Peabody picture vocabulary test-IV. American Guidance Service.

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APA Style: Book with three or more authors

Getting Started

Reference List

About Citing Books

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Book With Three Or More Authors

Note : For a work with three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus "et al." in every citation, including the first citation, unless doing so would create ambiguity.

In-text citation (Paraphrase)

(Greig et al., 2013)

In-text citation (Quotation)

(Greig et al., 2013, p. 57)

Provide surnames and initials for up to and including 20 authors. When there are two to 20 authors, use an ampersand before the final author’s name: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. When there are 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors’ names, insert an ellipsis (but no ampersand), and then add the final author’s name.

Greig, A., Taylor, J., & MacKay, T. (2013). Doing research with children: A practical

guide. Sage.

Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., & Author Surname, Initial(s).

(Year). Book title: Subtitle. Publisher.

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APA Citations (7th ed.): In-text Citation Author Rules

Author Rules

APA has different rules for in-text citations depending on:

Look to the right to find rules about each of these circumstances.

Number of Authors to Include in In-text Citations

For a work with one or two authors, include the author name(s) in every citation.

(McCall, 2019)

(Moyer & Hendricks, 2014)

Thornton and Manning (2016)

For a work with three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus "et al." in every citation, including the first citation, unless doing so would create ambiguity.

(Huerta et al., 2019)

Kapoor, Bloom, Montez, et al. (2017)

Kapoor, Bloom, Zucker, et al. (2017)

To learn more about avoiding ambiguity in in-text citations, see pp.266-267 of the manual.

Group Authors, With and Without Abbreviations

Authors may be groups. For example, you may cite a work written by the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH.

If a work is authored by one or two groups, include the group author name(s) in every citation.

(Morningside College, 2019)

(Harvard University & Cambridge College, 2018)

(U.S. Department of Agriculture et al., 2019)

If a group author has an abbreviation, introduce the abbreviation in the first citation. In subsequent citations, use the abbreviation in place of the full group name.

First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2015)

Subsequent citations: (MADD, 2015)

Unknown or Anonymous Author

For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of publication in the in-text citation.

If the title of the work is italicized in the reference list, also italicize the title in the in-text citation. If the title of the work is not italicized in the reference list, use double quotation marks around the title in the in-text citation.

Capitalize titles in in-text citations using title case, even though sentence case is used in the reference list entry.

Book with no author: ( The Future of Entrepreneurship , 2018)

Magazine article with no author: ("Towards a Psychology of Collective Memory," 2015)

When the author of a work is overtly designated as "Anonymous," this takes the place of the author name in the in-text citation.

(Anonymous, 2016)

See pp. 264-265 of the manual for more information.

Works With the Same Author and Same Date

When multiple references have an identical author (or no authors) and publication year, include a lowercase letter after the year. This lowercase letter is also included in the reference entry.

Use only the year with a letter in the in-text citation, even if the reference list entry contains a more specific date.

(LaBlanc & Ibarra, 2019a)

(LaBlanc & Ibarra, 2019b)

(Kirk, n.d.-a, n.d.-b)

Authors With the Same Surname

If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname but have different initials, include the first author's initials in all in-text citations, even if the year of publication differs.

(J. R. Stuart & Frey, 2016; M. Stuart, 2019)

If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname and the same initials, cite the works in the standard author-date format.

(Grant, 2019; Grant & Reese, 2017)

If multiple authors within a single reference share the same surname, the initials are not needed in the in-text citations.

(Chen & Chen, 2018)

APA 7th Edition Guide

Get Help Now

Or try these options:, get help from additional services in the library:, source with two authors.

Rules for citing more than one author apply to all sources, regardless of format. Below is an example of a book with two authors.

Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use an ampersand (&) for parenthetical citations.

Reference Page Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of Publication). Format the remainder according to resource type.

Reference Page Example:

Loveless, D., & Griffith, B. (2014). Critical pedagogy for a polymodal world . Birkhäuser.

In-text Citation Examples:

According to Loveless and Griffith (2014) ... ...(Loveless & Griffith, 2014). ...(Loveless & Griffith, 2014, p. 121).

Source with Three to Twenty Authors

For all sources with three to twenty authors, include all of the authors on your References page.

For in-text citations, sources with three or more authors can be abbreviated to only the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example, (Author et al., Year).

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C. (Year of Publication). Format the remainder according to resource type .

Somerville, I., Purcell, A., & Morrison, F. (2011). Public relations education in a divided society: PR, terrorism and critical pedagogy in post-conflict Northern Ireland. Public Relations Review, 37 (5), 548-555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.09.008

According to Somerville et al. (2011) ... ... (Somerville et al., 2011). ... (Somerville et al., 2011, p. 549).

Source with Twenty-One or More Authors

For sources with twenty-one or more authors, write out the first twenty authors on the References page, add an ellipsis (...), and end with the last author.

For in-text citations, sources with more than twenty authors can be abbreviated to only the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example, (Author et al., Year).

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., Author, T. T., . . . Author, Z. Z. (Year of Publication). Format the remainder according to resource type .

Aad, G., Abbott, B., Abdallah, J., Abdinov, O., Aben, R., Abolins, M., AbouZeid, O. S., Abramowicz, H., Abreu, H., Abreu, R., Abulaiti, Y., Acharya, B. S., Adamczyk, L., Adams, D. L., Adelman, J., Adomeit, S., Adye, T., Affolder, A. A., Agatonovic-Jovin, T., Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A., Alen, S. P., . . . Woods, N. (2015). Combined measurement of the Higgs boson mass in pp collisions at √s=7 and 8 TeV with the ATLAS and CMS experiments. Physical Review Letters, 114 (19), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.191803

According to Aad et al. (2015) ... ... (Aad et al., 2015). ... (Aad et al., 2015, p. 20).

APA Style Guide: Multiple Authors

Multiple Authors

IN-TEXT CITATION FOR A ...

See examples below to learn about how multiple authors for one work are handled in APA parenthetical citations.

Include author's last name and year of publication, separated by a comma, in parentheses:

Studies indicate that polar bear populations will dramatically decline as Arctic ice melts (Jedden, 2006).

Include last name of both authors, separated by the ampersand symbol ('&'), and year of publication:

Polar bears have been used by environmentalists as an icon of climate change in several campaigns. (Joleah & Lamb, 2007).

3-5 Authors

First citation in text: Include last names of all authors, separated by the ampersand symbol ('&'), and year of publication:

Despite dire predictions, polar bear populations have actually increased over the past 50 years (Holden, Michaels, & White, 2008).

Subsequent citations: Include only the last name of the first author, followed by 'et al.', and year of publication IF it is the first citation for that source in a paragraph. If there has already been a citation for this source in a paragraph, omit the year of publication:

Despite dire predictions, polar bear populations have actually increased over the past 50 years (Holden et al., 2008).

Include only the first author’s last name, followed by 'et al.', and year of publication (for first and subsequent citations). If there has already been a citation for this source in a paragraph, omit the year of publication:

Rising temperatures due to climate change are causing Arctic ice to melt at rates never before observed (Jackson et al., 2005).

Author–Date Citation System

Use the author–date citation system to cite references in the text in APA Style. In this system, each work used in a paper has two parts: an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry.

In-text citations may be parenthetical or narrative .

This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition.

Number of authors to include in in-text citations

The format of the author element of the in-text citation changes depending on the number of authors and is abbreviated in some cases.

The following table shows the basic in-text citation styles:

a Define the abbreviation for a group author only once in the text, choosing either the parenthetical or the narrative format. Thereafter, use the abbreviation for all mentions of the group in the text.

Exceptions to the basic in-text citation styles

Dates in a citation

Repeating a citation

When repeating a citation, show the entire citation; do not, for example, include only a page number (the abbreviation “ibid.” is not used in APA Style). Instead, use the following guidelines:

Further guidelines for in-text citations

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