In the 7th edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) format, in-text citations are used to give credit to the sources of information or ideas that you incorporate into your writing. The format for in-text citations varies depending on the number of authors and the type of citation you are using.
Here are the main formats for in-text citations:
1. Single Author:
- Parenthetical citation: (Author's Last Name, Year).
- Example: (Smith, 2020)
- Narrative citation: Author's Last Name (Year) states that...
- Example: Smith (2020) states that...
2. Two Authors:
- Parenthetical citation: (Author1's Last Name & Author2's Last Name, Year).
- Example: (Smith & Jones, 2020)
- Narrative citation: Author1's Last Name and Author2's Last Name (Year) found that...
- Example: Smith and Jones (2020) found that...
3. Three or More Authors:
- Parenthetical citation: (Author1's Last Name et al., Year).
- Example: (Smith et al., 2020)
- Narrative citation: Author1's Last Name et al. (Year) suggest that...
- Example: Smith et al. (2020) suggest that...
4. No Author (Use Title):
- For sources without an identifiable author, use the title (shortened if necessary) in place of the author's name.
- Parenthetical citation: ("Title of Work," Year).
- Example: ("Climate Change Effects," 2020)
- Narrative citation: According to "Title of Work" (Year)...
- Example: According to "Climate Change Effects" (2020)...
- Parenthetical citation: ("Title of Work," Year).
5. Multiple Works by the Same Author:
- When citing multiple works by the same author published in the same year, differentiate them by adding a letter (a, b, c, etc.) after the year.
- Example: (Smith, 2020a; Smith, 2020b)
6. Citing a Specific Page or Range:
- If you are referencing a specific part of a source, include the page number(s):
- Parenthetical citation: (Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number).
- Example: (Smith, 2020, p. 15)
- Narrative citation: Author's Last Name (Year) states that... (p. Page Number).
- Example: Smith (2020) states that... (p. 15).
- Parenthetical citation: (Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number).
Remember, all in-text citations should correspond to an entry in your reference list at the end of your document.