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How to Cite a Lecture in APA

Lecture and PowerPoint presentations are often great sources of information for specific papers. This guide will show you how to cite lectures and PowerPoint presentation slides following APA 7th edition guidelines. The type of lecture (e.g., classroom, conference, etc.) and format of the information (saw lecture, accessed slides, etc.) will determine what citation format you use.

Guide overview

Citing a conference presentation

Citing a classroom presentation/lecture slides.

• Citing a classroom presentation/lecture you watched
• Citing a recorded presentation (video)

Troubleshooting

Presenter #1 Last name, F. M., & Presenter #2 Last Name, F. M. (Year, Month Day of conference). Name of presentation [Presentation format]. Name of Conference, Location. URL

Jacobson, T.E., & Mackey, T. (2013, April 10-13). What’s in the name?: Information literacy, metaliteracy, or transliteracy [Panel session]. Association of College & Research Libraries, Indianapolis, IN, United States. https://www.slideshare.net/tmackey/acrl-2013

In-text citation structure & example:

(Lecture Last Name, Year)

(Jacobson & Mackey, 2013)

If you are citing a classroom presentation file you’ve viewed or accessed, use the following structure.

Lecturer Last name, F. M. (Year, month date). Title of lecture [Description of file type]. Department name, university name. URL

Prosser, M. (2021, October 18). Introduction to rhetorical forms [PowerPoint slides]. English and Modern Languages Department, California Polytechnic State University. https://https://english.calpoly.edu/

(Lecturer Last Name, Year)

(Prosser, 2021)

Citing a presentation/lecture you have watched

If you are citing information you learned through a presentation/lecture you attended, FIRST see if you can find the documented source (e.g., book, article, etc.) the presenter got the information from. If the information is original and the presentation was the primary source, treat the information as personal communication.  This means you ONLY need to cite it in an in-text citation and no reference list entry is needed.

In-text citation structure & examples:

(Presenter First Initial., Last Name, personal communication, Month Day, Year of presentation)

(L. Koerte, personal communication, March 17, 2021)

L. Koerte (personal communication, March 17, 2021)

Citing a recorded presentation/lecture (video)

Cite the recording as you would cite a regular video. The person or channel who uploaded/published the video is credited as the “author” even if they did not conduct the presentation/lecture.

Uploader Last name, F. M. (Year, month date). Title of video [Video]. Website Name. URL

Stanford. (2002, January 13). Einstein’s general theory of relativity | Lecture 1 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbmf0bB38h0

(Uploader Last Name, Year)

(Stanford, 2002)

Solution #1: Citing a presentation that comes from a classroom’s website or learning management system (LMS)

If the slides you are citing come from a classroom website or learning management system (LMS) like Canvas or Blackboard, and you are writing for an audience that has access to the site, then provide the name of the site and the URL for the login page.

Reference page structure:

Last name, F. M. (Date). Presentation title in sentence case [PowerPoint slides]. LMS [email protected] name acronym. Link to login page

Reference page example:

Vincent, P. (2020).  Recognizing rhetorical devices in visual rhetoric  [PowerPoint slides]. [email protected]. https://idp.quicklaunchsso.com/laverne

In-text citation structure: 

Narrative citation: Last Name (Year)

Parenthetical citation: (Last Name, Year)

In-text citation examples:

Narrative citation: Vincent (2020)

Parenthetical citation: (Vincent, 2020)

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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APA Lecture Citation

A lecture is an oral presentation of a topic or information before an audience usually in a class, meeting or symposium.

Table of Content

• 1.1 One Author
• 1.2.1 Two to Seven Authors
• 1.2.2 More than Seven Authors
• 1.3 No Author
• 2.1 General Guidelines
• 3.1 Basic Elements
• 3.2 General Guidelines
• 3.3 Lectures from an Archive
• 3.4 Lecture Notes in Print
• 3.5 Online Lecture Notes
• 3.6 Lecture from a Meeting or Symposia

Citing the Author

Multiple Authors 

Two to seven authors.

More than Seven Authors

Lectures are generally cited in both in-text citation and reference list. However, personal notes from a lecture which are considered as personal communications are only included in the in-text citations since these are non-recoverable data. You will learn more about this and the details of APA lecture citation as you browse through this part.

In-Text Citation

General guidelines.

• The in-text citation is written inside a parenthesis usually with the last name of the author and year of publication, separated by a comma.

(Roberts, 2011)

• If the name of the author is included within the text, write only the year inside the parenthesis.

Roberts (2011)

Personal Notes from a Lecture

Basic Format:     (A. A. Last name of Speaker, personal communication, Date)

A. A. Last name of Speaker (personal communication, Date)

Examples:           1 st citation

(K. L. Stewart, personal communication, December 6, 2004)

K. L. Stewart (personal communication, December 6, 2004)

Subsequent citation

(Stewart, 2004)

Nguyen (2004)

• The date has to be written in this order: month, day, and year.
• Personal communication is indicated within the parenthesis before the date.
• If the name of the author is written within the text, write only personal communication and the date inside the parenthesis.
• In the subsequent citations, only include the last name of the presenter and year.

Reference List

Basic elements.

• Year or Date
• Title of Lecture
• Description of Form
• Location or URL
• Include only the reference information available from the source.
• Italicize the title of the lecture.
• The title may include the unit code, unit name and week number.
• Provide the description of form or file format inside a bracket (e.g. PowerPoint slides, Word document, PDF file).
• For lectures without title, use the subject or description of the lecture.
• Include the URL for lectures retrieved from the web.

Lectures from an Archive

Basic Format:  Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of Material . [Description of material]. Name of Collection (Call number, Box number, File name or number, etc.). Name of Repository, Location.

Example: Berliner, A. ( 1959). Notes for a lecture on reminiscences of Wundt and Leipzig. Anna Berliner Memoirs (Box M50). Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH.

Lecture Notes in Print

Basic Format: Author. (Year). Title of Lecture [Description of Form]. Department, University, Location.

Example: Sonn, C. (2011).  APM5003 : Exploring methodology for psychological research  [Class handout]. School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.

Online Lecture Notes

Basic Format: Author. (Year). Title of Lecture [Description of Form]. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Examples: Roberts, K. F. (1998).  Federal regulations of chemicals in the environment  [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/40hrenv/index.html

Lecture from a Meeting or Symposia

Basic Format: Author. (Year, Month). Title of Lecture. In Organizer (Contribution). Event. Lecture conducted from Sponsor, City.

Example: Kelly, J. (2004, November). Journey to Success. In H. Smith (Chair). Dreams. Lecture conducted from Blue Coal University, Pittsburg, PA.

Note: Instead of the title of the lecture, the name of the event is italicized for lectures from a meeting or symposia. The name of the organizer is written with the initials first followed by the last name.

How to Cite a Lecture or Speech in APA Format

In academic writing , whether it’s a research paper , a lab report, or an essay , citing the sources you use correctly is a critical part of the assignment. “Correctly” means according to the specific citation guide you’re using, like APA , MLA , or The Chicago Manual of Style . 

APA format is typically used for work in psychology , engineering, nursing , and the social sciences. Because of this, the format includes citation guidelines for the kinds of sources students and researchers are likely to encounter, like technical reports and research papers . As a student, you might also find yourself citing a class lecture given by your professor or a guest speaker.  Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

Citing an in-person speech or lecture in APA format

In APA format, like in other style guides, there are two ways to cite a source : in text and in the bibliography. 

In-text citation formats for lectures

In APA format, the only citation you need for content sourced from an in-class lecture is an in-text citation. This receives a simple citation in the following format:

“Content from in-class lecture” (Lecturer’s first initial(s). Last name, personal communication, date of lecture)

“Without nitrogen, the seeds can’t sprout” (I. Schachtel, personal communication, April 6, 2022)

If your content includes the lecturer’s name, either because you’re paraphrasing their lecture or using a direct quote as part of a sentence that includes their name, simply format your in-text citation like this: (personal communication, date of lecture). 

For in-text citations of lectures and speeches that weren’t personal communications between you and the lecturer, the standard format is this: (Lecturer’s last name, year).

However, if you listened to a recording of the lecture, the in-text citation format is this: (Lecturer’s last name, time stamp of the content cited).

There’s no need to start a new paragraph after an in-text citation. 

Reference-page citations for lectures and speeches attended or accessed

If the lecture you’re citing was recorded or transcribed, you must cite it on your reference page. When citing sources on your references page, list them in alphabetical order by the surname of the speaker or author.

The format for citing speeches and lectures on a reference page is as follows: 

Speaker’s last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Lecture title [Speech audio recording]. Name of website where you accessed it. URL of website where it can be accessed

Garcia, L. (2018, February 2). Unraveling string theory [Speech audio recording]. Physics for the Rest of Us. www.physicsfortherestofus.com/ audio- recordings/unraveling-string-theory

For papers presented as lectures, the format for citing them is as follows:

Author’s last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Paper title [Paper presentation]. Conference Name, City, State, Country. URL

Feliz, M. (2021, July 10). Waterproofing Modern Foundations [Paper presentation]. GAIn Academy, Newark, NJ, USA. www.gainacademynj.org/2021/speakers /feliz- waterproofing

Here’s a tip: Grammarly’s  Citation Generator  ensures your essays have flawless citations and no plagiarism. Try it for tricky APA citations like conferences , dissertation abstracts , and famous sayings .

How to cite a remote lecture in APA format

In today’s world, many lectures are delivered via online learning platforms . Here’s how to format your bibliography citations for these: 

Lecturer’s last name, First initial. (Year, Month Day of lecture). Lecture Title  [lecture recording]. Online learning platform. URL of platform’s login page

Hirsch, N. (2020, November 4). Modernizing COBOL [lecture recording]. Code Temple. www.codetemple.com/login/

Similarly, if the lecturer used PowerPoint and delivered the lecture via a learning platform, write “PowerPoint slides” in the bracketed section of this format. 

How to cite a lecture delivered via online slideshow

Citing lectures delivered via PowerPoint Online and Google Slides is similar to citing lectures delivered remotely via online learning platforms. This format is as follows: 

Lecturer’s last name, First initial. (Presentation/slide date). Lecture title  [Lecture’s file format, i.e., PowerPoint or Google Slides]. Name of website. URL

What if there’s no date listed?

In APA format, dates are listed like so:

Month and day, year 

September 9, 2006

When you don’t know the date of the lecture you’re citing, simply write “n.d.” for “no date” in your citation. 

Cite your sources with confidence

No matter what kind of academic writing you’re doing, citing your sources correctly is a critical part of the assignment. Before you submit your work to your instructor, always double-check that your references are cited correctly—and that your work is free from grammatical and spelling mistakes. 

How to Cite a Lecture in APA (7th Edition)

Published by steve tippins on june 23, 2020 june 23, 2020.

Last Updated on: 29th August 2022, 08:24 am

When writing your dissertation or other academic papers, you may have to cite a lecture in APA. Keep these guidelines handy and you will have no problem citing a lecture that your professor delivers.  

Personal lecture notes

The easiest guideline to remember is how to cite a lecture in APA from your own personal notes. 

Lecture notes you take in a live online or face-to-face class are considered personal communication. They are personal communication, because they do not exist in any other  recorded or print format.  

In-text citation 

(Professor’s first initial. Last name, personal communication, date of lecture)

(S. Graham, personal communication, June 17, 2020)

S. Graham (personal communication, June 17, 2020) explained six ways that one can distinguish between interpretation and evidence. 

According to S. Graham (personal communication, June 17, 2020), “there are six ways that one can distinguish between interpretation and evidence.” 

Note: You only need to cite personal communication in-text, and do not have to put it in the References list.

Lecture in online learning management system (LMS) course

A professor’s lecture in a course conducted in an LMS platform may be recorded. To cite a lecture in APA for this type of format, you will need to put the source in the References list.

In-text citation

(Professor’s last name, date of lecture, if no date, n.d.)

(Jimenez, June 17, 2020)

Paraphrase 

According to Jimenez (2017), the first Kuru epidemic occurred in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea among the Fore tribespeople.

Jimenez (2017) stated symptoms of the Kuru disease were “involuntary movements or tremors, difficulty eating that results in malnutrition, personality changes, and dementia.”

Reference list

Professor’s last name, Initial of first name. year, month and day of lecture. Lecture title in italics [Lecture recording]. Type of LMS platform. URL of LMS login page. 

Jimenez, S. (2020, June 17). The Kuru pandemic [Lecture recording]. [email protected] University. https://classes.CRUniv.edu

Lecture on PowerPoint 

To cite a lecture in APA when your professor delivers it via PowerPoint is easy once you have mastered the previous two guidelines. 

(Professor’s last name, year)

(Hayward, 2020)

The epidemic known as “dancing mania” or the dancing plague broke out during the Middle Ages (Hayward, 2020).

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According to Hayward (2020), “there are many chronicles written about scourges of uncontrollable dancing among the population living along the Rhine and Moselle Rivers.”

Professor’s last name, Initial of first name. Year, if no date, then n.d. Title of the PowerPoint presentation in italics [PowerPoint slides]. Type of LMS platform. URL of LMS login page.  

Hayward, D. (2020). Dancing mania epidemic [PowerPoint slides]. [email protected] University. https://classes.CRUniv.edu

PowerPoint slides online

Your professor may post the PowerPoint lecture online, rather than on the course website. To cite a lecture in APA for this type of lecture, you will follow the guidelines for citing a PowerPoint lecture above, but with a minor difference in how it is written in the References list. 

Last name of professor, Initial of first name. Year of publication, if no date, then n.d. Title of PowerPoint in italics [PowerPoint slides]. URL of PowerPoint. 

Knapp, G. (2020). Methylmercury poisoning in Japan [PowerPoint slides]. https://www. net/health-sciences-methylmercury-poisoning

​ Note: You can find more information about how to cite a lecture in APA 7 th edition in section 8.8 and page 347 of the Manual. 

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Lecture/PPT

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with One Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3-7 Authors
• Journal Article 7 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

How to cite from Blackboard?

If you retrieved lecture documents (not a journal article or an item available freely online) through a password protected portal such as Blackboard, you should not include the long URL from the Blackboard entry, instead use the homepage of Blackboard (i.e. Blackboard website: http://blackboard.gwu.edu).

NOTE: When citing online lecture notes, provide the file format in brackets after the lecture title (e.g. [PowerPoint], [PDF] documents).

WRONG: Frank, B. (2015). Lecture 4: Psychophysiology [PowerPoint slides]. https://blackboard.gwu.edu/webapps/blackboard/content  listContent.jsp?course_id=_241832_1&content_id=_6002642_1

Important Note: This format would be used if you were citing a set of notes and/or documents from a lecture (e.g. PDF, Excel, Word document, or PowerPoint slides provided by your instructor).

Tip : Cite information from your own personal notes from a lecture as personal communication and refer to it only in the body of your essay. Follow the format examples for a personal communication available under the Interview section.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname, Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

References:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Lecture title [Format]. URL of website.

(Smith, 2010)

Butera, G. (2017). Lecture 4: Demystifying APA citation [PowerPoint slides]. George Washington University Introduction to Public Health Services Blackboard: http://blackboard.gwu.edu

What are the APA rules for citing references in PPT?

APA has rules to support clear and concise writing and attribution of work but there are areas where they do not have a specific rule - and PowerPoint is one of them.

See: APA Blog " Dear Professor...Your Students Have Questions We Can't Answer"

So how to include references in PPT?  Use the following best practices but please note you should ALWAYS check with your instructor on their APA citation style preferences for PPT.

Question : Should I include my references on each slide or at the end of the PPT?

• Answer: If you include your references on each slide your slide may become too busy with too much text.  This can be distracting to your audience. 
• Best Practice: Consider adding an in-text citation on the slide and include all of your references at the end of the PPT presentation. 

Question: How do I cite an image, table and/or figure on a PPT slide?

• Answer: Use the same guidelines for citing  images/tables/figures in APA in a paper and include your references at the end of the PPT presentation.
• Best Practice: Always include the proper citation directly under the table/figure following APA rules. Use a smaller text size to avoid distraction/too busy slide. (See APA Blog: Navigating Copyright: How to Cite Sources in a Table.

Question: Should my references be double spaced or single spaced?

• Answer: Although APA does require references to be double spaced  you may exercise flexibility and single space the references.
• Best Practice: Use single space and a smaller font size but otherwise follow the APA citation format for references (i.e list in alphabetical order, indent 
• << Previous: Interview
• Next: E-mail >>
• Last Updated: Jan 11, 2023 12:39 PM
• URL: https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA

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APA Citation Guide (7th Edition): Presentations and Class Notes

• Audiovisual Media
• Books and eBooks
• Dictionaries, Thesauruses and Encyclopedias
• Figures and Tables
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In-Text Citation or Reference List?

Handouts distributed in class and presentation slides such as PowerPoint should be cited both in-text and on the Reference list.

Your own notes from lectures are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry on the Reference list.

Presentation Slides from a Website

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of presentation  [Lecture notes, PowerPoint Slides, etc.]. Publisher. URL

Kunka, J. L. (n.d.). Conquering the comma [PowerPoint presentation]. Purdue Online Writing Lab. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.html#presentations

Presentation Slides from WebCampus (Canvas)

Instructor, I. I. (Year Presentation Was Created).  Title of presentation  [PowerPoint presentation]. WebCampus. URL

Graham, J. (2013).  Introduction: Jean Watson  [PowerPoint presentation]. WebCampus. https://unr.instructure.com/login/canvas

Note : The first letter of the word Watson is capitalized as it is part of a person's name.

Class Handouts from WebCampus (Canvas)

Instructor, I. I. (Year Handout Was Created if known).  Title of handout  [Class handout]. WebCampus. URL

Magowan , A. (2013).  Career resources at the library   [Class handout]. WebCampus. https://unr.instructure.com/login/canvas

Class Handout in Print

Instructor, I. I. (Year Handout Was Created if known).  Title of handout  [Class handout]. University Name, Course code.

Wood, D. (2013).  Laboratory safety overview  [Class handout]. University of Nevada, Reno,  BIO173.

Class Lectures (Notes from)

Note : Your own notes from a lecture are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry on the Reference list. Put the citation right after a quote or paraphrased content from the class lecture.

(I. I. Instructor who gave lecture, personal communication, Month Day, Year lecture took place)

"Infections are often contracted while patients are recovering in the hospital" (J. D. Black, personal communication, May 30, 2012).

• << Previous: Personal Communications
• Next: Social Media >>

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• Knowledge Base
• APA Style 7th edition
• Beginner’s guide to APA in-text citation

APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing Info

Published on November 4, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on September 30, 2022.

In-text citations briefly identify the source of information in the body text. They correspond to a full reference entry at the end of your paper.

APA in-text citations consist of the author’s last name and publication year. When citing a specific part of a source, also include a page number or range, for example (Parker, 2020, p. 67) or (Johnson, 2017, pp. 39–41) .

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Table of contents

Apa in-text citations explained in 4 minutes, parenthetical vs. narrative citations, apa in-text citations with multiple authors, no author, date or page number, multiple sources in one parenthesis, avoiding ambiguity in apa in-text citations, citing indirect sources (“as cited in”), citing personal communication, general mentions of websites and software, example paragraph with in-text citations, frequently asked questions.

The in-text citation can be placed in parentheses or naturally integrated into a sentence.

• Parenthetical : There is a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers (Parker, 2019) .
• Narrative: Parker (2019) found a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers.

The publication year appears directly after the author’s name when using the narrative format. The parenthetical citation can be placed within or at the end of a sentence, just before the period. Check out a full example paragraph with in-text citations .

If a work has two authors, separate their names with an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation or “and” in a narrative citation. If there are three or more authors, only include the first author’s last name followed by “et al.”, meaning “and others”.

Group authors known by their abbreviations (e.g., CDC) are written in full the first time and are abbreviated in subsequent citations.

If the author of a source is unknown, try to determine if there is an organization or government responsible for creating the content. If so, include its name in the in-text citation (and reference entry).

Alternatively, use the source title in place of the author. Italicize the title if it’s italicized in the reference entry (except for court cases , which are italicized in the in-text citation but not the reference entry). Otherwise, enclose it in double quotation marks.

Apply title case capitalization, and shorten long titles. The first word of the title should always be included so readers can easily locate the corresponding reference entry.

• (“U.S. Flood Risk,” 2015)
• ( Thinking, Fast and Slow , 2017)

No publication date

If the publication date is unknown, write “n.d.” (no date) in the in-text citation.

No page number (alternative locators)

Page numbers are only required with direct quotes in APA . If you are quoting from a work that does not have page numbers (e.g., webpages or YouTube videos ), you can use an alternative locator, such as:

• (Liu, 2020, 03:26 )
• (Johnson, 2019, Chapter 3 )
• (McCombes, 2016, para. 4 )
• (Davis, 2016, Slide 15 )
• (Flores, 2020, Table 5 )
• (Streefkerk, 2020, “No page number” section )

Note that Bible citations always use chapter and verse numbers, even when page numbers are available:

If a statement is supported by multiple sources, the in-text citations can be combined in one parenthesis. Order the sources alphabetically, and separate them with a semicolon.

When citing multiple works from the same author, list the years of publication separated by a comma.

When in-text citations are ambiguous because they correspond to multiple reference entries, apply the solutions outlined in the table below.

If you want to refer to a source that you have found in another source, you should always try to access the original or primary source .

However, if you cannot find the original source , you should cite it through the secondary source that led you to it, using the phrase “as cited in”.

If the publication date of the primary source is unknown, include only the year of publication of the secondary source.

Only include a reference entry for the secondary source, not the primary source.

Personal communications , such as phone calls, emails, and interviews, are not included in the reference list because readers can’t access them. The in-text citation is also formatted slightly differently.

Include the initials and last name of the person you communicated with, the words “personal communication,” and the exact date in parentheses.

General mentions of a website or software don’t have to be cited with an in-text citation or entry in the reference list. Instead, incorporate relevant information into the running text.

• The website of Scribbr (www.scribbr.com) contains various useful resources.
• Statistical software SPSS (version 25) was used to analyze the data.

When citing a webpage or online article , the APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).

If you’re quoting you should also include a locator. Since web pages don’t have page numbers, you can use one of the following options:

• Paragraph number: (Smith, 2018, para. 15).
• Heading or section name: ( CDC, 2020, Flu Season section)
• Abbreviated heading:  ( CDC, 2020, “Key Facts” section)

Instead of the author’s name, include the first few words of the work’s title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, and reports.

If the publication date is unknown , use “n.d.” (no date) instead. For example: (Johnson, n.d.).

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:

Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).

Always include page numbers in the APA in-text citation when quoting a source . Don’t include page numbers when referring to a work as a whole – for example, an entire book or journal article.

If your source does not have page numbers, you can use an alternative locator such as a timestamp, chapter heading or paragraph number.

If you cite several sources by the same author or group of authors, you’ll distinguish between them in your APA in-text citations using the year of publication.

If you cite multiple sources by the same author(s) at the same point , you can just write the author name(s) once and separate the different years with commas, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021).

To distinguish between sources with the same author(s) and  the same publication year, add a different lowercase letter after the year for each source, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021a, 2021b). Add the same letters to the corresponding reference entries .

In an APA in-text citation , you use the phrase “ as cited in ” if you want to cite a source indirectly (i.e., if you cannot find the original source).

Parenthetical citation: (Brown, 1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) Narrative citation: Brown (1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) states that…

On the reference page , you only include the secondary source (Mahone, 2018).

An APA in-text citation is placed before the final punctuation mark in a sentence.

• The company invested over 40,000 hours in optimizing its algorithm (Davis, 2011) .
• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018) .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

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

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