Author variations
- Order of authors within a reference: List authors in the order that they appear on the source.
- Surnames: Write the author’s surname exactly as it appears on the source. For example:
Ilčev
Velasco Caballero
Kabat-Zinn.- If uncertain about the proper format for a name, look at the source itself for any guidance or if that does not clarify the name, consult how the author is cited in other sources’ citations, bibliographic database records, the author’s website and so on. For example:
van der Schaft – catalogue indexes author as “van der Schaft, Arjan”
Van der Westhuizen – catalogue indexes author as “Van der Westhuizen, Christi”
Horst, van der – author’s own website has citations as “Horst, van der H.” This is usually the type of format for authors based in continental Europe, as this author is.
- If uncertain about the proper format for a name, look at the source itself for any guidance or if that does not clarify the name, consult how the author is cited in other sources’ citations, bibliographic database records, the author’s website and so on. For example:
- Format of names within a reference: Invert the names of personal authors to put the surname first. Use the initials for forenames. For example:
Veseth, M. – on the source as “Michael Veseth”
Zirpoli, T. J. – on the source as “Thomas J. Zirpoli”.- Forenames with hyphens or parentheses: Include these elements with a full stop after each initial. For example:
Tsui, L.-C. – on the source as “Lap-Chee Tsui”
Andrews, W. (J.) – on the source as “Waimirirangi (Jean) Andrews”.- When the second element of a hyphenated name is lowercase, treat it as a single name. For example:
Tsui, M. – on the source as “Ming-sum Tsui”.
- When the second element of a hyphenated name is lowercase, treat it as a single name. For example:
- Forenames with hyphens or parentheses: Include these elements with a full stop after each initial. For example:
Ministry of Health. (2008). Future directions for eating disorders services in New Zealand
Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga–Ministry of Education & New Zealand Teachers Council–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa. (2011). Tātaiako: Cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners. Ministry of Education. https://teachingcouncil.nz/required/Tataiako.pdf
- Parenthetical citations: (Ministry of Health, 2008; Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga–Ministry of Education & New Zealand Teachers Council–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa, 2011)
- Narrative citations: Ministry of Health (2008) and Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga–Ministry of Education and New Zealand Teachers Council–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa (2011)
- Group authors:
- Write the group author’s name exactly as it appears on the source. For example, World Health Organization (not World Health Organisation).
- List multiple group authors in the order that they appear on the source.
- See also Format of Group Author Names (APA Style website). It explains how to identify the authors of a report and how to handle organisation names that have layers of hierarchy.
- Publisher: When the publisher and the author are identical, omit the publisher element in the reference.
- English and Māori: For organisation names that include both English and Māori names:
- Include both names separated by an en dash (–).
- The order of the names follows that appearing on the source document.
- This guidance is provided by the APA Style Experts (personal communication, February 25, 2020).
Abbreviation in text of group names
You are not required to abbreviate group author names. But you may choose to abbreviate a group author name to avoid cumbersome repetition, provided the abbreviation will appear at least three times in the paper.
- Group name first appears in a parenthetical citation: (Ministry of Health [MOH], 2006)
- Group name first appears in a narrative citation: Ministry of Health (MOH, 2006)
- Subsequent parenthetical citations: (MOH, 2006)
- Subsequent narrative citations: MOH (2006)
- Indicate the abbreviation in the first in-text citation.
- After you define an abbreviation, use only the abbreviation within your text narrative. Do not alternate between spelling out the term and abbreviating it. Use the abbreviation every time after that, including at the beginning of a sentence, at the beginning of a paragraph and within headings.
- The entry in the reference list remains unchanged, however. The group name is spelt out in full name as presented in the source document.
- See also Group Author Abbreviations (APA Style website).
Abbreviation in text of group names that include both English and Māori names
If you choose to abbreviate a group author names that include both English and Māori names, the way you defined the abbreviations depends on whether they appear later in your paper in partial form.
- The en dash (–) is changed to a hyphen (-) in the abbreviated form.
- Note: In the examples below, abbreviations are shown as first defined in in-text citations. It is also possible to define abbreviations first in running text and to use those abbreviations in later in-text citations.
- The guidance in this section is based on that provided by the APA Style Experts (personal communication, December 21, 2022, July 22, 2024).
- If the abbreviations will be used throughout your paper in the same combination, you can define the abbreviations together.
- Group name first appears in a parenthetical citation: (Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga [MOE-TTOTM], 2021)
- Group name first appears in a narrative citation: Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga (MOE-TTOTM, 2021)
- Note: If individual abbreviations have already been defined in the running text or in in-text citations, they can be used directly in in-text citations as in the citations below. They do not need to be redefined when used in combination as shown in the citations above.
- Subsequent parenthetical citations: (MOE-TTOTM, 2021)
- Subsequent narrative citations: MOE-TTOTM (2021)
- Subsequent parenthetical citations for a different source: (MOE-TTOTM, n.d.)
- Subsequent narrative citations for a different source:: MOE-TTOTM (n.d.)
- If the abbreviations will be used individually throughout your paper, define the abbreviations separately.
- Group name first appears in a parenthetical citation: (Ministry of Education [MOE]–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga [TTOTM], 2021)
- Group name first appears in a narrative citation: Ministry of Education (MOE)–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga (TTOTM, 2021)
- Note: If the abbreviations have already been defined in the running text or in other in-text citations, they can be used directly in in-text citations as in the citations below. They do not need to be redefined when used in combination as shown in the citations above.
- Subsequent parenthetical citations: (MOE-TTOTM, 2021)
- Subsequent narrative citations: MOE-TTOTM (2021)
- Parenthetical citations for other sources with the same group author but different naming: (MOE, 2002; TTOTM, 2009; TTOTM-MOE, n.d.)
- Narrative citations for other sources with the same group author but different naming: MOE (2002), TTOTM (2009), and TTOTM-MOE (n.d.)
- Two group authors: Abbreviations are only used for this specific source or any other sources with identical group authors in the same order.
- Group names first appear in a parenthetical citation: (Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga–Ministry of Education & New Zealand Teachers Council–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa [TTOTM-MOE & NZTC-TPKOA], 2011)
- Group names first appear in a narrative citation: Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga–Ministry of Education & New Zealand Teachers Council–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa (TTOTM-MOE & NZTC-TPKOA, 2011)
- Note: If individual abbreviations have already been defined in the running text or in in-text citations, they can be used directly in in-text citations as in the citations below. They do not need to be redefined when used in combination as shown in the citations above.
- Subsequent parenthetical citations: (TTOTM-MOE & NZTC-TPKOA, 2011)
- Subsequent narrative citations: TTOTM-MOE & NZTC-TPKOA (2011)
- Two group authors: One of the group authors is an author or co-author of another work, or one of the group authors is discussed separately in the text narrative.
- Group names first appear in a parenthetical citation: (Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga–Ministry of Education [TTOTM-MOE] & New Zealand Teachers Council–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa [NZTC-TPKOA], 2011)
- Group names first appear in a narrative citation: Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga–Ministry of Education (TTOTM-MOE) and New Zealand Teachers Council–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa (NZTC-TPKOA, 2011)
- Note: If individual abbreviations have already been defined in the running text or in in-text citations, they can be used directly in in-text citations as in the citations below. They do not need to be redefined when used in combination as shown in the citations above.
- Subsequent parenthetical citations: (TTOTM-MOE & NZTC-TPKOA, 2011)
- Subsequent narrative citations: TTOTM-MOE and NZTC-TPKOA (2011)
- Subsequent parenthetical citations for a different source: (NZTC-TPKOA, 2023)
- Subsequent narrative citations for a different source:: TTOTM-MOE (2022)
- Two group authors: One or more of the group authors is an author or co-author of another work, but with only the English or Māori name.
- Group names first appear in a parenthetical citation: (Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga [TTOTM]–Ministry of Education [MOE] & New Zealand Teachers Council [NZTC]–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa [TPKOA], 2011)
- Group names first appear in a narrative citation: Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga (TTOTM)–Ministry of Education (MOE) and New Zealand Teachers Council (NZTC)–Te Pouherenga Kaiako o Aotearoa (TPKOA, 2011)
- Note: If individual abbreviations have already been defined in the running text or in in-text citations, they can be used directly in in-text citations as in the citations below. They do not need to be redefined when used in combination as shown in the citations above.
- Subsequent parenthetical citations: (TTOTM-MOE & NZTC-TPKOA, 2011)
- Subsequent narrative citations: TTOTM-MOE and NZTC-TPKOA (2011)
Ainger, C., & Fenner, R. (2014). Sustainable infrastructure: Principles into practice. ICE Publishing.
Su, C. F., & Picker, M. (Directors). (2001). Mickey Mouse monopoly: Disney, childhood & corporate power [Film]. Media Education Foundation.
- Parenthetical citations: (Ainger & Fenner, 2014, p. 251; Su & Picker, 2001, 20:50)
- Narrative citations: Ainger and Fenner (2014, p. 251) and Su and Picker (2001, 20:50)
- In the reference list entry, give both author names in the order they appear in the source document.
- In parenthetical citations, separate the author surnames with an ampersand (&). In narrative citations, separate author surnames with the word “and”.
Huber, M., Knottnerus, J. A., Green, L., van der Horst, H., Jadad, A. R., Kromhout, D., Leonard, B., Lorig, K., Loureiro, M. I., van der Meer, J. W. M., Schnabel, P., Smith, R., van Weel, C., & Smid, H. (2011). How should we define health? BMJ, 343(7817), Article d4163. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4163
Witten, I. H., Frank, E., & Hall, M. A. (2011). Data mining: Practical machine learning tools and techniques (3rd ed.). Morgan Kaufmann.
- Parenthetical citations: (Huber et al., 2011; Witten et al., 2011, pp. 90–94)
- Narrative citations: Huber et al. (2011) and Witten et al. (2011, pp. 90–94)
- Include all author names in the reference list entry in the order they appear in the source document.
- Separate the last author name from the rest with a comma and an ampersand (&).
- In text, cite only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”
- Occasionally ambiguity arises if there are multiple works published in the same year. See Citing Works That Shorten to the Same “Et Al.” Form (APA Style website) for how to avoid this ambiguity.
Session, A. M., Uno, Y., Kwon, T., Chapman, J. A., Toyoda, A., Takahashi, S., Fukui, A., Hikosaka, A., Suzuki, A., Kondo, M., Heeringen, S. J. van., Quigley, I., Heinz, S., Ogino, H., Ochi, H., Hellsten, U., Lyons, J. B., Simakov, O., Putnam, N., . . . Rokhsar, D. S. (2016). Genome evolution in the allotetraploid frog Xenopus laevis. Nature, 538(7625), 336–343. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19840
- Parenthetical citation: (Session et al., 2016)
- Narrative citation: Session et al. (2016)
- In the reference list entry, include the first 19 authors’ names, insert an ellipsis (…) but no ampersand (&) and then last author’s name. List the author names in the order they appear in the source document.
- Occasionally ambiguity arises if there are multiple works published in the same year. See Citing Works That Shorten to the Same “Et Al.” Form (APA Style website) for how to avoid this ambiguity.
Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (2004). Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other people’s minds. Harvard Business School Press.
- Parenthetical citations: Gardner (1999, 2004)
- Narrative citations: Gardner (1999, 2004)
- Order chronologically in the reference list.
Graham, S. (2006a). Strategy instruction and the teaching of writing: A meta-analysis. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 187–207). Guilford Press.
Graham, S. (2006b). Writing. In P. Alexander & P. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 457–478). Erlbaum.
- Parenthetical citations: (Graham, 2006a, 2006b)
- Narrative citations: Graham (2006a, 2006b)
- See also Citing Multiple Works With Three or More Authors and the Same Date (APA Style website) for how to avoid this ambiguity.
Bolstad, R., & Gilbert, J. (with McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R.). (2012). Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching: A New Zealand perspective: Report prepared for the Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/109306
Morgan, G. (with McCrystal, J.). (2009). After the panic: Surviving bad investments and bad advice. Random House New Zealand.
Plummeridge, C. (with Adams, P.). (2001). Beyond the classroom. In C. Philpott (Ed.), Learning to teach music in the secondary school: A companion to school experience (pp. 222–237). RoutledgeFalmer.
- Parenthetical citations: (Bolstad & Gilbert, 2012, Chapter 4; Morgan, 2009, pp. 213–219; Plummeridge, 2001)
- Narrative citations: Bolstad and Gilbert (2012, Chapter 4), Morgan (2009, pp. 213–219), and Plummeridge (2001)
- This format is also used when a person other than the original author has added a new part to the work, such as a foreword or introduction. See Book published with new foreword by another author (APA Style website).
Reference list
Anonymous. (2017). Stories from my time as a spy. Bond Publishers.
The epic of Gilgamesh (M. G. Kovaks, Trans.). (1998). Academy of Ancient Texts. http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/ (Original work published ca. 2500–2750 B.C.E.)
Overuse of benzodiazepines: Still an issue? (2015, February). Best Practice Journal, (66), 30–35. https://bpac.org.nz/BPJ/2015/February/docs/BPJ66.pdf
- Use sentence case capitalisation for most titles (e.g., the titles of articles and books). Use title case capitalisation for the titles of journals.
- For a missing author, do not use “Anonymous” as the author unless the work is actually signed “Anonymous”. If the work is signed “Anonymous”, use “Anonymous” in the reference and in-text citation.
- When there is no author nor an “Anonymous” author, place the title in the author position.
In-text citations
Anonymous (2017) ... OR ... (Anonymous, 2017)
The Epic of Gilgamesh (ca. 2750–2500 B.C.E./1998) ... OR ... (The Epic of Gilgamesh, ca. 2750–2500 B.C.E./1998).
(“Overuse of Benzodiazepines,” 2015)
- For a missing author, do not use “Anonymous” as the author unless the work is actually signed “Anonymous”. If the work is signed “Anonymous”, use “Anonymous” in the reference and in-text citation.
- When there is no author nor an “Anonymous” author:
- Use a few words of the title (or the whole title if it is short).
- If the title is in italics in the reference (e.g., a book title), write the title in italics. If the title is not in italics in the reference (e.g., an article title), enclose the title in quotation marks.
- Use title case capitalisation (capitals for every major word) in the body of the paper, including in all in-text citations.
For more information on title case and sentence case capitalisation see the APA Style website.
Scott, C. R., & Lewis, L. (Eds.). (2017). The international encyclopedia of organizational communication. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118955567
- Parenthetical citation in narrative text: Research indicates … (Scott & Lewis, 2017)
- Narrative citation in narrative text: Many articles in Scott and Lewis (2017) …
- Reference and cite a whole edited book in this way to direct readers to a relevant reference work.
- The more common situation, however, is to cite encyclopedia and dictionary entries and edited book chapters individually.
