Notable changes in APA 7th edition
Publisher location
APA 7th
Gray, P., & Bjorklund, D. F. (2014). Psychology (7th ed.). Worth Publishers.
Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564668.001.0001
- Omit publisher location.
APA 6th
Gray, P., & Bjorklund, D. F. (2014). Psychology (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth.
Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564668.001.0001
- Publisher location, full country name or for the U.S. the 2-letter state abbreviation.
Publisher names
APA 7th
Ministry of Health. (2006). Problem gambling intervention services in New Zealand: 2005 service-user statistics (Monitoring Report No. 8).
- Write publisher names as on the work (though omit business designations, e.g. Inc., Ltd., LLC), e.g.
John Wiley & Son. - List all publishers, separated by a semicolon, e.g.
American Psychological Association; De Gruyter Mouton - If the publisher is also the author, do not repeat the publisher name in the source area of the reference.
APA 6th
Ministry of Health. (2006). Problem gambling intervention services in New Zealand: 2005 service-user statistics (Monitoring Report No. 8). Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
- Shorten publisher names for publishing houses, e.g.
Wiley. - List the first publisher only, e.g.
American Psychological Association. - If the publisher is also the author, use Author in the source area of the reference instead of the author name.
ebooks
APA 7th
Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564668.001.0001
Veseth, M. (2010). Globaloney 2.0: The crash of 2008 and the future of globalization (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
- Include the publisher or publishers.
- Give the DOI if available.
- If there is no DOI, give the URL but only if the URL is available to all readers (so not a library database URL).
- If there is no DOI or any URL available to all readers, omit this element from the reference.
APA 6th
Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564668.001.0001
Veseth, M. (2010). Globaloney 2.0: The crash of 2008 and the future of globalization (2nd ed.). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
- Omit the location and publisher.
- Give the DOI if available.
- If there is no DOI, give the URL and if from a library database, the homepage URL of the database.
Illustrated books
Books in which the illustrations are essential to the content (e.g., children’s picture books).
APA 7th
Cowley, J. (2010). Fly pie (P. Webb, Illus.). Scholastic.
- Parenthetical citation: (Cowley, 2010)
- Narrative citation: Cowley (2010)
- Include the illustrator name in parentheses after the title.
- Only the author appears in in-text citations.
- More details on Illustrated Books.
APA 6th
Cowley, J., & Webb, P. (2010). Fly pie. Auckland, New Zealand: Scholastic.
- Parenthetical citation: (Cowley & Webb, 2010)
- Narrative citation: Cowley and Webb (2010)
- List the author and illustrator in the author area of the reference.
- Include both author and illustrator in in-text citations.
- More details on the APA Style blog, 6th edition.
APA 7th
Article title. (Year, Month Day). In Wikipedia. URL
- Parenthetical citation: (“Article Title,” Year)
- Narrative citation: “Article Title” (Year)
- Cite the archived version.
- See the APA Manual, p. 329.
APA 6th
Article title. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL
- Parenthetical citation: (“Article Title,” n.d.)
- Narrative citation: “Article Title” (n.d.)
- Cite the general entry. The template reflects its changeable nature of the source.
- See How to Cite Wikipedia in APA Style (APA Style Blog, 6th edition).
Issue numbers
APA 7th
Kacmar, K. M., Andrews, M. C., Harris, K. J., & Tepper, B. J. (2013). Ethical leadership and subordinate outcomes: The mediating role of organizational politics and the moderating role of political skill. Journal of Business Ethics, 115(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1373-8
- Include the issue number if available.
APA 6th
Kacmar, K. M., Andrews, M. C., Harris, K. J., & Tepper, B. J. (2013). Ethical leadership and subordinate outcomes: The mediating role of organizational politics and the moderating role of political skill. Journal of Business Ethics, 115, 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1373-8
- Omit the issue number if the volume has continuous pagination (i.e., the paging does not restart at p. 1 for each issue).
Electronic journal article without a DOI
APA 7th
Beaudoin, K. M., Knuth, R., & Benner, G. J. (2008). Social validation of services for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders: A comparative study. International Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 1–7.
Nast, H. J. (2006). Loving… whatever: Alienation, neoliberalism and pet-love in the twenty-first century. ACME: An International e-Journal for Critical Geographies, 5(2), 300–327. https://acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/761
- If there is no URL accessible to all readers (e.g., from a library database), reference like a print journal.
- Use the article URL if accessible to all readers.
APA 6th
Beaudoin, K. M., Knuth, R., & Benner, G. J. (2008). Social validation of services for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders: A comparative study. International Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 1–7. Retrieved from http://www.internationaljournalofspecialeducation.com/
Nast, H. J. (2006). Loving… whatever: Alienation, neoliberalism and pet-love in the twenty-first century. ACME: An International e-Journal for Critical Geographies, 5, 300–327. https://acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/761
- If retrieved from a library database, use the journal homepage URL.
- If not retrieved from a library database, use the article URL or journal homepage URL (whichever is more reliable).
Article numbers
APA 7th
Huber, M., Knottnerus, J. A., Green, L., van der Horst, H., Jadad, A. R., Kromhout, D., Leonard, B., Loureiro, M. L., van der Meer, J. M. W., Schnabel, P., Smith, R., & Smid, H. (2011, July 30). How should we define health? BMJ, 343(7817), Article d4163. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4163
- Use article numbers preceded by the word Article
- Omit pagination.
APA 6th
Huber, M., Knottnerus, J. A., Green, L., van der Horst, H., Jadad, A. R., Kromhout, D., Leonard, B., Loureiro, M. L., van der Meer, J. M. W., Schnabel, P., Smith, R., & Smid, H. (2011, July 30). How should we define health? BMJ, 343(7817), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4163
- Ignore article numbers and use pages if the article is paginated.
APA 7th
Killick, D. (2012, June 25). Housing is a problem beyond politics. The Press, 17.
- Pagination is included without a preceding p. or pp.
APA 6th
Killick, D. (2012, June 25). Housing is a problem beyond politics. The Press, p. 17.
- Pagination is preceded by p. or pp.
APA 7th
Presenters. (Date range of conference). Title [Type of presentation]. Conference Name, Location. DOI OR URL
Proudfoot, F. (2015, February 18–20). Understanding cultural differences at the frontline [Paper presentation]. Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. http://ahrc2015.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Fiona%20Proudfoot.pdf
APA 6th
Presenters. (Year, Month). Title. Paper or poster session presented at the meeting of Organisation Name, Location. DOI OR Retrieved from URL
Proudfoot, F. (2015, February). Understanding cultural differences at the frontline. Paper presented at the Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, Hobart, Australia. Retrieved from http://ahrc2015.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Fiona%20Proudfoot.pdf
APA 7th
Author. (Year). Title [Master’s/Doctoral dissertation/thesis, University Name]. Repository Name. DOI OR URL
- Thesis on an online repository.
Author. (Year). Title [Unpublished master’s/doctoral dissertation/thesis]. University Name.
- Print thesis.
- Examples.
APA 6th
Author. (Year). Title (Doctoral/Master’s dissertation/thesis, Name of Awarding Institution, Location). Retrieved from URL
- Online repository.
Author. (Year). Title (Unpublished doctoral/master’s dissertation/thesis). Name of awarding institution, Location.
- Print format.
- Examples.
APA 7th
Author. (Full date available). Title. Site Name. URL
Ministry of Health. (2017, May 18). Māori health models—Te whare tapa whā. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-whare-tapa-wha
Wilkins, A. (2018, June 28). NZ Govt yet to address single-use plastic bags, despite Australia’s progress. Newshub. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/nz-govt-yet-to-address-single-use-plastic-bags-despite-australia-s-progress.html
- The Website Name is omitted if the same as the Author element.
- For a webpage without a by-line, assume the website agency is the author. If unsure, look at “About”, acknowledgements pages and so on.
APA 6th
Author. (Year). Title. Retrieved from URL
- A normal webpage, part of a website.
Author. (Year). Title. Retrieved from URL
- A standalone work.
Māori health models—Te whare tapa whā. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-whare-tapa-wha
Wilkins, A. (2018). NZ Govt yet to address single-use plastic bags, despite Australia’s progress. Retrieved from https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/nz-govt-yet-to-address-single-use-plastic-bags-despite-australia-s-progress.html
APA 7th template
Author, A. (Date). Title of Blog post. Blog Site Name. URL
Grohol, J. M. (2018, July 8). While you sleep, your brain keeps working. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/blog/while-you-sleep-your-brain-keeps-working/
APA 6th
Author, A. (Date). Title of Blog post [Blog post]. Retrieved from URL
Grohol, J. M. (2018, July 8). While you sleep, your brain keeps working [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/blog/while-you-sleep-your-brain-keeps-working/
APA 7th
Inventor, A. A. (Year Patent Issued). Title of patent (U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. URL (optional)
- Parenthetical citation: (Inventor, Year)
- Narrative citation: Inventor (Year)
APA 6th
Inventor, A. A. (Year Patent Issued). U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx, Year)
- Narrative citation: U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx (Year)
Heading
APA 7th
References
- Centred and in bold.
APA 6th
References
- Centred, not in bold.
Hanging indent
APA 7th
0.5 in. = 1.27 cm (the default setting in Word).
APA 6th
No specific guidance.
- “5 letters” sometimes suggested, but this was not actual APA Style guidance (comment dated October 29 towards the bottom of that webpage).
Multiple authors
APA 7th
- List up to 20 authors before abbreviating to first 19, … last author
- The reason for the increase is to simplify referencing (APA Style blog)
APA 7th
- Parenthetical citation: (Hall et al., 2020)
- Narrative citation: Hall et al. (2020)
- Simplified first author surname et al. for three or more authors in all in-text citations.
APA 6th
- First citation if parenthetical: (Hall, Timothy, & Duval, 2007)
- First citation if narrative: Hall, Timothy, and Duval (2007)
- Later parenthetical citations: (Hall et al., 2020)
- Later narrative citations: Hall et al. (2020)
- For three, four or five authors, list all authors in the first in-text citation and then the first author et al. for subsequent citations.
APA 7th
- Guidance is expanded in this edition on how to use language that is free of bias, meaning the implied or irrelevant evaluation of a group or groups (APA Manual, Chapter 5; APA Style website).
APA 7th
- Guidance new to this edition on how to cite traditional knowledge and oral traditions (APA Manual, pp. 260–261; APA Style website).
APA 7th
- One valid format: https://doi.org/xxxxxx
- ShortDOIs are acceptable: Details are provided at the bottom of this page on the APA Style website.
APA 6th
- Three acceptable formats (choose only one in a paper):
- doi:xxxxxx
- http://dx.doi.org/xxxxxx (from July 2014)
- https://doi.org/xxxxxx (from March 2017)
- No DOI shortening used.
APA 7th
- The link by itself to the specific work: https://xxxxxx
- Link shortening is acceptable: Details are at the bottom of this page on the APA Style website.
- Note: Occasionally “Retrieved … from” is used, but only when a retrieval date is needed (changeable unarchived works) – this continues the practice used in APA 6th (APA 6th Manual, p. 192).
APA 6th
- “Retrieved from” precedes the URL: Retrieved from https://xxxxxx
- No link shortening.
APA 7th
- The layout of tables and figures is similar, including consistent styles for numbers, titles and notes. Details on the APA Style website.
APA 6th
- Tables and figures have distinct layouts.
