Academic Referencing Guide
APA 7 Referencing Guide: In-Text Citations and Reference Lists
A practical walkthrough of APA 7th edition in-text citation rules, author-date conventions and reference list formatting for books, journals and online sources.
1What Is APA 7th Edition?
APA 7th edition is the current standard referencing style published by the American Psychological Association. It uses an author-date system: every in-text citation points to a corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of your paper.
The style is widely used across psychology, education, social sciences, nursing, and business. Most Australian and UK universities accept APA 7 as a default option, though always check your unit guide.
2In-Text Citations: Core Rules
APA 7 has strict rules about how authors appear in parentheses:
| Scenario | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single author | (Surname, Year) | (Harrington, 2021) |
| Two authors | (Surname & Surname, Year) | (Harrington & Martinez, 2021) |
| Three or more authors | (First Surname et al., Year) | (O'Connor et al., 2023) |
| Direct quote | (Surname, Year, p. X) | (O'Connor et al., 2023, p. 114) |
| Corporate author | (Organisation, Year) | (World Health Organization, 2022) |
| No date | (Surname, n.d.) | (Smith, n.d.) |
Important: APA 7 changed the "et al." threshold from 6+ authors (APA 6) to 3 or more authors. From the very first citation, list only the first author followed by "et al."
3Narrative vs Parenthetical Citations
APA 7 supports two citation forms:
Narrative — the author name appears in the running text:
Harrington (2021) argues that qualitative methods remain underutilised in nursing research.
Parenthetical — both author and year sit inside parentheses at the end of the clause:
Qualitative methods remain underutilised in nursing research (Harrington, 2021).
Use & inside parentheses but spell out "and" in narrative form.
4Reference List Formatting
The reference list appears on a new page, titled "References" (bold, centred). Every entry follows these universal rules:
- Hanging indent: 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) for second and subsequent lines.
- Alphabetical order: by first author's surname.
- Sentence case: article and book chapter titles — only first word and proper nouns capitalised.
- Title case: journal and periodical names — capitalise all major words.
- DOI format: use the full HTTPS URL:
https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx - No publisher location: APA 7 dropped city/country before publisher names.
5Reference List Examples
Journal article with DOI:
O'Connor, S., Smith, A., & Lee, R. (2023). Digital health interventions in nursing: A scoping review. Journal of Nursing Management, 31(4), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12345
Authored book:
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications.
Edited book chapter:
Smith, J. (2021). Developing research questions. In A. Brown (Ed.), Research methods for postgraduates (2nd ed., pp. 45–62). Wiley.
Webpage (group author):
World Health Organization. (2022). COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338
6Common Pitfalls
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Using "et al." for 2 authors | Only use et al. for 3+ authors in APA 7. |
| Missing hanging indent | Apply 0.5-inch hanging indent to every reference entry. |
| Capitalising article titles in Title Case | Use sentence case for article/chapter titles; Title Case for journal names. |
| Using "Retrieved from" before URLs | APA 7 omits "Retrieved from" unless a retrieval date is needed (e.g., wikis). |
| Omitting DOI for print-equivalent sources | If a DOI exists, always include it — even for print-published works. |
7Student Checklist
- Every in-text citation has a matching reference list entry (and vice versa).
- 3+ authors → "et al." from the first citation.
- DOI formatted as
https://doi.org/...(not a bare number). - Article/chapter titles in sentence case; journal names in title case.
- Hanging indent applied to every reference list entry.
In-Text Citation Formats
(Harrington, 2021)(Harrington & Martinez, 2021)(O'Connor et al., 2023)(O'Connor et al., 2023, p. 114)(Smith, n.d.)Reference List Entries
O'Connor, S., Smith, A., & Lee, R. (2023). Digital health interventions in nursing: A scoping review. Journal of Nursing Management, 31(4), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12345Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications.Student Checklist
- Every in-text citation has a matching reference list entry (and vice versa).
- 3+ authors → "et al." from the first citation.
- DOI formatted as https://doi.org/... (not a bare number).
- Article/chapter titles in sentence case; journal names in title case.
- Hanging indent applied to every reference list entry.