APA 7
APA 7th Edition is the most commonly used referencing style here at the University of Portsmouth. Below you will find general guidance on how to reference and cite using APA 7th Edition, as well as examples for the specific sources you are likely to use in your assignments.
Your department or lecturer may prefer you to reference sources differently from the guidance given here. Always follow the requirements of your department or lecturer.
External visitors are welcome to use this guide, but note that your institution's requirements may differ from those suggested here.
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Online journal article with a single author
Reference
Author, Initials. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number(Issue number), start and end page numbers. https://doi.org/ or URL
Anker, T. B. (2021). At the boundary: Post-COVID agenda for business and management research in Europe and beyond. European Management Journal, 39(2), 171-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2021.01.003
In-text Citation
For information about the use of page numbers within in-text citations, please see our guidance here.
Anker (2021) argues that...
It can be argued ... (Anker, 2021, p. 173).
For examples of online journal articles with multiple authors please click 'more' below.
more
For all articles with up to twenty authors, include all of their names in the reference and use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
Online journal article with two authors
Reference
Author, Initials., & Author, Initials. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number(Issue number), start and end page numbers. https://doi.org/or URL
Mosam, A., & Todd, G. (2021). Dermatology training in Africa: Successes and challenges. Dermatologic Clinics, 39(1), 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.det.2020.08.006
In-text Citation
For sources with two authors, you should use both authors' surnames in each citation. If the citation is inside brackets, use an ampersand (&) between the names. If they are in the text of your work, use 'and' between them.
For information about the use of page numbers within in-text citations, please see our guidance here.
It was discovered that... (Mosam & Todd, 2021).
In a recent study, Mosam and Todd (2021, p. 62) discovered...
Online journal article with three to twenty authors
Reference
Author, Initials., Author, Initials., & Author, Initials. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number(Issue number), start and end page numbers. https://doi.org/or URL
Dabić, M., Stojčić, N., Simić, M., Potocan, V., Slavković, M., & Nedelko, Z. (2021). Intellectual agility and innovation in micro and small businesses: The mediating role of entrepreneurial leadership. Journal of Business Research, 123, 683-695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.10.013
In-text Citation
For sources with three or more authors, you only need to state the name of the first author, followed by 'et al.'
'et al.' is plural, meaning "and others".
For information about the use of page numbers within in-text citations, please see our guidance here.
It can be argued that... (Dabić et al., 2021).
Dabić et al. (2021, p. 685) argue that...
Online journal article with twenty-one authors or more
Reference
For an article with twenty-one or more authors, include the first nineteen authors names, insert an ellipsis (but no ampersand), and then add the final author's name.
Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., Author, Initials., . . . Author, Initials. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number(Issue number), start and end page numbers. https://doi.org/or URL
Wiskunde, B., Arslan, M., Fischer, P., Nowak, L., Van den Berg, O., Coetzee, L., Juárez, U., Riyaziyyat, E., Wang, C., Zhang, I., Li, P., Yang, R., Kumar, B., Xu, A., Martinez, R., McIntosh, V., Ibáñez, L. M., Mäkinen, G., Virtanen, E., . . . Kovács, A. (2019). Indie pop rocks mathematics: Twenty One Pilots, Nicolas Bourbaki, and the empty set. Journal of Improbable Mathematics, 27(1), 1935–1968. https://doi.org/10.0000/3mp7y-537
In-text Citation
For information about the use of page numbers within in-text citations, please see our guidance here.
It has been stated that... (Wiskunde et al., 2019).
Wiskunde et al. (2019, p. 1941) stated that...