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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In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative.
In parenthetical citations, both the author name and date (or equivalent information) appear in brackets. A parenthetical citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence. When it appears at the end of a sentence, the full stop should be placed after the closing bracket.
For example:
This vulnerability is described... (Balay, 2018)
In narrative citations, this information is incorporated into the text as part of the sentence. Either the author name appears in the sentence, with the date (and page numbers if appropriate) in brackets immediately following it, or both author name and date appear in the sentence.
Balay (2018, p. 45) describes this vulnerability...
In their 2018 study, Balay described this vulnerability...
Either style is acceptable, but you must include all necessary information for a complete citation.