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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Printed report with a single author
Reference
Author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of report (Series number if available). Publisher.
Slater, J. (2009). Conservation Area no. 30 St. David’s Road, Southsea: Guidelines for conservation. Portsmouth City Council.
In-text Citation
For information about the use of page numbers within in-text citations, please see our guidance here.
It was shown that... (Slater, 2009).
Slater (2009, p. 14) explains that...
For examples of printed reports with multiple authors please click 'more' below.
more
Printed report with two authors
Reference
Author, Initials., & Author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of report (Series number if available). Publisher.
Daniels, P.W., & Bobe, J.M. (1990). Planning for office development in the City of London and adjacent boroughs: a review of recent policy (SIRC papers: Working paper no.1). Portsmouth Polytechnic Service Industries Research Centre.
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 has been suggested that... (Daniels & Bobe, 1990).
Daniels and Bobe (1990, p. 16) suggested that...
Printed report with three or more authors
Reference
Author, Initials., Author, Initials., & Author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of report (Series number if available). Publisher.
Neiland, A., Soley, N., & Baron, J. (1997). A review of the literature on shrimp culture (Research papers 128). Centre for the Economics and Management of Aquatic Resources.
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... (Neiland et al., 1997).
Neiland et al. (1997, p. 7) argued that...