Apa in text citation multiple sources in one sentence

Last Updated: 08 May, 2020     Views: 78201

Multiple in-text citations to the same work over a large section of text can be visually jarring and is not entirely necessary.

The rule of thumb is to cite the very first sentence, make it clear you are still talking about the same work in your subsequent sentences (for example, "The study noted that..."), and then confirm you are still talking about the work by including another citation at the end (if this has continued for several sentences).

If you have a simple follow-on sentence in which it is still clear that you are talking about the same work, you do not need the reference in the second sentence.

If at any point you think it might not be clear in the sentence that you are still referring to the same work, include another in-text citation.

For author-date styles like APA, if you have repeated the author's name from one sentence to another, you do not need to include the year after the author's name in the second instance if it is clear you are still talking about the same work (see page 265 of the APA Publication Manual).

For example:

Auvinan et al. (2015) provided students with a visual representation of their behaviour in online environments and found that some learners started changing their behaviour as a result. It was also noted by Auvinan et al. that badges were more motivating for students that were already high achievers than for those who were struggling.

This only applies when all of the information for that series of sentences comes from the same, single source. If you are pulling from multiple sources, you'll have to cite everything each time.

Please note: this is a stylistic choice. Your lecturer may tell you they want citations for each sentence, and that's something you'll have to do. You should always check with your lecturer when you are using a "rule of thumb" rather than a convention that is written in a guide.

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by Chelsea Lee

When you use others' ideas in your paper, you should credit them with an in-text citation. Several different systems of citation are in use in various academic communities (such as footnotes and endnotes), but APA Style uses a kind of parenthetical referencing called the author–date system.

Basic In-Text Citation Style

As the name author–date system implies, APA Style in-text citations include the author and date, either both inside parentheses or with the author names in running text and the date in parentheses. Here are two examples: 

• After the intervention, children increased in the number of books read per week (Smith & Wexwood, 2010). 
• Smith and Wexwood (2010) reported that after the intervention, children increased in the number of books read per week. 

The "and" in Smith and Wexwood is written as an ampersand (&) inside parentheses and as the word and outside of parentheses, as shown in the examples above.

Multiple In-Text Citations

When multiple studies support what you have to say, you can include multiple citations inside the same set of parentheses. Within parentheses, alphabetize the studies as they would appear in the reference list and separate them by semicolons. In running text, you can address studies in whatever order you wish. Here are two examples: 

• Studies of reading in childhood have produced mixed results (Albright, Wayne, & Fortinbras, 2004; Gibson, 2011; Smith & Wexwood, 2010). 
• Smith and Wexwood (2010) reported an increase in the number of books read, whereas Gibson (2011) reported a decrease. Albright, Wayne, and Fortinbras (2004) found no significant results. 

Dealing With Missing Information

Sometimes the author and/or date are not immediately obvious, but a bit of citation sleuthing will bring them to light. Here are some tips on determining authorship and on figuring out dates.

However, sometimes one or both of these elements are truly missing. The table below shows what substitutions to make for in-text citations if that happens. 

Note. Titles of books and reports are italicized in in-text citations, and titles of articles and other documents are put in quotation marks. Capitalize the important words (see section 4.15 in the 6th ed. Publication Manual, pp. 101–102) in titles in the text.

Don’t forget that when you cite a direct quotation you should include a page number (here is what to do if there are no page numbers). You may include page numbers for paraphrases if you think it would aid the reader (such as when you use only a portion of a large book), but this is not required.

Note that the only types of citations that do not follow the author–date system are legal references, references to classical works like the Bible and the Qur'an, and personal communications. 

For further reading on this topic, see the sixth edition Publication Manual section “Citing References in Text” (pp. 174–179). The table “Basic Citation Styles” (Table 6.1 on p. 177) offers many examples of how to cite various numbers and types of authors. 

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