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APA Style Guide: Multiple Authors

Multiple Authors

See examples below to learn about how multiple authors for one work are handled in APA parenthetical citations.

 

1 Author

Include author's last name and year of publication, separated by a comma, in parentheses:

Studies indicate that polar bear populations will dramatically decline as Arctic ice melts (Jedden, 2006).

 

2 Authors

Include last name of both authors, separated by the ampersand symbol ('&'), and year of publication:

Polar bears have been used by environmentalists as an icon of climate change in several campaigns. (Joleah & Lamb, 2007).

 

3-5 Authors

First citation in text: Include last names of all authors, separated by the ampersand symbol ('&'), and year of publication:

Despite dire predictions, polar bear populations have actually increased over the past 50 years (Holden, Michaels, & White, 2008).

Subsequent citations: Include only the last name of the first author, followed by 'et al.', and year of publication IF it is the first citation for that source in a paragraph. If there has already been a citation for this source in a paragraph, omit the year of publication:

Despite dire predictions, polar bear populations have actually increased over the past 50 years (Holden et al., 2008).

 

6+ Authors

Include only the first author’s last name, followed by 'et al.', and year of publication (for first and subsequent citations). If there has already been a citation for this source in a paragraph, omit the year of publication:

Rising temperatures due to climate change are causing Arctic ice to melt at rates never before observed (Jackson et al., 2005).