In-Text Citation in APA Format in a Research Paper

The author-date system of citation is used in the APA in-text citation. This indicates that the author’s last name and the year of publication must be cited in the text, separated by a comma. In some occasions, the page number should be referenced as well, although in most cases, the page number does not appear in the text citation. The in-text citation is used to eliminate the disruption of flow that occurs when the source is checked at the conclusion of the manuscript for any undergraduate research project samples. There should also be a reference list entry for EACH in-text citation.

In-text APA citation guidelines

In the APA style, there are a few basic principles to follow when citing sources in the text. Though it may appear that citing merely the author’s last name and the year of publication is straightforward, there are few instances where this is not the case. Different types of sources necessitate different treatments. The researcher must be familiar with the APA in-text citation guidelines for various sources.

In the APA in-text citation, there are two aspects to consider: the signal phrase and the parenthetical citation. In the signal phrase, the researcher can include the author’s last name and the publication date. The author and date should appear in parenthesis if he does not cite the author-date in the signal phrase.

1. The first requirement is to use parenthesis in the text to indicate the author’s last name and the year of publication. A comma should be included between the author’s name and the year of publication.

For instance: “According to Drury (2020), there are a variety of reasons for stillbirths, as well as a variety of personal, cultural, and social elements to consider”.

2. In the case of a direct quotation, the page number should also be included in the in-text citation.

For instance, according to Olayinka (2014), “the number of high school dropouts in Virginia has decreased since 2000.” (p.60).

3. When there are numerous authors for a source, you must list them all by last name and separate the last two with an ampersand “&.”

4. If the source does not list an author but does list an editor, use the editor’s last name in the parenthetical citation.

5. When the author’s identity is unknown, the title and date must be included in the in-text citation. If the title is too long, you can just write the first few words of it.

6. When citing numerous works in one location, use a semicolon to separate each citation, for example, there have been studies that show that excessive screen time affects children’s psychological development in later years (Okoro, 2020; Adams, 2015).