Article posted on:Mar 23, 2023
Article updated on:May 10, 2023
How to Cite a Journal Article in APA Style 7th Edition: Format & Examples
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Students often need to cite scholarly journal articles when writing their papers using APA format.
To cite a journal article in APA style, include the author(s), year of publication, article title, journal title, volume and issue numbers as well as page numbers. Use italics for the journal title and volume number. If you are citing an online article, include the DOI if accessible or the URL of the journal's homepage. You in-text citation should consist of the author's name and year.
However, there are may be cases, when you will need to make small chages to your citation. This blog will show you how to cite a journal article in APA 7th edition in every unique instance. It will also provide structures and examples of creating in-text citations for journal articles. Please go through this blog post and use it as a guide to creating journal references in APA style paper.
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Although citing periodicals may seem overcomplicated at the first glance, you should not be afraid. You must keep general formats and rules in mind when preparing an APA citation for a journal article. Ensure you include:
A general format of an APA citation for a journal entry is given below, with an example.
APA journal citation example
The above format and example will give you a clear idea of what APA references are and how to make them. This next section will show you how to cite a journal article in APA in text.
Besides listing sources on reference pages in APA, another key thing to know is citing a journal article in text. In-text citations refer to references made within the essay’s body. APA in text citation for a journal article may be used when paraphrasing information or after directly quoting from the source.
In APA, to cite an article in text, you can either use parenthetical or narrative citations. Parenthetical citation is a reference type in which the information about the source (last name of the author and publication date) is put in brackets at the end of the sentence. On the other hand, in narrative citations, the author’s name and publication year are used within the text of the sentence.
Below are formats and examples of these two types of in-texts.
APA journal article in-text citation
From the above examples, you can see that writing an in-text citation is not a difficult task. Your choice will depend on what is more convenient in specific circumstances. The most commonly used in-text citation format is parenthetical.
However, you can also use a narrative style to avoid monotony. Below we will give you a parenthetical type example of how to cite articles in a text when paraphrasing to enhance your understanding.
Example
Quoting Journal Articles Directly
Apart from paraphrasing information obtained from another source, you can quote the material directly. Quoting articles refers to precisely copying a sentence of someone else’s words and acknowledging the source. The extract can either be short or long. Copying less than 40 words is known as a short quote, while more is considered a long one.
Direct short quotes in APA citation for journal articles should always be referenced by using an author’s name, publication year, and page number. You should also use quotation marks for the copied sentence(s). This information can be embedded within the text itself or at its end, in brackets, but should always be credited to the original author.
Below is a format and an example of how to write a direct quotation both in parenthetical and narrative styles.
APA in-text citation for article: Direct quotation
Using information quoted directly from your source is an excellent way of conveying views of other scholars. However, you should always credit sources of your material. Failure to do that will result in plagiarism which is regarded as an academic offense.
If you have still not yet understood how to write a direct quote, below we have provided you with an example of an in-text citation for APA journal article.
Example
Journals can be written by one or many authors. As a result, you need to know how to format APA reference for a journal article written by a number of scholars. The following sections explain to you how to go about it.
1 Author
Citing a journal article written by a single author should not be hard. What you have to do is provide the surname and initials of the author, followed by the year of publication in round brackets, article title in a sentence case, journal title and volume (both in italics), volume, issue, pages, and DOI.
You can find more clarification and examples on citing a journal article in APA written by one scholar in the example below.
1 Author: APA journal article citation example
2 Authors
Just like it is easy to reference an article written by one scholar, it is also simple to cite articles with 2 authors in APA. However, since it involves two writers, you will have to list details of the first author followed by a comma and an ampersand (&) symbol. Then you should write information about the second scholar. When making an in-text citation, surnames of the first and second authors should be separated by an ampersand as well.
Below we will show you how to cite a journal written by two authors.
2 Authors: APA article citation example
3-20 Authors
Obviously, there exist articles that are written by more than 2 authors. When you want to reference a journal article by 3 authors in APA, you should list the surnames and initials of all scholars separated by commas until before the 20th name which should be separated by an ampersand (&) symbol. When making an in-text citation, you will write the first author’s surname and initials followed by et al. and year of publication.
The examples below will show you how to do it.
3-20 Authors: APA journal article citation example
21+ Authors
Sometimes, you will have to write an APA format journal article citation for a resource created by more than 21 authors. It may seem a bit confusing but do not worry. All you have to do is list surnames and initials of the first 19 authors separated by commas. After the 19th name, you should use an ellipsis in place of the remaining names before writing the last name.
Be sure not to use an ampersand before the final surname. Doing so will ensure that the reference does not contain more than 20 names.
When writing an in-text citation, write the first author’s surname followed by et al. and year. Below is an example for you to look at.
21+ Authors: Journal article APA citation
Quick Reference for Citing Journal Articles with Multiple Authors in APA
The popularity of online articles as a source of information has increased in recent years. To avoid plagiarism when working with internet material, you must properly cite an online journal article in APA. The process of referencing sources obtained from the internet is the same as the ones above.
However, you should always include the journal’s DOI (digital object identifier) address as a hyperlink that can be accessed by those reading your paper. DOIs are permanently assigned numbers making retrieving these articles from different databases easy.
If the article contains data about the date and month it was published, you should include this information in brackets together with the year, as shown in the example below.
APA citation for an online journal article with DOI
From the above example, you can see how easy it is to cite an online article. However, there may be complicated cases in which you will find articles that are not assigned DOI addresses. When you find yourself in this situation, you should use its URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address which will direct readers to a location where the material was obtained.
Below is an example of how to reference material with no DOI.
APA citation for an online journal article with URL
To reiterate what we have said above, when you find a journal article with no DOI, you should use its URL address. But what if the article has no URL address? This can happen when the web page is updated or edited, or the journal is completely removed from the website. As a result, this makes it hard to retrieve the article, which may raise questions about the authenticity of your information.
When you encounter an article with no DOI or URL addresses, the best solution is not to use the article because it cannot be verified. Instead, you should always reference an article that can be authenticated through its DOI or URL addresses.
Most of the time, information for citing online journal articles in APA can be found on your source’s first page. However, its location will vary from one periodical to another. Information about author, journal name, publication date, volume, issue number, and DOI address can be located at the top or bottom of the article’s page.
If the article has no DOI, use a URL address that can be located under the share button, or you can manually copy it from your browser’s address bar.
Although internet journals have become the most prevalent source of information in recent years, there are still a number of important printed articles that you can use while writing a research paper. To cite an article in a printed journal in APA, you should follow the same format as you did when referencing an online journal.
However, one key factor usually missing is the inclusion of DOI or URL addresses. But when these two are provided, it means your source can also be accessed online.
Below is an example of how to reference a printed article in APA.
APA citation for a journal article in print
There will be times when you encounter an article not yet availed for publication in a peer-review journal. In this case, there will be two possibilities:
You will require different referencing formats for these two options. Below we will show you how to cite articles in APA when you come across such cases.
An unpublished journal article refers to text that is yet to appear in any official publication. Mostly, it may be unfinished, received directly from authors, or not formally published, but can still be retrieved from personal websites. When making a citation for such works, you should write the author's surname and initials, publication year, and article’s title in italics. You should then include the label “Unpublished manuscript” in square brackets after the article title. Finally, mention any available information on the author’s university and department.
Below is an example of how you should go about it.
APA article citation for an unpublished journal
Another scenario is when you intend to reference an article submitted for publication in APA. When you encounter such a case, you surely will not use the format of an unpublished article. Since this article has already been submitted to a journal for publication but has not yet been accepted, you should, quite logically, label it “Manuscript submitted for publication.” In this case, you will write the article’s title in italics, followed by its label. You will also include available details about the author’s university, such as name and department.
Below is an example of how to achieve that.
APA citation: Article submitted for publication
Another category of a journal article is one that has been submitted and accepted for publication but has yet to receive a periodical issue. This type is referred to as “in press.” As a result, these articles will not have a published date, volume, page numbers, and DOI.
When citing such a source, you should include the journal's name, and instead of the publication date, you will write “in press.” This should be done both in reference lists and in-text citations. You also should not include the university information, as opposed to the case with unpublished material.
APA citation format: Journal article in press
In sections above, we have looked at how to cite an article in APA under pretty standard circumstances. However, there are special cases that will lead to exceptional formatting of citations. This section reviews specific situations, like formatting articles with no volume or issue numbers or those with just article numbers.
When referencing, you will encounter articles which citation formatting will require a slightly different approach from the ones you have learned earlier. For instance, you will find an article with no volume and issue number. In this case, preparing an APA article reference, you will have to follow a different format. You should exclude volume and issue numbers from the referencing, but keep the rest of the details, as explained in sections above.
An example of such a case is shown below.
APA format article citation: No volume and issue
No volume
There will be instances when you encounter an article that has no volume number but still contains other details. In this case, you must maintain the standard APA format for referencing journals. The only difference is you should not include volume numbers in your citation. You will only need to skip the volume number and write the issue digits in brackets.
The example below shows you how to make such referencing.
APA format for journal article: No volume
No issue number
In other cases, searching for sources for your research material, you may stumble upon articles with no issue number. You should not be surprised when you find a journal with all the other key citation details but lacking the issue number. All you have to do is mention those citation details that have been provided and skip the part which requires issue numbers. In this case, you will have the volume number in italics followed by page range instead of issue number.
An example below will give you a clear picture of what to do.
APA journal citation: No issue
You may also encounter online-only journals not assigned an issue and usual page numbers. Instead, they are given article number, which is unconventional relative to the formats discussed in sections above. For instance, you may come across an article listed as “Volume 3 Article 8”. The page number for this type of journal is recorded as “Page 1 of 3”, “Page 2 of 3”, and so on. In such a situation, you should not use page range. Instead, use the article number (e.g., Journal of Business, 3, Article 8).
An example of APA journal citation format for numbered articles is given below for your better understanding.
APA citation: Journal with article numbers
In other instances, you will cite a journal article that has unusual numbering of its pages, which will call for a different format. Some of these journals will have page numbers that contain letters such as B12-B20. When you find such a source, you should write the citation using the general format provided above. The only variation is that you will have to record those special page numbers as they appear in the article.
Making an APA in-text citation for this type of journal will also be different because the page numbers for a direct quote will have to include those letters.
APA journal article with special page numbers
On our platform, you can find a wide range of blogs covering various topics related to APA citation style. Whether you need guidance on APA book citation, APA magazine citation, or APA annotated bibliography, we have got you covered.
Referencing sources is a challenging but crucial part of education. Not only does it make your paper authentic, but also enables you to avoid plagiarism penalties. As a result, it is vital for you to know how to cite journal articles in APA.
Throughout this blog, we have directed you on various ways to reference periodicals by giving you their general citation formats as well as examples to enhance your understanding. We have also provided you with a comprehensive list of special cases you may encounter when making an APA citation of journal article. We believe that the given information will guide you in writing great APA journal references for your research paper. Good luck!
When you want to cite a journal article without page numbers in APA, you should write all the other available citation details and just skip page numbers.
An example of how to go about it is given below.
However, when writing an APA in-text citation, especially for a direct quote retrieved from a journal with no page number, you should use paragraph numbers instead.
Below is an example.
Making an APA citation of a peer reviewed article is one of the most common cases in referencing periodicals. The general format of reference for a journal with one author is shown below:
Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year of publication). Article title: Subtitle. Journal name, Volume(Issue), page range. DOI or URL
And here is a concrete example.
When writing an APA citation for a journal article with multiple authors, you should remember there exist several cases that require different formats. The first case is citing articles written by 3-20 authors. When you encounter this case, you should list surnames and initials of all authors separated by commas until before the final name that is separated by an ampersand (&) symbol.
An example is given below.
The second case cites an article written by more than 21 authors. In this situation, you list surnames and initials of first 19 authors separated by commas. After the 19th name you should use an ellipsis in place of the remaining names before writing the last one. Note that in this case, you should not use an ampersand before the final surname.
An example is given below.
The maximum number of authors that should be included in an APA in-text citation for a journal article is two. In such a case, you should write the surnames of both authors separated by an ampersand (&) symbol. Publication year follows the surname and a comma.
An example of this case is given below.
However, when an article is written by more than 3 authors, you should only use the name of the first author together with “et al.” phrase and the year of publication.
An example is given below.
You do not need to include the month and day of publication when writing an APA journal in-text citation. You should only include the year of publication. But if these details are present, you can mention them in the reference list but not in an in-text citation.
Below is an example of how to write an APA in-text citation.
Brown, K. M. (2022). The effects of exercise on mental health. Journal of Health Psychology, 24(3), 278-284. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105317737304 | |
(Brown, 2022) |
Reference Entry Format | Last name, first initials, second initial (if given). (Year of publication). Article title: Subtitle (if any). Journal name, volume (issue number), page range. DOI or URL |
Example | Webber, F. (2020). Social media data and experiment strategy: Negotiating community-based digital research with service-education. Purdue Journal of History Service-Learning and Global Engagement, 8(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.5763/1268286316871 |
Format | Example | |
Parenthetical | (Author's Last Name, Year) | (Webber, 2020) |
Narrative | Author's Last Name (Year) | Webber (2020) |
Format | Example | |
Parenthetical | (Author's Last Name, Year, p. number) | (Webber, 2020, p. 11). |
Narrative | Author's Last Name (Year) “quotation” (p. number) | Webber (2020) “…” (p. 11). |
Reference Format | Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal name, Volume(issue), page range. DOI address or URL (if DOI is unavailable) |
Example | Maguire, T. F. (2019). Secondary effects of transfer contact: Do contacts of intergroup affect spread to out-groups that are noncontact? Social Psychology, 43(4), 54-66. http://doi.org/10.1037/1854-1135.80.2.65 |
In-Text Citation Format | (Author Surname, Year of publication) |
Example | (Maguire, 2019) |
Reference Format | Author 1 Surname, Initial(s)., & Author 2 Surname, Initial(s). (Publication year). Article title: Subtitle (if any). Journal name, volume(issue), page range. DOI address or URL (if DOI is unavailable) |
Example | Kerrigan, B. N., & Kingdon, G. (2021). Maternal obesity and pregnancy: A reflective study. Midwifery, 16(5), 137-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2008.12.005 |
In-Text Citation Format | (Author 1 Surname & Author 2 Surname, Year of publication) |
Example | (Kerrigan & Kingdon, 2021) |
Reference Format | Author 1, A. A., Author 2, B. B., Author 3, C. C., & Author D. D. (Publication year). Article title: Subtitle (if any). Journal name, volume(issue), page range. DOI address or URL |
Example | Jacob, K. L., Samantha, J. J., Shawn, J. T., & Edward, L. M. (2018). Basic expectancy changes and adolescents’ intentions to use drugs. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 563-569. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013020 |
In-Text Citation Format | (Author 1 Surname et al., Year) |
Example | (Jacob et al., 2018) |
Reference Format | Surname and initials for first 19 authors, . . . Last Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year of publication). Journal title. Journal name, Volume (Issue number), page range. DOI address OR Web address (if available) |
Example | Shaw, K., Francis, B. C., Becker, R., Anne, D. C., Herbat, E., Evans, P., Bell, R., DelSole, R., Derrick, D., Nelson, Y., Patrick, W., Christian, E., Pegion, H., Stacy, J., Andrew, E. J., Faith, N. P., Liz, D., Daniel, J., Emmanuel, H., . . . Ahmed, H. (2021). The sub-seasonal investigation (SubX): A multimodal sub-seasonal extrapolation experiment. Dispatch of the American Meteorological Community, 101(9), 2044-2063. https://doi.org/10.1178/BAMS-B-19-0171.1 |
In-Text Citation Format | (Author 1 Surname et al., year) |
Example | (Shaw et al., 2021) |
Reference Entry | In-Text Citation | |
1 Author | Maguire, T. F. (2019). Secondary effects of transfer contact: Do contacts of intergroup affect spread to out-groups that are noncontact? Social Psychology, 43(4), 54-66. http://doi.org/10.1037/1854-1135.80.2.65 | (Maguire, 2019) |
2 Authors | Kerrigan, B. N., & Kingdon, G. (2021). Maternal obesity and pregnancy: A reflective study. Midwifery, 16(5), 137-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2008.12.005 | (Kerrigan & Kingdon, 2021) |
3-20 Authors | Jacob, K. L., Samantha, J. J., Shawn, J. T., & Edward, L. M. (2018). Expectancy changes and adolescents’ intentions to use drugs. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 563-569. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013020 | Jacob et al. (2018) state that …. |
21+ Authors | Shaw, K., Francis, B. C., Becker, R., Anne, D. C., Herbat, E., Evans, P., Bell, R., DelSole, R., Derrick, D., Nelson, Y., Patrick, W., Christian, E., Pegion, H., Stacy, J., Andrew, E. J., Faith, N. P., Liz, D., Daniel, J., Emmanuel, H., . . . Ahmed, H. (2021). The sub-seasonal investigate (SubX): A multimodal sub-seasonal extrapolation experiment. Dispatch of the American Meteorological Community, 101(9), 2044-2063. https://doi.org/10.1178/BAMS-B-19-0171.1 | (Shaw et al., 2021) |
Format | Author’s last name, Author’s first initial. Author’s middle initial. (Year, Month Date published). Article title. Online Journal Name, Volume(Issue). https://doi.org/xxxxx.xxxx |
Reference Entry | Muller, T. (2020, May 25). University of Freiburg: A stable model university for bilingual learning. Higher Education in Europe, 23(5), 462–469. https://doi.org/10.1180/93997020130027697 |
In-Text Citation | (Muller, 2020) |
Format | Author 1 Surname, Initial(s)., & Author 2 Surname, Initial(s). (Year, Month Date published). Article title. Online Journal Name, Volume(Issue). URL address |
Reference Entry | Patrick, D., & Anthony, K. (2019). Studying stable postgraduate palliative care: What impacts students’ ability to effect change in application? Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35(2), 15-25. http://www.ajan.com.au/Vol35/Issue2/3Rawlings.pdf |
In-Text Citation | (Patrick & Anthony, 2019) |
Format | Author 1 Surname, Initial(s)., & Author 2 Surname, Initial(s). (Year, Month Date published). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page range. |
Reference Entry | Walker, K., & Brandy, C. (2019). Personality confusion and violence: Making the basic link through risk conveyance. Journal of Personality Disorders, 23, 609-632. |
In-Text Citation | (Walker & Brandy, 2019) |
Format | Author 1 Surname, Initial(s)., & Author 2 Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Article title [Unpublished manuscript]. Department Name, University Name. |
Reference Entry | Ramsey, J. M., & Welsh, D. H. (2021). Social influence on child development [Unpublished manuscript]. Department of Psychology, University of San Diego. |
In-Text Citation | (Ramsey & Welsh, 2021) |
Format | Author 1 Surname, Initial(s)., & Author 2 Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Article title [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department Name, University Name. |
Reference Entry | Ramsey, J. M., & Welsh, D. H. (2021). Social influence on child development [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department of Psychology, University of San Diego. |
In-Text Citation | (Ramsey & Welsh, 2021) |
Format | Author 1 Surname, Initial(s)., & Author 2 Surname, Initial(s). (in press). Article title. Journal Name. |
Reference Entry | Ramsey, J. M., & Welsh, D. H. (in press). Social influence on child development. Journal of Development Psychology. |
In-Text Citation | (Ramsey & Welsh, in press) |
Format | Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal name, page range. DOI address or URL (if DOI is unavailable) |
Reference Entry | Maguire, T. F. (2019). Secondary effects of transfer contact: Do contacts of intergroup affect spread to out-groups that are noncontact? Social Psychology, 54-66. http://doi.org/10.1037/1854-1135.80.2.65 |
In-Text Citation | (Maguire, 2019) |
Format | Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal name, (issue), page range. DOI address or URL (if DOI is unavailable) |
Reference Entry | Maguire, T. F. (2019). Secondary effects of transfer contact: Do contacts of intergroup affect spread to out-groups that are noncontact? Social Psychology, (4), 54-66. http://doi.org/10.1037/1854-1135.80.2.65 |
In-Text Citation | (Maguire, 2019) |
Format | Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal name, Volume, page range. DOI address or URL (if DOI is unavailable) |
Reference Entry | Maguire, T. F. (2019). Secondary effects of transfer contact: Do contacts of intergroup affect spread to out-groups that are noncontact? Social Psychology, 43, 54-66. http://doi.org/10.1037/1854-1135.80.2.65 |
In-Text Citation | (Maguire, 2019) |
Format | Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal name, Volume, Article number. DOI address or URL (if DOI is unavailable) |
Reference Entry | Maguire, T. F. (2019). Secondary effect of transfer contact: Do contacts of intergroup affects spread to out-groups that are noncontact? Social Psychology, 43, Article 46. http://doi.org/10.1037/1854-1135.80.2.65 |
In-Text Citation | Maguire (2019) clarified by saying, “…” (p. 8) |
Format | Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal name, Volume(Issue), page range. DOI address or URL (if DOI is unavailable) |
Reference Entry | Maguire, T. F. (2019). Secondary effects of transfer contact: Do contacts of intergroup affect spread to out-groups that are noncontact? Social Psychology, 43(4), A54-A66. http://doi.org/10.1037/1854-1135.80.2.65 |
In-Text Citation | Maguire (2019) clarified by saying, “…” (p. A58) |
Excessive social media usage can expose teenagers to cyberbullying (Webber, 2020).
According to Webber (2020), “new studies show more than 6000 10- to 15-year olds in America who spent more than 4 hours a day using social networks might be at a high risk of experiencing cyberbullying” (p. 11).
Muller, T. (2020). The University of Freiburg: A model university for bilingual learning. Higher Education in Europe, 23(5). https://doi.org/10.1180/93997020130027697
(Muller 2020, para. 5)
Muller, T. (2020). University of Freiburg: A model university for bilingual learning. Higher Education in Europe, 23(5), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.1180/93997020130027697
Jacob, K. L., Samantha, J. J., Shawn, J. T., & Edward, L. M. (2018). Expectancy changes and adolescents’ intentions to use drugs. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22, 563-569. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013020
Shaw, K., Francis, B. C., Becker, R., Anne, D. C., Herbat, E., Evans, P., Bell, R., DelSole, R., Derrick, D., Nelson, Y., Patrick, W., Christian, E., Pegion, H., Stacy, J., Andrew, E. J., Faith, N. P., Liz, D., Daniel, J., Emmanuel, H., . . . , Ahmed, H. (2021). The sub-seasonal investigation (SubX): A multimodal sub-seasonal extrapolation experiment. Dispatch of the American Meteorological Community, 101(9), 2044-2063. https://doi.org/10.1178/BAMS-B-19-0171.1
(Murphy & Hilton, 2020)
(Murphy et al., 2020)
(Fernandez, 2019)
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