APA Style Reference Lists: Multiple Authors (Examples)

What are APA style reference list rules for multiple authors? The references below use the APA Publication Manual 7 (released on October 2019). Learn how to properly cite a source or reference in APA style format in this full APA format citation guide. Read the other guides to learn how to cite other source types according to research papers, professional papers, scholarly journal’s, and student essays.

Understanding an APA reference list for authors and multiple authors: what is APA style?

APA is a writing format for academic documents. These documents typically include scholarly journals, books, student essays, and other educational material. For example, in the field of behavioral and social sciences (including sociology, education, health science, criminal justice, and psychology) APA style is used as a standard format for research.

APA stands for the American Psychological Association. The APA became involved in journal publishing in 1923. And in 1929, an APA committee had created a seven-page writer’s guide published in the Psychological Bulletin. Editions of the APA manual have since evolved. With major releases in 1974, 1983, 1994, 2001, 2009, and 2019. Each with their edition titles.

For example, the 2019 edition is referred to as “APA 6” style. Revisions of the APA style guide tend to follow developments of the English language and linguistics as a whole.

APA Style 7th Edition font suggestions

APA Publication Manual 7 requires that chosen fonts be accessible to readers and consistent throughout essays and research papers. The APA Manual does not specify a certain typeface or font for papers. They do recommend the following typefaces with their point sizes as follows:

Font	Point size
Calibri	11-point
Arial	11-point
Lucida Sans Unicode	10-point
Times New Roman	12-point
Georgia	11-point
Computer Modern	10-point

APA Style font recommendations

What are the APA reference list rules for multiple authors?

Rule	Example
Single authors	Johnson, R. (2019) On being included: Humanism. Duke University Press.
Two authors	Journeyman, C. J., & Ericson, O. P. (2018). The next big five inventory (BFI-2): The Understanding of How Humans Relate. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(1), 117-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000096
Three to twenty authors	Canyon, T., Carnale, J. J., Scholer, A. A., Miele, D. B., & Fujita, K. (2019). The Human Element and the Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Justice, 117(5), 879-899. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000166
More than twenty authors	Pegion, K., Kirtman, B. P., Becker, E., Collins, D. C., LaJoie, E., Ericson, R., Bell, R., Bryant, R., Min, D., Zhu, Y., Li, W., Smith, E., Guan, H., Gottschalck, J., Berger, E. J., Barton, N. P., Schumaker, D., Marshak, J., Koster, R., . . . Kim, H. (2012). The math and science issue. Bulletin of the American Society for Meterology, 100(10), 2043-2061. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0270.1
Group author	Merriam-Webster. (2008). Ericson. In Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
Multiple layers of group authorship	Bureau of International Organization Affairs. (2018). U.S. affairs, 2019 [Annual report]. U.S. Department of State. https://www.state.gov/u-s-contributions-to-international-organizations/
Unknown author	Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003). Merriam-Webster.
Two more works by the same author	Andrews, C. R. (Ed.). (2012). Influences on human life. Cambridge University Press.
Two more works by the same author in the same year	Bernard, R.D. (2006a). Children’s relationships: Shifts over the century and the effects of such. Merrill Lynch Quarterly, 50(3), 206-223.
In introductions, prefaces, forewords, and afterwords	Lane, J. M. (2018). Introduction. In Smith, G., Lane, J. M., & Richards, R.A (Eds.), Teaching humanism (pp. 1-8). Duke University Press.

Other reference common cases

Here are other multiple author reference list APA style guides:

No author, date, or page number

Unknown element	Solution	In-text citation
Author	Use the source title.	(Source Title, 2020)
Date	Write “n.d.” for “no date”.	(Smith, n.d.)
Page number	Use an alternative locator or omit the page number.	(Smith, 2020, 03:46) or (Smith, 2020)

APA 7th Edition Formatting and Style Guides:

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About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.