The format of in-text citations can change depending on the number of authors being cited.
- Two authors
- Cite both author names every time the source is mentioned in the text.
- Use an “and” between the author names when using a narrative citation and use an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation.
Examples:
Narrative In-text citation: The study by Jones and Eckle (2008) suggested . . .
Parenthetical In-text citation: (Jones & Eckle, 2008)
- Three or more authors
- In sources with three or more authors, only include the name of the first author followed by “et al.” in every citation (including the first citation).
Examples:
Narrative In-text citation: As Franklin et al. (2010) found. . .
Parenthetical In-text citation: (Franklin et al., 2010)
Number of Authors to Include in In-Text Citations is covered in Sections 8.17 of the APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition
Number of Authors to Include in In-Text Citations
Parenthetical Versus Narrative
In comparison, note how the author element is formatted in a reference list entry