Reference List
References provide the necessary information for readers to be able to identify and retrieve the sources cited in the text of your paper.
An entry in a reference list generally has four elements:
- Author(s): Who is responsible for this work?
- Year or Date: When was this work published?
- Title: What is this work called?
- Source: Where can I retrieve this work?
- Title of publication the work appears in
- Location of the work within the source (e.g. volume, issue, page number)
- Digital retrieval information (Either a DOI or URL)
Author Element
The table below shows examples of how to format the author element of a reference list entry. For more information and formatting the author, date, title, and source elements of your references, please visit the APA Style and Grammar website.
| Type of citation | Reference list example |
| One author | Author, A. A. |
| Two authors | Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. |
| Three to 20 authors | Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. |
| More than 21 authors | Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., . . . Author, Z. Z. |
| Organization/Group author | National Institute of Mental Health. |