CDU APA 7th is an author-date style. This means your in-text citations need these two elements to be correct. There are two types of in-text citations, narrative citations and parenthetical citations.
A narrative citation includes the author’s name in the sentence, with the year in parentheses. This format is useful when you want to emphasise the author’s contribution or connect their work to your discussion.
Example: Carter (2021) found that regular physical activity reduces the risk of heart disease.
A parenthetical citation places both the author’s name and the year in parentheses at the end of the sentence. This is useful when the focus is on the information rather than the author.
Example: A balanced diet plays a key role in maintaining gut health (Lee & Patel, 2020).
One author
Two authors
Three or more authors
Organisation as author that can be identified through abbreviation
Organisation as author – no abbreviation
Multiple sources in the same sentence
Sometimes you read about an idea in one source that was originally discussed in another source. This is called a secondary citation.
In APA, you should always try to find and use the original source if possible. But if you cannot access it, you can cite it as a secondary source.
In-text citation format:
Mention the original author(s) and date.
Add “as cited in” followed by the author and year of the source you actually read.
Only include the source you read in your reference list.
Example:
In-text (narrative): Smith (1990, as cited in Jones, 2020) found that…
In-text (parenthetical): ...as was discussed (Smith, 1990, as cited in Jones, 2020).
Reference list: Jones, A. (2020). Title of book or article. Publisher.
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The American Psychological Association's APA website has comprehensive styles guidelines by topic and an informative blog: https://apastyle.apa.org/
You can also consult the print edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association available via Library Search.
