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Citing sources according to APA guidelines

APA Style @ TiU

3.3 Order of reference list entries

  • Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the surname of the (first) author, followed by the initials.
  • Alphabetize letter by letter. “Nothing precedes something”: Brown, J. R. precedes Browning, A. R..
  • Alphabetize prefixes such as M’, Mc and Mac literally. MacArthur precedes McAllister, MacNeil precedes M’Carthy.
  • Alphabetize surnames with particles (such as: van, de, van de(r), von) by particle. Retain the preferred capitalization of the author. So, if an author writes the (first) prefix of his/her last name with a lowercase letter, then the name appears with a lowercase letter in the reference list as well as in the text.
  • For arranging works by the same (first) author(s), the following rules apply:
    • One-author works are arranged by publication year (the earliest first).
    • One-author entries precede multi-author entries, even if a multi-author work was published earlier.
    • Works with the same first author and different second authors are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the second author; works with the same first and second author and different third authors are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the third author, and so on.
    • Works with the same authors in the same order are arranged by year, the earliest first.
    • Works by the same author (or by the same two or more authors in the same order) with the same publication date are arranged alphabetically by title (excluding “A,” “An,” and “The”). Then add lowercase letters – a, b, c, etc. – immediately after the year.
      Hayward, K. H., & Green (2021a). Media images and social roles: Toward a media theory.
      Hayward, K. H., & Green (2021b). A sociological approach to self and identity.
  • Arrange works by different authors with the same last name alphabetically by the first initial.
  • Works by organizational authors are ranked alphabetically by the first significant word in the name of the group/organization. Do not abbreviate group’s/organization’s name.
  • Place works that specifically list “Anonymous” as the author under the A.
  • Move the title of works with an unknown author to the author position. Alphabetize these works by the first word, excluding “A,” “An,” and “The.”