Notable changes in APA 7th edition

APA 7th

Omit publisher location, e.g.

Gray, P., & Bjorklund, D. F. (2014). Psychology (7th ed.). Worth Publishers.

Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. Oxford University Press.

APA 6th

Publisher location, full country name or for the U.S. the 2-letter state abbreviation, e.g.

Gray, P., & Bjorklund, D. F. (2014). Psychology (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth.

Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

APA 7th

• Write publisher names as on the work (though omit business designations, e.g. Inc., Ltd., LLC), e.g.
  John Wiley & Son.
• List all publishers, separated by a semicolon, e.g.
  American Psychological Association; De Gruyter Mouton
• If the publisher is also the author, do not repeat the publisher name in the source area of the reference, e.g.

Ministry of Health. (2006). Problem gambling intervention services in New Zealand: 2005 service-user statistics (Monitoring Report No. 8).

APA 6th

• Shorten publisher names for publishing houses, e.g.
  Wiley.
• List the first publisher only, e.g.
  American Psychological Association.
• If the publisher is also the author, use Author in the source area of the reference instead of the author name, e.g.

Ministry of Health. (2006). Problem gambling intervention services in New Zealand: 2005 service-user statistics (Monitoring Report No. 8). Wellington, New Zealand: Author.

APA 7th

• Include the publisher or publishers.
• Give the DOI if available.
• If there is no DOI, give the URL but only if the URL is available to all readers (so not a library database URL)
• If there is no DOI or any URL available to all readers, reference as for a print book, e.g.
• Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564668.001.0001
• Veseth, M. (2010). Globaloney 2.0: The crash of 2008 and the future of globalization (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

APA 6th

• Omit the location and publisher
• Give the DOI if available
• If there is no DOI, give the URL and if from a library database, the homepage URL of the database, e.g.
• Li, Z. (2014). Understanding vision: Theory, models, and data. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564668.001.0001
• Veseth, M. (2010). Globaloney 2.0: The crash of 2008 and the future of globalization (2nd ed.). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Books in which the illustrations are essential to the content (for example, children’s picture books).

APA 7th

• Include the illustrator name in parentheses after the title
• Only the author appears in in-text citations, e.g.

Reference list

Cowley, J. (2010). Fly pie (P. Webb, Illus.). Scholastic.

In-text citation

Cowley (2010) ... OR ... (Cowley, 2010)

• More details on Illustrated Books

APA 6th

• List the author and illustrator in the author area of the reference
• Include both author and illustrator in in-text citations, e.g.

Reference list

Cowley, J., & Webb, P. (2010). Fly pie. Auckland, New Zealand: Scholastic.

In-text citation

Cowley and Webb (2010) ... OR ... (Cowley & Webb, 2010)

• More details on the APA Style blog, 6th edition

APA 7th

Include the issue number if available, e.g.

Kacmar, K. M., Andrews, M. C., Harris, K. J., & Tepper, B. J. (2013). Ethical leadership and subordinate outcomes: The mediating role of organizational politics and the moderating role of political skill. Journal of Business Ethics, 115(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1373-8

APA 6th

Omit the issue number if the volume has continuous pagination (i.e. the paging does not restart at p. 1 for each issue), e.g.

Kacmar, K. M., Andrews, M. C., Harris, K. J., & Tepper, B. J. (2013). Ethical leadership and subordinate outcomes: The mediating role of organizational politics and the moderating role of political skill. Journal of Business Ethics, 115, 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1373-8

APA 7th

Use the article URL if available to all readers, e.g.

Flisfeder, M. (2019). The apostle of reason: Hegel & the desire for emancipation in the 21st century. CT&T: Continental Thought & Theory, 2(4), 193–228. https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/17119/13%20Flisfeder%20Hegel%20FINAL.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

If there is no URL available to all readers (e.g. from a library database), reference like a print journal, e.g.

Beaudoin, K. M., Knuth, R., & Benner, G. J. (2008). Social validation of services for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders: A comparative study. International Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 1–7.

APA 6th

If not retrieved from a library database, use the article URL or journal homepage URL (whichever is more reliable). If retrieved from a library database, use the journal homepage URL, e.g.

Beaudoin, K. M., Knuth, R., & Benner, G. J. (2008). Social validation of services for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders: A comparative study. International Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 1–7. Retrieved from http://www.internationaljournalofspecialeducation.com/

APA 7th

Use article numbers preceded by Article (omit pagination), e.g.

Huber, M., Knottnerus, J. A., Green, L., van der Horst, H., Jadad, A. R., Kromhout, D., Leonard, B., Loureiro, M. L., van der Meer, J. M. W., Schnabel, P., Smith, R., & Smid, H. (2011). How should we define health? BMJ, 343(7817), Article d4163. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4163

APA 6th

Ignore article numbers and use pages if the article is paginated, e.g.

Huber, M., Knottnerus, J. A., Green, L., van der Horst, H., Jadad, A. R., Kromhout, D., Leonard, B., Loureiro, M. L., van der Meer, J. M. W., Schnabel, P., Smith, R., & Smid, H. (2011). How should we define health? BMJ, 343(7817), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4163

APA 7th

Pagination entered without p. or pp., e.g.

Killick, D. (2012, June 25). Housing is a problem beyond politics. The Press, 17.

APA 6th

Pagination preceded by p. or pp., e.g.

Killick, D. (2012, June 25). Housing is a problem beyond politics. The Press, p. 17.

APA 7th template

Presenters. (Date range of conference). Title [Type of presentation]. Conference Name, Location. DOI or URL, e.g.

Proudfoot, F. (2015, February 18–20). Understanding cultural differences at the frontline [Paper presentation]. Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. http://ahrc2015.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Fiona%20Proudfoot.pdf

APA 6th template

Presenters. (Year, Month). Title. Paper or poster session presented at the meeting of Organisation Name, Location. DOI or Retrieved from URL, e.g.

Proudfoot, F. (2015, February). Understanding cultural differences at the frontline. Paper presented at the Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, Hobart, Australia. Retrieved from http://ahrc2015.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Fiona%20Proudfoot.pdf

APA 7th templates

• Online repository
  Author. (Year). Title [Unpublished … dissertation/thesis, Name of Awarding Institution]. Repository Name. URL
• Print
  Author. (Year). Title [Unpublished … dissertation/thesis]. Name of awarding institution.
• Examples

APA 6th templates

• Online repository
  Author. (Year). Title (… dissertation/thesis, Name of Awarding Institution, Location). Retrieved from URL
• Print
  Author. (Year). Title (Unpublished … dissertation/thesis). Name of awarding institution, Location.
• Examples

APA 7th

• Template is: Author. (Full date available). Title. Site Name. URL
  • Site Name is omitted if the same as the author.
• Webpages without by-lines: assume the website agency is the author (if unsure, look at “About” or acknowledgements pages, etc.), e.g.

Ministry of Health. (2017, May 18). Māori health models—Te whare tapa whā. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-whare-tapa-wha

Wilkins, A. (2018, June 28). NZ Govt yet to address single-use plastic bags, despite Australia’s progress. Newshub. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/nz-govt-yet-to-address-single-use-plastic-bags-despite-australia-s-progress.html

APA 6th

• Templates are:
  • Author. (Year). Title. Retrieved from URL (normal webpage, part of website)
  • Author. (Year). Title. Retrieved from URL (standalone work), e.g.

Māori health models—Te whare tapa whā. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-whare-tapa-wha

Wilkins, A. (2018). NZ Govt yet to address single-use plastic bags, despite Australia’s progress. Retrieved from https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/nz-govt-yet-to-address-single-use-plastic-bags-despite-australia-s-progress.html

APA 7th template

Author, A. (Date). Title of Blog post. Blog Site Name. https://xxxxxx

Grohol, J. M. (2018, July 8). While you sleep, your brain keeps working. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/blog/while-you-sleep-your-brain-keeps-working/

APA 6th template

Author, A. (Date). Title of Blog post [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://xxxxxx

Grohol, J. M. (2018, July 8). While you sleep, your brain keeps working [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/blog/while-you-sleep-your-brain-keeps-working/

APA 7th template

Inventor, A. A. (Year Patent Issued). Title of patent (U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. URL (optional)

In-text citation: Inventor (Year) OR (Inventor, Year)

APA 6th template

Inventor, A. A. (Year Patent Issued). U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In-text citation: U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx (Year) OR (U.S. Patent No. x,xxx,xxx, Year)

APA 7th

References – centred and in bold

APA 6th template

References – centred, not in bold

APA 7th

0.5 in. = 1.27 cm (the default setting in Word)

APA 6th

No specific guidance

• “5 letters” sometimes suggested, but this was not actual APA Style guidance (comment dated October 29 towards the bottom of that webpage)

APA 7th

• List up to 20 authors before abbreviating to first 19, … last author
  • The reason for the increase is to simplify referencing (APA Style blog)

APA 6th

List up to 7 authors before abbreviating to first 6, … last author

APA 7th

Simplified to:

First author et al. for three or more authors, e.g.

Hall et al. (2020) OR (Hall et al., 2020)

APA 6th

Three, four or five authors, list all authors the first time and then the first author et al. for subsequent citations, e.g.

First citation: Hall, Timothy, and Duval (2007) OR (Hall, Timothy, & Duval, 2007)

Later citations: Hall et al. (2020) OR (Hall et al., 2020)

APA 7th

Guidance is expanded in this edition on how to use language that is free of bias, meaning the implied or irrelevant evaluation of a group or groups (APA Manual, Chapter 5; APA Style website).

APA 7th

Guidance new to this edition on how to cite traditional knowledge and oral traditions (APA Manual, pp. 260–261; APA Style website).

APA 7th

• One valid format
  https://doi.org/xxxxxx
• ShortDOIs acceptable
  • Details at the bottom of this page on the APA Style website

APA 6th

• Three acceptable formats (choose only one in a paper)
  • doi:xxxxxx
  • http://dx.doi.org/xxxxxx (from July 2014)
  • https://doi.org/xxxxxx (from March 2017)
• No DOI shortening used

APA 7th

• • The link by itself to the specific work
    https://xxxxxx
  • Link shortening is acceptable
    • Details at the bottom of this page on the APA Style website
  • Note: Occasionally “Retrieved … from” is used, but only when a retrieval date is needed (changeable unarchived works) – this continues the practice used in APA 6th (APA 6th Manual, p. 192)

APA 6th

• “Retrieved from” precedes the URL
  Retrieved from https://xxxxxx
• No link shortening

APA 7th

The layout of tables and figures is similar, including consistent styles for numbers, titles and notes.

• • Details on the APA Style website

APA 6th

Tables and figures have distinct layouts.