Sunday, August 16, 2015

Citing two authors, APA Style

Are you up for a writing tip?  I see many students make errors when trying to cite two (or more) authors.  They do not know when to use and or when to use ampersand between the authors’ names. 

Here is an example reference (note: this is a completely fictitious example).  Please notice that in the reference, we use an ampersand between the two names. 

Green, J. P., & Martin, S. (2012). A longitudinal study of the influence of Canadian crow migratory patterns on North American hog farms. International Journal of Unusual Studies, 18(5), 221-237.      

In these examples, notice where we use and versus where we use an ampersand.   

According to Green and Martin (2012), Canadian crows migrate primarily in October and November.

Canadian crows migrate primarily in October and November (Green & Martin, 2012). 

Jones (2010) argued that Canadian crows do not migrate; however Green and Martin (2012, p. 225) disagreed, asserting, “Anyone who does not believe Canadian crows migrate must have the IQ of a turnip.”  

Green and Martin (2012) studied migration patterns of Canadian crows from 1992 through 2010. 


The researchers studied migration patterns of Canadian crows from 1992 through 2010 (Green & Martin, 2012).

So now you get the idea...in the reference listing and in citations within parentheses, use an ampersand.  Otherwise, spell out and.  

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