How to Cite a Journal Article in APA 7th Edition (Examples)
Complete guide to APA journal article citations. Covers print and online articles, DOIs, up-to-20 authors rule, and in-text citations—with examples for every situation.
Journal articles are the most commonly cited sources in academic writing, and APA 7th edition made several important changes to how they're formatted—including the DOI format, the number of authors listed, and removal of database names. Here's exactly how to cite journal articles in APA 7th edition.
Standard APA Journal Article Format
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Article title in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case and Italics, volume(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxxx Real example: Nguyen, T. H., & Patel, S. R. (2022). The effect of sleep deprivation on academic performance in undergraduate students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(3), 412–427. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000321 Key rules: (1) Article title in sentence case—only capitalize first word, proper nouns, and first word after a colon; (2) Journal name in title case and italicized; (3) Volume number italicized; (4) Issue number in parentheses, not italicized; (5) DOI formatted as https://doi.org/... hyperlink.
APA 7th Edition: The 20-Author Rule
APA 7th edition changed author limits significantly: list up to 20 authors before using an ellipsis. For 21 or more authors: List authors 1–19, add "…" (three periods), then list the last author. No ampersand before the final name when using the ellipsis. Example with 22 authors: Smith, A., Jones, B., Brown, C., Davis, D., Wilson, E., Moore, F., Taylor, G., Anderson, H., Thomas, I., Jackson, J., White, K., Harris, L., Martin, M., Thompson, N., Garcia, O., Martinez, P., Robinson, Q., Clark, R., Rodriguez, S., … Lewis, V. (2023). In-text citation: For 3+ authors, always use (First Author et al., Year) from the first mention.
Journal Articles Without a DOI
If the article has no DOI but was found in a database (like JSTOR, EBSCO, PubMed): APA 7th no longer requires database names or retrieval URLs for academic articles. Omit the DOI/URL entirely. Format: Author, A. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. If the article has no DOI but is available on a website (not a database): Include the direct URL to the article: Author, A. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. URL Do not include database URLs from JSTOR, EBSCO, or library access URLs—these only work for people with institutional access.
In-Text Citations for Journal Articles
Parenthetical: (Author, Year) or (Author, Year, p. X) for direct quotes. Narrative: Author (Year) or Author (Year, p. X) for direct quotes. Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2022) — always include both names. Three or more: (Smith et al., 2022) — use et al. from first mention in APA 7th (changed from APA 6th which required listing all authors on first mention for 3–5 authors). No author: Use shortened title in quotes: ("Article Title," Year). Two works, same author, same year: Add letters: (Smith, 2022a) and (Smith, 2022b) — list alphabetically by title in the reference list.
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