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Home » Writer's Handbook » APA Documentation

Cite a source with three or more authors

A source with three to five authors

Cite all authors in your first citation. In all citations after the first, use the first author's name followed by et al. [no italics; period after al]

First citation:

(Albali, Phillips, & Fischer, 2009)

Subsequent citation:

(Albali et al., 2009)

A source with six or more authors

Use the first author's name followed by et al. in all citations

(Yawn et al., 2000)

Note: In the reference list, use of et al. begins with 7-author references.

Sources with two or more six-author groups with same first surname

If two or more six-author groups shorten to the same surname, cite the surnames of as many subsequent authors as needed to distinguish references.

(Baldwin, Utley et al., 2001)

(Baldwin, Bevan et al., 2000)