Changing our referencing style from Cranfield Author-Date to APA7

From the start of the new academic year, we will be changing the Author-Date referencing style we support to APA7. The existing Cranfield Numbered style will continue to be supported.

Why are we making this change?

The current Cranfield Author-Date style mainly follows the APA6 style, with a mix of Harvard, that we need to maintain ourselves. This is costly in terms of development and also difficult when new formats are cited in the literature that are not covered by the guide.

There are several benefits of moving to APA7:

• APA7 is a recognised style that will be familiar to many students and staff.
• Whilst APA7 has its differences, it is not vastly different to the Cranfield Author-Date style. One of the differences is that APA7 removes duplicate information. For example, if the author and publisher are the same, the publisher element is removed from the reference.
• APA7 supports a wide range of resource types and new types are regularly added by the APA – this will make it easier for staff and students to keep up to date with citing new platforms, technologies, etc.
• Mendeley supports APA7 – we will no longer have to create/update our own style. This will save both time and costs.
• For those not using a reference management software package such as Mendeley, APA6 is inbuilt in the referencing functionality in Word. (We expect this to be updated to APA7 in due course).
• APA7 is supported with a blog, several books/eBooks and user forums. This will make it easier for staff and students to locate guidance on formats not included in the guide.

How will it affect me?

APA7 will be introduced to new students starting from September in the 2021-2022 academic year. We are planning to circulate the new APA7 guide at the end of July to enable teaching staff to become familiar with the new style and further information will follow.

We are not dictating that the APA7 style must be used on all courses but we are hoping that the majority of academics will support our move.

Current students (both research and taught) already using the Cranfield Author-Date style will continue to be supported with this format.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about this change, or want to learn more about how it might affect you, please contact your Information Specialist.

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