New edition of the APA7 Author-Date referencing guide published

We have issued a second edition of the APA7 Author-Date referencing guide.

The updated edition contains an enhanced introduction written in association with the academic language support team. It includes guidance on why and when to use in-text citations, what an in-text citation should look like, how to incorporate citations into your writing, and what to do with trickier citations like multiple group authors, abbreviations, and authors with the same names. In terms of the referencing advice itself, there is further information on using web page links and retrieved dates.

In response to your feedback, we have added guidance for additional source types, including:

• reference works like dictionaries, thesaurus, and encyclopaedias
• military reports such as JSPs, JDPs, JCNs and MAA regulatory publications
• personal profiles and psychometric reports
• ICAO standards
• legal documents such as Acts in another language, European regulations, and EASA regulations
• internet sources including frequently updated web pages, Blog posts, Wikis and Knowledge bases
• how to deal with surveys, questionnaires, or interviews from your research
• acknowledging use of Generative AI images and output

The new guide is now available on our referencing and plagiarism web page.

If you need any help or advice with referencing, please contact your library.

Minor changes to existing guidance from the first edition

Please note two very minor changes to the existing guidance.

1. There is a correction to the use of italics in referencing a conference. The title should be italicised, not the conference.
   So instead of:
   Wilson, M. (2019, May 8). (Lack of) diversity at work [Keynote address]. M25 2019 Annual Conference: Diversifying our Services, London, England. https://www.m25lib.ac.uk/2019/05/09/presentations-2019-annual-conference/
   the reference should actually read:
   Wilson, M. (2019, May 8). (Lack of) diversity at work [Keynote address]. M25 2019 Annual Conference: Diversifying our Services, London, England.       https://www.m25lib.ac.uk/2019/05/09/presentations-2019-annual-conference/
2. In the first edition we used abbreviations for group authors e.g. (MOD, 2021) whereas we are now advising to spell abbreviations out in full the first time you use them e.g. (Ministry of Defence [MOD], 2021).

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