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APA 7th Edition Referencing Guide1

A Wintec Library guide to referencing in APA 7th edition style

Referencing a book with an unknown or anonymous author

(including encyclopedias and dictionaries with no author).

When referencing a book with neither an individual nor corporate author, use the title of the book in place of the missing author's name in both the reference list entry and your in-text citations. If the title is especially long, use a shortened version of it in text.

Title of book in italic sentence case. (Date). Name of Publisher.

The complete encyclopaedia of garden flowers(2007). Bateman.


Examples

Reference list entry

The complete encyclopaedia of garden flowers(2003). Bateman.

In-text citations

Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.

Narrative
The Complete Encyclopaedia of Garden Flowers (2003) depicts ... (p. 19).

Parenthetical
... (The Complete Encyclopaedia of Garden Flowers, 2003, p. 19).

 

Note
Observe the different capitalisation for reference list entries versus in-text citations

How do I reference a resource with an unknown or anonymous author?

Type of source Reference list entry In-text citations Example

Book
Brochure
Journal
Report

Title in author position in Italic sentence case. Shorten title if appropriate; use Italic Title Case.

College Bound Seniors (2008) states that ... (p. 27).

(College Bound Seniors, 2008, p. 27).

Chapter
Article
Webpage
Title in author position in sentence case, no italics Shorten title if appropriate; enclose in quotation marks ("..."); use Title Case. ... on free care ("Study Finds", 2007). 


See Publication Manual (7th ed.), section 8.14, pp. 264–265.
 

Note
Resources with unknown or anonymous authors may not be reliable/authoritative; consider using alternative sources.

Locating the author of a source

A flowchart of steps to determine the author of a source. If the source names an individual as the author, use that person't name when referencing. If the source does not have an individual author but does have the name of a company, organisation, government department, etc., use that as the author when referencing. If neither are present, reference the source as having no author.

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