The American Psychological Association published the 7th edition of its manual in 2020, replacing the 6th edition from 2010. Most universities and journals have switched, but you will still meet APA 6 in older handbooks, in some departments and journals, and in reference lists you are updating. The core of the style is the same in both editions; the changes are in the details.
The same book in both editions
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
APA 7 drops the publisher location (Thousand Oaks, CA). That is the change you will make most often when updating a reference list.
Changes in the reference list
- No publisher location. APA 6: London: Heinemann. APA 7: Heinemann.
- More authors listed. APA 6 lists up to seven authors; for eight or more, the first six, an ellipsis, then the last. APA 7 lists up to 20 authors; for 21 or more, the first 19, an ellipsis, then the last.
- DOIs as links. APA 6 originally wrote doi:10.1126/science.aah5309; APA 7 always uses https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309, with no “DOI:” label.
- No “Retrieved from”. APA 6 wrote Retrieved from https://… before web addresses. APA 7 gives the URL on its own, and uses “Retrieved” only with a retrieval date for pages designed to change.
- Website names. APA 7 includes the name of the website, unless it is the same as the author.
- Ebooks. APA 6 added the format or device ([Kindle version]). APA 7 treats an ebook like a print book, adding a DOI or URL if it has one.
Changes in the text
The biggest in-text change concerns sources with three or more authors.
Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Kinnan, C. (2015). The miracle of microfinance? Evidence from a randomized evaluation. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(1), 22–53. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20130533
In-text: (Banerjee, Duflo, Glennerster, & Kinnan, 2015)
Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Kinnan, C. (2015). The miracle of microfinance? Evidence from a randomized evaluation. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(1), 22–53. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20130533
In-text: (Banerjee et al., 2015)
- APA 6: three to five authors are all named the first time you cite them, then shortened to “et al.”; six or more use “et al.” from the start.
- APA 7: three or more authors use “et al.” from the first citation.
Citations of one or two authors are the same in both editions: (Suri & Jack, 2016).
Changes to the paper itself
- Student papers: APA 7 has a separate, simpler title page for students and drops the running head from student papers.
- Fonts: APA 6 required Times New Roman 12 pt. APA 7 accepts a range of readable fonts, including Calibri 11, Arial 11, Georgia 11 and Times New Roman 12.
- Headings: the five heading levels were redesigned so that every level is bold and easier to tell apart.
- Language: APA 7 expands the guidance on bias-free language and endorses the singular “they”.
Quick reference
| APA 6 | APA 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher location | Included (London: Heinemann) | Left out (Heinemann) |
| Authors in reference list | Up to 7 | Up to 20 |
| DOIs | doi:10.xxxx (later https://doi.org/) | https://doi.org/10.xxxx |
| Web addresses | Retrieved from https://… | https://… |
| 3+ authors in text | All names first time if 3–5 | et al. from the first citation |
| Running head | Required | Professional papers only |
Updating a whole reference list
Changing dozens of references by hand is slow and easy to get wrong. The APA 6 to APA 7 converter does it in one go: paste your list, and each reference is matched against the Crossref catalogue, then reformatted and re-sorted in APA 7. If you need to go the other way, the APA 7 to APA 6 converter does that too.