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Reference List

About Authors

To format author names in the reference list, include the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the first and, when applicable, middle initial.

Table 1

Formatting Authors for References

Author Requirements Example
One author Use the author format:
Last name, first initial(s).
Anderson, J. R. (2010).
Two authors Use the author format with comma and ampersand (&) between names. Brown, O., & Smith, J. (2009).
Three or more authors Use the author format for all authors, each separated by a comma and with a comma and ampersand before the last author. Cha, G., Lui, X., & Zou, S. (2008).
Group author (i.e. government agencies, businesses, etc.) Use the full name of the organization as it appears on the source, but without abbreviations. World Health Organization. (2018).
Editor as author Include (Ed.) after the author’s name. Summers, O. (Ed.). (2010).
Film Include the director as author, followed by the role in brackets. Hoffman, M. (Director). (2002).
Podcast episode Include the host as author, followed by the role in brackets. Dubner, S. J. (Host). (2017, July 26).
TV episode Include the writer and director as authors, followed by roles in brackets. Winger, A. (Writer), & Schrader, M. (Director). (2020, March 26).
Streaming video (e.g. YouTube) Include the person/group that uploaded the video. See below for information about Usernames. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. [mskcc]. (2010, August 11).
Username with author name available Use the author’s real name followed by the username in square brackets. Capitalize the username as it appears on the source. Sauer, K. [bear10090]. (2015, May 11).
Username with no author name available Use the username without square brackets as the author. Capitalize the username as it appears on the source. treehugger. (2015, July 8).

Authors with Two Last Names, Not Hyphenated

The first last name is treated as a middle initial in the references unless it is known that the author uses both last names.

If the author's name is Margaret Mclean Heitkemper,

  • Margaret is the first name,
  • McLean is treated as the middle name, and
  • Heitkemper is the last name.

Use the last name, Heitkemper, followed by the initials of the first and middle names, M. M., in the reference.

Example

Heitkemper, M. M.