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Style Guide
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As of 2025, American Fisheries Society (AFS) publications use APA style for references.
*Note that as of July 15, 2025, the References section of this style guide is out of date. References should now use APA Style.
If you need additional assistance with your citations/references, please reach out or book a research appointment with me (using the link to the right).
APA citation style uses the Author-Date citation system for in-text citations.
For exceptions and additional information, please, consult the APA Style Guide, the AFS Manuscript Submission Guide, and the AFS Publication Style Guide.
| Author type | Parenthetical citation | Narrative citation |
|---|---|---|
| One author | ...(Luna, 2020). | Luna (2020)... |
| Two authors | ...(Salas & D'Agostino, 2020). | Salas and D'Agostino (2020)... |
| Three or more authors | ...(Martin et al., 2020). | Martin et al. (2020)... |
| Group author with abbreviation (1st citation) | ...(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020). | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2020)... |
| Group author with abbreviation (subsequent citations) | ...(NIMH, 2020). | NIMH (2020)... |
| Group author without abbreviation | ...(Stanford University, 2020). | Stanford University (2020)... |
...in the field (Cuellar, 2016).
...similar findings (McCauley & Christiansen, 2019).
Cuellar (2016) found that...
McCauley and Christiansen (2019) state that...
When there is more than one citation for a particular statement, list them in alphabetical order, separating each with a semicolon. If there are two authors, the last names of both of them should be included in the text citation with an ampersand "&" in between. If there are more than two authors, include the last name of the first author followed by “et al.”
...were reported (Bergeson, 2019; Bustillos, 2013; Weir, 2017).
...through examination (Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Sullivan, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017).
Bergeson (2019), Bustillos (2013), and Weir (2017) explored the...
(Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Sullivan, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017)
When there are multiple references with the same author(s) and publication year, add a lowercase letter (a, b, c...) after the year to differentiate them. The year-letter format is used in the in-text citations and reference list. The order in the reference list will inform the order of the lowercase letter to use. The references should be ordered alphabetically by title (disregarding the words "A," "An," and "The" at the beginning of a title).
...as described (Brown, 2020a; Brown, 2020b; Brown, 2020c).
Brown (2020a; 2020b; 2020c) described...
Reference examples from the In-Text Citations and Reference Examples chapters of the Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, on pages 263, 266, 317, and 320.
The reference list should be ordered alphabetically by the first word of the entry (typically by the first author surname or organization name). Spaces or punctuation marks in surnames should be listed in whole and disregarded in alphabetical ordering. Authors who have the same surname and given name should be listed in chronological order by birth year, with the eldest being first.
For detailed rules consult the APA Style Guide and the AFS guides provided through the links above.
Benjamin, A. S., precedes ben Yaakov, D.
Denzin, N. K., precedes de Onís, C., precedes Devlin, J. T.
Girard, J.-B., precedes Girard-Perregaux, A. S.
Ibn Abdulaziz, T., precedes Ibn, Nidal, A. K. M.
López, M. E., precedes López de Molina, G.
MacCallum, T., II, precedes MacCallum, T., III
MacNeil, E., precedes O'Neil, U., precedes Oppenheimer, R.
Partridge, F., precedes Plato
San Martin, Q. E., precedes Santa Maria, M., precedes Santayana, F. E.
Santiago, J., Sr., precedes Santiago, J., Jr.
Villafuerte, S. A., precedes Villa-Lobos, J.
When there are multiple references with the same author(s) and publication year, add a lowercase letter (a, b, c...) after the year to differentiate them. The year-letter format is used in the in-text citations and reference list. The order in the reference list will inform the order of the lowercase letter to use. The references should be ordered alphabetically by title (disregarding the words "A," "An," and "The" at the beginning of a title).
Brown, H. (2020a). The general...
Brown, H. (2020b). Last year...
Brown, H. (2020c). An open...
Reference examples from the Reference List chapter of the Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, on page 304.