What is the APA Order of References?

The APA Order of References is a set of rules from the American Psychological Association that guides the way you list sources at the end of your academic paper. 

They are added to the APA references page. Following these rules is important for giving credit to the original authors and allowing readers to locate the sources you used.

To order references accurately according to the APA style 7th Ed., you need to follow certain official guidelines. This is where our blog will help you out!

In this detailed guide, you will find APA reference list examples that follow the exact ordering guidelines provided by the latest APA format. We will help you throw away all your confusion and help you learn APA order of reference lists easily.

Let’s get started.

How to Order APA Reference List Entries 

According to the 7th Ed. of the APA Format, you have to follow the alphabetical order. The entries in the reference list are ordered by the first author’s last name. Such as:

But in certain circumstances, you will need to order the references chronologically or by some distinct guidelines provided by the APA 7th Edition. Continue reading to understand what is the order of references in APA format for complex situations. 

Multiple Works by The Same Author 

The APA order of references for the same author whose published multiple works is quite simple. , Order the references chronologically by publication date, with the earliest work listed first. 

If an author has multiple works published in the same year, add lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.) to distinguish between them.

Example:

Multiple Authors of The Same Work

If the first author is the same, but subsequent authors are different, order the references based on the second author’s last name. If the second author is the same, then order on the third author, and so on. 

Different First Names, Same Surname 

If the first names are different, use the initials of the authors to determine the order, with works from authors with earlier initials coming first.

In this example, works by “Harper, E. P.” would come first, followed by “Harper, E. R.,” and then “Harper, Q. L.” The ordering is based on the initials, with the works from authors with earlier initials appearing first.

Using Prefixes to Order References 

If authors' last names have prefixes (such as van, de, di, du, etc.), you generally ignore these prefixes when alphabetizing the references. However, there are specific rules for certain prefixes. Here's a general guideline:

• Ignore common prefixes like “van,” “de,” “di,” “du,” etc. when alphabetizing by author's last name
  
• Alphabetize by the main part of the last name that follows the prefix
  
• If a last name is hyphenated, treat it as a single unit for alphabetization
  

Legal Works in APA Reference Order

• Arrange legal cases alphabetically by the first significant word of the first party's name.
• If there are multiple cases with the same first party, order them by the first significant word of the second party's name.
• If the reference does not have an individual author, use the name of the government agency or organization as the author.
  

Reference Order When The Author is Missing

When the author of the work is missing or unknown, start the reference with the title of the work. Use the first significant word of the title (excluding articles like “a,” “an,” or “the”) to determine the alphabetical order. 

Italicize the title and use sentence case (capitalize only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns).

How to Use Apostrophes, Hyphens, Parentheses, and Brackets

When ordering your APA reference list, these punctuation marks play specific roles:

Apostrophes (' and 's)

• Ignore apostrophes when determining alphabetical order
  
• Alphabetize the word as if the apostrophe and “s” were not present
  

Example:

Children's Education comes before Children's Play.

Hyphens (-) 

• Treat hyphenated words as separate words when alphabetizing
  
• Consider each part of the hyphenated word as an individual word

Example:

High-Quality is placed before Highway.

Parentheses () 

• Disregard the content within parentheses when ordering references
  
• Alphabetize based on the words outside the parentheses

Example:

Health (Mental) is ordered as if the content in parentheses is not there

Brackets ([]) 

• Similar to parentheses, ignore the content within brackets when alphabetizing
  
• Order based on the words outside the brackets

Example:

Research [Advanced] is alphabetized without considering the content inside brackets.

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