APA style is an "author–year" system

In-text citation: Cite the author and year (and page number if needed) directly in your text.

Full reference in the reference list: This is where you give complete details about the source, so readers can track it down.

An in-text citation has 2(3) elements, always in this order:

Author, year, optionally page number, paragraph, section, etc.
(All elements are separated by commas).

Examples:

Throughout history ... (Goksøyr, 2008, p. 3).
According to Flekkøy (2022), ... (para. 4).
Furthermore, Berg (2021, pp. 12–14) states that ....

A reference list entry has 4(5) elements, in this order:

Author. (Year, or year and date). Title of what you read, heard, or watched. Source (e.g. publisher, website, newspaper, encyclopaedia, journal, book with editor/editors). + URL/DOI where available.
(Elements are separated by periods).

Examples:

Berg, E. (2021). Kroppsøving – med rom for alle: Om læring, anerkjennelse, samhandling og utforsking. Fagbokforlaget.

Goksøyr, M. (2008). Historien om norsk idrett. Abstrakt.

Flekkøy, K. G. (2022, 8. februar). Bærekraftig idrett. NIH. https://www.nih.no/om/aktuelt/podden/2022/berekraftig-idrett.html

Rafoss, K. & Tangen, J. O. (2017). Den norske idrettsmodellen – i utakt med tiden? Norsk Sosiologisk Tidsskrift, 1(2), 152-170. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.2535-2512-2017-02-04

Visual: How in-text citations link to the reference list

Both in-text citations and reference list entries begin with the author, followed by the year.
If the work has a specific date, this comes after the year in the reference list. Dates are not included in in-text citations, except for personal communication
In-text citation Author, year, optionally also page number	Reference list entry Author. (Year). Title. Source, and URL/DOI if available.
Looking at the development from … (Goksøyr, 2008, p. 3). According to Berg (2021, pp. 12–14) it may be …. Furthermore, Hanstad (2025) states that there is no …. (p. 99).	Berg, E. (2021). Kroppsøving – med rom for alle: Om læring, anerkjennelse, samhandling og utforsking. Fagbokforlaget. Goksøyr, M. (2008). Historien om norsk idrett. Abstrakt. Hanstad, D. V. (2025). Idrettens organisasjoner i et samfunn i endring. Fagbokforlaget.

Tips!

The most commonly used source types are books, journal articles, and chapters in edited books. This PDF gives clear examples of all three reference types: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/journal-article-reference-checklist.pdf

Video from OsloMet:

Any questions about citations and references? Visit the library or send us an email: library@nih.no

Useful links
APA style for beginners https://apastyle.apa.org/beginners
Handouts and guides on APA style (English) https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/handouts-guides