Can I abbreviate long names in APA citations? Like, instead of saying National Institutes of Health (2010) can I say NIH (2010)?

Answer

Yes, you can abbreviate institutional and agency names.

If your reference entry is:

National Institutes of Health. (2010). Minority health. http://health.nih.gov/category/MinorityHealth

 

Your first in-text citation would be something like:

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah (National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2010).

or

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2010), blah blah blah blah blah.

After this, you can simply use (NIH, 2010) or NIH (2010) in your text.


Information above is based the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., Section 6.24 (p. 173).

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  • Last Updated Feb 13, 2023
  • Views 62187
  • Answered By Kerry Louvier

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Comments (1)

  1. Do you have to restate the title of the institution in the first in-text citation, if the abbreviation has been properly documented in the text? Kate, Librarian Answer: According to APA Style 7th Edition (2022) "On first use, write out the full term (or group author name) and follow with the abbreviation" (para. 4). After the first use of the abbreviation, it is no longer necessary to restate it. For more information, please visit: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/abbreviations-guide.pdf References: American Psychological Association. (2022, August 22). APA Style 7th edition: Abbreviations guide. https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/abbreviations-guide.pdf
    by karen on Feb 10, 2023

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