We use APA referencing in the VNJ and recently there have been some formatting changes to follow the 7th edition. The following information summarises those changes.

•   New guideline for citation of references with three or more authors

•   New guidelines for references with long author lists (eight or more)

•   Inclusion of issue number in all journal articles

•   Omission of publisher location from nonperiodical references

•   New reference formatting for all types, including conference presentations and audio-visual resources (follow the link on the BVNA website for full details: http://www.localhost:10018/publications/ veterinary-nursing-journal).

In-text citation

In-text citations should be used to justify any statements made that are not the authors own thoughts.

• One author: Surname, year of publication

•   Two authors: Surname & Surname, year of publication

• Three – twenty authors: surname of main author, et al., year of publication.

Reference list

The reference list should be at the end of the article and be in alphabetical order according to the surname of the first author. A reference list is a list of sources that are cited in the article.

•   Reference entries are ordered alphabetically by their first authors’ surnames

•   Reference entries credited to first authors who share surnames are ordered alphabetically by the first authors’ given-name initials

•   Reference entries credited to the same first authors, with identical surnames and given-name initials, are ordered alphabetically by the subsequent authors’ surnames and given-name initials

•   Reference entries featuring the same full author lists are ordered chronologically by their publication dates (no date/“n.d.” entries, first; followed by, dated entries; and finally, “in press” entries)

•   Reference entries featuring the same full author lists and the same publication dates are ordered alphabetically by their titles, with introductory articles (“A,” “An,” “The”) ignored. Lowercase alphabetical designators (“a,” “b,” “c,” etc.) are affixed to the publication years of entries in this subset of references e.g. Smith, A. (1999a)

•   Reference entries with organisational authors are ordered alphabetically among the other entries by the organisations’ names. Introductory articles ("A," “An,” “The”) are ignored

•   Reference entries with no credited authors are ordered alphabetically among the other entries by their titles. Introductory articles (“A,” “An,” “The”) are ignored.

Journal issue number

The reference entry for a journal article that has published in its final form usually features both a volume number, which is italicised, and an issue number.

Publisher location

A reference entry for a book or report includes the name of the publisher under most circumstances but omits the publisher’s location. An entry for a dissertation or thesis, similarly, features the name of the awarding institution but excludes the institution’s location.

DOI: 10.1080/17415349.2020.1743498

• VOL 35 • May 2020 • Veterinary Nursing Journal