Cite a systematic review as a journal article: author(s), year, title, journal, volume(issue), page range or article number, and the DOI link.
Found a gold-standard review and want to cite it with zero fuss? APA 7 treats systematic reviews like any other journal article. Follow the patterns below for tidy in-text citations and a clean reference entry. Use consistency across your paper for a polished finish.
APA 7 Systematic Review Citation: Quick Patterns
Use these patterns to match common cases you’ll see.
| Scenario | Reference List Template | In-Text Example |
|---|---|---|
| One author | Lastname, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), pages or article number. https://doi.org/xxxxx | (Lastname, Year) |
| Two authors | Lastname, A. A., & Lastname, B. B. (Year). Title. Journal, Volume(Issue), pages or article number. https://doi.org/xxxxx | (Lastname & Lastname, Year) |
| 3–20 authors | List all authors with commas and & before the last. (Year). Title. Journal, Volume(Issue), pages or article number. https://doi.org/xxxxx | (FirstAuthor et al., Year) |
| 21+ authors | First 19 authors, …, Last author. (Year). Title. Journal, Volume(Issue), pages or article number. https://doi.org/xxxxx | (FirstAuthor et al., Year) |
| Group author | Organization Name. (Year). Title. Journal, Volume(Issue), pages or article number. https://doi.org/xxxxx | (Organization Name, Year) |
| No DOI | Use the same format but omit the DOI. End with a period: pages or article number. | (Lastname, Year) |
| Article number | Use the eLocator instead of pages: e.g., 12, Article e12345. Keep the DOI. | (Lastname et al., Year) |
| Advance online | Lastname, A. A., … (Year). Title. Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/xxxxx | (Lastname, Year) |
Core Elements You Need
Author And Date
List authors in the order shown on the paper. Use surnames and initials only. If you see more than 20 authors, include the first 19, add an ellipsis (no ampersand), then the final name.
Title And Description
Use the article’s title in sentence case. Don’t add bracketed labels like “[Systematic review]” unless those words appear in the title. Capitalize proper nouns and the first word after a colon.
Source Details
Give the journal in title case and italics. Add the volume in italics, the issue in parentheses, then the page range or article number. Include the DOI as a clickable URL that starts with “https://doi.org/”. For layout rules and examples, see the APA page on journal article references.
Step-By-Step: From Article To Reference
- Copy the author line exactly, converting first names to initials.
- Add the year in parentheses, followed by a period.
- Write the title in sentence case, ending with a period.
- Add the journal in italics, then the volume in italics and the issue in parentheses.
- Insert the page range or the article number.
- Add the DOI in URL form with no period at the end.
Mini Walkthrough
Say you have a review by Chen, Patel, Mora, and Singh from 2024 in Nutrition Reviews, volume 82, issue 5, article e30627, with DOI 10.1093/nutrit/nuad123. Your entry becomes:
Chen, L., Patel, R., Mora, F., & Singh, T. (2024). Dietary fiber and insulin outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 82(5), e30627. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuad123
In-text you’d write: Narrative: Chen et al. (2024). Parenthetical: (Chen et al., 2024). For in-text formats, see parenthetical vs. narrative.
Edge Cases For Systematic Reviews
Many Authors
When a review lists 21 or more authors, keep the first 19 names, place an ellipsis, then add the final author. Do not use “&” before the last name in that long list. In-text still shortens to the first author plus “et al.”
Cochrane And Article Numbers
Many reviews in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews use an article number (e.g., CD012345) rather than page ranges. Use that identifier in the place of pages and include the DOI. Keep the journal title in italics.
No DOI Or Database Only
If the review has no DOI and comes from a widely available academic database, cite it as you would a print article and end the reference after the page range or article number. Don’t add a database name or a general database URL.
Advance Online Publication
Some journals post reviews online before assigning volumes or issues. Use the label “Advance online publication” after the journal title and include the DOI. Update a future draft if a final volume and issue appear later.
Worked Examples You Can Adapt
Use these models as patterns. Names, titles, and DOIs here are sample data for teaching use.
| Scenario | Reference Entry (Example) | In-Text |
|---|---|---|
| Two authors | Lopez, J. M., & Krishnan, P. (2023). Screening strategies for colorectal cancer: A systematic review. BMJ Open, 13(9), e056789. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-056789 | (Lopez & Krishnan, 2023) |
| 3–20 authors | O’Neill, R., Kim, D., Zhao, H., & Weber, S. (2022). Urban air quality and asthma control: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Asthma, 59(7), 1320-1334. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2022.2030000 | (O’Neill et al., 2022) |
| 21+ authors | Ahmed, K., Brown, T., Clark, U., Davis, V., Evans, W., Flores, X., Green, Y., Harris, Z., Ito, A., Jones, B., Khan, C., Lee, D., Martin, E., Nguyen, F., Ortiz, G., Park, H., Quinn, I., Rivera, J., … Young, S. (2021). Exercise programs for chronic low back pain: A systematic review. Pain, 162(7), 1691-1705. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002267 | (Ahmed et al., 2021) |
| Group author | World Health Organization. (2020). Hand hygiene compliance in hospitals: Systematic review. The Lancet Global Health, 8(10), e1234-e1246. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30234-5 | (World Health Organization, 2020) |
| Advance online | Vargas, L., & Stone, A. (2025). Wearables for sleep staging: A systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2025.101000 | (Vargas & Stone, 2025) |
| Cochrane | Smith, R., & Patel, K. (2019). Omega-3 supplementation for depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019(3), CD010123. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010123.pub2 | (Smith & Patel, 2019) |
| No DOI | Garcia, N., & Shah, S. (2018). Community gardens and diet quality: A systematic review. Public Health Reports, 133(4), 412-421. | (Garcia & Shah, 2018) |
| Article number | Li, P., Huang, J., & Costa, M. (2020). Telehealth in rural primary care: Systematic review. PLoS ONE, 15(6), e0235176. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235176 | (Li et al., 2020) |
In-Text Citation Refresh
Use author–date. For two authors, use an ampersand inside parentheses and “and” in narrative prose. From three authors onward, shorten to the first author plus “et al.” every time. Add page numbers only when you quote lines or refer to a specific table or figure. For multiple reviews in one set of parentheses, sort by author and year, separated by semicolons.
Quick Checklist Before You Publish
- Names are in the right order, with initials only.
- Year is in parentheses right after the authors.
- Title is in sentence case; proper nouns are capitalized.
- Journal and volume are italicized; issue is in parentheses.
- Page range or article number appears after the issue.
- DOI is a live https link with no period at the end.
- In-text citations use the author–date pattern that matches the reference.
Treat a systematic review as a journal article and mirror APA 7 punctuation for clean, reusable citations.