How to propery use the expression "c.f." in in-text citations in APA 6th edition format?

farooqm

Dear mates,

Sometimes, I need to provide a consulting reference to an argument which does not directly say it. In other words, I want to say an argument and then point the reader to consult other references. Currently, I am using c.f. in beginning as prefix to an in-text citation. The problem is how to do it when you cite multiple references. For example, below are three references I need to cite and they are all sources that I am referring to the reader to consult further in relation with the argument. Now it seems that oncly first reference is the one that I am asking to refer to, whereas other references are the ones that are saying the argument. Should I place c.f. in front of all three references?



c.f. Pfohl, Yahsi, & Kurnaz, 2017; Schweer & Sahl, 2017; Thuemmler & Bai, 2017

Many thanks,
Farooq

bwiernik

Re-order the references to put the ones that directly say the argument first, then cf. Third Reference. This is correct per APA style; generally the references are alphabetized, but you can change the order if needed when using prefixes and suffixes as appropriate.

Also, "cf." only has one period and no comma, unlike "e.g.," or "i.e.,".

farooqm

HI Bwiernik many thanks for this and suggestion for correctly writing "cf.", very much appreciated.

However, in my case all three references are the ones that I am directing the reader to. None of them say the argument exactly, but my argument is clarified and solidified when readers refer to these references. So is there any way that cf. can be used for all three in-text references?

bwiernik

Basically, it is assumed that all of the references after "cf." or "e.g.," are qualified by that prefix, so if you have three references that provide support for your argument by comparison, format it like: (cf. First Reference; Second Reference; Third Reference).

farooqm

Thank you very much bwiernik, much appreciated. Regards, Farooq.