apa handout (j)

8/10/2019 APA Handout (J)

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The Writing Centerat

Empire State College

Genesee Valley CenterRochester, N.Y.

GUIDE TO WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS

IN THE APA STYLE

This style sheet is intended only as an overview and does not cover all aspects of the APA

style. For more information, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological

Association or a style guide to writing research papers. The Writing Center has these

and other resources on hand, and Writing Center tutors can help you to use them.

Always ask your mentor which style to use before you begin to write your paper.

The APA style refers to the method of writing research papers recommended by the

American Psychological Association. The APA style is used in the social sciences and is

governed by two basic ideas. The first is that a scientific paper attempts to show something

that has already been proven true, so it calls for thepastorpresent perfecttensewhen you

cite the work of others. Second, the year of publication is important, so you need to feature

it immediately after any named source in the text.

Smyth (1972) foundthat children often studied while watching

television.

Williams and Maier (1994) have defineda new theory of cognition.

Use thepresenttensefor generalizations and personal comments. Use the past or present

perfect tenses only to introduce the work of cited sources.

eported on five incidents of

heroin overdose in the under 10 age group.

Basic APA Facts ace, including the text of your paper, quotations, notes, and the

reference page.

otations, indirect quotations, and/or

Use a Reference page for reference to parenthetical citations.

Evidence of the rise of the heroin use exists for every age group,

even children. Burroughs and Bruce (1996) r

Always double sp

Leave margins of at least one-inch at the top, bottom, right, and left of every page.

Use parenthetical citations to acknowledge direct qu

any ideas you have borrowed from another person.

Guide to Writing Research Papers in the APA Style January 11, 2003


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Within the text of your paper, underline titles of books, plays, pamphlets, periodicals,

films, television programs, and recordings; place in quotation marks titles of articles,

essays in anthologies, book chapters, and lectures.

Number pages in the upper right hand corner. Include a running head.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of the words and/or ideas of another person without acknowledging

the source. Plagiarism is generally grounds for failure of a course and can lead to dismissal

from college. To avoid plagiarism, acknowledge your sources with in-text citations and a

reference page. Enclose direct quotations in quotation marks or otherwise indent them

from the body of your text. If you use another persons idea or paraphrase another

persons words, be sure to use your own language and style of writingdont simply

rearrange the words. Use an in-text citation to acknowledge the source, then list on a

reference page the publications or sources from which you obtained your citations. For

more detailed information on plagiarism and how to avoid it, see the handout available at

the GVC Writing Center.

In-text Citations

Cite the first appearance of another persons words and/or ideas by introducing the

quotation or paraphrase with the authors name. After the first appearance, cite the

authors name either within the text of your writing or within the parenthetical citation

immediately following the cited passage. Always use the last name of the author/authors and

the year of publication. The year of publication always follows the name of the cited/quoted

authority. Note that commas separate items within parentheses. Following are some

examples of in-text citation methods in the APA style.

In his study of the effects of alcohol on the ability to drive,

Smith (1991) showed that the reaction times of participating drivers

were adversely affected by as little as a twelve ounce can of beer.

If you dont use the authors name in the text, place it within the parenthetical citation with

the date.

A recent study of the effects of alcohol on the ability to drive

showed that as little as twelve ounces of beer adversely affected the

reaction time of participating drivers (Smith, 1991).

Provide a page number when you use an exact quotation. Use quotation marks. Use the

singular p. or the plural pp. to indicate page number(s).

In his study on the effects of alcohol on drivers, Smith (1991, p.

104) stated that participants who drank twelve ounces of beer with a

3.5% alcohol content reacted, on average, 1.2 seconds more slowly to an



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emergency braking situation than they did when they had not ingested

alcohol.

As an alternative, place the page number within parentheses at the end of the quotation. If

you do so, remember to place the date immediately after the authors name.

In his study on the effects of alcohol on drivers, Smith (1991)

stated that participants who drank twelve ounces of beer with a 3.5%

alcohol content reacted, on average, 1.2 seconds more slowly to an

emergency braking situation than they did when they had not ingested

alcohol (p. 104).

Indent a direct quotation of 40 or more words five spaces from the left margin. If the

quotation includes more than one paragraph, indent the first line of succeeding paragraphs

five more spaces (ten spaces total). Dont use quotation marks, and be sure to double space

the quotation as well as your own writing.

In her study of adult patterns of television watching, Roberts

(1996) reported the following behaviors:

Response behaviors exhibited by participants who watched

television without any other persons present in the viewing room

included imitating the facial expressions and hand movements of

television characters as well as talking to individual characters.

Affective behaviors included exhibitions of anger such as shouting

and throwing magazines at the television.

Such behaviors were less evident behaviors in participants

who watched television in groups of three. Instead, participants

in group watching were more likely to interject critical or

humorous comments regarding the content of particular television

programs.

If youre citing an author whos been quoted in another book or article, use the original

authors name in the text, and cite in parentheses the source in which you found the

quotation.

Behavior is affected by situation. As Wallace (1972) postulated

in Individual and Group Behavior, a person who acts a certain way

independently may act in an entirely different manner while the member

of a group (cited in Barkin, 1992, p. 478).



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When citing a work with two, three, four, or five authors within the text of the paper, name

them all in the first entry, e.g.,(Smith, Andrews, and Lawrence 1995). After the first entry,

ite only the first authors name followed by et. al., e.g., (Smith, et. al.1995).

l.,

he author is not given, use the first word or two of the

community policing

and after school activities ("Innovations," 1997).

ymous,

996). In the bibliographic references, also use the name Anonymous as author.

c

When citing a work with six or more authors, name only the first author followed by et. a

e.g., (Fredericks, et. al., 1995). If t

title in the parenthetical citation.

Massachusetts state and municipal governments have initiated

several programs to improve public safety, including

If "Anonymous" is specified as the author, treat it as if it were a real name: (Anon

1

The Reference Page

You must always have a reference page as well as in-text citations to avoid plagiarism. The

reference page immediately follows the text of the paper. Items on the reference page are

listed alphabetically. Begin the first line of a reference at the left margin (i.e., do not inde

the first line as you did in the body text). All subsequent lines for a reference should be

indented one-half inch (this is sometimes known as an outdent or hanging indent). APA

has a second format that uses normal (one-half inch) indents on the first line of a reference,

and then left justifies subsequent lines to the left margin. This format is only for documents

being submitted for publishing. Student papers should always use the first (hanging inde

format. For the reference page, us

nt

nt)

the running head and page number, then center the

tle References two lines below.

andInc.from the publishers name. Use

ne space after periods and other punctuation.

Zimbardo, P. (1992). Psychology and life

e

ti

Books

List the authors last name first with initial of the first name; year of publication in

parentheses; title of book underlined (capitalize only the first word of the title and of any

subtitle, and all proper nouns); the edition (if any) in parentheses; place of publication; and

publisher. Omit the wordsPublishing, Company

o

Book by one author

(13 ed.). New York: Harper

Collins.

ist more than one book by the same author chronologically, earliest edition or work first.L



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Book by two or more authorsList authors as they are listed in the book; use an

and to indicate and.ampers

Brasco, D. & Corleone, M. (1992). Child development: A behavioral

approach. New York: Calavita.

Tork, P., Jones, D., & Nesmith, M. (1968). Adolescent development:

Behavioral mimicry. Los Angeles: Pasquin.

Textbo k, the chapter or

section title, the editors name preceded by In and followed by (Ed.), the title of the

and publisher.

es

ok or anthologyList cited author, date of the cited authors wor

textbook/anthology, edition number (if appropriate), page numbers on which the cited

authors work is found, place of publication,

Bailey, B. (1992). Jobs in the nineties. In V. Westerhaus (Ed.). Issu

for the 21st century (pp. 55-63). New York: Holt.

Book with a corporate authorList alphabetically with authors; if published by the author

of the book, list the publisher as the author.

American Psychiatric Association. (1992). Publication manual of the

American Psychological Association (3d ed.). Washington, DC:

can Psychological Association.

Journal ArticleList the author(s), year of publication in parentheses, title of article

capitali

umber underlined, and inclusive page numbers not preceded by p.or pp.

of

Ameri

Book with no author or editorAlphabetize by book title:

Student planning guide for degree programs and portfolios. (1996).

Saratoga Springs, NY: Empire State College.

Periodicals

without quotation marks and with only the first word, proper nouns, and words after colons

zed, name of the journal underlined and with all major words capitalized, volume

n

Smith, A. (1975). Driver age and crash involvement. American Journal

Public Health. 9. 326-327.

Brown, W. & Williamson, L. J. (1983). The myth of carcinogenic elements

in tobacco smoke. American Journal of Public Health. 14. 419-431.

MagazineList the author(s), year and month of publication (without abbreviations), title

nouns

e

of the article without quotation marks and with only the first word and proper

capitalized, name of the magazine underlined and with all major words capitalized, volum

number, and inclusive page numbers preceded by p. or pp.



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Jackson, L. M. (1997, April). Taking back the streets. School Planning

and Management. pp. 30-31.

Newspa month, and day of publication (without

abbreviations), title of the article with only the first word and proper nouns capitalized,

omplete name of the newspaper underlined with all major words capitalized, and thesection with discontinuous page numbers preceded by p. or pp.

ead

impact on society, scholars say. The Chronicle of Higher

perList the author(s), year,

c

Raymond, C. (1990, September 12). Global migration will have widespr

Education. pp. A1, A6.

Computer Sources

he following information is provided in Harnack, A., & Kleppinger, E. (2000). Online! A

f sing Internet Sources. New York: Bedford/St. Martins.

orld Wide Web sites

o document a specific file, provide as much as possible of the following information:

Authors name

Date of publication or last revision (if known), in parentheses

Title of document

Title of complete work (if relevant), in italics or underlined

Ava

UR

indicated in square brackets at end of citation)

Patterson, O. (2001). Cultural continuity and collective memory. In The

T

Re erence Guide to U

W

T

Online in square brackets

ilability (indicated by the word Available)

L

Retrieval Date (

Emory center for myth and ritual in American life [Online].

Available: http://www.emory.edu/college/MARIAL/ [2001,

October 29].



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Online document

n).

. Retrieval date.

Authors name (last name, first and any middle initials). (Date of Internet publicatio

Document title. Where available: URL (or other retrieval information)

Shapiro, H. (1999). Professional communications. Available:

http://www1.esc.edu/personalfac/hshapiro/

professional_communications/default.htm [November 6, 2001].

docume

Bryant

Book

An online book may be the electronic text of part or all of a printed book, or a book-length

nt available only on the Internet (e.g.a work of hyperfiction).

, P. (1999). Biodiversity and Conservation. [Online]. Available:

http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.htm [October 4,

Fine, M., and Kurdek, L.A. (1993, March 9). Reflections on determining

authorship credit and authorship order on faculty-student

ons. Available: American Psychologist

1999].

Article in an electronic journal (ejournal)

collaborati . 48. 1141-1147

http://www.apa.org/journals/amp/kurdek.html [June 7, 1999].

Article

Adler, J. (1999, May 17). Ghost of Everest. Available: Newsweek

in an electronic magazine (ezine)

:

htpp://newsweek.com/nwsrv/issue/20_99a/printed/us/so/so0120_1.htm

Azar, B., & Martin, S. (1999, October). APAs Council of Representatives

endorses new standards for testing, high school psychology.

[May 19, 1999].

Newspaper article

Available: APA Monitor. http://www.apa.org/monitor/inl.html

Gover

nt

Available:

[October 7,1999].

nment publication

Bush, G. (1989, April 12). Principles of ethical conduct for governme

officers and employees. Exec. Order No. 12674. Pt. 1.

http://www.usoge.gov/exorders/eol2674.html [November 18, 1997].



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E-mail

Ward, Neil ([email protected]). (2001, October 22). Tutoring Japanese

students. E-mail to Shirley Jackson ([email protected]).

the E-mail source is a consistently retrievable, subscriber-based journal or

ate [9 paragraphs]. Psycoloquy

. (Simply include a reference to the date sent and the subject heading):

However, if

other text/document on E-mail, include it in the reference page as follows:

Funder, D. C. (1994, March). Judgmental process and content: Commentary

of Koehler on base-r [On-line

serial], 5, (17). Available E-mail: psyc@pucc Message: Get psyc

CD-RO

Include the following information if your citation refers to an entire CD-ROM:G.(1991). Computer confluence

94-xxxx

M

Beekman, (Version 1.0) [CD-ROM]. New York:

Include the following information for an abstract on a CD-ROM:

Benjamin/Cummings.

Meyer, A. S., & Bock, K. (1992). The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon:

Blocking or partial activation? [CD-ROM]. Memory & Cognition, 20.

715-726. Abstract from: Silver Platter File: PsycLIT Item: 80-

16351

Software

Norton, P. (1990). The new Norton guides 4.0 [Computer software]. New

York: Simon & Schuster.

AbstractThe APA style requires an abstract, an 80 to 120 word summary of the contents of the

paper that immediately follows the title page. Be sure to ask your mentor whether or not

Whereas you might not always be able to supply all the above information, follow the

general APA format for the specific type of source you are citing (journal, article, chapter,

book, etc.). Include all necessary information to allow the reader to access the source

material.

s/he requires an abstract. The abstract should include the purpose, thesis, and conclusions

of your paper and be accurate, self-contained, concise, coherent, and readable. Do not use a



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paragraph indentation for the abstract. The abstract requires a separate page and

immediately follows the title page.

APA format requires a title page that establishes a running head. Ask your Mentor if you

need to provide a title page for your paper.

Abstract

Nicotine has been identified as an addictive substance since the mid-nineteenth century, when

it was the first substance used to explore and map the synaptic system of receptors.

Moreover, the common perception of American society throughout the twentieth century

regarded cigarette smoking as a bad habit akin to addiction. Yet, despite more than a century

of scientific study into and acceptance of nicotine as an addictive substance, American political,

medical, scientific, and common societies still carry on a dialogue regarding whether or not

nicotine is addictive. This dialogue is the very foundation of the prevailing negative attitudes

toward tobacco. The scientific and medical communities proclaim the costly outcomes of

nicotine addiction while the tobacco industry claims that nicotine is a relatively innocuous product.

Addiction 2



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Addiction 1

Addiction: Societal Denial

of the Addictive Nature of Nicotine

William M. Reynolds

Austin Peay State University

Running Head: Addiction

Each successive page will then have the running head Addiction followed by the page

number in the upper right hand corner.

This style sheet was produced with the aid of the

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (3rded.) and the

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4thed.)

apa handout (j)

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