apa style handout

7/30/2019 APA Style Handout

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APAStyleCitationGuideThishandoutisbasedonthe6theditionofthePublicationManualoftheAmericanPsychological

Association(APA),butisnotacomprehensiveguide.ForallrulesandrequirementsofAPAcitations,

pleaseconsultthe6theditionofthePublicationManualoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation.

APArequires

that

information

be

cited

in

2different

wayswithin

the

text

and

in

areference

list

at

the

endofthepaper.Thereferencelistshouldbeonanewpage,doublespaced,andusethehanging

indentmethod(alllinesafterthefirstoneareindented). Seealso:

PublicationManualoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation,6thed.Washington,DC:

AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,2010.

ConciseRulesofAPAStyle,6thed.Washington,DC:AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,2010.

CITATIONSINTHETEXT:APAusestheauthordatemethodofcitation.Thelastnameoftheauthorandthedateofpublication

areinsertedinthetextintheappropriateplace.

Whenreferencingorsummarizingasource,providetheauthorandyear.Whenquotingorsummarizing

aparticularpassage,includethespecificpageorparagraphnumber,aswell.

Whenquotinginyourpaper,ifadirectquoteislessthan40words,incorporateitintoyourtextandusequotationmarks.Ifadirectquoteismorethan40words,makethequotationafreestandingindentedblockoftextandDONOTusequotationmarks.

Oneworkbyoneauthor: Inonedevelopmentalstudy(Smith,1990),childrenlearned...

OR

InthestudybySmith(1990),primaryschoolchildren...OR

In1990,SmithsstudyofprimaryschoolchildrenWorksbymultipleauthors:Whenaworkhas2authorscitebothnameseverytimeyoureferencetheworkinthetext.Whenawork

hasthreetofiveauthorscitealltheauthornamesthefirsttimethereferenceoccursandthen

subsequentlyincludeonlythefirstauthorfollowedbyetal.For6ormoreauthors,citeonlythenameof

thefirstauthorfollowedbyetal.andtheyear.Forexample:

Firstcitation:Masserton,Slonowski,andSlowinski(1989)statethat... Subsequentcitations:Massertonetal.(1989)statethat...

Worksbynoidentifiedauthor:Whenaresourcehasnonamedauthor,citethefirstfewwordsofthereferenceentry(usuallythetitle).

Usedoublequotationmarksaroundthetitleofanarticle,chapter,orWebpage.Italicizethetitleofa

periodical,book,

brochure,

or

report.

For

example:

Thesiteseemedtoindicatesupportforhomeopathicdrugs(MedicalMiracles,2009). Thebrochurearguesforhomeschooling(EducationReform,2007). Treatreferencetolegalmaterialssuchascourtcases,statutes,andlegislationlikeworks

withnoauthor.


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Twoormoreworksinthesameparentheticalcitation:Citationsoftwoormoreworksinthesameparenthesesshouldbelistedintheordertheyappearinthe

referencelist(i.e.,alphabetically,thenchronologically).

Severalstudies(Jones&Powell,1993;Peterson,1995,1998;Smith,1990)suggestthat...SpecificpartsofasourceAlwaysgivethepagenumberforquotationsortoindicateinformationfromaspecifictable,chart,

chapter,graph,orpage.Thewordpageisabbreviatedbutnotchapter.Forexample:

ThepaintingwasassumedtobebyMatisse(Powell,1989,Chapter6),butlateranalysisshowedittobeaforgery(Murphy,1999,p.85).

If,asintheinstanceofonlinematerial,thesourcehasneithervisibleparagraphnorpagenumbers,cite

theheadingandthenumberoftheparagraphfollowingit.Thisallowsthereadertolocatethetextin

thesource.Forexample:

Thepatientwrotethatshewasunimpressedbythedoctorsbedsidemanner(Smith,2006,HospitalExperiencessection,para.2).

CITATIONSINAREFERENCELIST:In

general,

references

should

contain

the

author

name,

publication

date,

title,

and

publication

information.Includetheissuenumberifthejournalispaginatedbyissue.

ForinformationobtainedelectronicallyoronlineincludetheDOI:DOI auniquealphanumericstringassignedtoidentifycontentandprovideapersistentlinktoitslocationontheinternet.TheDOIistypicallylocatedonthefirstpageoftheelectronicjournalarticlenearthecopyrightnotice.WhenaDOIisusedinyourcitation,nootherretrievalinformationisneeded.

UsethisformatfortheDOIinreferences:doi:xxxxxxx

IfnoDOIhasbeenassignedtothecontent,providethehomepageURLofthejournalorofthebookor

reportpublisher.

Do

not

insert

ahyphen

ifyou

need

to

break

aURL

across

lines;

do

not

add

aperiod

afteraURL,topreventtheimpressionthattheperiodispartoftheURL.

Ingeneral,itisnotnecessarytoincludedatabaseinformation.Donotincluderetrievaldatesunlessthe

sourcematerialhaschangedovertime.

Book:Strunk,W.,Jr.,&White,E.B.(1979).Theguidetoeverythingandthensomemorestuff. New

York,NY:Macmillan.

Gregory,G.,&Parry,T.(2006).Designingbraincompatiblelearning(3rded.).ThousandOaks,

CA:Corwin.

ChapterofaBook:Bergquist,J.M.(1992).GermanAmericans.InJ.D.Buenker&L.A.Ratner(Eds.),

MulticulturalismintheUnitedStates:Acomparativeguidetoacculturationandethnicity

(pp.5376).NewYork,NY:Greenwood.

JournalArticlewithDOI:Paivio,A.(1975).Perceptualcomparisonsthroughthemind'seye.Memory&Cognition,3,635

647.doi:10.1037/02786133.24.2.225


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JournalArticlewithoutDOI(whenDOIisnotavailable):Becker,L.J.,&Seligman,C.(1981).Welcometotheenergycrisis.JournalofSocialIssues,37,17.

Hamfi,A.G.(1981).Thefunnynatureofdogs.EjournalofAppliedPsychology,2,3848.

Retrievedfromhttp://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/fdo

OnlineNewspaperArticles:Becker,E.(2001,August27).Prairiefarmersreapconservation'srewards.TheNewYorkTimes.

Retrievedfromhttp://www.nytimes.com

EncyclopediaArticles:Brislin,R.W.(1984).Crossculturalpsychology.InR.J.Corsini(Ed.),Encyclopediaofpsychology

(Vol.1,pp.319327).NewYork,NY:Wiley.

Developmentalgenetics.(2005).InCambridgeencyclopediaofchilddevelopment.Retrieved

fromhttp://0

www.credoreference.com.library.muhlenberg.edu:80/entry/cupchilddev/developmenta

l_genetics

TechnicalandResearchReports(oftenwithcorporateauthors):HersheyFoodsCorporation.(2001,March15).2001AnnualReport.Retrievedfrom

http://www.hersheysannualreport.com/2000/index.htm

BookReviews:Dent

Read,

C.,

&

Zukow

Goldring,

P.

(2001).

Is

modeling

knowing?

[Review

of

the

book

Modelsofcognitivedevelopment,byK.Richardson].AmericanJournalofPsychology,114,126

133.

NOTE:ForarticlesthathaveaDOI,seeJournalArticlewithDOIexample.

DataSets:SimmonsMarketResearchBureau.(2000).Simmonsnationalconsumersurvey[Datafile].

NewYork,NY:Author.

ReprintfromAnotherSource: Citationinthetext:

(Newton,1998/1999).

ReferenceListCitation:Newton,W.(1999).ReturntoMars.InC.Mari(Ed.),SpaceExploration(pp.32 41).NewYork,

NY:H.W.Wilson.(ReprintedfromNationalGeographic,pp.226,August1998).


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APAStyle:AvoidingBiasinLanguageSensitivitytolabels.Apersoninaclinicalstudyshouldbecalleda"patient,"nota"case."Avoidequatingpeoplewiththeirconditions,forexample,donotsay"schizophrenics,"say"peoplediagnosed

withschizophrenia."Usetheterm"sexualorientation,"not"sexualpreference."Thephrase"gaymen

andlesbians"

is

currently

preferred

to

the

term

"homosexuals."

To

refer

to

all

people

who

are

not

heterosexual,themanualsuggests"lesbians,gaymen,andbisexualwomenandmen"(seeAPA,2001,p.

67).

Donotcharacterizepeopleasvictims(e.g.,a"strokevictim"),useadescriptivetermsuchas"people

whohavehadastroke."Avoidtheterms"challenged"and"special"unlessthepopulationreferredto

prefersthisterminology(e.g.,SpecialOlympics).Asarule,usethephrase"peoplewith_______"(for

example,"peoplewithAIDS,"notAIDS"sufferers"or"victims").

Avoidgenderstereotypes.Forexample,themanualsuggestsreplacing"AnAmericanboy'sinfatuationwith

football"

with

"An

American

child's

infatuation

with

football"

(see

APA,

p.

66).

Theterm"gender"referstocultureandshouldbeusedwhenreferringtomenandwomenassocialgroups,asinthisexamplefromthePublicationManual:"sexualorientationratherthan

genderaccountedformostofthevarianceintheresults;mostgaymenandlesbianswereforit,

mostheterosexualmenandwomenwereagainstit"(APA,2001,p.63).

Theterm"sex"referstobiologyandshouldbeusedwhenbiologicaldistinctionsareemphasized,forexample,"sexdifferencesinhormoneproduction."

Anethniclabelcanbeperceivedasaslurifnotmanagedcorrectly.Forexample,personsofacknowledgedSpanishheritageintheNewWorldmaypreferChicano(Chicana),Hispanic,Latino,

Mexican,Mexican

American,

and

so

on.

Historically,

there

are

no

"American

Indians,"

only

members

of

specificnations,tribes,villages,andbands.ThetermNativeAmericanisinclusiveofAmericanIndians,

PacificIslanders,andAlaskanNatives.Specificgroupnamesaremoreinformative,suchasHopior

Lakota.

Color.CapitalizeBlackandWhitewhenthewordsareusedaspropernounstorefertosocialgroups.Donotusecolorwordsforotherethnicgroups.Inracialreferences,themanualsimply

recommendsthatwerespectcurrentusage.Currentlyboththeterms"Black"and"African

American"arewidelyaccepted,while"Negro"and"AfroAmerican"arenot.Thesethings

change,sousecommonsense.

Hispanic.ThetermsHispanic,Latino,andChicanoarepreferredbydifferentgroups.Thesafestprocedureisusegeographicalreferences;use"CubanAmerican"ifreferringtopeoplefrom

Cuba.

Asian.ThetermAsianAmericanispreferabletoOriental,andagainthemanualrecommendsbeingspecificaboutcountryoforigin,whenthisisknown(forexample,ChineseorVietnamese).

ThemanualspecifiesthathyphensshouldnotbeusedinmultiwordnamessuchasAsian

AmericanorAfricanAmerican.


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Indigenous.SomepeoplefromnorthernCanada,Alaska,easternSiberia,andGreenlandoften(butnotalways!)preferInuk(singular)andInuit(plural)to"Eskimo."ButsomeAlaskanatives

arenonInuitpeoplewhoprefertobecalledEskimo,whileothersareAthabaskansofanentirely

differentheritage.Difficultymaybeavoidedbyusinggeographicalreferences.Forexample,in

placeof"Eskimo"or"Inuit"onecoulduse"indigenouspeoplefromnorthernCanada,northern

Alaska,eastern

Siberia,

and

Greenland."

Age.Inreferringtoage,bespecificaboutageranges;avoidopenendeddefinitionslike"under16"or

"over65."Avoidthetermelderly.Olderpersonispreferred.TheAMA(AmericanMedicalAssociation)

ManualofStyle(1997,p.263)usesthesedefinitions:

Neonatesornewbornsarepersonsfrombirthto1monthofage. Infantsarechildren[sic]aged1monthto1year. Childrenarepersonsaged1to12years....Theymayalsobereferredtoasboysorgirls. Adolescentsarepersonsaged13through17years;alsoteenagers,adolescentboys,or

adolescentgirls.

Adultsarepersonsover18yearsandarereferredtoasmenorwomen.

DONOTuse... Whenyoucanuse...ethniclabels(e.g.,Hispanic) geographicallabels(e.g.,MexicanAmericansiffromMexico)

"men"(referringtoalladults) "menandwomen"

"homosexuals" "gaymenandlesbians"

"depressives" "peoplewithdepression"

Ingeneral,callpeoplewhattheywanttobecalled,anddonotcontrastonegroupofpeoplewithanothergroupcalled"normal."Write"wecomparedpeoplewithautismtopeoplewithout

autism"not"wecontrastedautisticstonormals."


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APAStyle:WritingTipsA. Typing

1. Yourpapersmustbetypedorprintedonacomputer.2. Setthetypewriterorwordprocessortodoublespaceandkeepittherethroughouttheentiremanuscript.3. Useoneinchmarginsontheleft,right,top,andbottomofthepage.Thesemarginsarewidein

ordertoleaveroomforreviewer'scomments.

4. Usenormalparagraphsinwhichthefirstlineisindentedfivecharactersforallparagraphsinthemanuscriptexcepttheabstract,blockquotes,titlesandheadings,subheadings,references,

tabletitles,notes,andfigurecaptions.

5. Usea12pointfont.Inotherwords,thereshouldbe10typedcharactersperinch.6. Singlespaceaftersentenceterminators(i.e.,'.','?','!').7. Capitalizethefirstletterfollowingacoloniftheclausefollowingthecolonisacomplete

sentence.

8. Makesurethetextisleftalignedandnotjustified.Withleftalignedtext,theleftmarginformsastraight

line

and

the

right

margin

is

ragged.

Do

not

hyphenate

(split)

words

at

the

end

of

aline.

9. Finally,juststapleorclipthefinishedproduct(donotbotherwithfancyfolders,etc.).B. WritinginGeneral

1. Youmustusecompletesentences.2. Thefirstsentenceofaparagraphmustbeindependent(abletostandonitsown).Forexample

considerWhilethesestudiesareimportant,thereis...Thissentencewouldbecorrectinthe

middleofaparagraph,butasthefirstsentence,itshouldmoreappropriatelyread,While

studiesoftheeffectsofwhateveronwhateverelseareimportant,thereis...

3. Trynottouseslang(e.g.,...putadamperon...).4. Donotusecontractions.Thatis,insteadofit's,useitis.5. Ifyouaredoubtfulaboutthespellingofaword,donotguess.Lookupthecorrectspelling.

Proofreadthecopythatyousubmitanddocorrectminortypographicalerrors,formatting,

spelling,oreventhewording,withapencil.

C. StyleDetailsinGeneral1. Assumeyouarewritingthepaperforsubmissiontoascientificjournal.2. AlotoftheformattingdetailscanbelearnedbycarefullymodelinganotherAPAjournal

articleAvoidexcessiveuseofthetermsI,me,andmy,aswellasthephrasepersonallyspeaking...

3. Avoidtheuseofsexistlanguage.Forexample,consistentlyreferringtoapersonasahimorhewhenitisjustaslikelyforthepersontobeasheoraher,issexist.However,

using(s)heorhim/herallofthetimecanalsobeawkward.Ifyouphraseitright,youcanoftenusethewordpersoninstead.

4. Avoidusing'emptywords'orwordswhichservenopurpose.Forexample,IntheSmith(1990)studyitwasfoundthat...shouldreadmorelikeSmith(1990)foundthat...

5. Generallyspeaking,usepasttenseintheabstract,introduction,andmethod.Resultsanddiscussionsectionscanbeinthepresenttense.

6. Getfriendstoreadit.Iftheycannotunderstandit,thenitneedswork.Ifyoucannotgetafriendtoreadit,thentrytoreadityourselfmakingbelievethatyouarenaive.

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