Find the Citation Error:

A Quick Quiz on APA Style

UW School of
Social Work
Directions

All of the following slides marked, “Catch the

Error,” break one or more APA citation rule.
See if you can find the error(s), and then
revise the citation so that it is in conformity
with APA style. When you think you have
corrected the error, move on to the next slide
marked, “Revised,” and see if you revised
the citation correctly.
Catch the Error #1

 Hollingshead measured aggressiveness in

children before and after exposure to violent
videogames (2002, p. 15).
Revised

 Hollingshead (2000) measured

aggressiveness in children before and after
exposure to violent videogames.
 Explanation: The year comes after the
researcher’s name. No page number is
needed if there is no direct quote.
Catch the Error #2

 Neither group showed any significant growth

(Wong and Tuttle 2005).
Revised

 Neither group showed any significant growth

(Wong & Tuttle, 2005).
 Explanation: Use an ampersand (&) when
citing parenthetically and put a comma
between author(s) and year of publication.
Catch the Error #3

 Duffy & Petronius (2002, p. 23) found that

none of the subjects showed improvement.
Revised

 Duffy and Petronius (2002) found that none

of the subjects showed improvement.
 Explanation: Use “and” -- not ampersand --
when citing authors outside of parentheses.
No page number needed since there was no
direct quote.
Catch the Error #4

 Boyle (1998, 1998, 1998) found in three

separate studies that the rats had higher
stress hormone levels after exposure.

[Assume the three studies were done in 1998

and each was published separately that
year.]
Revised

 Boyle (1998a, 1998b, 1998c) found in three

separate studies that the rats had higher
stress hormone levels after exposure.
 Explanation: To avoid confusion, each study
will be designated by a different letter – a, b,
c, etc. Items are listed in the reference
section alphabetically by title.
Catch the Error #5

 Parker (2003) found that there was “no

significant difference between the treatment
group and the control group.”
Revision

 Parker (2003) found that there was “no

significant difference between the treatment
group and the control group” (p. 12).
 Explanation: Since a direct quote was used,
a page number must be provided after the
quote.
Catch the Error #6

 When contacted, Habbib had no useful

explanation except that “mistakes were
made” (phone call, 2005).
Revised

 When contacted, C. S. Habbib had no useful

explanation except that “mistakes were
made” (personal communication, December
1, 2005).
 Explanation: Use “personal communication”
and exact date when citing telephone calls,
letters, memos, personal interviews, etc. You
do not need to put this in the References
section since the data is non-recoverable.
Catch the Error #7

 Bretschneider, John Garrett and McCoy,

Nancy Lewis, 1968. Sexual Interest and
Behavior in Healthy 80- 102-Year-Olds.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 14, pp.
343-350.
Revised

 Bretschneider, J. G., & McCoy, N. L. (1968).

Sexual interest and behavior in healthy
80- 102-year-olds. Archives of Sexual
Behavior, 14, 343-350.
 Explanation: 1) only initials for first names; 2)
year in parentheses followed by period; 3)
lower case in article title; 4) italicize journal
name and capitalize first letters; 5) no “Vol.,”
just italicize; 6) no “pp.”; 7) hanging indent.
Catch the Error #8

 Hashimoto, Thomas. (March 13, 2000, p.

23). Seeing Red in November. Newsweek,
vol. 199.
Revised

 Hashimoto, T. (2000, March 13). Seeing red

in November. Newsweek, 199, 23.
 Explanation: Only initial for first name. Year
comes first, then comma, then month and
day, all in parentheses. Title of magazine is
italicized, followed by comma, volume
number italicized, then page number(s).
Hanging indent,
Catch the Error #9

 Pinkerton (originally published in 1844,

reprinted in 2001) believed that democracy
was a two-edged sword. Socrates (400 B.C.)
felt the same way.
Revised

 Pinkerton (1844/2001) believed that

democracy was a two-edged sword.
Socrates (trans. 1988) felt the same way.
 Explanation: If original year of publication is
known, list that first, followed by slash and
year of publication you used. For classical
works, cite the translation year.
Catch the Error #10

 Most experts believed the effects would be

disastrous (NIMH 2000). For example, 8 of
those surveyed believed supplies would run
out within 24 hours. Not surprisingly, only 2
out of 15 thought survival was possible after
thirty-six hours.
(Assume NIMH is introduced here for the first
time.)
Revised

 Most experts believed the effects will be

disastrous (National Institutes of Mental
Health [NIMH], 2000). For example, eight of
those surveyed believed supplies would run
out within 24 hours. Not surprisingly, only 2
out of 15 thought survival was possible after
36 hours.
 Explanation: Number and abbreviation rules.
The Latest Edition

 American Psychological Association. (2001).

Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (5th ed.).
Washington, DC: Author.
Reminders

 You don’t have to memorize all the rules. There

are hundreds of APA style rules and lots of
exceptions to the rules. Use reference sheets.
 If you are planning to write scholarly papers for
publication, get the book. Take it in slowly, not
all at once. (Preserve your sanity.)
 Have writing consultant review for conformity to
APA style.
Good Luck!

 Kevin Kawamoto
 sswwrite@u.washington.edu
 Room 6
 (206) 221-6141