A Comprehensive Guide to APA Citations and Format

Being Responsible while Researching

According to American Psychological Association (APA) when you’re writing a research paper
or creating a research project, you will probably use another individual’s work to help develop
your own assignment. A good researcher or scholar uses another individual’s work in a
responsible way. This involves indicating that the work of other individuals is included in your
project (i.e., citing), which is one way to prevent plagiarism.

What is Plagiarism?
The act of taking another individual’s work and using it as your own, without
acknowledging the original author (American Psychological Association, 2020 p. 21). Plagiarism
can be illegal and there can be serious ramifications for plagiarizing someone else’s work.
Thankfully, plagiarism can be prevented. One way it can be prevented is by including citations
and references in your research project.

How to Use Citations & References?

Citations and references should be included anytime you use another individual’s work in
your own assignment. When including a quote, paraphrased information, images, or any other
piece of information from another’s work, you need to show where you found it by including a
citation and a reference. This guide explains how to make them.
APA style citations are added in the body of a research paper or project and references are added
to the last page.

Citations, which are called in-text citations, are included when you’re adding information from
another individual’s work into your own project. When you add text word-for-word from another
source into your project, or take information from another source and place it in your own words
and writing style (known as paraphrasing), you create an in-text citation. These citations are
short in length and are placed in the main part of your project, directly after the borrowed
information.

References are found at the end of your research project, usually on the last page. Included on
this reference list page is the full information for any in-text citations found in the body of the
project. These references are listed in alphabetical order by the author's last name.
An APA in-text citation includes only three items: the last name(s) of the author(s), the year the
source was published, and sometimes the page or location of the information. References include
more information such as the name of the author(s), the year the source was published, the full
title of the source, and the URL or page range.

Why is it Important to include Citations & References

Including APA citations and references in your research projects is a very important component
of the research process. When you include citations, you’re being a responsible researcher.
You’re showing readers that you were able to find valuable, high
-quality information from other sources, place them into your project where appropriate, all
while acknowledging the original authors and their work.
APA Referencing Basics: In-Text Citation
In-text citations are citations within the main body of the text and refer to a direct quote
or paraphrase. They correspond to a reference in the main reference list. These citations include
the surname of the author and date of publication only. Using an example author James Mitchell,
this takes the form: Mitchell (2017) states… Or According to (Mitchell, 2017) ………..

The structure of this changes depending on whether a direct quote or parenthetical used:
Direct Quote: The citation must follow the quote directly and contain a page number after the
date, for example (Mitchell, 2017, p.104).

Two Authors:
The surname of both authors is stated with either ‘and’ or an ampersand between. For example:
Mitchell and Smith (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell & Smith, 2017).

Three, Four or Five Authors:

For the first cite, all names should be listed:
Mitchell, Smith, and Thomson (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell, Smith, & Thomson, 2017).
Further cites can be shorted to the first author’s name followed by et al:
Mitchell et al (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell et al, 2017).

No Authors:
If the author is unknown, the first few words of the reference should be used. This is
usually the title of the source. If this is the title of a book, periodical, brochure or report, is
should be italicised. For example: (A guide to citation, 2017).
If this is the title of an article, chapter or web page, it should be in quotation marks. For example:
(“APA Citation”, 2017).

You are required to document this paper. Two kinds of documentations are required.

First, body notes (i. e. family name of author and year). Example, Mitchell (2017)
states… Or According to (Mitchell, 2017) ………..

Second, References (i. e. full name of author, full name of book underlined, place of
publication, publisher, and year of publication). If journal is used, the full name of author,
the title of the journal underlined, the title of the article, the year and month of
publication. The pages occupied by the article.
Example:

Mitchell, J.A. (2017, May 21). How and when to reference. Retrieved from
https://www.howandwhentoreference.com.

Agpalo, Remegio E. ( 1996) “Adventures in Political Science”, UP Press, Quezon City

Bergh, J. (2013). Does voting rights affect the political maturity of 16- and 17-year-olds?
Findings from the 2011 Norwegian voting-age trial. Electoral Studies 32, 1, pp. 90-100.
doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2012.11.001

Camus, M. (2017). The political maturity of Filipino youths ages 18 through 21 years.

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 02:11 PM January 24
At the end page of your paper, fill the following blanks.

1. No of pages _________

2. Documentation
a. Body Notes. (Citation)
Count the number of
body notes made ____________
b. Bibliography
Count the number of entries made __________

3. Content
a. Analytical/Interpretative
Count the number of interpretations you
personally made and highlight
theme___________