Guide to the APA Style

What’s Included in APA Style?

• Basically everything in your paper:
– How your pages are set up
– How you cite sources
– Your references
– Even your language
 3

Where to learn APA style?

• Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th edition)
• Various websites:
– Landmark Citation Machine
– APA Style Tutorial
 4

The Reference Page

• A list of every source that you make reference
to in your paper.
• Provides the information necessary for a
reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited
in your paper.
• Each retrievable source cited in the paper
must appear on the reference page, and vice
versa.
 5

The Reference Page …

• Authors are responsible for all information in
their reference lists
• Accurately prepared references help establish
your credibility as a careful researcher
 6

The Reference Page (Cont.)

• Most citations should contain the following
basic information:
– Author’s name
– Year of publication
– Title of work
– Publication information
 7

Abbreviations
Abbreviation Book or publication part
ed. Edition
Rev. ed. Revised edition
2nd ed. Second edition
Ed. (Eds.) Editors (Editors)
Trans. Translator(s)
n.d. no date
p. (pp.) page (pages)
Vol. Volume (as in Vols. 1-4)
No. Number
Pt. Part
Tech. Rep. Technical Report
Suppl. Supplement
 8

Order of references in the

reference list
• Alphabetizing names
e.g., Singh, Y., precedes Singh Sidhu, N.
Benjamin, A. S., precedes Ben Yaakov, D.
Villafuerte, S. A., precedes Villa-Lobos, J.
 9

Order of references in the

reference list…
• One-author entries by the same author are
arranged by year of publication, the earliest
first:
Upenieks, V. (2003).
Upenieks, V. (2005).
 10

Order of references in the

reference list…
• One-author entries precede multiple-author
entries beginning with the same surname
(even it the multiple-author work was
published earlier):

Alleyne, R. L. (2001).
Alleyne, R. L., & Evans, A. J. (1999).
 11

Order of references in the

reference list…
• References with the same first author and
different second or third authors are arranged
alphabetically by the surname of the second
author:
Boockvar, K. S., & Burack, O. R. (2007).
Boockvar, K. S., Carlson LaCorte, H., Giambenco,
V., Friedman, B., & Siu, A. (2006).
 12

Single-authored book /
Entire book, print version
Perloff, R. M. (1995). The dynamics of
persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Shotton, M. A. (1989). Computer addiction? A

study of computer dependency. London,
England: Taylor & Francis.
 13

Electronic version of print book

Shotton, M. A. (1989). Computer addiction? A study
of computer dependency [DX Reader version].
Retrieved from http://www.Ebookstore.tandf
./co.uk/html/index.asp

Schiraldi, G. R. (2001). The post-traumatic stress

disorder sourcebook: A guide to healing, recovery,
and growth [Adobe Digital Editions version].
doi:10.1036 /0071393722
 14

Electronic book
O’keefe, E. (n.d.). Egoism & the crisis in Western
values. Retrieved from http://www.online
originals.com/showitem.asp?itemID=135
 15

Reissued book
Newcomb, H. (Ed.). (1995). Television: The
critical view (5th ed.). New York: Oxford
University Press.

*Note: Capitals in the title of the book are restricted to

the first letter of the first word of the title, the first
letter of any proper names, and the first letter of the
first word after a semicolon, period, or question
mark.
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Dual-authored book
Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (1995). Mass
communication theory: Foundations, ferment
and future. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

*Note: when listing authors, use an ampersand

(&) in the reference list, not “and.”
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Essay or chapter in an edited book

Bryant, J. (1989). Message features and

entertainment effects. In J. J. Bradac (Ed.),
Message effects in communication science
(pp. 231-262). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

*Note: You must include the page numbers if

you’re just referencing one part of a book.
 18

Essay or chapter in an edited book…

Bryant, J. (1989). Message features and

entertainment effects. In J. J. Bradac (Ed.),
Message effects in communication science
(pp. 231-262). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the

science of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R.
J. (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being
(pp. 17-43). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
 19

Reference book
VandenBos, G. R. (Ed.) (2007). APA dictionary of
psychology. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
 20

Non-English reference book, title

translated into English
Real Academia Espanola. (2001). Diccionario de
la lengua espanola [Dictionary of the Spanish
language] (22nd ed.). Madrid, Spain: Author.
 21

Corporate author, government report

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

National Institutes of Health, National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute. (2003). Managing
asthma: A guide for schools (NIH Publication
No. 02-2650). Retrieved from http://www.
Nhlb.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/asth_
sch.pdf
 22

Symposium contribution
Muellbauer , J. (2007, September). Housing,
credit, and consumer expenditure. In S. C.
Ludvingson (Chair), housing and consumer
behavior. Symposium conducted at the
meeting of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City, Jackson Hole, WY.
 23

Conference paper abstract

retrieved online
Liu, S. (2005, May). Defending against business
crisis with the help of intelligent agent based
early warning solutions. Paper presented at
the Seventh International Conference on
Enterprise Information Systems, Miami, FL.
Abstract retrieved from http://www.iceis.org/
iceis2005/abstracts_2005.htm
 24

Unpublished doctoral dissertation or

master’s thesis
• The template:

Author, A. A. (2003). Title of doctoral

dissertation or master’s thesis (Unpublished
doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).
Name of Institution, Location.
 25

Master’s thesis, from a

commercial database

McNiel, D. S. (2006). Meaning through narrative: A

personal narrative discussing growing up with an
alcoholic mother (Master’s thesis). Available from
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI
No. 1434728)
 26

Doctoral dissertation, from an

institutional database

Adams, R. J. (1973). Building a foundation for

evaluation of instruction in higher education and
continuing education (Doctoral dissertation).
Retrieved from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/
 27

Journal article with DOI

Senior, B., & Swailes, S. (2007). Inside
management teams: Developing a teamwork
survey instrument. British Journal of
Management, 18, 138-153.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2006.00507.x
 28

Journal article without DOI

Light, M. A., & Light, I. H. (2008). The geographic
expansion of Mexican immigration in the
United States and its implications for local
law enforcement. Law Enforcement Executive
Forum Journal, 8(10), 73-82.
 29

Journal article: One author

Williams, J. H. (2008). Employee engagement:
Improving participation in safety. Professional
Safety, 53(12), 40-45.
 30

Journal article: Two to seven authors

[List all authors]
Keller, T. E., Cusick, G. R., & Courtney, M. E.
(2007). Approaching the transition to
adulthood: Distinctive profiles of adolescents
aging out of the child welfare system. Social
Services Review, 81, 453-484.
 31

Journal article: Eight or more authors

[List the first six authors, … and the last
author]
Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J.-
Y., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L.,...Griffin, W. A.
(2000). An experimental evaluation of theory-
based mother and mother-child programs for
children of divorce. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 68, 843-856.
 32

Unpublished convention paper

Thomas, S., & Gitlin, T. (1993, May). Who says
there’s a dominant ideology and what
happens if that concept is falsified? Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the
International Communication Association,
Washington, DC.

Note: Conference papers are less highly regarded than

published works
 33

Internet articles based on a print source

VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role

of reference elements in the selection of
resources by psychology undergraduates.
[Electronic version]. Journal of Bibliographic
Research, 5, 117-123.
 34

Article in an internet-only journal

Koo, D. J., Chitwoode, D. D., & Sanchez, J. (2008).

Violent victimization and the routine
activities/lifestyle of active drug users.
Journal of Drug Issues, 38, 1105-1137.
Retrieved from http://www2.criminology
.fsu.edu/~jdi/
 35

Online Report with No Author Identified

and No Date
GVU's 10th WWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved
from http://www.cc.gatech.edu
/user_surveys/survey-1998-10/
 36

Website
• To cite an entire Web site (but not a specific
document within the site), it is sufficient to
give the URL of the site in the text. No entry in
the reference list is needed. Example:

Kidpsych is an excellent website for young

children (http://www.kidpsych.org).
 37

Newspaper
• Newspaper article
Rosli Mohammed. (1998, October 27). Master
teachers: Are we prepared? The Star, p. N7.
• Article with no known author
Cigarette sales fall 30% as tax rises. (1999, September
14). The New Straits Times, p. A17.
• Online newspaper article
Rosli Mohammed. (1998, October 27). Master
teachers: Are we prepared? The Star. Retrieved from
http://www.thestar.com.my
 38

Citation: When do you cite your

sources in your paper?
• When quoting any words that are not your own
– Quoting means to repeat another source word for word,
using quotation marks
• When summarizing facts and ideas from a source
– Summarizing means to take ideas from a large passage of
another source and condense them, using your own words
• When paraphrasing a source
– Paraphrasing means to use the ideas from another source
but change the phrasing into your own words
 39

Paraphrasing
Scott (2002) identified…

Several researchers (Anthony, 1990; Gregory &

Jacobs, 1985; Polk et al., 1980) reported…

Or at the end of a sentence

It was argued that …. (Scott, 2002).
 40

Citing while paraphrasing

• List the last names of all authors the first time
you cite them, unless there are more than 5.
• If there are more than five (5), or you are
citing the paper of three (3) or more authors
for a second or more time, list last name of
first author, followed by “et al.,” and the date.
 41

One work by one author

• E.g.
(1) Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples…
(2) Early onset results in a more persistent and severe course
(Kessler, 2003).
(3) Among epidemiological samples, Kessler (2003) found that
early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more potent
and severe course. Kessler also found … . The study showed
that there was a high rate of comorbidity with alcohol abuse
or dependence and major depression Kessler, 2003).
(4) Early onset results in a more persistent and severe course
(Kessler, 2003). Kessler (2003) also found … .
 42

One work by multiple authors

• When two authors, cite both names every
time the reference occurs in text
• When three, four, or five authors, cite all
authors the first time the reference occurs; in
subsequent citations, include only the
surname of the first author followed by “et al.”
 43

Examples
• E.g.:
(1) Kisangau, Lyaruu, Hosea, and Joseph (2007)
found ….
[use as first citation in text.]
(1) Kisangau et al. (2007) found …
[use as subsequent citation in text.]
 44

Examples…
• Precede the final name in a multiple-author
citation in running text by the word “and”. In
parenthetical material, in tables and captions,
and in the reference list, join the names by an
ampersand “&”
• E.g.:
as Kurtines and Szapocznik (2003 demonstrated ….
as has been shown (Joreskog & Sorbom, 2007)
 45

One work by multiple authors…

• When a work has six or more authors, cite
only the surname of the first author followed
by “et al.”

e.g.:
Wasserstein et al. (2005)
 46

Examples
Scott, Williamson, Scott and Williamson
and Schaffer (1990) (1990) reported that…
reported that… (FIRST TIME and
(FIRST TIME) EVERY TIME)

Scott et al. (1990) 6 or more authors,

reported that use “et al.,” first time
(EVERY TIME and every time.
AFTER)
 47

Citation: No Known Author

• If the source has no known author, then use
an abbreviated version of the title:
Full Title: “Cigarette Tax Deters Smokers”
Citation: (“Cigarette Tax,” 2006)
 48

Citation: Additional Info.

Sometimes additional information is necessary.
– More than one author with the same last name
(H. James, 1878); (W. James, 1880)
– Specific part of a source
(Jones, 1995, chap. 2)
 49

Citing while quoting

• Author’s last name, publication year, and page
number(s) of quote must appear in the text
– Caruth (1996) states that a traumatic response frequently
entails a “delayed, uncontrolled repetitive appearance of
hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena” (p. 11).
– A traumatic response frequently entails a “delayed,
uncontrolled repetitive appearance of hallucinations and
other intrusive phenomena” (Caruth, 1996, p. 11).
 50

Quotations: Electronic Sources

• Many electronic sources do not include page
numbers. If paragraph numbers are given, use
them in place of page numbers, preceded by
the “p.” symbol or the abbreviation para.
• Example:
– According to the Ministry of Health, “health care
workers at all levels of education and training will
continue to be in demand” (2005, p. 52).
 51

Long Quotations
• Quotations of 40 or more words are formatted
differently:
– Start on a new line
– Block Indent the full quote 5 spaces from left
margin
– Omit quotation marks
– Double-space
 52

Long Quotations (Cont.)

According to Merrell, Viadero & Mosser (2006):

No matter how the jobs and their settings change, though, one thing

remains the same: each member of the school improvement team

brings a unique combination of skills, knowledge, and experience as

the group works together for a common goal--to improve the quality

of education. (p. 3)
 53

Personal Communication
• Personal communications include:
– Letters
– Memos
– E-mails
– Personal Interviews
– Telephone Conversations
 54

Personal Communication (Cont.)

• Cite only within the text.
• They are not included on the
references page.
• Example:
(J. D. Smith, personal communication, May 1,
2006).
J. D. Smith (personal communication, May 1,
2006).
 55

Citing secondary sources

• When citing in the text a work discussed in a
secondary source, give both the primary and
the secondary sources. Example:
• Seidenberg and McClelland was mentioned in
an article by Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller.
Seidenberg and McClelland’s study (as cited
in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993)
provided a glimpse into the world ….
 56

Citing secondary sources (Cont.)

• In the references page, you would cite the
secondary source you read not the original
study.
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M.
(1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route
and parallel-distributedprocessing
approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-
608.
 57

Table format
• Table title
Give every table a brief but clear and
explanatory title. The basic content of the
table should be easily inferred from the title
 58

Table format …
• Too general:
Table 1
Relation Between College Majors and Performance
[It is unclear what data are presented in the table.]
• Too detailed:
Table 1
Mean Performance Scores on Teat A, Test B, and Test C of
Students With Psychology, Physics, English, and Engineering
Majors
[This duplicates information in the headings of the table.]
 59

Table format …
• Good title:
Table 1
Mean Performance Scores of Students With Different College
Majors
 60

Table Format…
Table 1
Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Gender

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 171 48.2
Female 184 51.8
Total 355 100

Minimum type size: 8 point

Maximum type size: 14 point
 61

Types of Figures
1. Graphs: typically display the relationship between two
quantitative indices or between a continuous quantitative
variable (usually displayed as the y axis) and groups of
subjects displayed along the x axis.
2. Charts: generally display nonquantitative information such as
the flow of subjects through a process, for example, flow
charts.
3. Maps: generally display spatial information.
4. Drawings: show information pictorially.
5. Photographs: contain direct visual representations
of information.
 62

• E.g.,
1. Too brief:
Figure 3. Fixation duration.

2. Sufficiently descriptive:
Figure 3. Fixation duration as a function of the
delay between the beginning of eye fixation and
the onset of the stimulus in Experiment 1.
 63

Thank You