apa documentation and formatting.pdf

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APA Style (6th Edit ion)

(printable version here)

APA (American Psychological Association) style is the standard method of publishingones writing in psychology as well as other social sciences such as nursing,anthropology, sociology, business and gender studies (APA, 2010, p. xv).

The following are highlights of some of the more important aspects of 6th Edition APA formatting, but donot constitute the whole of APA style. Please consult the manual (held on reserve at Boatwright Library)for a complete explanation of publishing guidelines.

For an in-depth example of how an APA-style paper should look like, check out this Sample APA Paperfor Students Interested in Learning APA Style 6th Edition by Dr. J eff Kahn from the University of Illinois.

In-Text Citations: General Guidelines

When to cite

You should cite authors who have directly influenced your writing, whether it be their ideas,theories, or empirical data.Citing an article implies that you have read the work you cited, so do not cite authors indirectly(i.e., citing author A whom you saw cited by author B, without reading author As paper).Cite any facts or figures that are not common knowledge.

How many authors should you cite?

For a standard empirical article, aim for 1 - 2 sources that best represent each key point youwant to make.For a literature review, you will probably use more. This is because reviews are meant tointroduce readers to the spectrum of information written about a certain topic.

In-Text Citations: Format

One Work by One Author

Include authors last name followed by a comma, then the year of publication. If you are directly quotingan author, also include the page or paragraph number. Ending punctuation goes outside theparentheses.

The study aimed to measure the participants' preferences in different types of music

based on their age (Baker, 2008).

If you mention the authors name in your sentence, then put the publication year immediately followingthe name.

Baker (2008) measured correlations between age and music genre preference.

One Work by Two Authors

Include both authors' last names and the article's date of publication in parenthesis. Separate theauthors' last names with an "&" rather than and. Follow the same rules as with one author.

When citing more than two authors a second time, use the first authors surname followed by et al.(which means and others).

Children have been shown to imitate the aggressive behaviors of adults as young as two

years of age (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961).

A classic study by Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) showed strong evidence that children

as young as two imitate the observed aggressive behavior of adults.

Mean aggression scores for children exposed to aggressive adult models were

significantly greater than those of children in non-aggressive or control conditions

(Bandura et al., 1961).

One Work by Six or More Authors

From the get-go, cite only the last name of the first author, followed by et al, "and others," or "andcolleagues."

ter's Web: APA Documentation and Formatting http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/apadocu.html

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Nokes et al. (2012) found that nurses who used self-efficacy interventions for HIV patientsshowed a slight increase in patient adherence to retroviral treatment, though these effectswere impacted by patient depression and lack of social capital.

Groups as Authors

When citing an organization as an author, write out the organization the first time they are cited and listthe abbreviation in the parenthetical citation.

A study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2003) found that...

No Author Specified/Anonymous Works and Legal Documents

For works with no listed author, or for legal documents, cite in text the first few words of the title. Usedouble quotation marks inside the parentheses for articles, webpages, or chapter titles; italicize titles ofperiodicals, books, brochures, or reports.

total dollar amount (A Systematic Review, 2006)

In the book Penny For Your Thoughts (1995)... (title should be capitalized in regularformatting)

When an author is specifically listed as Anonymous, use that as the citation name.

(Anonymous, 2001).

More Than One Work in the Same Parentheses

Order citations of two or more works within the same parentheses alphabetically, including citations thatwould otherwise shorten to et al. Separate works by a semicolon. Arrange two or more works by thesame author(s) by date of publication.

(Ellsworth, 2002; Rylie, Short, Morgan & Christoff, 1996; Wang, Peterson & Morphey,

2002; Wang et al., 2007).

When citing more than one work by the same first author, add a suffix of a, b, c, etc. according to theorder of works in the reference list.

Several studies (Rylie, 2002a; Rylie 2002b; Melsworth & Rylie, 2003a, Mellsworth &

Rylie, 2003b) suggest...

In-Text Citations: Direct Quotes vs . Paraphrasing

When and how to use direct quotes ()?

Use when you are reproducing word-for-word information from others work or your own previouswritings. This should be done sparingly.Also, use them when you are stating test items or participant directions verbatim.

When using direct quotes, always list in parentheses the authors last names, year of the articlespublication, and page number in this format:

(Purcell, 1997, pp.111-112).*

Direct quotes less than 40 wordsPut quotation marks around the quoted material, and incorporate the quote into your sentence. Try notto quote an entire sentence.

If the quote is in the middle of your own sentence, end the quoted passage with quotation marks and putthe parenthetical citation immediately after the passage, followed by any necessary punctuation. Thencontinue with the sentence as it would be normally.

Since the quote is in the middle of this sentence (Zhou et. al, 2013, p. 10), I would

format the sentence this way.

If the quote comes at the end of the sentence, put the end quotation marks after the final word, insertthe parenthetical citation, and end with the period (or exclamation/question mark, if youre getting fancy).

Since the quote is at the end of this sentence, I would format the quote this way (Smith,1992, pp. 10-12).

Direct quotes more than 40 words

Place the quote in a freestanding block of text on a new line, indented inch from the left margin. Ifthere are subsequent paragraphs in your block quote, indent them another inch from the first indent.


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Edited Book or Anthology

Ruiz, V. L., & Snchez Korrol, V. (Eds.). (2006). Latinas in the United States: A historicalencyclopedia. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Chapter of a book by multiple authors:

Beaudin, S. A., Gendle, M. H. & Strupp, B. J . (2012). Gender influences on the cognitiveand emotional effects of prenatal cocaine exposure: Insights from an animal model. InLewis, Michael and Kestler, Lisa (Eds.), Gender differences in prenatal substanceexposure: A decade of behavior

(pp. 77-96). Washington, DC: American PsychologicalAssociation.

J ournal Article, printed

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

Keller, T. E., Cusick, G. R., & Courtney, M. E. (2007). Approaching the transition toadulthood: Distinctive profiles of adolescents aging out of the child welfare system. SocialServices Review, 81, 453- 484.

J ournal article, online version

(With DOI)

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

(Without DOI)

Senior, B. (1997). Team roles and team performance: Is there really a link? Journal ofOccupational and Organizational Psychology, 70, 241-258. Retrieved fromhttp://bpsjournals.co.uk/journals/joop

Printed Newspaper article

Smith, P. (2001, August 3). New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heartfailure. The Washington Post, p. A12.

Online Newspaper Article

McHugh, P. (2005, March 17). Feeling down? It might help if you just take it outside. SanFrancisco Chronicle. Retrieved from http://sfgate.com

Government Report

National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental illness(DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Other formatting notes:

Wherever possible, we have used the latest edition of the APA Publication Manual:

The left, right, top and bottom margins are all set to 2.54 cm, or 1 inch. The entire paper is

double-spaced.

All authors that you mention in the text must appear in your reference list, and all authors in your

reference list must have been mentioned in your text.

Rephrase sentences to avoid sexist language: for instance, use both "she" and "he" to reference

hypothetical individuals.

In most cases, the numbers zero through nine are spelled out, while the numbers 10 and above

are written as numbers (see the APA manual for more specifics).

Read over recent journal articles to get a sense of APA style.

Back to 'Documentation'

Writer's Web | Writing Center | Make an Appointment | LibraryCopyright Info

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.

Kahn, J effrey H. (n.d.). Sample APA paper for students interested in learning APA style 6th edition. Retrieved frommy.ilstu.edu/~jhkahn


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/APAsample.pdf
