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APA Made Easy

What is APA style?

Style of the American Psychological Association

System for referencing sourcesUsed in social sciences and other fieldsShows your credibilityShows accountabilityProtects you from accusation of plagiarism

What We’ll Cover

Format of the paperHandling in-text citationsReferences

General Format

Typed, 8 ½ x 11” paperDouble-spaced1” margins all around12 pt. Times New Roman font

General Format

Title Page Centered on the page Title Author Affiliation

General Format

Page Header Top of every page, including title page TITLE OF YOUR PAPER – flush left Page number – flush right

Let’s try this together.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Incorporating Sources

Use quotations only when necessary Include parenthetical citations

Paraphrase when possible

In-Text Citations – One Author

Note the author’s surname and year

Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological

samples…

Early onset results in a more persistent and severe

course (Kessler, 2003).

In-Text Citations - Direct Quotes

Interpreting these results, Robbins et al. (2003)

suggested that the “therapists in dropout cases may have

inadvertently validated parental negativity about the

adolescent without adequately responding to the

adolescent’s needs or concerns” (p. 541), contributing to

an overall climate of negativity.

In-Text Citations – Multiple Authors

When a work has two authors, cite both names in every reference

Basu and Jones (2007) state…

When a work has 3 to 5 authors - Kisangau, Lyaruu, Hoseau, and Joseph (2009)… [first reference in paper]

Kisangau et al. (1998) concluded…. [subsequent references in paper]

In-Text Citations

No page? Use the paragraph number (i.e., para 4).

No author? Use the shortened title.

REFERENCES

References

Lists all the works mentioned within your textAlphabetical by author’s last nameFirst line is flush left, all others are indented

1/2”Double spaced

Reference List Basic Rules

Capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle

Italicize the titles of long worksDo not use quotation marks around titles of

articles or short works

Book Entry

Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.Location: Publisher.

Shotton, M. A. (1989). Computer addition? A study of computer dependency. London, England: Taylor & Francis.

Journal Article - Print

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication).Title of article. Title of Journal, volume (issue), pages of article.

Chamberlin, J., Novotney, A., Packard, E., & Price, M. (2008). Enhancing worker well-being: Occupational health psychologists convene to share their research on work, stress, and health. Monitor on Psychology, 39(5), 26-29.

Journal Article – Electronic with DOI

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication).Title of article. Title of Journal, volume (issue), pages of article. doi:xxxx.

Herbst-Damm, K. L. & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225.

Journal Article – Electronic without DOI

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication).Title of article. Title of Journal, volume (issue), pages of article. Retrieved from xxxxx.

Sillick, T. J., & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate

between perceived early parental love and adult happiness. E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48. Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php.ejap.

For More Information

Purdue University’s OWLPublication Manual of the American

Psychological Association, 6th ed.Class LibGuideLearning Center – tutors and academic coach

Reference

Concise rules of APA style. (2009). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.