APA Style

APA

• Social sciences, such as psychology, generally use the American Psychological Association (APA) format, which calls for a title page, in-text citations, and a References page.

• An abstract may also be included.

APA

• Always follow your instructor’s guidelines, which may be different from what is in this presentation.

• This presentation provides a basic guide to common APA format requirements.

• For more detailed instructions, see the New Century Handbook (5th ed.) or the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).

General Guidelines

• Margins are 1 inch with double-spacing throughout.

• Font is 12 point Times New Roman.

Title Page

• The title is centered about halfway down the page, followed by your name and other information as required by your professor, such as the course number and name, instructor’s name, and date.

• The title is also centered on the first page of text.• The header is located one half-inch from the top

of the page and an inch from the right margin and must include a 2-3 word abbreviated title and the page number, separated by 5 spaces.

Example: Title Page

Attitudes and Accommodations 1

Attitudes and Accommodations:

High School English Teachers and ADD/ADHD Students

Rhonda Kavan

PSYC 2010: General Psychology

Ms. Benson

December 15, 2010

Running Head

• Depending on the assignment requirements, a running head may not be required, so clarify the instructions with your professor.

• The running head consists of the term Running head followed by a colon and then an abbreviated title, typed in all caps and located one half-inch from the top of the page and an inch from the left margin.

• The page number is located one half-inch from the top of the page and an inch from the right margin.

• A running head is no more than 50 characters.• See the Purdue OWL’s APA Formatting and Style

Guide for an example of a title page with running head.

Abstract

• An abstract is not always required; consult your instructor to find out if you need one.

• The abstract is on its own page and is the second page of the paper, after the title page.

• The word Abstract is centered at the top.• The abstract is a paragraph of no more than 120

words. It is not indented. • An abstract summarizes the paper by introducing

the topic and, depending on the type of paper, describes the methods and findings and states the conclusions or summarizes the thesis and supporting points.

• The reader should understand what the paper is about by reading only the abstract.

Example: Abstract

Attitudes and Accommodations 2

Abstract

The study examined teachers’ attitudes toward and accommodations for

ADD/ADHD students. Researchers administered surveys to 100 English

teachers in public and private high schools in and around Nashville,

Tennessee. One-third of those surveyed consented to follow-up interviews.

While attitudes toward students were overwhelmingly positive, only half

of the teachers surveyed reported that they made accommodations for

students in their classrooms. Teachers expressed interest in further training

as well as Teaching Assistants in order to make accommodations for

students. The study showed that teachers lacked sufficient training in how

to accommodate ADD/ADHD students and time to devote to

accommodations for students.

Headings

There are five levels of headings to separate sections of a paper written in APA style. See the Purdue OWL’s APA Formatting and Style Guide section on APA Headings and Seriation for a chart and outline of headings.

Block Quotations

• Paraphrases are preferred over direct quotations. • For this reason, block quotations are rarely used

in APA. • However, if you are including a block quotation,

see the Purdue OWL’s APA Formatting and Style Guide for how to format a block quotation.

In-text Citations

• Both paraphrases and direct quotations require in-text citations. They consist of the last name(s) of the author(s), the year of publication, and the page number(s) from where the information was retrieved.

• Commas are used between author and year and between year and page number, and page numbers are preceded by p. when material comes from one certain page in a source or pp. when material comes from multiple certain pages in a source. Direct quotations require p. or pp. while APA recommends but does not require p. and pp. for paraphrases.

In-text Citations

• If there is no author, use an abbreviated title. • Capitalize and punctuate with italics for longer

works (such as books) or quotation marks for shorter works (such as articles).

• If there is no date, use n.d. in place of the date.

Example: Students with ADHD may be primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive, or equally inattentive and hyperactive (“Understanding,” 2010).

In-text Citations

• Introduce quotations with signal phrases to avoid a “floating quotation” (a quotation that has been plopped into the writing without explanation of its purpose).

• Use past tense (such as showed) or present perfect (such as has shown) unless discussing results or information that is widely accepted, in which case present tense (such as show) is used.

In-text Citations

When the author or title is mentioned in the sentence, include the year in parentheses after the author or title instead of including a parenthetical citation.

Example: The article “Understanding AD/HD” (2010) points out that students with ADD/ADHD may be primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive, or equally inattentive and hyper.

In-text Citations

• For multiple authors, use and in the sentence but & in parentheses.

• Use all names in the order they are listed on the title page (not alphabetical).

Example: Lee, Harrington, Louie, and Newschaffer (2008) have pointed out that parents of children with ADD/ADHD do not have their quality of life affected as much as parents of children with autism (p. 1147). OR Parents of children with autism do not have their quality of life affected as much as parents of children with autism (Lee, Harrington, Louie, & Newschaffer, 2008, p. 1147).

In-text Citations

After the first reference to a source with 3-5 authors and for every reference to a source with 6 or more authors, the abbreviation et al. is used following the first author’s name.

Example: Lee et al. (2008) have pointed out that parents of children with ADD/ADHD do not have their quality of life affected as much as parents of children with autism (p. 1147).

In-text Citations

For multiple sources cited in the same parentheses, list authors alphabetically and separate with a semicolon.

Example: Studies have shown an increase in abuse of ADHD medication by teenagers (“Increased,” 2009; “Study,” 2009).

In-text Citations

For multiple works by the same author in the same year, use a, b, etc. after the year. Start with the title that comes first alphabetically.

Example: Chantal Sicile-Kira (2011b) notes that parents need to be aware of certain challenges faced by teenagers with autism.

In-text Citations

For multiple authors with the same last name, include first or first and middle initials in all citations.

Example: Parents of children with ADD/ADHD might benefit from finding balance. One way to find balance is through humor (A. Smith, 2010).

In-text Citations

For indirect sources (sources found in other sources), use (as cited in Author, Year). Use the author and year for the source you consulted.

Example: Bryan Goodman, spokesperson for the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), warned that parents and school officials should work to ensure that those needing medication have access to it while those who do not need it do not gain access to it (as cited in “Study,” 1999, p. 7).

In-text Citations

Cite entire websites using the URL. No References entry is required.

Example: The Psychology Today website includes several articles dealing with ADD/ADHD (http://www.psychologytoday.com).

In-text Citations

Cite unpublished interviews as personal communications. No References entry is required.

Example: The Tennessee State University Writing Center publicizes its services more now that there are multiple tutors in the Center (J. Grimes, personal communication, December 15, 2010).

References

• The References page is at the end of the essay on a separate page.

• The word References is centered at the top of the page.

• Sources are listed alphabetically by last name and include first and middle initials instead of names.

• Authors’ names are not alphabetized within a single References entry; they remain in the order in which they are listed in the source.

• Entries are formatted using a hanging indent (each line after the first citation is indented 5 spaces).

References

• Capitalize the first letters of all proper nouns (such as author or university names and cities), and capitalize all words except conjunctions (such as and), articles (a, an, and the), and prepositions (such as of) in journal titles and publisher names.

• However, capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the title and subtitle of a book or article title.

References

If there is no author, start with the title and include the publication year after it.

Unlike in the in-text citation, which has the title punctuated with italics or quotation marks, the title is not punctuated in the References entry.

If there is no date, use n.d. in place of the date.

References

• For books, include city and state.• If more than one city is listed, choose the first one

or the home office. Include the city and state using the two letter postal abbreviation without periods.

• Include the complete names of university presses and associations but not words and phrases such as Publisher, Inc., and Co.

Example:

Iseman, J.S. (2010). 101 school success tools for

students with ADHD. Waco, TX: Prufrock.

References

For books with editors, include (Ed.) after the editor’s name or (Eds.) after the editors’ names.

Example:

Timimi, S., & Leo, J. (Eds.). (2009). Rethinking

ADHD: From brain to culture. New York, NY:

Palgrave Macmillan.

 

References

For editions, provide edition information in parentheses after the title.

Example:

Rief, S.F. (2005). How to reach and teach children

with ADD/ADHD: Practical techniques, strategies,

and interventions. (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass.

 

References

For book chapters and works in anthologies, include the chapter author and title followed by In and the publication information for the book. Authors’ first names are followed by their last names.

Example:

Ongel, U. (2006). “ADHD” and parenting styles. In

G. Lloyd, J. Stead, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Critical new

perspectives on ADHD (pp. 115-127). New

York, NY: Routledge.

References

For e-books, follow the format for the print version, but include the website title and URL for the electronic version.

Example:

Ongel, U. (2006). “ADHD” and parenting styles. In G. Lloyd, J.

Stead, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Critical new perspectives on ADHD

(pp. 115- 127). New York, NY: Routledge. Retrieved from

NetLibrary at Tennessee State University:

http://sultan.tnstate.edu

References

For weekly or monthly publications, include the month or month and day. Do not abbreviate the month. For all publications, include the issue number if each issue begins on page 1. Newspaper articles require p. or pp. before page numbers where other periodicals do not.

Example:

Study finds rise in teen abuse of ADHD

medications. (2009, August 31). Mental Health

Weekly, 19 (34), 6-7.

References

• For articles found in online databases, do not include the name of the database or the retrieval date.

• Instead, follow the format of the print version.

References

For online newspapers and magazines, include the author, date, article, publication title, and URL.

Example:

Martin, W.E. (2000, November 1). Paying attention to

girls with ADHD. Psychology Today. Retrieved from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200011/payi

ng- attention-girls-adhd

References

For online journals, include the author, date, article, publication title, volume, issue, page number(s), and URL.

Example:

Lemaster, K.B., Wagner, S.M., Temple, A.B., & McNeil, C.B.

(2010). A preliminary examination of the effects of

behavioral descriptions on on-task behavior. Psi Chi Journal

of Undergraduate Research, 15, 106. Retrieved from

http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_837.aspx

References

For books and periodicals that may be found online, even if you used a print version, include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) if one is available. It is found on the first page of the article, on the database citation page, or on the free DOI lookup section of the crossref.org website. The DOI provides a persistent link to the source. When including a DOI, it is not necessary to include a URL.

Example:

Lee, L., Harrington, R.A., Louie, B.B., & Newschaffer, C.J. (2008).

Children with autism: Quality of life and parental

concerns. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,

38, 1147-1160. doi: 10.1007/s10803-007-0491-0

References

For sections of websites, include the author, article title, publication year, and link. Include the retrieval date only if the content is likely to change.

Example:

Understanding AD/HD. (2010). Retrieved from

http://chadd.org/Content/CHADD/Understanding/

Symptoms/default.htm

References

For sources with 8 or more authors, use an ellipsis (. . .) between the names of the 6th and final authors.

Example:

Wigal, T., Swanson, L.M., Regino, R., Lemer, M.A., Soliman, I.,

Steinhoff, K., . . . Wigal, S.B. (1999). Stimulant medications for

the treatment

of ADHD: Efficacy and limitations. Mental Retardation and

Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 5, 215-224.

References• For multiple works by the same author(s), arrange by

publication date with earliest first.• For the same author(s) in the same year, use a, b, etc. after

the year. Start with the title that comes first alphabetically.

Example:

Sicile-Kira, C. (2011a). Puberty brings changes that are

difficult for teens with autism. [Blog post]. Retrieved from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-autism-

advocate/201103/puberty-brings-changes-are-difficult-teens-

autism

References

Include interviewer, date, and interviewee as well as source information for published interviews.

Example:

Kindsvatter, A. (2005, October). [Interview with

David Nylund]. In A. Kindsvatter, Huckleberry

Finn reconsidered. Family Journal, 13, 503-506.

References

For other sources, such as blog posts or lecture notes, include the format description in brackets.

Example:

Smith, D. (2011). My daughter’s an average

student: Help! [Blog post]. Retrieved from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/

blog/ask-dr-darcy/201102/my-daughters-average-

student- help

Example: References Page

 References

  Increased abuse of ADHD medications. (2009). Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior

Letter, 25 (11), 3.

Iseman, J.S. (2010). 101 school success tools for students with ADHD. Waco, TX: Prufrock.

Kindsvatter, A. (2005, October). [Interview with David Nylund]. In A. Kindsvatter, Huckleberry

Finn reconsidered. Family Journal, 13, 503- 506.

Lee, L., Harrington, R.A., Louie, B.B., & Newschaffer, C.J. (2008). Children with autism:

Quality of life and parental concerns. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 38, 1147-

1160.

Lemaster, K.B., Wagner, S.M., Tempel, A.B., & McNeil, C.B. (2010). A preliminary examination of

the effects of behavioral descriptions on on-task behavior. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate

Research, 15, 106. Retrieved from http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_837.aspx

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