Cite Your Sources in APA Style: A Review

Shana Gass, MSLSsgass@towson.eduReference LibrarianSubject Specialist

in Business & Economics

Style Manuals• Different disciplines use different

style manuals

– Social Sciences = American Psychological Association (APA)

– Humanities = MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA)

Citing Correctly in APA: Exact Quote from a Source

1. “ x” 2. In-text citation

(Burrows, 2009, para. 5)OR (Burrows, 2009, p. 26)

3. An entry in the References list (the bibliography) at the end of the paper

Every in-text citation should have a match in the bibliography

Citing Correctly in APA: Citing an Idea or Fact

1. Legitimate paraphrase

2. In-text citation(Burrows, 2009)

3. An entry in the References list at the end of the paper

Again, every in-text citation should have a match in the bibliography!

Library Resources for APA

Examples for print & electronic sources; in-text citations; link to Diana Hacker Guide

In-text Citation for an Article (HTML) from a Database (Business Source Complete)

APA Style

In-text:Mobile devices increase access to sensitive corporate data (Swartz, 2006).

In-text with signal phrase:Swartz (2006) points out that mobile devices increase access to sensitive corporate data.

References List Entry for an Article (HTML) from a Database (Business Source Complete)

Swartz, N. (2006). Safeguarding corporate

secrets. Information Management Journal, 40(5), 24-30. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

APA Style

How to Cite GraphicsAPA Style:Caption the graphic in a “sufficiently descriptive” manner

and add an explanatory footnote.

Photograph of Matt from Survivor.[1]

_______________________________ [1] From History of reality TV by Beth Rowen, 2000 July 21,

retrieved September 21, 2004, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/realitytv1.html

Powerpoint: Sample Slides

Distance Education

• Majority of colleges had at least some online classes in 2001 (Virtual school initiatives, 2005)

• Teaching online classes time-consuming, requires special techniques (Bender, 2003)

• Students taking online courses must be self-starters (Thomas, 2007)

Powerpoint: Sample SlidesReferences

Bender, T. (2003). Discussion-based online teaching to enhance

student learning: Theory, practice, and assessment. Sterling, Va: Stylus Pub

Thomas, C. (2007). Are you a candidate for distance learning? Petersons.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009, from http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/code/articles/ distancelearncandidate2.asp

Virtual school initiatives increase as study details distance learning. (2005). Electronic Education Report, 12(6), 3-5. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Research or Citation Style Questions?…feel free to contact me!

Shana Gass (410) 704-2395 sgass@towson.edu

Or any reference librarian:

Visit – Call – IM – TXT Library web site > Ask a Librarian