APA Style Citation and Documentation

Selena Dickey

Supervisor and Professional Writing Consultant

What is Graduate-Level Writing?

• Entering a conversation in the academic community and in your specific discipline

• Original critical thought – Builds on existing knowledge– Contributes something new to the field

• Developing and demonstrating expertise in – Your writing– Your subject– Your discipline

Standards of Grad-Level Writing

• Written for a professional audience– Suitable for publication

• Clear, concise, logically structured writing – Free of grammatical errors

• Extensive analysis (critical evaluation of sources)

• Extensive synthesis (combining information from multiple sources)

• Rigorous research using acceptable sources– Follows specific citation format (APA)

Why American Psychology Association (APA) Style?

• Focuses on dates and titles instead of the author– Current research/data– Previous “watershed” studies in the literature

• Was developed to standardize scientific writing• Emphasizes your own words and ideas

– Prefers paraphrase to quotation

Basic Formatting in APA

Basic Formatting in APA

• Use 1” margins all around• Double-space the entire paper• Use a 11 or 12 point serif font for text

– Times New Roman or Cambria• Use a sans-serif font for figure labels

– Arial or Calibri• Align all paragraphs to the left

– Indent the first line of each paragraph

Title Page• Running head: includes a shortened title or

assignment description – Use in the header of every page – The words RUNNING HEAD will only

appear on the title page • Center full title of the paper, your name,

and your institutional affiliation near top half of page

• If instructor requests, add class information, instructor’s name, and date centered at bottom

Abstract• If your paper requires an abstract, include

on a new page after the title page• Center ABSTRACT at the top of the page• Give a brief summation (between 250 and

500 words) of the focus and findings of the paper, including major research covered and findings

• The words RUNNING HEAD do not appear, but the shortened title does

First Page• Center the full title at top of page• Do not write INTRODUCTION unless

specifically required by your instructor• Begin section headings on this page, if

appropriate– Refer to the APA Style Guide, 6th Edition, for

formatting of different heading levels

In-Text CitationsAuthors and types of sources

Basics of In-Text Citations• APA style uses the author-date citation

system– Place the name followed by the year at the

beginning of the sentence Doe (2007) found that rats cannot vomit.

– Place the name and year in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentenceA recent study of rats found that they cannot vomit (Doe, 2007).

Direct Quote or Paraphrase?

• Use direct quotations with citation– Even if you do not use every word – Include page number in citation (Smith 2007,

p. 18)• Use paraphrasing with citation

– Restate the same information in a new way, in your own words, and in your own sentence structure

Remember: You must provide a citation for any information or idea that is not your own

Citing Personal Communications

• Includes interviews, correspondence, person-to-person communication, etc.

• Not considered recoverable data, so cite in text but do not include in References list

… (personal communication, August 15, 2009).

• Only use short samples (a sentence or two) in text of paper

• Full transcript of personal communications may appear in Appendix.

Citing Two Authors• For two authors, cite the last names of

both authors each time the source is usedDoe and Koenig (2007) note that modern Western political idealism has its basis in the writings of Immanuel Kant.

Modern Western political idealism has its basis in the writings of Immanuel Kant (Doe & Koenig, 2007).

Citing Three to Five Authors• Cite the last names of all authors the first

time it is usedDoe, Koenig, and Porpora (1998) note that constructivism is becoming a more popular theory in political science.

• For all citations afterward, use ET AL.Doe et al. (1998) found that most political scientists prefer synthesizing political theories.

Citing Six or More Authors• Cite only the first author followed by ET

AL. for each citation

Mearsheimer et al. (2008) assert that neo-realism as a theoretical paradigm is experiencing a backlash.

Neo-realism as a theoretical paradigm is experiencing a backlash (Mearsheimer et al., 2008).

Authors with Multiple Works• For authors with multiple works published

in the same year – Alphabetize the sources based upon the

title of the work and assign a lowercase letter for each sourceDoe (2008a) notes that Egyptian death rituals were highly complex. In the case of Tutankhamen, the boy pharaoh was adorned in a highly ritualized fashion with precious metals and jewelry (Doe, 2008b).

Electronic Sources• Electronic sources are cited in the same

fashion as print sources– Never put a website URL in an in-text

citation • When using an online source, you will

need– Name of the author (person or

organization)• If an author is not identified, use the name

of the article– Year of publication– Section of internet document– Paragraph number

Electronic Sources• Using the section or paragraph number of

an electronic source

Dolce and Gabanna had to change their 2004–2005 advertising campaign after the profuse level of complaints from consumers (Herneckli, 2006, Trends section, para. 3).

Prada was favored 7/10 over Oakley (Herneckli, 2005, para. 5).

Reference List

Citing sources in the References pages

Reference List• References begin on a new page after the

last page of your paper• Include all the research you referenced or

used• Arrange alphabetically by author (person

or organization)• Do not divide your sources based upon

type or category • Use a hanging indent for each entry

Reference List• Author(s) name(s)

– Last name first, then first/middle initial– For sources without named authors, use the first

letter of the title• Publication date in parenthesis• Title of the work (do not use italics or quotation

marks)• Publication data

– Journal titles in italics (but not volume or issue number)

– Book titles in italics• Include page numbers if did not reference entire

book• Include publication location and publisher

Basic Print Sources• Journal article

Doe, J. (2001). Realism: An examination of its efficacy. Journal of International Relations, 82(5), 19–27.

• Journal article from author with multiple publications

Doe, J. (2008a). Egyptian death rituals. Journal of Egyptian History, 9(2), 90–123.

• BookDoe, J. (2001). Egyptian death rituals and their

historical significance. Cairo: National Publishing.

Basic Electronic Sources• Whole website

National Kleptomaniacs Association [NKA]. (2008). Who has time to buy anything? Retrieved

from http://kleptomaniacal.org/stealing

• Section of a websiteNational Kleptomaniacs Association [NKA]. (2008).Why

stealing isn’t stealing. In Who has time to buy anything?

Retrieved from http://kleptomaniacal.org/stealing

Appendices and Visual Elements

Appendices• Include materials that supplement the

paper, such as visual elements, secondary research, data sets, transcripts, surveys, etc.

• Appear after References list on a new page• Center APPENDIX, APPENDIX A, etc. at

top of page• Double space entire page (like rest of

paper)• Refer to appendices in body of the paper

“Byrne’s survey showed that … (See Appendix A for more data from the survey).”

Using Visual Elements• APA typically requires large figures,

graphs, tables, charts, and photographs to be placed in an Appendix after the References List

• However, you may include smaller visual elements in the text of the paper

• You must distinguish between visuals you created and those borrowed from an outside source

Visuals You Created• Label (Graph 1, Graph 2, Table 1, etc.)

and refer to them in the paper– As shown in Table 8, most respondents

indicated a preference for Prada.• Your own visuals will not include source

notes

Visuals from Outside Sources• You must include a source note below the

element that includes the title, author, date, publication, pub. info, page number, and copyright

Note. From “Title of Article,” by J. Doe and J. Horrocks, 2008, Journal of Ethology Studies , 50(6), p. 92. Copyright 2008 by Name of Copyright Holder.

Other Resources

• APA Manual, 6th Edition• Our very own Writing Center APA style

handouts (available on our website and in the Center on campus)

http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CLAS/

Centers/writing/resources/Pages/guides.aspx

The Writing Center

• For more information please visit us:– Denver Campus, North Classroom Building– Anschutz Medical Campus, Health Sciences

Library– Campus Village Apartments, North 3rd Floor

Common Room– Synchronous Online Consultations– http://writingcenter.ucdenver.edu