Guide to the APA Style

Whats Included in APA

Style?
Basically everything in your paper:
How your pages are set up
How you cite sources
Your references
Even your language

Where to learn APA style?

Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th edition)
Various websites:
Landmark Citation Machine
APA Style Tutorial

The Reference Page

A list of every source that you make
reference to in your paper.
Provides the information necessary
for a reader to locate and retrieve
any sources cited in your paper.
Each retrievable source cited in the
paper must appear on the reference
page, and vice versa.

The Reference Page

Authors are responsible for all
information in their reference lists
Accurately prepared references help
establish your credibility as a careful
researcher

The Reference Page (Cont.)

Most citations should contain the
following basic information:
Authors name
Year of publication
Title of work
Publication information

Abbreviations
Abbreviation

Book or publication part

ed.

Edition

Rev. ed.

Revised edition

2nd ed.

Second edition

Ed. (Eds.)

Editors (Editors)

Trans.

Translator(s)

n.d.

no date

p. (pp.)

page (pages)

Vol.

Volume (as in Vols. 1-4)

No.

Number

Pt.

Part

Tech. Rep.

Technical Report

Suppl.

Supplement

Order of references in the

reference list
Alphabetizing names
e.g., Singh, Y., precedes Singh Sidhu,
N.
Benjamin, A. S., precedes ben
Yaakov, D.
Villafuerte, S. A., precedes VillaLobos, J.

Order of references in the

reference list
One-author entries by the same
author are arranged by year of
publication, the earliest first:
Upenieks, V. (2003).
Upenieks, V. (2005).

Order of references in the

reference list
One-author entries precede multipleauthor entries beginning with the
same surname (even it the multipleauthor work was published earlier):
Alleyne, R. L. (2001).
Alleyne, R. L., & Evans, A. J. (1999).

10

Order of references in the

reference list
References with the same first author
and different second or third authors
are arranged alphabetically by the
surname of the second author:
Boockvar, K. S., & Burack, O. R. (2007).
Boockvar, K. S., Carlson LaCorte, H.,
Giambenco, V., Friedman, B., & Siu, A.
(2006).

11

Single-authored book /
Entire book, print version
Perloff, R. M. (1995). The dynamics of
persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shotton, M. A. (1989). Computer
addiction? A study of computer
dependency. London, England: Taylor
& Francis.

12

Electronic version of print

book
Shotton, M. A. (1989). Computer addiction? A
study of computer dependency [DX Reader
version]. Retrieved from
http://www.Ebookstore.tandf
./co.uk/html/index.asp
Schiraldi, G. R. (2001). The post-traumatic
stress disorder sourcebook: A guide to
healing, recovery, and growth [Adobe Digital
Editions version]. doi:10.1036 /0071393722

13

14

Electronic book
Okeefe, E. (n.d.). Egoism & the crisis
in Western values. Retrieved from
http://www.online
originals.com/showitem.asp?
itemID=135

15

Reissued book
Newcomb, H. (Ed.). (1995). Television:
The critical view (5th ed.). New York:
Oxford University Press.
*Note: Capitals in the title of the book are
restricted to the first letter of the first word
of the title, the first letter of any proper
names, and the first letter of the first word
after a semicolon, period, or question
mark.

16

Dual-authored book
Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (1995).
Mass communication theory:
Foundations, ferment and future.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
*Note: when listing authors, use an
ampersand (&) in the reference list,
not and.

17

Essay or chapter in an edited book

Bryant, J. (1989). Message features and
entertainment effects. In J. J. Bradac
(Ed.), Message effects in
communication science (pp. 231-262).
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
*Note: You must include the page
numbers if youre just referencing one
part of a book.

Essay or chapter in an edited

book
Bryant, J. (1989). Message features and
entertainment effects. In J. J. Bradac (Ed.),
Message effects in communication science
(pp. 231-262). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the
science of subjective well-being. In M. Eid
& R. J. (Eds.), The science of subjective
well-being (pp. 17-43). New York, NY:
Guilford Press.

18

19

Reference book
VandenBos, G. R. (Ed.) (2007). APA
dictionary of psychology.
Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.

Non-English reference book,

title translated into English
Real Academia Espanola. (2001).
Diccionario de la lengua espanola
[ Dictionary of the Spanish language]
(22nd ed.). Madrid, Spain: Author.

20

Corporate author, government

report
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, National Institutes of Health,
National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute. (2003). Managing asthma: A
guide for schools (NIH Publication No.
02-2650). Retrieved from http://www.
Nhlb.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/
asth_
sch.pdf

21

22

Symposium contribution
Muellbauer , J. (2007, September).
Housing, credit, and consumer
expenditure. In S. C. Ludvingson
(Chair), housing and consumer
behavior. Symposium conducted at
the meeting of the Federal Reserve
Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole,
WY.

Conference paper abstract

retrieved online
Liu, S. (2005, May). Defending against
business crisis with the help of
intelligent agent based early warning
solutions. Paper presented at the
Seventh International Conference on
Enterprise Information Systems,
Miami, FL. Abstract retrieved from
http://www.iceis.org/
iceis2005/abstracts_2005.htm

23

Unpublished doctoral dissertation

or masters thesis
The template:
Author, A. A. (2003). Title of doctoral
dissertation or masters thesis
(Unpublished doctoral dissertation or
masters thesis). Name of Institution,
Location.

24

Masters thesis, from a

commercial database
McNiel, D. S. (2006). Meaning through
narrative: A personal narrative discussing
growing up with an alcoholic mother
(Masters thesis). Available from ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI
No. 1434728)

25

Doctoral dissertation, from an

institutional database
Adams, R. J. (1973). Building a foundation for
evaluation of instruction in higher
education
and
continuing
education
(Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from
http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/

26

27

Journal article with DOI

Senior, B., & Swailes, S. (2007). Inside
management teams: Developing a
teamwork survey instrument. British
Journal of Management, 18, 138153. doi:10.1111/j.14678551.2006.00507.x

28

Journal article without DOI

Light, M. A., & Light, I. H. (2008). The
geographic expansion of Mexican
immigration in the United States and
its implications for local law
enforcement. Law Enforcement
Executive Forum Journal, 8(10), 7382.

29

Journal article: One author

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

Journal article: Two to seven

authors
[List all authors]
Keller, T. E., Cusick, G. R., & Courtney,
M. E. (2007). Approaching the
transition to adulthood: Distinctive
profiles of adolescents aging out of
the child welfare system. Social
Services Review, 81, 453-484.

30

Journal article: Eight or more

authors
[List the first six authors, and the
last author]
Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N.,
Tein, J.-Y., Coatsworth, D., Lengua,
L.,...Griffin, W. A. (2000). An
experimental evaluation of theory-based
mother and mother-child programs for
children of divorce. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 68, 843-856.

31

32

Unpublished convention paper

Thomas, S., & Gitlin, T. (1993, May).
Who says theres a dominant
ideology and what happens if that
concept is falsified? Paper presented
at the annual meeting of the
International Communication
Association, Washington, DC.
Note: Conference papers are less highly
regarded than published works

33

Internet articles based on a print

source
VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J.
(2001). Role of reference elements in
the selection of resources by
psychology undergraduates.
[Electronic version]. Journal of
Bibliographic Research, 5, 117-123.

34

Article in an internet-only journal

Koo, D. J., Chitwoode, D. D., &
Sanchez, J. (2008). Violent
victimization and the routine
activities/lifestyle of active drug
users. Journal of Drug Issues, 38,
1105-1137. Retrieved from
http://www2.criminology
.fsu.edu/~jdi/

Online Report with No Author

Identified and No Date
GVU's 10th WWW user survey. (n.d.).
Retrieved from
http://www.cc.gatech.edu
/user_surveys/survey-1998-10/

35

36

Website
To cite an entire Web site (but not a
specific document within the site), it is
sufficient to give the URL of the site in
the text. No entry in the reference list
is needed. Example:
Kidpsych is an excellent website for
young children
(http://www.kidpsych.org).

37

Newspaper
Newspaper article
Rosli Mohammed. (1998, October 27). Master
teachers: Are we prepared? The Star, p. N7.
Article with no known author
Cigarette sales fall 30% as tax rises. (1999,
September 14). The New Straits Times, p.
A17.
Online newspaper article
Rosli Mohammed. (1998, October 27). Master
teachers: Are we prepared? The Star.
Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com.my

Citation: When do you cite

your sources in your paper?
When quoting any words that are not your
own
Quoting means to repeat another source word
for word, using quotation marks

When summarizing facts and ideas from a

source
Summarizing means to take ideas from a large
passage of another source and condense them,
using your own words

When paraphrasing a source

Paraphrasing means to use the ideas from
another source but change the phrasing into
your own words

38

39

Paraphrasing
Scott (2002) identified
Several researchers (Anthony, 1990;
Gregory & Jacobs, 1985; Polk et al.,
1980) reported
Or at the end of a sentence
It was argued that . (Scott, 2002).

40

Citing while paraphrasing

List the last names of all authors the
first time you cite them, unless there
are more than 5.
If there are more than five (5), or you
are citing the paper of three (3) or
more authors for a second or more
time, list last name of first author,
followed by et al., and the date.

41

One work by one author

E.g.
(1)Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological
samples
(2)Early onset results in a more persistent and severe
course (Kessler, 2003).
(3)Among epidemiological samples, Kessler (2003)
found that early onset social anxiety disorder results
in a more potent and severe course. Kessler also
found . The study showed that there was a high
rate of comorbidity with alcohol abuse or dependence
and major depression Kessler, 2003).
(4)Early onset results in a more persistent and severe
course (Kessler, 2003). Kessler (2003) also found .

One work by multiple

authors
When two authors, cite both names
every time the reference occurs in
text
When three, four, or five authors, cite
all authors the first time the
reference occurs; in subsequent
citations, include only the surname of
the first author followed by et al.

42

43

Examples
E.g.:
(1)Kisangau, Lyaruu, Hosea, and
Joseph (2007) found .
[use as first citation in text.]
(1)Kisangau et al. (2007) found
[use as subsequent citation in text.]

44

Examples
Precede the final name in a multipleauthor citation in running text by the word
and. In parenthetical material, in tables
and captions, and in the reference list, join
the names by an ampersand &
E.g.:
as Kurtines and Szapocznik (2003 demonstrated
.
as has been shown (Joreskog & Sorbom, 2007)

One work by multiple

authors
When a work has six or more
authors, cite only the surname of the
first author followed by et al.
e.g.:
Wasserstein et al. (2005)

45

46

Examples
Scott, Williamson,
and Schaffer (1990)
reported that
(FIRST TIME)

Scott and Williamson

(1990) reported that
(FIRST TIME and
EVERY TIME)

Scott et al. (1990)

reported that
(EVERY TIME
AFTER)

6 or more authors,
use et al., first time
and every time.

47

Citation: No Known Author

If the source has no known author,
then use an abbreviated version of
the title:
Full Title: Cigarette Tax Deters
Smokers
Citation: (Cigarette Tax, 2006)

48

Citation: Additional Info.

Sometimes additional information is
necessary.
More than one author with the same last
name

(H. James, 1878); (W. James, 1880)

Specific part of a source

(Jones, 1995, chap. 2)

49

Citing while quoting

Authors last name, publication year, and
page number(s) of quote must appear in
the text
Caruth (1996) states that a traumatic response
frequently entails a delayed, uncontrolled
repetitive appearance of hallucinations and
other intrusive phenomena (p. 11).
A traumatic response frequently entails a
delayed, uncontrolled repetitive appearance
of hallucinations and other intrusive
phenomena (Caruth, 1996, p. 11).

50

Quotations: Electronic Sources

Many electronic sources do not
include page numbers. If paragraph
numbers are given, use them in place
of page numbers, preceded by the
p. symbol or the abbreviation para.
Example:
According to the Ministry of Health,
health care workers at all levels of
education and training will continue to
be in demand (2005, p. 52).

51

Long Quotations
Quotations of 40 or more words are
formatted differently:
Start on a new line
Block Indent the full quote 5 spaces
from left margin
Omit quotation marks
Double-space

52

Long Quotations (Cont.)

According to Merrell, Viadero & Mosser (2006):
No matter how the jobs and their settings change,
though, one thing remains the same: each member of
the school improvement team brings a unique
combination of skills, knowledge, and experience as
the group works together for a common goal--to
improve the quality of education. (p. 3)

53

Personal Communication
Personal communications include:
Letters
Memos
E-mails
Personal Interviews
Telephone Conversations

54

Personal Communication (Cont.)

Cite only within the text.
They are not included on the
references page.
Example:

(J. D. Smith, personal communication, May 1,

2006).
J. D. Smith (personal communication, May 1,
2006).

55

Citing secondary sources

When citing in the text a work discussed in a
secondary source, give both the primary and
the secondary sources. Example:
Seidenberg and McClelland was mentioned
in an article by Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, &
Haller.
Seidenberg and McClellands study (as cited in
Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993)
provided a glimpse into the world .

Citing secondary sources

(Cont.)
In the references page, you would
cite the secondary source you read
not the original study.
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., &
Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading
aloud: Dual-route and paralleldistributedprocessing approaches.
Psychological Review, 100, 589-608.

56

57

Table format
Table title
Give every table a brief but clear and
explanatory title. The basic content
of the table should be easily inferred
from the title

58

Too general:

Table format

Table 1
Relation Between College Majors and Performance
[It is unclear what data are presented in the table.]
Too detailed:
Table 1
Mean Performance Scores on Teat A, Test B, and Test C of
Students With Psychology, Physics, English, and
Engineering Majors
[This duplicates information in the headings of the table.]

59

Good title:

Table format

Table 1
Mean Performance Scores of Students With
Different College Majors

60

Table Format
Table 1
Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Gender

Gender

Frequency

Percentage

Male

171

48.2

Female

184

51.8

Total

355

100

Minimum type size: 8 point

Maximum type size: 14 point

61

Types of Figures
1. Graphs: typically display the relationship between
two quantitative indices or between a continuous
quantitative variable (usually displayed as the y
axis) and groups of subjects displayed along the x
axis.
2. Charts: generally display nonquantitative
information such as the flow of subjects through a
process, for example, flow charts.

3. Maps: generally display spatial information.

4. Drawings: show information pictorially.
5. Photographs: contain direct visual
representations of information.

62

E.g.,
1. Too brief:
Figure 3. Fixation duration.
2. Sufficiently descriptive:
Figure 3. Fixation duration as a function
of the delay between the beginning of
eye fixation and the onset of the
stimulus in Experiment 1.

63

Thank You