APA Style Referencing

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WelcometothePurdueOWL
ThispageisbroughttoyoubytheOWLatPurdue
(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/).Whenprintingthispage,you
mustincludetheentirelegalnoticeatbottom.
Contributors:JoshuaM.Paiz,ElizabethAngeli,JodiWagner,ElenaLawrick,Kristen
Moore,MichaelAnderson,LarsSoderlund,AllenBrizee,RussellKeck.
Summary:
APA(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation)styleismostcommonlyusedtocite
sourceswithinthesocialsciences.Thisresource,revisedaccordingtothe6thedition,
secondprintingoftheAPAmanual,offersexamplesforthegeneralformatofAPA
researchpapers,intextcitations,endnotes/footnotes,andthereferencepage.Formore
information,pleaseconsultthePublicationManualoftheAmericanPsychological
Association,(6thed.,2ndprinting).
GeneralFormat
PleaseusetheexampleatthebottomofthispagetocitethePurdueOWLinAPA.
Toseeasidebysidecomparisonofthethreemostwidelyusedcitationstyles,
includingachartofallAPAcitationguidelines,seetheCitationStyleChart.
YoucanalsowatchourAPAvidcastseriesonthePurdueOWLYouTubeChannel.
GeneralAPAGuidelines
Youressayshouldbetyped,doublespacedonstandardsizedpaper(8.5"x11")with
1"marginsonallsides.Youshoulduseaclearfontthatishighlyreadable.APA
recommendsusing12pt.TimesNewRomanfont.
Includeapageheader(alsoknownasthe"runninghead")atthetopofeverypage.
Tocreateapageheader/runninghead,insertpagenumbersflushright.Thentype
"TITLEOFYOURPAPER"intheheaderflushleftusingallcapitalletters.The
runningheadisashortenedversionofyourpaper'stitleandcannotexceed50
charactersincludingspacingandpunctuation.
MajorPaperSections
Youressayshouldincludefourmajorsections:theTitlePage,Abstract,MainBody,
andReferences.
TitlePage
Thetitlepageshouldcontainthetitleofthepaper,theauthor'sname,andthe
institutionalaffiliation.Includethepageheader(describedabove)flushleftwiththe
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/560/
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pagenumberflushrightatthetopofthepage.Pleasenotethatonthetitlepage,your
pageheader/runningheadshouldlooklikethis:
Runninghead:TITLEOFYOURPAPER
Pagesafterthetitlepageshouldhavearunningheadthatlookslikethis:
TITLEOFYOURPAPER
AfterconsultingwithpublicationspecialistsattheAPA,OWLstafflearnedthatthe
APA6thedition,firstprintingsamplepapershaveincorrectexamplesofRunning
headsonpagesafterthetitlepage.ThislinkwilltakeyoutotheAPAsitewhereyou
canfindacompletelistofalltheerrorsintheAPA's6theditionstyleguide.
Typeyourtitleinupperandlowercaseletterscenteredintheupperhalfofthepage.
APArecommendsthatyourtitlebenomorethan12wordsinlengthandthatitshould
notcontainabbreviationsorwordsthatservenopurpose.Yourtitlemaytakeupone
ortwolines.Alltextonthetitlepage,andthroughoutyourpaper,shouldbedouble
spaced.
Beneaththetitle,typetheauthor'sname:firstname,middleinitial(s),andlastname.
Donotusetitles(Dr.)ordegrees(PhD).
Beneaththeauthor'sname,typetheinstitutionalaffiliation,whichshouldindicatethe
locationwheretheauthor(s)conductedtheresearch.
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ImageCaption:APATitlePage
Abstract
Beginanewpage.Yourabstractpageshouldalreadyincludethepageheader
(describedabove).Onthefirstlineoftheabstractpage,centerthewordAbstract(no
bold,formatting,italics,underlining,orquotationmarks).
Beginningwiththenextline,writeaconcisesummaryofthekeypointsofyour
research.(Donotindent.)Yourabstractshouldcontainatleastyourresearchtopic,
researchquestions,participants,methods,results,dataanalysis,andconclusions.You
mayalsoincludepossibleimplicationsofyourresearchandfutureworkyousee
connectedwithyourfindings.Yourabstractshouldbeasingleparagraphdouble
spaced.Yourabstractshouldbebetween150and250words.
Youmayalsowanttolistkeywordsfromyourpaperinyourabstract.Todothis,
indentasyouwouldifyouwerestartinganewparagraph,typeKeywords:(italicized),
andthenlistyourkeywords.Listingyourkeywordswillhelpresearchersfindyour
workindatabases.
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ImageCaption:APAAbstractPage
PleaseseeourSampleAPAPaperresourcetoseeanexampleofanAPApaper.You
mayalsovisitourAdditionalResourcespageformoreexamplesofAPApapers.
HowtoCitethePurdueOWLinAPA
IndividualResources
Contributors'namesandthelastediteddatecanbefoundintheorangeboxesatthe
topofeverypageontheOWL.
Contributors'names(Lastediteddate).Titleofresource.Retrievedfromhttp://Web
addressforOWLresource
Angeli,E.,Wagner,J.,Lawrick,E.,Moore,K.,Anderson,M.,Soderlund,L.,&
Brizee,A.(2010,May5).Generalformat.Retrievedfrom
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
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Summary:
InTextCitations:TheBasics
Referencecitationsintextarecoveredonpages169179ofthePublicationManual.
Whatfollowsaresomegeneralguidelinesforreferringtotheworksofothersinyour
essay.
Note:APAstylerequiresauthorstousethepasttenseorpresentperfecttensewhen
usingsignalphrasestodescribeearlierresearch,forexample,Jones(1998)foundor
Jones(1998)hasfound...
APAcitationbasics
WhenusingAPAformat,followtheauthordatemethodofintextcitation.This
meansthattheauthor'slastnameandtheyearofpublicationforthesourceshould
appearinthetext,forexample,(Jones,1998),andacompletereferenceshouldappear
inthereferencelistattheendofthepaper.
IfyouarereferringtoanideafromanotherworkbutNOTdirectlyquotingthe
material,ormakingreferencetoanentirebook,articleorotherwork,youonlyhaveto
makereferencetotheauthorandyearofpublicationandnotthepagenumberinyour
intextreference.Allsourcesthatarecitedinthetextmustappearinthereferencelist
attheendofthepaper.
Intextcitationcapitalization,quotes,anditalics/underlining
Alwayscapitalizepropernouns,includingauthornamesandinitials:D.Jones.
Ifyourefertothetitleofasourcewithinyourpaper,capitalizeallwordsthatare
fourletterslongorgreaterwithinthetitleofasource:PermanenceandChange.
Exceptionsapplytoshortwordsthatareverbs,nouns,pronouns,adjectives,and
adverbs:WritingNewMedia,ThereIsNothingLefttoLose.
(Note:inyourReferenceslist,onlythefirstwordofatitlewillbecapitalized:
Writingnewmedia.)
Whencapitalizingtitles,capitalizebothwordsinahyphenatedcompoundword:
NaturalBornCyborgs.
Capitalizethefirstwordafteradashorcolon:"DefiningFilmRhetoric:The
CaseofHitchcock'sVertigo."
Italicizeorunderlinethetitlesoflongerworkssuchasbooks,editedcollections,
movies,televisionseries,documentaries,oralbums:TheClosingofthe
AmericanMindTheWizardofOzFriends.
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Putquotationmarksaroundthetitlesofshorterworkssuchasjournalarticles,
articlesfromeditedcollections,televisionseriesepisodes,andsongtitles:
"MultimediaNarration:ConstructingPossibleWorlds""TheOneWhere
ChandlerCan'tCry."
Shortquotations
Ifyouaredirectlyquotingfromawork,youwillneedtoincludetheauthor,yearof
publication,andthepagenumberforthereference(precededby"p.").Introducethe
quotationwithasignalphrasethatincludestheauthor'slastnamefollowedbythedate
ofpublicationinparentheses.
AccordingtoJones(1998),"StudentsoftenhaddifficultyusingAPAstyle,especially
whenitwastheirfirsttime"(p.199).
Jones(1998)found"studentsoftenhaddifficultyusingAPAstyle"(p.199)what
implicationsdoesthishaveforteachers?
Iftheauthorisnotnamedinasignalphrase,placetheauthor'slastname,theyearof
publication,andthepagenumberinparenthesesafterthequotation.
Shestated,"StudentsoftenhaddifficultyusingAPAstyle"(Jones,1998,p.199),but
shedidnotofferanexplanationastowhy.
Longquotations
Placedirectquotationsthatare40words,orlonger,inafreestandingblockof
typewrittenlines,andomitquotationmarks.Startthequotationonanewline,
indented1/2inchfromtheleftmargin,i.e.,inthesameplaceyouwouldbeginanew
paragraph.Typetheentirequotationonthenewmargin,andindentthefirstlineofany
subsequentparagraphwithinthequotation1/2inchfromthenewmargin.Maintain
doublespacingthroughout.Theparentheticalcitationshouldcomeaftertheclosing
punctuationmark.
Jones's(1998)studyfoundthefollowing:
StudentsoftenhaddifficultyusingAPAstyle,
especiallywhenitwastheirfirsttimecitingsources.Thisdifficultycouldbe
attributedtothefactthatmanystudentsfailedtopurchaseastylemanualorto
asktheirteacherforhelp.(p.199)
Summaryorparaphrase
Ifyouareparaphrasinganideafromanotherwork,youonlyhavetomakereferenceto
theauthorandyearofpublicationinyourintextreference,butAPAguidelines
encourageyoutoalsoprovidethepagenumber(althoughitisnotrequired.)
AccordingtoJones(1998),APAstyleisadifficultcitationformatforfirsttime
learners.
APAstyleisadifficultcitationformatforfirsttimelearners(Jones,1998,p.199).
Summary:
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InTextCitations:Author/Authors
APAstylehasaseriesofimportantrulesonusingauthornamesaspartoftheauthor
datesystem.Thereareadditionalrulesforcitingindirectsources,electronicsources,
andsourceswithoutpagenumbers.
CitinganAuthororAuthors
AWorkbyTwoAuthors:Namebothauthorsinthesignalphraseorinthe
parentheseseachtimeyoucitethework.Usetheword"and"betweentheauthors'
nameswithinthetextandusetheampersandintheparentheses.
ResearchbyWegenerandPetty(1994)supports...
(Wegener&Petty,1994)
AWorkbyThreetoFiveAuthors:Listalltheauthorsinthesignalphraseorin
parenthesesthefirsttimeyoucitethesource.Usetheword"and"betweentheauthors'
nameswithinthetextandusetheampersandintheparentheses.
(Kernis,Cornell,Sun,Berry,&Harlow,1993)
Insubsequentcitations,onlyusethefirstauthor'slastnamefollowedby"etal."inthe
signalphraseorinparentheses.
(Kernisetal.,1993)
Inetal.,etshouldnotbefollowedbyaperiod.
SixorMoreAuthors:Usethefirstauthor'snamefollowedbyetal.inthesignal
phraseorinparentheses.
Harrisetal.(2001)argued...
(Harrisetal.,2001)
UnknownAuthor:Iftheworkdoesnothaveanauthor,citethesourcebyitstitlein
thesignalphraseorusethefirstwordortwointheparentheses.Titlesofbooksand
reportsareitalicizedorunderlinedtitlesofarticles,chapters,andwebpagesarein
quotationmarks.
Asimilarstudywasdoneofstudentslearningtoformatresearchpapers("Using
APA,"2001).
Note:Intherarecasethe"Anonymous"isusedfortheauthor,treatitastheauthor's
name(Anonymous,2001).Inthereferencelist,usethenameAnonymousasthe
author.
OrganizationasanAuthor:Iftheauthorisanorganizationoragovernmentagency,
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mentiontheorganizationinthesignalphraseorintheparentheticalcitationthefirst
timeyoucitethesource.
AccordingtotheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(2000),...
Iftheorganizationhasawellknownabbreviation,includetheabbreviationinbrackets
thefirsttimethesourceiscitedandthenuseonlytheabbreviationinlatercitations.
Firstcitation:(MothersAgainstDrunkDriving[MADD],2000)
Secondcitation:(MADD,2000)
TwoorMoreWorksintheSameParentheses:Whenyourparentheticalcitation
includestwoormoreworks,orderthemthesamewaytheyappearinthereferencelist
(viz.,alphabetically),separatedbyasemicolon.
(Berndt,2002Harlow,1983)
AuthorsWiththeSameLastName:Topreventconfusion,usefirstinitialswiththe
lastnames.
(E.Johnson,2001L.Johnson,1998)
TwoorMoreWorksbytheSameAuthorintheSameYear:Ifyouhavetwo
sourcesbythesameauthorinthesameyear,uselowercaseletters(a,b,c)withthe
yeartoordertheentriesinthereferencelist.Usethelowercaseletterswiththeyearin
theintextcitation.
ResearchbyBerndt(1981a)illustratedthat...
Introductions,Prefaces,Forewords,andAfterwords:WhencitinganIntroduction,
Preface,Foreword,orAfterwordsintext,citetheappropriateauthorandyearasusual.
(Funk&Kolln,1992)
PersonalCommunication:Forinterviews,letters,emails,andotherpersonto
personcommunication,citethecommunicator'sname,thefactthatitwaspersonal
communication,andthedateofthecommunication.Donotincludepersonal
communicationinthereferencelist.
(E.Robbins,personalcommunication,January4,2001).
A.P.SmithalsoclaimedthatmanyofherstudentshaddifficultieswithAPAstyle
(personalcommunication,November3,2002).
CitingIndirectSources
Ifyouuseasourcethatwascitedinanothersource,nametheoriginalsourceinyour
signalphrase.Listthesecondarysourceinyourreferencelistandincludethe
secondarysourceintheparentheses.
Johnsonarguedthat...(ascitedinSmith,2003,p.102).
Note:Whencitingmaterialinparentheses,setoffthecitationwithacomma,asabove.
Also,trytolocatetheoriginalmaterialandcitetheoriginalsource.
ElectronicSources
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Ifpossible,citeanelectronicdocumentthesameasanyotherdocumentbyusingthe
authordatestyle.
Kenneth(2000)explained...
UnknownAuthorandUnknownDate:Ifnoauthorordateisgiven,usethetitlein
yoursignalphraseorthefirstwordortwoofthetitleintheparenthesesandusethe
abbreviation"n.d."(for"nodate").
Anotherstudyofstudentsandresearchdecisionsdiscoveredthatstudentssucceeded
withtutoring("TutoringandAPA,"n.d.).
SourcesWithoutPageNumbers
Whenanelectronicsourcelackspagenumbers,youshouldtrytoincludeinformation
thatwillhelpreadersfindthepassagebeingcited.Whenanelectronicdocumenthas
numberedparagraphs,usetheabbreviation"para."followedbytheparagraphnumber
(Hall,2001,para.5).Iftheparagraphsarenotnumberedandthedocumentincludes
headings,providetheappropriateheadingandspecifytheparagraphunderthat
heading.Notethatinsomeelectronicsources,likeWebpages,peoplecanusetheFind
functionintheirbrowsertolocateanypassagesyoucite.
AccordingtoSmith(1997),...(MindoverMattersection,para.6).
Note:NeverusethepagenumbersofWebpagesyouprintoutdifferentcomputers
printWebpageswithdifferentpagination.
Summary:
FootnotesandEndnotes
APAdoesnotrecommendtheuseoffootnotesandendnotesbecausetheyareoften
expensiveforpublisherstoreproduce.However,ifexplanatorynotesstillprove
necessarytoyourdocument,APAdetailstheuseoftwotypesoffootnotes:content
andcopyright.
Whenusingeithertypeoffootnote,insertanumberformattedinsuperscriptfollowing
almostanypunctuationmark.Footnotenumbersshouldnotfollowdashes(),andif
theyappearinasentenceinparentheses,thefootnotenumbershouldbeinserted
withintheparentheses.
Scientistsexaminedoverseveralyears1thefossilizedremainsofthewoolywooly
yak.2(ThesehavenowbeentransferredtotheChauanMuseum.3)
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WhenusingthefootnotefunctioninawordprocessingprogramlikeMicrosoftWord,
placeallfootnotesatthebottomofthepageonwhichtheyappear.Footnotesmayalso
appearonthefinalpageofyourdocument(usuallythisisaftertheReferencespage).
CenterthewordFootnotesatthetopofthepage.Indentfivespacesonthefirstline
ofeachfootnote.Then,follownormalparagraphspacingrules.Doublespace
throughout.
1Whilethemethodofexaminationforthewoolywoolyyakprovidesimportant
insightstothisresearch,thisdocumentdoesnotfocusonthisparticularspecies.
ContentNotes
ContentNotesprovidesupplementalinformationtoyourreaders.Whenproviding
ContentNotes,bebriefandfocusononlyonesubject.Trytolimityourcommentsto
onesmallparagraph.
ContentNotescanalsopointreaderstoinformationthatisavailableinmoredetail
elsewhere.
1SeeBlackmur(1995),especiallychapters3and4,foraninsightfulanalysisofthis
extraordinaryanimal.
CopyrightPermissionNotes
Ifyouquotemorethan500wordsofpublishedmaterialorthinkyoumaybein
violationofFairUsecopyrightlaws,youmustgettheformalpermissionofthe
author(s).Allothersourcessimplyappearinthereferencelist.
FollowthesameformattingrulesaswithContentNotesfornotingcopyright
permissions.Thenattachacopyofthepermissionlettertothedocument.
Ifyouarereproducingagraphic,chart,ortable,fromsomeothersource,youmust
provideaspecialnoteatthebottomoftheitemthatincludescopyrightinformation.
Youshouldalsosubmitwrittenpermissionalongwithyourwork.Beginthecitation
withNote.
Note.FromTitleofthearticle,byW.JonesandR.Smith,2007,JournalTitle,21,p.
122.Copyright2007byCopyrightHolder.Reprintedwithpermission.
Summary:
ReferenceList:BasicRules
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Yourreferencelistshouldappearattheendofyourpaper.Itprovidestheinformation
necessaryforareadertolocateandretrieveanysourceyouciteinthebodyofthe
paper.Eachsourceyouciteinthepapermustappearinyourreferencelistlikewise,
eachentryinthereferencelistmustbecitedinyourtext.
Yourreferencesshouldbeginonanewpageseparatefromthetextoftheessaylabel
thispage"References"centeredatthetopofthepage(doNOTbold,underline,oruse
quotationmarksforthetitle).Alltextshouldbedoublespacedjustliketherestof
youressay.
BasicRules
Alllinesafterthefirstlineofeachentryinyourreferencelistshouldbe
indentedonehalfinchfromtheleftmargin.Thisiscalledhangingindentation.
Authors'namesareinverted(lastnamefirst)givethelastnameandinitialsfor
allauthorsofaparticularworkforuptoandincludingsevenauthors.Ifthe
workhasmorethansevenauthors,listthefirstsixauthorsandthenuseellipses
afterthesixthauthor'sname.Aftertheellipses,listthelastauthor'snameofthe
work.
Referencelistentriesshouldbealphabetizedbythelastnameofthefirstauthor
ofeachwork.
Formultiplearticlesbythesameauthor,orauthorslistedinthesameorder,list
theentriesinchronologicalorder,fromearliesttomostrecent.
Presentthejournaltitleinfull.
Maintainthepunctuationandcapitalizationthatisusedbythejournalinitstitle.
Forexample:ReCALLnotRECALLorKnowledgeManagementResearch
&PracticenotKnowledgeManagementResearchandPractice.
Capitalizeallmajorwordsinjournaltitles.
Whenreferringtobooks,chapters,articles,orWebpages,capitalizeonlythe
firstletterofthefirstwordofatitleandsubtitle,thefirstwordafteracolonora
dashinthetitle,andpropernouns.Donotcapitalizethefirstletterofthesecond
wordinahyphenatedcompoundword.
Italicizetitlesoflongerworkssuchasbooksandjournals.
Donotitalicize,underline,orputquotesaroundthetitlesofshorterworkssuch
asjournalarticlesoressaysineditedcollections.
Pleasenote:WhiletheAPAmanualprovidesmanyexamplesofhowtocite
commontypesofsources,itdoesnotproviderulesonhowtocitealltypesof
sources.Therefore,ifyouhaveasourcethatAPAdoesnotinclude,APA
suggeststhatyoufindtheexamplethatismostsimilartoyoursourceanduse
thatformat.Formoreinformation,seepage193ofthePublicationManualof
theAmericanPsychologicalAssociation,(6thed.,2ndprinting).
Summary:
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ReferenceList:Author/Authors
Thefollowingrulesforhandlingworksbyasingleauthorormultipleauthorsapplyto
allAPAstylereferencesinyourreferencelist,regardlessofthetypeofwork(book,
article,electronicresource,etc.)
SingleAuthor
Lastnamefirst,followedbyauthorinitials.
Berndt,T.J.(2002).Friendshipqualityandsocialdevelopment.CurrentDirectionsin
PsychologicalScience,11,710.
TwoAuthors
Listbytheirlastnamesandinitials.Usetheampersandinsteadof"and."
Wegener,D.T.,&Petty,R.E.(1994).Moodmanagementacrossaffectivestates:The
hedoniccontingencyhypothesis.JournalofPersonalityandSocial
Psychology,66,10341048.
ThreetoSevenAuthors
Listbylastnamesandinitialscommasseparateauthornames,whilethelastauthor
nameisprecededagainbyampersand.
Kernis,M.H.,Cornell,D.P.,Sun,C.R.,Berry,A.,Harlow,T.,&Bach,J.S.(1993).
There'smoretoselfesteemthanwhetheritishighorlow:Theimportanceof
stabilityofselfesteem.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,65,
11901204.
MoreThanSevenAuthors
Listbylastnamesandinitialscommasseparateauthornames.Afterthesixthauthor's
name,useanellipsesinplaceoftheauthornames.Thenprovidethefinalauthor
name.Thereshouldbenomorethansevennames.
Miller,F.H.,Choi,M.J.,Angeli,L.L.,Harland,A.A.,Stamos,J.A.,Thomas,S.T.,.
..Rubin,L.H.(2009).Websiteusabilityfortheblindandlowvisionuser.
TechnicalCommunication,57,323335.
OrganizationasAuthor
AmericanPsychologicalAssociation.(2003).
UnknownAuthor
MerriamWebster'scollegiatedictionary(10thed.).(1993).Springfield,MA:Merriam
Webster.
NOTE:Whenyouressayincludesparentheticalcitationsofsourceswithnoauthor
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named,useashortenedversionofthesource'stitleinsteadofanauthor'sname.Use
quotationmarksanditalicsasappropriate.Forexample,parentheticalcitationsofthe
sourceabovewouldappearasfollows:(MerriamWebster's,1993).
TwoorMoreWorksbytheSameAuthor
Usetheauthor'snameforallentriesandlisttheentriesbytheyear(earliestcomes
first).
Berndt,T.J.(1981).
Berndt,T.J.(1999).
Whenanauthorappearsbothasasoleauthorand,inanothercitation,asthefirst
authorofagroup,listtheoneauthorentriesfirst.
Berndt,T.J.(1999).Friends'influenceonstudents'adjustmenttoschool.Educational
Psychologist,34,1528.
Berndt,T.J.,&Keefe,K.(1995).Friends'influenceonadolescents'adjustmentto
school.ChildDevelopment,66,13121329.
Referencesthathavethesamefirstauthoranddifferentsecondand/orthirdauthorsare
arrangedalphabeticallybythelastnameofthesecondauthor,orthelastnameofthe
thirdifthefirstandsecondauthorsarethesame.
Wegener,D.T.,Kerr,N.L.,Fleming,M.A.,&Petty,R.E.(2000).Flexible
correctionsofjurorjudgments:Implicationsforjuryinstructions.Psychology,
PublicPolicy,andLaw,6,629654.
Wegener,D.T.,Petty,R.E.,&Klein,D.J.(1994).Effectsofmoodonhigh
elaborationattitudechange:Themediatingroleoflikelihoodjudgments.
EuropeanJournalofSocialPsychology,24,2543.
TwoorMoreWorksbytheSameAuthorintheSameYear
Ifyouareusingmorethanonereferencebythesameauthor(orthesamegroupof
authorslistedinthesameorder)publishedinthesameyear,organizetheminthe
referencelistalphabeticallybythetitleofthearticleorchapter.Thenassignletter
suffixestotheyear.Refertothesesourcesinyouressayastheyappearinyour
referencelist,e.g.:"Berdnt(1981a)makessimilarclaims..."
Berndt,T.J.(1981a).Agechangesandchangesovertimeinprosocialintentionsand
behaviorbetweenfriends.DevelopmentalPsychology,17,408416.
Berndt,T.J.(1981b).Effectsoffriendshiponprosocialintentionsandbehavior.Child
Development,52,636643.
Introductions,Prefaces,Forewords,andAfterwords
Citethepublishinginformationaboutabookasusual,butciteIntroduction,Preface,
Foreword,orAfterword(whatevertitleisapplicable)asthechapterofthebook.
Funk,R.,&Kolln,M.(1998).Introduction.InE.W.Ludlow(Ed.),Understanding
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Englishgrammar(pp.12).Needham,MA:AllynandBacon.
Summary:
ReferenceList:ArticlesinPeriodicals
BasicForm
APAstyledictatesthatauthorsarenamedlastnamefollowedbyinitialspublication
yeargoesbetweenparentheses,followedbyaperiod.Thetitleofthearticleisin
sentencecase,meaningonlythefirstwordandpropernounsinthetitleare
capitalized.Theperiodicaltitleisrunintitlecase,andisfollowedbythevolume
numberwhich,withthetitle,isalsoitalicized.IfaDOIhasbeenassignedtothearticle
thatyouareusing,youshouldincludethisafterthepagenumbersforthearticle.Ifno
DOIhasbeenassignedandyouareaccessingtheperiodicalonline,usetheURLofthe
websitefromwhichyouareretrievingtheperiodical.
Author,A.A.,Author,B.B.,&Author,C.C.(Year).Titleofarticle.Titleof
Periodical,volumenumber(issuenumber),pages.
http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
ArticleinJournalPaginatedbyVolume
Journalsthatarepaginatedbyvolumebeginwithpageoneinissueone,andcontinue
numberingissuetwowhereissueoneended,etc.
Harlow,H.F.(1983).Fundamentalsforpreparingpsychologyjournalarticles.Journal
ofComparativeandPhysiologicalPsychology,55,893896.
ArticleinJournalPaginatedbyIssue
Journalspaginatedbyissuebeginwithpageoneeveryissuetherefore,theissue
numbergetsindicatedinparenthesesafterthevolume.Theparenthesesandissue
numberarenotitalicizedorunderlined.
Scruton,R.(1996).Theeclipseoflistening.TheNewCriterion,15(3),513.
ArticleinaMagazine
Henry,W.A.,III.(1990,April9).Makingthegradeintoday'sschools.Time,135,28
31.
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ArticleinaNewspaper
Unlikeotherperiodicals,p.orpp.precedespagenumbersforanewspaperreferencein
APAstyle.Singlepagestakep.,e.g.,p.B2multiplepagestakepp.,e.g.,pp.B2,B4
orpp.C1,C3C4.
Schultz,S.(2005,December28).Callsmadetostrengthenstateenergypolicies.The
CountryToday,pp.1A,2A.
Note:Becauseofissueswithhtmlcoding,thelistingsbelowusingbracketscontain
spacesthatarenottobeusedwithyourlistings.Useaspaceasnormalbeforethe
brackets,butdonotincludeaspacefollowingthebracket.
LettertotheEditor
Moller,G.(2002,August).Ripplesversusrumbles[Lettertotheeditor].Scientific
American,287(2),12.
Review
Baumeister,R.F.(1993).Exposingtheselfknowledgemyth[ReviewofthebookThe
selfknower:Aheroundercontrol,byR.A.Wicklund&M.Eckert].
ContemporaryPsychology,38,466467.
Summary:
ReferenceList:Books
BasicFormatforBooks
Author,A.A.(Yearofpublication).Titleofwork:Capitalletteralsoforsubtitle.
Location:Publisher.
Note:For"Location,"youshouldalwayslistthecityandthestateusingthetwoletter
postalabbreviationwithoutperiods(NewYork,NY).
Calfee,R.C.,&Valencia,R.R.(1991).APAguidetopreparingmanuscriptsfor
journalpublication.Washington,DC:AmericanPsychologicalAssociation.
EditedBook,NoAuthor
Duncan,G.J.,&BrooksGunn,J.(Eds.).(1997).Consequencesofgrowinguppoor.
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NewYork,NY:RussellSageFoundation.
EditedBookwithanAuthororAuthors
Plath,S.(2000).Theunabridgedjournals.K.V.Kukil(Ed.).NewYork,NY:Anchor.
ATranslation
Laplace,P.S.(1951).Aphilosophicalessayonprobabilities.(F.W.Truscott&F.L.
Emory,Trans.).NewYork,NY:Dover.(Originalworkpublished1814)
Note:Whenyoucitearepublishedwork,liketheoneabove,inyourtext,itshould
appearwithbothdates:Laplace(1814/1951).
EditionOtherThantheFirst
Helfer,M.E.,Kempe,R.S.,&Krugman,R.D.(1997).Thebatteredchild(5thed.).
Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress.
ArticleorChapterinanEditedBook
Author,A.A.,&Author,B.B.(Yearofpublication).Titleofchapter.InA.A.Editor
&B.B.Editor(Eds.),Titleofbook(pagesofchapter).Location:Publisher.
Note:Whenyoulistthepagesofthechapteroressayinparenthesesafterthebook
title,use"pp."beforethenumbers:(pp.121).Thisabbreviation,however,doesnot
appearbeforethepagenumbersinperiodicalreferences,exceptfornewspapers.
O'Neil,J.M.,&Egan,J.(1992).Men'sandwomen'sgenderrolejourneys:A
metaphorforhealing,transition,andtransformation.InB.R.Wainrib(Ed.),
Genderissuesacrossthelifecycle(pp.107123).NewYork,NY:Springer.
MultivolumeWork
Wiener,P.(Ed.).(1973).Dictionaryofthehistoryofideas(Vols.14).NewYork,
NY:Scribner's.
Summary:
ReferenceList:OtherPrintSources
AnEntryinanEncyclopedia
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Bergmann,P.G.(1993).Relativity.InTheNewEncyclopediaBritannica.(Vol.26,
pp.501508).Chicago,IL:EncyclopediaBritannica.
WorkDiscussedinaSecondarySource
Listthesourcetheworkwasdiscussedin:
Coltheart,M.,Curtis,B.,Atkins,P.,&Haller,M.(1993).Modelsofreadingaloud:
Dualrouteandparalleldistributedprocessingapproaches.Psychological
Review,100,589608.
NOTE:Givethesecondarysourceinthereferenceslistinthetext,nametheoriginal
work,andgiveacitationforthesecondarysource.Forexample,ifSeidenbergand
McClelland'sworkiscitedinColtheartetal.andyoudidnotreadtheoriginalwork,
listtheColtheartetal.referenceintheReferences.Inthetext,usethefollowing
citation:
InSeidenbergandMcClelland'sstudy(ascitedinColtheart,Curtis,Atkins,&Haller,
1993),...
DissertationAbstract
Yoshida,Y.(2001).Essaysinurbantransportation.DissertationAbstracts
International,62,7741A.
Dissertation,Published
Lastname,F.N.(Year).Titleofdissertation(Doctoraldissertation).Retrievedfrom
Nameofdatabase.(AccessionorOrderNumber)
Dissertation,Unpublished
Lastname,F.N.(Year).Titleofdissertation(Unpublisheddoctoraldissertation).
NameofInstitution,Location.
GovernmentDocument
NationalInstituteofMentalHealth.(1990).Clinicaltraininginseriousmentalillness
(DHHSPublicationNo.ADM901679).Washington,DC:U.S.Government
PrintingOffice.
Forinformationaboutcitinglegalsourcesinyourreferencelist,seetheUniversityof
Nebraska,KearneypageonCitingLegalMaterialsinAPAStyle.
ReportFromaPrivateOrganization
AmericanPsychiatricAssociation.(2000).Practiceguidelinesforthetreatmentof
patientswitheatingdisorders(2nded.).Washington,DC:Author.
ConferenceProceedings
Schnase,J.L.,&Cunnius,E.L.(Eds.).(1995).ProceedingsfromCSCL'95:TheFirst
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InternationalConferenceonComputerSupportforCollaborativeLearning.
Mahwah,NJ:Erlbaum.
Summary:
ReferenceList:ElectronicSources(Web
Publications)
Pleasenote:TherearenospacesusedwithbracketsinAPA.Whenpossible,include
theyear,month,anddateinreferences.Ifthemonthanddatearenotavailable,usethe
yearofpublication.Pleasenote,too,thattheOWLstillincludesinformationabout
printsourcesanddatabasesforthosestillworkingwiththesesources.
ArticleFromanOnlinePeriodical
Onlinearticlesfollowthesameguidelinesforprintedarticles.Includeallinformation
theonlinehostmakesavailable,includinganissuenumberinparentheses.
Author,A.A.,&Author,B.B.(Dateofpublication).Titleofarticle.TitleofOnline
Periodical,volumenumber(issuenumberifavailable).Retrievedfrom
http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Bernstein,M.(2002).10tipsonwritingthelivingWeb.AListApart:ForPeopleWho
MakeWebsites,149.Retrievedfrom
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving
OnlineScholarlyJournalArticle:CitingDOIs
Pleasenote:InAugustof2011theformattingrecommendationsforDOIschanged.
DOIsarenowrenderedasanalphanumericstringwhichactsasanactivelink.
AccordingtoTheAPAStyleGuidetoElectronicReferences,6thedition,youshould
usetheDOIformatwhichthearticleappearswith.So,ifitisusingtheoldernumeric
string,usethatastheDOI.If,however,itispresentedastheneweralphanumeric
string,usethatastheDOI.ThePurdueOWLmaintainsexamplesofcitationsusing
bothDOIstyles.
BecauseonlinematerialscanpotentiallychangeURLs,APArecommendsprovidinga
DigitalObjectIdentifier(DOI),whenitisavailable,asopposedtotheURL.DOIsare
anattempttoprovidestable,longlastinglinksforonlinearticles.Theyareuniqueto
theirdocumentsandconsistofalongalphanumericcode.Manybutnotallpublishers
willprovideanarticle'sDOIonthefirstpageofthedocument.
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Notethatsomeonlinebibliographiesprovideanarticle'sDOIbutmay"hide"thecode
underabuttonwhichmayread"Article"ormaybeanabbreviationofavendor'sname
like"CrossRef"or"PubMed."Thisbuttonwillusuallyleadtheusertothefullarticle
whichwillincludetheDOI.FindDOI'sfromprintpublicationsoronesthatgotodead
linkswithCrossRef.org's"DOIResolver,"whichisdisplayedinacentrallocationon
theirhomepage.
ArticleFromanOnlinePeriodicalwithDOIAssigned
Author,A.A.,&Author,B.B.(Dateofpublication).Titleofarticle.TitleofJournal,
volumenumber,pagerange.doi:0000000/000000000000or
http://dx.doi.org/10.0000/0000
Brownlie,D.(2007).Towardeffectiveposterpresentations:Anannotated
bibliography.EuropeanJournalofMarketing,41,12451283.
doi:10.1108/03090560710821161
Wooldridge,M.B.,&Shapka,J.(2012).Playingwithtechnology:Mothertoddler
interactionscoreslowerduringplaywithelectronictoys.JournalofApplied
DevelopmentalPsychology,33(5),211218.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2012.05.005
ArticleFromanOnlinePeriodicalwithnoDOIAssigned
OnlinescholarlyjournalarticleswithoutaDOIrequiretheURLofthejournalhome
page.Rememberthatonegoalofcitationsistoprovideyourreaderswithenough
informationtofindthearticleprovidingthejournalhomepageaidsreadersinthis
process.
volumenumber.Retrievedfromhttp://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/
Kenneth,I.A.(2000).ABuddhistresponsetothenatureofhumanrights.Journalof
BuddhistEthics,8.Retrievedfromhttp://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html
ArticlefromaDatabase
Pleasenote:APAstatesthatincludingdatabaseinformationincitationsisnot
necessarybecausedatabaseschangeovertime(p.192).However,theOWLstill
includesinformationaboutdatabasesforthoseuserswhoneeddatabaseinformation.
Whenreferencingaprintarticleobtainedfromanonlinedatabase(suchasadatabase
inthelibrary),provideappropriateprintcitationinformation(formattedjustlikea
"normal"printcitationwouldbeforthattypeofwork).Byprovidingthisinformation,
youallowpeopletoretrievetheprintversioniftheydonothaveaccesstothedatabase
fromwhichyouretrievedthearticle.Youcanalsoincludetheitemnumberor
accessionnumberordatabaseURLattheend,buttheAPAmanualsaysthatthisisnot
required.
Ifyouarecitingadatabasearticlethatisavailableinotherplaces,suchasajournalor
magazine,includethehomepage'sURL.Youmayhavetodoawebsearchofthe
article'stitle,author,etc.tofindtheURL.
Forarticlesthatareeasilylocated,donotprovidedatabaseinformation.Ifthearticleis
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difficulttolocate,thenyoucanprovidedatabaseinformation.Onlyuseretrievaldates
ifthesourcecouldchange,suchasWikis.Formoreaboutcitingarticlesretrieved
fromelectronicdatabases,seepages187192ofthePublicationManual.
volumenumber,pagerange.Retrievedfrom
Smyth,A.M.,Parker,A.L.,&Pease,D.L.(2002).Astudyofenjoymentofpeas.
JournalofAbnormalEating,8(3),120125.Retrievedfrom
http://www.articlehomepage.com/full/url/
Abstract
Ifyouonlyciteanabstractbutthefulltextofthearticleisalsoavailable,citethe
onlineabstractasanyotheronlinecitations,adding"[Abstract]"afterthearticleor
sourcename.However,ifthefulltextisnotavailable,youmayuseanabstractthatis
availablethroughanabstractsdatabaseasasecondarysource.
Paterson,P.(2008).HowwelldoyoungoffenderswithAspergerSyndromecopein
custody?:Twoprisoncasestudies[Abstract].BritishJournalofLearning
Disabilities,36(1),5458.
Hendricks,J.,Applebaum,R.,&Kunkel,S.(2010).Aworldapart?Bridgingthegap
betweentheoryandappliedsocialgerontology.Gerontologist,50(3),284293.
AbstractretrievedfromAbstractsinSocialGerontologydatabase.(Accession
No.50360869)
NewspaperArticle
Author,A.A.(Year,MonthDay).Titleofarticle.TitleofNewspaper.Retrievedfrom
ParkerPope,T.(2008,May6).Psychiatryhandbooklinkedtodrugindustry.TheNew
YorkTimes.Retrieved
fromhttp://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/psychiatryhandbooklinked
todrugindustry/?_r=0
ElectronicBooks
Electronicbooksmayincludebooksfoundonpersonalwebsites,databases,orevenin
audioform.Usethefollowingformatifthebookyouareusingisonlyprovidedina
digitalformatorisdifficulttofindinprint.Iftheworkisnotdirectlyavailableonline
ormustbepurchased,use"Availablefrom,"ratherthan"Retrievedfrom,"andpoint
readerstowheretheycanfindit.Forbooksavailableinprintformandelectronic
form,includethepublishdateinparenthesesaftertheauthor'sname.Forreferencesto
ebookeditions,besuretoincludethetypeandversionofebookyouarereferencing
(e.g.,"[KindleDXversion]").IfDOIsareavailable,providethemattheendofthe
reference.
DeHuff,E.W.(n.d.).Taytaystales:TraditionalPuebloIndiantales.Retrievedfrom
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html
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Davis,J.(n.d.).FamiliarbirdsongsoftheNorthwest.Availablefrom
http://www.powells.com/cgibin/biblio?inkey=197809316861080
KindleBooks
TociteKindle(orotherebookformats)youmustincludethefollowinginformation:The
author,dateofpublication,title,ebookversion,andeithertheDigitalObjectIdentifer(DOI)
number,ortheplacewhereyoudownloadedthebook.PleasenotethattheDOI/placeof
downloadisusedinplaceofpublisherinformation.
Heresanexample:
Stoker,B.(1897).Dracula[KindleDXversion].RetrievedfromAmazon.com
Chapter/SectionofaWebDocumentorOnlineBookChapter
Author,A.A.,&Author,B.B.(Dateofpublication).Titleofarticle.InTitleofbook
orlargerdocument(chapterorsectionnumber).Retrievedfrom
Engelshcall,R.S.(1997).Modulemod_rewrite:URLRewritingEngine.InApache
HTTPServerversion1.3documentation(Apachemodules).Retrievedfrom
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/mod/mod_rewrite.html
Peckinpaugh,J.(2003).ChangeintheNineties.InJ.S.BoughandG.B.DuBois
(Eds.),AcenturyofgrowthinAmerica.RetrievedfromGoldStardatabase.
NOTE:UseachapterorsectionidentifierandprovideaURLthatlinksdirectlytothe
chaptersection,notthehomepageoftheWebsite.
OnlineBookReviews
Citetheinformationasyounormallywouldfortheworkyouarequoting.(Thefirst
examplebelowisfromanewspaperarticlethesecondisfromascholarlyjournal.)In
brackets,write"Reviewofthebook"andgivethetitleofthereviewedwork.Provide
thewebaddressafterthewords"Retrievedfrom,"ifthereviewisfreelyavailableto
anyone.Ifthereviewcomesfromasubscriptionserviceordatabase,write"Available
from"andprovidetheinformationwherethereviewcanbepurchased.
Zacharek,S.(2008,April27).Naturalwomen[ReviewofthebookGirlslikeus].The
NewYorkTimes.Retrievedfrom
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/books/review/Zachareck
t.html?pagewanted=2
Castle,G.(2007).NewmillennialJoyce[ReviewofthebooksTwentyfirstJoyce,
Joyce'scritics:Transitionsinreadingandculture,andJoyce'smessianism:
Dante,negativeexistence,andthemessianicself].ModernFictionStudies,
50(1),163173.AvailablefromProjectMUSEWebsite:
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http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/modern_fiction_studies/toc/mfs52.1.html
Dissertation/ThesisfromaDatabase
Biswas,S.(2008).DopamineD3receptor:Aneuroprotectivetreatmenttargetin
Parkinson'sdisease.RetrievedfromProQuestDigitalDissertations.(AAT
3295214)
OnlineEncyclopediasandDictionaries
Oftenencyclopediasanddictionariesdonotprovidebylines(authors'names).When
nobylineispresent,movetheentrynametothefrontofthecitation.Provide
publicationdatesifpresentorspecify(n.d.)ifnodateispresentintheentry.
Feminism.(n.d.).InEncyclopdiaBritannicaonline.Retrievedfrom
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/724633/feminism
OnlineBibliographiesandAnnotatedBibliographies
Jrgens,R.(2005).HIV/AIDSandHCVinPrisons:ASelectAnnotatedBibliography.
Retrievedfromhttp://www.hcsc.gc.ca/ahcasc/alt_formats/hpb
dgps/pdf/intactiv/hivvihaidssidaprisoncarceral_e.pdf
DataSets
PointreaderstorawdatabyprovidingaWebaddress(use"Retrievedfrom")ora
generalplacethathousesdatasetsonthesite(use"Availablefrom").
UnitedStatesDepartmentofHousingandUrbanDevelopment.(2008).Indiana
incomelimits[Datafile].Retrievedfrom
http://www.huduser.org/Datasets/IL/IL08/in_fy2008.pdf
GraphicData(e.g.InteractiveMapsandOtherGraphicRepresentationsofData)
Givethenameoftheresearchingorganizationfollowedbythedate.Inbrackets,
provideabriefexplanationofwhattypeofdataisthereandinwhatformitappears.
Finally,providetheprojectnameandretrievalinformation.
SolarRadiationandClimateExperiment.(2007).[GraphillustrationtheSORCE
SpectralPlotMay8,2008].SolarSpectralDataAccessfromtheSIM,
SOLSTICE,andXPSInstruments.Retrievedfromhttp://lasp.colorado.edu/cgi
bin/ionp?page=input_data_for_spectra.ion
QualitativeDataandOnlineInterviews
Ifaninterviewisnotretrievableinaudioorprintform,citetheinterviewonlyinthe
text(notinthereferencelist)andprovidethemonth,day,andyearinthetext.Ifan
audiofileortranscriptisavailableonline,usethefollowingmodel,specifyingthe
mediuminbrackets(e.g.[Interviewtranscript,Interviewaudiofile]):
Butler,C.(Interviewer)&Stevenson,R.(Interviewee).(1999).OralHistory2
[Interviewtranscript].RetrievedfromJohnsonSpaceCenterOralHistories
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ProjectWebsite:http://
www11.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/oral_histories.htm
OnlineLectureNotesandPresentationSlides
Whencitingonlinelecturenotes,besuretoprovidethefileformatinbracketsafterthe
lecturetitle(e.g.PowerPointslides,Worddocument).
Hallam,A.Dualityinconsumertheory[PDFdocument].RetrievedfromLecture
NotesOnlineWebsite:http://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ501/Hallam/
index.html
Roberts,K.F.(1998).Federalregulationsofchemicalsintheenvironment
[PowerPointslides].Retrievedfrom
http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/40hrenv/index.html
NonperiodicalWebDocumentorReport
Listasmuchofthefollowinginformationaspossible(yousometimeshavetohunt
aroundtofindtheinformationdon'tbelazy.Ifthereisapagelike
http://www.somesite.com/somepage.htm,andsomepage.htmdoesn'thavethe
informationyou'relookingfor,moveuptheURLtohttp://www.somesite.com/):
Author,A.A.,&Author,B.B.(Dateofpublication).Titleofdocument.Retrieved
fromhttp://Webaddress
Angeli,E.,Wagner,J.,Lawrick,E.,Moore,K.,Anderson,M.,Soderland,L.,&
Brizee,A.(2010,May5).Generalformat.Retrievedfrom
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
NOTE:WhenanInternetdocumentismorethanoneWebpage,provideaURLthat
linkstothehomepageorentrypageforthedocument.Also,ifthereisn'tadate
availableforthedocumentuse(n.d.)fornodate.
TociteaYouTubevideo,theAPArecommendsfollowingtheaboveformat.
ComputerSoftware/DownloadedSoftware
Donotcitestandardofficesoftware(e.g.Word,Excel)orprogramminglanguages.
Providereferencesonlyforspecializedsoftware.
Ludwig,T.(2002).PsychInquiry[computersoftware].NewYork:Worth.
SoftwarethatisdownloadedfromaWebsiteshouldprovidethesoftwaresversion
andyearwhenavailable.
Hayes,B.,Tesar,B.,&Zuraw,K.(2003).OTSoft:OptimalityTheorySoftware
(Version2.1)[Software].Availablefrom
http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/hayes/otsoft/
Email
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Emailsarenotincludedinthelistofreferences,thoughyouparentheticallycitethem
inyourmaintext:(E.Robbins,personalcommunication,January4,2001).
OnlineForumorDiscussionBoardPosting
Includethetitleofthemessage,andtheURLofthenewsgroupordiscussionboard.
Pleasenotethattitlesforitemsinonlinecommunities(e.g.blogs,newsgroups,
forums)arenotitalicized.Iftheauthor'snameisnotavailable,providethescreen
name.Placeidentifierslikepostormessagenumbers,ifavailable,inbrackets.If
available,providetheURLwherethemessageisarchived(e.g."Messagepostedto...,
archivedat...").
Frook,B.D.(1999,July23).Newinventionsinthecyberworldoftoylandia[Msg25].
Messagepostedtohttp://groups.earthlink.com/forum/messages/00025.html
Blog(Weblog)andVideoBlogPost
IncludethetitleofthemessageandtheURL.Pleasenotethattitlesforitemsinonline
communities(e.g.blogs,newsgroups,forums)arenotitalicized.Iftheauthorsname
isnotavailable,providethescreenname.
JDean.(2008,May7).Whentheselfemerges:Isthatmeinthemirror?[Weblog
comment].Retrievedfromhttp://www.spring.org.uk/the1sttransport
PsychologyVideoBlog#3[Videofile].Retrievedfrom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqM90eQi5M
Wikis
PleasenotethattheAPAStyleGuidetoElectronicReferenceswarnswritersthatwikis
(likeWikipedia,forexample)arecollaborativeprojectsthatcannotguaranteethe
verifiabilityorexpertiseoftheirentries.
OLPCPeru/Arahuay.(n.d.).RetrievedApril29,2011fromtheOLPCWiki:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Peru/Arahuay
AudioPodcast
Forallpodcasts,provideasmuchinformationaspossiblenotallofthefollowing
informationwillbeavailable.PossibleadditionidentifiersmayincludeProducer,
Director,etc.
Bell,T.,&Phillips,T.(2008,May6).Asolarflare.Science@NASAPodcast.
Podcastretrievedfromhttp://science.nasa.gov/podcast.htm
VideoPodcasts
Forallpodcasts,provideasmuchinformationaspossiblenotallofthefollowing
informationwillbeavailable.PossibleadditionidentifiersmayincludeProducer,
Director,etc.
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Scott,D.(Producer).(2007,January5).Thecommunitycollegeclassroom[Episode
7].AdventuresinEducation.Podcastretrievedfrom
http://www.adveeducation.com
Formorehelpwithcitingelectronicsources,pleaseusetheselinks:
DocumentingElectronicSources
APAstylewebsite'scoverageofelectronicreferences
APAFrequentlyAskedQuestions
Summary:
ReferenceList:OtherNonPrint
Sources
Interviews,Email,andOtherPersonalCommunication
Nopersonalcommunicationisincludedinyourreferencelistinstead,parenthetically
citethecommunicator'sname,thephrase"personalcommunication,"andthedateof
thecommunicationinyourmaintextonly.
(E.Robbins,personalcommunication,January4,2001).
A.P.SmithalsoclaimedthatmanyofherstudentshaddifficultieswithAPAstyle
(personalcommunication,November3,2002).
MotionPicture
Basicreferencelistformat:
Producer,P.P.(Producer),&Director,D.D.(Director).(Dateofpublication).Titleof
motionpicture[Motionpicture].Countryoforigin:Studioordistributor.
Note:Ifamovieorvideotapeisnotavailableinwidedistribution,addthefollowing
toyourcitationafterthecountryoforigin:(AvailablefromDistributorname,full
addressandzipcode).
AMotionPictureorVideoTapewithInternationalorNationalAvailability
Smith,J.D.(Producer),&Smithee,A.F.(Director).(2001).Reallybigdisastermovie
[Motionpicture].UnitedStates:ParamountPictures.
AMotionPictureorVideoTapewithLimitedAvailability
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Harris,M.(Producer),&Turley,M.J.(Director).(2002).Writinglabs:Ahistory
[Motionpicture].(AvailablefromPurdueUniversityPictures,500OvalDrive,
WestLafayette,IN47907)
TelevisionBroadcastorSeriesEpisode
Writer,W.W.(Writer),&Director,D.D.(Director).(Dateofbroadcastorcopyright).
Titleofbroadcast[TelevisionbroadcastorTelevisionseries].InP.Producer
(Producer).City,stateoforigin:Studioordistributor.
SingleEpisodeofaTelevisionSeries
Writer,W.W.(Writer),&Director,D.D.(Director).(Dateofpublication).Titleof
episode[Televisionseriesepisode].InP.Producer(Producer),Seriestitle.
City,stateoforigin:Studioordistributor.
Wendy,S.W.(Writer),&Martian,I.R.(Director).(1986).Therisingangelandthe
fallingape[Televisionseriesepisode].InD.Dude(Producer),Creaturesand
monsters.LosAngeles,CA:BelarusStudios.
TelevisionBroadcast
Important,I.M.(Producer).(1990,November1).Thenightlynewshour[Television
broadcast].NewYork,NY:CentralBroadcastingService.
ATelevisionSeries
Bellisario,D.L.(Producer).(1992).Excitingactionshow[Televisionseries].
Hollywood,CA:AmericanBroadcastingCompany.
MusicRecording
Songwriter,W.W.(Dateofcopyright).Titleofsong[Recordedbyartistifdifferent
fromsongwriter].OnTitleofalbum[Mediumofrecording].Location:Label.
(Recordingdateifdifferentfromcopyrightdate).
Taupin,B.(1975).Someonesavedmylifetonight[RecordedbyEltonJohn].On
Captainfantasticandthebrowndirtcowboy[CD].London,England:BigPig
MusicLimited.
Formoreaboutcitingaudiovisualmedia,seepages209210oftheAPAPublication
Manual6thEdition,secondprinting.
Forinformationaboutcitinglegalsourcesinyourreferencelist,seetheWestfield
StateCollegepageonCitingLegalMaterialsinAPAStyle.
Summary:
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AdditionalResources
It'salwaysbesttoconsultthePublicationManualfirstforanyAPAquestion.Ifyou
areusingAPAstyleforaclassassignment,it'sagoodideatoconsultyourprofessor,
advisor,TA,orothercampusresourcesforhelpwithusingAPAstylethey'rethe
oneswhocantellyouhowthestyleshouldapplyinyourparticularcase.For
extraordinaryquestionsthataren'tcoveredclearlyinthestylemanualorhaven'tbeen
answeredbyyourteacheroradvisor,contactusviaemailbyusingourOWLtutor
emailform.
PrintResources
HerearesomeprintresourcesforusingAPAstyle.ClickThePurdueOWLdoesnot
makeanyprofitfromnordoesitendorsetheseagencieslinksaremerelyofferedfor
information.Mostofthesebooksareprobablyavailableinyourlocallibrary.Fromthe
AmericanPsychologicalAssociation:
PublicationManualoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(6thedition)
(ISBN13:9781433805615ISBN10:1433805618)
MasteringAPAStyle:Instructor'sResourceGuide(ISBN:1557988900)
MasteringAPAStyle:Student'sWorkbookandTrainingGuide(ISBN:
143380557X)
PresentingYourFindings:APracticalGuideforCreatingTables(ISBN:
143380705X)
DisplayingYourFindings:APracticalGuideforCreatingFigures,Posters,and
Presentations(ISBN:1433807076X)
Fromotherpublishers:
WritingWithStyle:APAStyleMadeEasy(ISBN:084003167X)
WritingWithStyle:APAStyleforSocialWork(ISBN:084003198X)
OnlineResourcesfromtheAPA
APAStyleWebsite
APAStyleBlog
OtherOnlineResources:DocumentingandReferencingSources
CitingLegalMaterialsinAPAStyle(WestfieldStateCollege)
Summary:
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TypesofAPAPapers
TherearetwocommontypesofpaperswritteninfieldsusingAPAStyle:theliterature
reviewandtheexperimentalreport.Eachhasuniquerequirementsconcerningthe
sectionsthatmustbeincludedinthepaper.
Literaturereview
Aliteraturereviewisacriticalsummaryofwhatthescientificliteraturesaysabout
yourspecifictopicorquestion.OftenstudentresearchinAPAfieldsfallsintothis
category.Yourprofessormightaskyoutowritethiskindofpapertodemonstrateyour
familiaritywithworkinthefieldpertinenttotheresearchyouhopetoconduct.
Aliteraturereviewtypicallycontainsthefollowingsections:
Titlepage
Introductionsection
Listofreferences
Someinstructorsmayalsowantyoutowriteanabstractforaliteraturereview,sobe
suretocheckwiththemwhengivenanassignment.Also,thelengthofaliterature
reviewandtherequirednumberofsourceswillvarybasedoncourseandinstructor
preferences.
NOTE:Aliteraturereviewandanannotatedbibliographyarenotsynonymous.Ifyou
areaskedtowriteanannotatedbibliography,youshouldconsultthePublication
ManualoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociationfortheAPAFormatforAnnotated
Bibliographies.
Experimentalreport
Inmanyofthesocialsciences,youwillbeaskedtodesignandconductyourown
experimentalresearch.Ifso,youwillneedtowriteupyourpaperusingastructurethat
ismorecomplexthanthatusedforjustaliteraturereview.Wehaveacomplete
resourcedevotedtowritinganexperimentalreportinthefieldofpsychologyhere.
Thisstructurefollowsthescientificmethod,butitalsomakesyourpapereasierto
followbyprovidingthosefamiliarcuesthathelpyourreaderefficientlyscanyour
informationfor:
Whythetopicisimportant(coveredinyourintroduction)
Whattheproblemis(alsocoveredinyourintroduction)
Whatyoudidtotrytosolvetheproblem(coveredinyourmethodssection)
Whatyoufound(coveredinyourresultssection)
Whatyouthinkyourfindingsmean(coveredinyourdiscussionsection)
Thusanexperimentalreporttypicallyincludesthefollowingsections.
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Titlepage
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References
Appendices(ifnecessary)
Tablesand/orfigures(ifnecessary)
Makesuretochecktheguidelinesforyourassignmentoranyguidelinesthathave
beengiventoyoubyaneditorofajournalbeforeyousubmitamanuscriptcontaining
thesectionslistedabove.
Aswiththeliteraturereview,thelengthofthisreportmayvarybycourseorby
journal,butmostoftenitwillbedeterminedbythescopeoftheresearchconducted.
Otherpapers
Ifyouarewritingapaperthatfitsneitherofthesecategories,followtheguidelines
aboutGeneralFormat,consultyourinstructor,orlookupadviceinthePublication
ManualoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation.
Whensubmittingamanuscripttoajournal,makesureyoufollowtheguidelines
describedinthesubmissionpoliciesofthatpublication,andincludeasmanysections
asyouthinkareapplicabletopresentingyourmaterial.Remembertokeepyour
audienceinmindasyouaremakingthisdecision.Ifcertaininformationisparticularly
pertinentforconveyingyourresearch,thenensurethatthereisasectionofyourpaper
thatadequatelyaddressesthatinformation.
Summary:
APAStylistics:AvoidingBias
ResearcherswhouseAPAoftenworkwithavarietyofpopulations,someofwhom
tendtobestereotypedbytheuseoflabelsandotherbiasedformsoflanguage.
Therefore,APAoffersspecificrecommendationsforeliminatingbiasinlanguage
concerningrace,disability,andsexuality.
MakeAdjustmentstoLabels
Althoughyoushouldavoidlabelingwheneverpossible,itissometimesdifficultto
accuratelyaccountfortheidentityofyourresearchpopulationorindividual
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participantswithoutusinglanguagethatcanbereadasbiased.Makingadjustmentsin
howyouuseidentifiersandotherlinguisticcategoriescanimprovetheclarityofyour
writingandminimizethelikelihoodofoffendingyourreaders.
Ingeneral,youshouldcallpeoplewhattheyprefertobecalled,especiallywhen
dealingwithraceandethnicity.Butsometimesthecommonconventionsoflanguage
inadvertentlycontainbiasestowardscertainpopulationse.g.using"normal"in
contrasttosomeoneidentifiedas"disabled."Therefore,youshouldbeawareofhow
yourchoiceofterminologymaycomeacrosstoyourreader,particularlyifthey
identifywiththepopulationinquestion.
Youcanfindanindepthdiscussionofthisissueandspecificrecommendationsfor
howtoappropriatelyrepresentpeopleinyourtextontheAPAwebsiteonthe
followingpages:
RemovingBiasinLanguage:Disabilities
RemovingBiasinLanguage:Race&Ethnicity
RemovingBiasinLanguage:Sexuality
AvoidGenderedPronouns
Whileyoushouldalwaysbeclearaboutthesexidentityofyourparticipants(ifyou
conductedanexperiment),sothatgenderdifferencesareobvious,youshouldnotuse
gendertermswhentheyaren'tnecessary.Inotherwords,youshouldnotuse"he,"
"his"or"men"asgenerictermsapplyingtobothsexes.
APAdoesnotrecommendreplacing"he"with"heorshe,""sheorhe,""he/she,""
(s)he,""s/he,"oralternatingbetween"he"and"she"becausethesesubstitutionsare
awkwardandcandistractthereaderfromthepointyouaretryingtomake.The
pronouns"he"or"she"inevitablycausethereadertothinkofonlythatgender,which
maynotbewhatyouintend.
Toavoidthebiasofusinggenderedpronouns:
Rephrasethesentence
Usepluralnounsorpluralpronounsthiswayyoucanuse"they"or"their"
Replacethepronounwithanarticleinsteadof"his,"use"the"
Dropthepronounmanysentencessoundfineifyoujustomitthetroublesome
"his"fromthesentence
Replacethepronounwithanounsuchas"person,""individual,""child,"
"researcher,"etc.
Formoreaboutaddressinggenderinacademicwriting,visittheOWL'shandouton
nonsexistlanguageuse.
FindAlternativeDescriptors
Toavoidunintentionalbiasesinyourlanguage,looktotheparametersofyour
researchitself.Whenwritingupanexperimentalreport,describeyourparticipantsby
themeasuresyouusedtoclassifythemintheexperiment,aslongasthelabelsarenot
offensive.
Example:Ifyouhadpeopletakeatestmeasuringtheirreactiontimesandyouwere
interestedinlookingatthedifferencesbetweenpeoplewhohadfastreactiontimesand
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thosewithslowreactiontimes,youcouldcallthefirstgroupthe"fastreactiontime
group"andthesecondthe"slowreactiontimegroup."
Also,useadjectivestoserveasdescriptorsratherthanlabels.Whenyouuseterms
suchas"theelderly"or"theamnesiacs,"thepeoplelosetheirindividuality.Oneway
toavoidthisistoinsertanadjective(e.g.,"elderlypeople,""amnesicpatients").
Anotherwayistomentionthepersonfirstandfollowthiswithadescriptivephrase
(e.g.,"peoplediagnosedwithamnesia"),althoughitcanbecumbersometokeep
repeatingphraseslikethis.
Summary:
APAStylistics:Basics
WritinginAPAismorethansimplylearningtheformulaforcitationsorfollowinga
certainpagelayout.APAalsoincludesthestylisticsofyourwriting,frompointof
viewtowordchoice.
PointofViewandVoice
WhenwritinginAPAStyle,youcanusethefirstpersonpointofviewwhen
discussingyourresearchsteps("Istudied...")andwhenreferringtoyourselfandyour
coauthors("Weexaminedtheliterature...").Usefirstpersontodiscussresearchsteps
ratherthananthropomorphisingthework.Forexample,astudycannot"control"or
"interpret"youandyourcoauthors,however,can.
Ingeneral,youshouldforegroundtheresearchandnottheresearchers("Theresults
indicate...").Avoidusingtheeditorial"we"ifyouuse"we"inyourwriting,besure
that"we"referstoyouandyourfellowresearchers.
Itisacommonmisconceptionthatforegroundingtheresearchrequiresusingthe
passivevoice("Experimentshavebeenconducted...").Thisisinaccurate.Rather,you
wouldusepronounsinplaceof"experiments"("Weconductedexperiments...").
APAStyleencouragesusingtheactivevoice("Weinterpretedtheresults...").The
activevoiceisparticularlyimportantinexperimentalreports,wherethesubject
performingtheactionshouldbeclearlyidentified(e.g."Weinterviewed..."vs."The
participantsresponded...").
ConsulttheOWLhandoutformoreonthedistinctionbetweenpassiveandactive
voice.
ClarityandConciseness
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ClarityandconcisenessinwritingareimportantwhenconveyingresearchinAPA
Style.Youdon'twanttomisrepresentthedetailsofastudyorconfuseyourreaders
withwordinessorunnecessarilycomplexsentences.
Forclarity,bespecificratherthanvagueindescriptionsandexplanations.Unpack
detailsaccuratelytoprovideadequateinformationtoyourreaderssotheycanfollow
thedevelopmentofyourstudy.
Example:"Itwaspredictedthatmaritalconflictwouldpredictbehaviorproblemsin
schoolagedchildren."
Toclarifythisvaguehypothesis,useparallelstructuretooutlinespecificideas:
"Thefirsthypothesisstatedthatmaritalconflictwouldpredictbehaviorproblemsin
schoolagedchildren.Thesecondhypothesisstatedthattheeffectwouldbestronger
forgirlsthanforboys.Thethirdhypothesisstatedthatoldergirlswouldbemore
affectedbymaritalconflictthanyoungergirls."
Tobemoreconcise,particularlyinintroductorymaterialorabstracts,youshouldpare
outunnecessarywordsandcondenseinformationwhenyoucan(seetheOWL
handoutonConcisenessinacademicwritingforsuggestions).
Example:Theabovelistofhypothesesmightberephrasedconciselyas:"Theauthors
wantedtoinvestigatewhethermaritalconflictwouldpredictbehaviorproblemsin
childrenandtheywantedtoknowiftheeffectwasgreaterforgirlsthanforboys,
particularlywhentheyexaminedtwodifferentagegroupsofgirls."
Balancingtheneedforclarity,whichcanrequireunpackinginformation,andtheneed
forconciseness,whichrequirescondensinginformation,isachallenge.Study
publishedarticlesandreportsinyourfieldforexamplesofhowtoachievethis
balance.
WordChoice
Youshouldevenbecarefulinselectingcertainwordsorterms.Withinthesocial
sciences,commonlyusedwordstakeondifferentmeaningsandcanhaveasignificant
effectonhowyourreadersinterpretyourreportedfindingsorclaims.Toincrease
clarity,avoidbias,andcontrolhowyourreaderswillreceiveyourinformation,you
shouldmakecertainsubstitutions:
Usetermslike"participants"or"respondents"(ratherthan"subjects")to
indicatehowindividualswereinvolvedinyourresearch
Usetermslike"children"or"communitymembers"toprovidemoredetailabout
whowasparticipatinginthestudy
Usephraseslike"Theevidencesuggests..."or"Ourstudyindicates..."rather
thanreferringto"proof"or"proves"becausenosinglestudycanproveatheory
orhypothesis
Aswiththeotherstylisticsuggestionshere,youshouldstudythediscourseofyour
fieldtoseewhatterminologyismostoftenused.
AvoidingPoeticLanguage
WritingpapersinAPAStyleisunlikewritinginmorecreativeorliterarystylesthat
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drawonpoeticexpressionsandfigurativelanguage.Suchlinguisticdevicescan
detractfromconveyingyourinformationclearlyandmaycomeacrosstoreadersas
forcedwhenitisinappropriatelyusedtoexplainanissueoryourfindings.
Therefore,youshould:
minimizetheamountoffigurativelanguageusedinanAPApaper,suchas
metaphorsandanalogiesunlesstheyarehelpfulinconveyingacomplexidea
avoidrhymingschemes,alliteration,orotherpoeticdevicestypicallyfoundin
verse
usesimple,descriptiveadjectivesandplainlanguagethatdoesnotrisk
confusingyourmeaning
Summary:
APAHeadingsandSeriation
Headings
APAStyleusesauniqueheadingssystemtoseparateandclassifypapersections.
Thereare5headinglevelsinAPA.The6theditionoftheAPAmanualrevisesand
simplifiespreviousheadingguidelines.Regardlessofthenumberoflevels,alwaysuse
theheadingsinorder,beginningwithlevel1.Theformatofeachlevelisillustrated
below:
APAHeadings
Level Format
1
Centered,Boldface,UppercaseandLowercaseHeadings
Leftaligned,Boldface,UppercaseandLowercaseHeading
Indented,boldface,lowercaseheadingwithaperiod.Beginbodytext
aftertheperiod.
Indented,boldface,italicized,lowercaseheadingwithaperiod.Beginbody
textaftertheperiod.
Indented,italicized,lowercaseheadingwithaperiod.Beginbodytextafter
theperiod.
Thus,ifthearticlehasfoursections,someofwhichhavesubsectionsandsomeof
whichdont,useheadingsdependingonthelevelofsubordination.Sectionheadings
receiveleveloneformat.Subsectionsreceiveleveltwoformat.Subsectionsof
subsectionsreceivelevelthreeformat.Forexample:
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Method(Level1)
SiteofStudy(Level2)
ParticipantPopulation(Level2)
Teachers.(Level3)
Students.(Level3)
Results(Level1)
SpatialAbility(Level2)
Testone.(Level3)
Teacherswithexperience.(Level4)
Teachersintraining.(Level4)
Testtwo.(Level3)
KinestheticAbility(Level2)
InAPAStyle,theIntroductionsectionnevergetsaheadingandheadingsarenot
indicatedbylettersornumbers.Levelsofheadingswilldependuponthelengthand
organizationofyourpaper.Regardless,alwaysbeginwithleveloneheadingsand
proceedtoleveltwo,etc.
Seriation
APAalsoallowsforseriationinthebodytexttohelpauthorsorganizeandpresentkey
ideas.Fornumberedseriation,dothefollowing:
OnthebasisoffourgenerationsofusabilitytestingonthePurdueOWL,thePurdue
OWLUsabilityTeamrecommendedthefollowing:
1.MovethenavigationbarfromtherighttotheleftsideoftheOWLpages.
2.Integratebrandedgraphics(theWritingLabandOWLlogos)intothetextonthe
OWLhomepage.
3.AddasearchboxtoeverypageoftheOWL.
4.DevelopanOWLsitemap.
5.Developathreetierednavigationsystem.
Forliststhatdonotcommunicatehierarchicalorderorchronology,usebullets:
Ingeneral,participantsfoundusercenteredOWLmockuptobeeasiertouse.What
followsaresamplesofparticipants'responses:
"Thisversioniseasiertouse."
"Versiontwoseemsbetterorganized."
"Ittookmeafewminutestolearnhowtousethisversion,butafterthat,Ifelt
morecomfortablewithit."
Authorsmayalsouseseriationforparagraphlengthtext.
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Forseriationwithinsentences,authorsmayuseletters:
Onthebasisofresearchconductedbytheusabilityteam,OWLstaffhavecompleted
(a)theOWLsitemap(b)integratinggraphicswithtextontheOWLhomepage(c)
searchboxesonallOWLpagesexcepttheorangeOWLresources(thatispendingwe
dohaveasearchpage)(d)movingthenavigationbartotheleftsideofpagesonall
OWLresourcesexceptintheorangearea(thatispending)(e)pilotingthefirstphase
ofthethreetierednavigationsystem,asillustratedinthenewEngagementsection.
Authorsmayalsoseparatepointswithbulletlists:
Onthebasisoftheresearchconductedbytheusabilityteam,OWLstaffhave
completed
theOWLsitemap
integratinggraphicswithtextontheOWLhomepage
searchboxesonallOWLpagesexcepttheorangeOWLresources(thatis
pendingwedohaveasearchpage)
movingthenavigationbartotheleftsideofpagesonallOWLresourcesexcept
intheorangearea(thatispending)
pilotingthefirstphaseofthethreetierednavigationsystem,asillustratedinthe
newEngagementsection.
Summary:
APAPowerPointSlidePresentation
SelecttheAPAPowerPointPresentationlinkintheMediaboxabovetodownload
slidesthatprovideadetailedreviewoftheAPAcitationstyle.
Summary:
APASamplePaper
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ClickonthelinkaboveintheMediaboxtodownloadthepdfhandout,APASample
Paper.
Summary:
APATablesandFigures1
Thepurposeoftablesandfiguresindocumentsistoenhanceyourreaders'
understandingoftheinformationinthedocument.Mostwordprocessingsoftware
availabletodaywillallowyoutocreateyourowntablesandfigures,andeventhe
mostbasicofwordprocessorspermittheembeddingofimages,thusenablingyouto
includetablesandfiguresinalmostanydocument.
Generalguidelines
Necessity.Visualmaterialsuchastablesandfigurescanbeusedquicklyand
efficientlytopresentalargeamountofinformationtoanaudience,butvisualsmustbe
usedtoassistcommunication,nottouseupspace,ordisguisemarginallysignificant
resultsbehindascreenofcomplicatedstatistics.Askyourselfthisquestionfirst:Isthe
tableorfigurenecessary?Forexample,itisbettertopresentsimpledescriptive
statisticsinthetext,notinatable.
RelationofTablesorFiguresandText.Becausetablesandfiguressupplementthe
text,referinthetexttoalltablesandfiguresusedandexplainwhatthereadershould
lookforwhenusingthetableorfigure.Focusonlyontheimportantpointthereader
shoulddrawfromthem,andleavethedetailsforthereadertoexamineonherown.
Documentation.Ifyouareusingfigures,tablesand/ordatafromothersources,be
suretogatheralltheinformationyouwillneedtoproperlydocumentyoursources.
IntegrityandIndependence.Eachtableandfiguremustbeintelligiblewithout
referencetothetext,sobesuretoincludeanexplanationofeveryabbreviation(except
thestandardstatisticalsymbolsandabbreviations).
Organization,Consistency,andCoherence.Numberalltablessequentiallyasyou
refertotheminthetext(Table1,Table2,etc.),likewiseforfigures(Figure1,Figure
2,etc.).Abbreviations,terminology,probabilitylevelvaluesmustbeconsistentacross
tablesandfiguresinthesamearticle.Likewise,formats,titles,andheadingsmustbe
consistent.Donotrepeatthesamedataindifferenttables.
Tables
TableChecklist
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Isthetablenecessary?
Istheentiretablesingleordoublespaced(includingthetitle,headings,and
notes)?
Areallcomparabletablespresentedconsistently?
Isthetitlebriefbutexplanatory?
Doeseverycolumnhaveacolumnheading?
Areallabbreviationsspecialuseofitalics,parentheses,anddashesandspecial
symbolsexplained?
Areallprobabilitylevelvaluescorrectlyidentified,andareasterisksattachedto
theappropriatetableentries?Isaprobabilitylevelassignedthesamenumberof
asterisksinallthetablesinthesamedocument?
Arethenotesorganizedaccordingtotheconventionofgeneral,specific,
probability?
Areallverticalruleseliminated?
Ifthetableoritsdataarefromanothersource,isthesourceproperlycited?
Isthetablereferredtointhetext?
Tables
Datainatablethatwouldrequireonlytwoorfewercolumnsandrowsshouldbe
presentedinthetext.Morecomplexdataisbetterpresentedintabularformat.Inorder
forquantitativedatatobepresentedclearlyandefficiently,itmustbearranged
logically,e.g.datatobecomparedmustbepresentednexttooneanother(before/after,
young/old,male/female,etc.),andstatisticalinformation(means,standarddeviations,
Nvalues)mustbepresentedinseparatepartsofthetable.Ifpossible,usecanonical
forms(suchasANOVA,regression,orcorrelation)tocommunicateyourdata
effectively.
ImageCaption:Table1
TableStructure
Thefollowingimageillustratesthebasicstructureoftables.
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ImageCaption:Table2
Numbers.Numberalltableswitharabicnumeralssequentially.Donotusesuffix
letters(e.g.Table3a,3b,3c)instead,combinetherelatedtables.Ifthemanuscript
includesanappendixwithtables,identifythemwithcapitallettersandarabicnumerals
(e.g.TableA1,TableB2).
Titles.Likethetitleofthepaperitself,eachtablemusthaveaclearandconcisetitle.
Whenappropriate,youmayusethetitletoexplainanabbreviationparenthetically.
Example:ComparisonofMedianIncomeofAdoptedChildren(AC)v.FosterChildren
(FC)
Headings.Keepheadingsclearandbrief.Theheadingshouldnotbemuchwiderthan
thewidestentryinthecolumn.Useofstandardabbreviationscanaidinachievingthat
goal.Allcolumnsmusthaveheadings,eventhestubcolumn(seeexamplestructure),
whichcustomarilyliststhemajorindependentvariables.
Body.Inreportingthedata,consistencyiskey:Numeralsshouldbeexpressedtoa
consistentnumberofdecimalplacesthatisdeterminedbytheprecisionof
measurement.Neverchangetheunitofmeasurementorthenumberofdecimalplaces
inthesamecolumn.
SpecificTypesofTables
AnalysisofVariance(ANOVA)Tables.TheconventionalformatforanANOVA
tableistolistthesourceinthestubcolumn,thenthedegreesoffreedom(df)andtheF
ratios.Givethebetweensubjectvariablesanderrorfirst,thenwithinsubjectandany
error.Meansquareerrorsmustbeenclosedinparentheses.Provideageneralnoteto
thetabletoexplainwhatthosevaluesmean(seeexample).Useasteriskstoidentify
statisticallysignificantFratios,andprovideaprobabilityfootnote.
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ImageCaption:Table3ANOVATable
Regression.Conventionalreportingofregressionanalysisfollowstwoformats.Ifthe
studyispurelyapplied,listonlytheraworunstandardizedcoefficients(B).Ifthe
studyispurelytheoretical,listonlythestandardizedcoefficients(beta).Ifthestudy
wasneitherpurelyappliednortheoretical,thenlistbothstandardizedand
unstandardizedcoefficents.Specifythetypeofanalysis,eitherhierarchicalor
simultaneous,andprovidetheincrementsofchangeifyouusedhierarchical
regression.
ImageCaption:Table4RegressionTable
NotesinTables
Therearethreetypesofnotesfortables:general,specific,andprobabilitynotes.Allof
themmustbeplacedbelowthetableinthatorder.
Generalnotesexplain,qualifyorprovideinformationaboutthetableasawhole.Put
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explanationsofabbreviations,symbols,etc.here.
Example:Note.TheracialcategoriesusedbytheUSCensus(AfricanAmerican,
AsianAmerican,Latinos/as,NativeAmerican,andPacificIslander)havebeen
collapsedintothecategorynonWhite.E=excludesrespondentswhoselfidentified
asWhiteandatleastoneothernonWhiterace.
Specificnotesexplain,qualifyorprovideinformationaboutaparticularcolumn,row,
orindividualentry.Toindicatespecificnotes,usesuperscriptlowercaseletters(e.g.a,
b,c),andorderthesuperscriptsfromlefttoright,toptobottom.Eachtablesfirst
footnotemustbethesuperscripta.
Example:an=823.bOneparticipantinthisgroupwasdiagnosedwithschizophrenia
duringthesurvey.
Probabilitynotesprovidethereaderwiththeresultsofthetextsforstatistical
significance.Asterisksindicatethevaluesforwhichthenullhypothesisisrejected,
withtheprobability(pvalue)specifiedintheprobabilitynote.Suchnotesarerequired
onlywhenrelevanttothedatainthetable.Consistentlyusethesamenumberof
asterisksforagivenalphalevelthroughoutyourpaper.
ImageCaption:SampleTableNotes
Ifyouneedtodistinguishbetweentwotailedandonetailedtestsinthesametable,
useasterisksfortwotailedpvaluesandanalternatesymbol(suchasdaggers)forone
tailedpvalues.
ImageCaption:MoreTableNotes
TablesfromOtherSources
Ifusingtablesfromasource,copythestructureoftheoriginalexactly,andcitethe
sourceinaccordancewithAPAstyle.
Summary:
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APATablesandFigures2
Figures
FigureChecklist
Isthefigurenecessary?
Isthefiguresimple,clean,andfreeofextraneousdetail?
Arethedataplottedaccurately?
Isthegridscalecorrectlyproportioned?
Istheletteringlargeanddarkenoughtoread?Istheletteringcompatibleinsize
withtherestofthefigure?
Areparallelfiguresorequallyimportantfigurespreparedaccordingtothesame
scale?
Aretermsspelledcorrectly?
Areallabbreviationsandsymbolsexplainedinafigurelegendorfigure
caption?Arethesymbols,abbreviations,andterminologyinthefigure
consistentwiththoseinthefigurecaption?Inotherfigures?Inthetext?
ArethefiguresnumberedconsecutivelywithArabicnumerals?
Areallfiguresmentionedinthetext?
Astablessupplementthetext,soshouldeachfigure.
TypesofFigures
Graphsaregoodatquicklyconveyingrelationshipslikecomparisonanddistribution.
Themostcommonformsofgraphsarescatterplots,linegraphs,bargraphs,pictorial
graphs,andpiegraphs.Formoredetailsandspecificsonwhatkindofinformation,
relations,andmeaningcanbeexpressedwiththedifferenttypesofgraphs,consult
yourtextbookonquantitativeanalysis.Spreadsheetprograms,suchasMicrosoft
Excel,cangeneratethegraphsforyou.
Scatterplotsarecomposedofindividualdotsthatrepresentthevalueofaspecific
eventonthescaleestablishedbythetwovariablesplottedonthexandyaxes.When
thedotsclustertogether,acorrelationisimplied.Ontheotherhand,whenthedotsare
scatteredrandomly,nocorrelationisseen.
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ImageCaption:ScatterPlotGraph
Linegraphsdepicttherelationshipbetweenquantitativevariables.Customarily,the
independentvariableisplottedalongthexaxis(horizontally)andthedependent
variableisplottedalongtheyaxis(vertically).SeeexampleFigure1...
Bargraphscomeinthreemaintypes:1)solidverticalorhorizontalbars,2)multiple
bargraphs,and3)slidingbars.Insolidbargraphs,theindependentvariableis
categorical,andeachbarrepresentsonekindofdatum,e.g.abargraphofmonthly
expenditures.Amultiplebargraphcanshowmorecomplexinformationthanasimple
bargraph,e.g.monthlyexpendituresdividedintocategories(housing,food,
transportation,etc.).Inslidingbargraphs,thebarsaredividedbyahorizontalline
whichservesasthebaseline,enablingtherepresentationofdataaboveandbelowa
specificreferencepoint,e.g.highandlowtemperaturesv.averagetemperature.
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ImageCaption:BarGraph
ImageCaption:BarGraphbyType
Pictorialgraphscanbeusedtoshowquantitativedifferencesbetweengroups.
Pictorialgraphscanbeverydeceptive:iftheheightofanimageisdoubled,itsareais
quadrupled.Therefore,greatcareshouldbetakenthatimagesrepresentingthesame
valuesmustbethesamesize.
Circle(pie)graphsareusedtorepresentpercentagesandproportions.Forthesakeof
readability,nomorethanfivevariablesshouldbecomparedinasinglepiegraph.The
segmentsshouldbeorderedverystrictly:beginningattwelveoclock,orderthem
fromthelargesttothesmallest,andshadethesegmentsfromdarktolight(i.e.,the
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largestsegmentshouldbethedarkest).Linesanddotscanbeusedforshadinginblack
andwhitedocuments.
ImageCaption:Circle(orPie)Graph
Chartsareusedtorepresentthecomponentsoflargerobjectsorgroups(e.g.atribal
hierarchy),thestepsinaprocess(asinaflowchart),ortheschematicsofanobject
(thecomponentsofacellphone).
ImageCaption:Chart
Drawingsandphotographscanbeusedtocommunicateveryspecificinformation
aboutasubject.Thankstosoftware,botharenowhighlymanipulable.Forthesakeof
readabilityandsimplicity,linedrawingsshouldbeused,andphotographsshouldhave
thehighestpossiblecontrastbetweenthebackgroundandfocalpoint.Cropping,
cuttingoutextraneousdetail,canbeverybeneficialforaphotograph.Usesoftware
likeGraphicConverterorPhotoshoptoconvertcolorphotographstoblackandwhite
beforeprintingonalaserprinter.Otherwisemostprinterswillproduceanimagewith
poorcontrast.
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ImageCaption:Photograph
PreparingFigures
Inpreparingfigures,communicationandreadabilitymustbetheultimatecriteria.
Avoidthetemptationtousethespecialeffectsavailableinmostadvancedsoftware
packages.Whilethreedimensionaleffects,shading,andlayeredtextmaylook
interestingtotheauthor,overuse,inconsistentuse,andmisusemaydistortthedata,
anddistractorevenannoyreaders.Designproperlydoneisinconspicuous,almost
invisible,becauseitsupportscommunication.Designimproperly,oramateurishly,
donedrawsthereadersattentionfromthedata,andmakeshimorherquestionthe
authorscredibility.
TheAPAhasdeterminedspecificationsforthesizeoffiguresandthefontsusedin
them.Figuresofonecolumnmustbebetween2and3.25incheswide(5to8.45cm).
Twocolumnfiguresmustbebetween4.25and6.875incheswide(10.6to17.5cm).
Theheightoffiguresshouldnotexceedthetopandbottommargins.Thetextina
figureshouldbeinasanseriffont(suchasHelvetica,Arial,orFutura).Thefontsize
mustbebetweeneightandfourteenpoint.Usecirclesandsquarestodistinguish
curvesonalinegraph(atthesamefontsizeastheotherlabels).(Seeexamples
above.)
CaptionsandLegends
Forfigures,makesuretoincludethefigurenumberandatitlewithalegendand
caption.Theseelementsappearbelowthevisualdisplay.Forthefigurenumber,type
FigureX.Thentypethetitleofthefigureinsentencecase.Followthetitlewitha
legendthatexplainsthesymbolsinthefigureandacaptionthatexplainsthefigure:
Figure1.HowtocreatefiguresinAPAstyle.Thisfigureillustrateseffectiveelements
inAPAstylefigures.
Captionsserveasabrief,butcomplete,explanationandasatitle.Forexample,
Figure4.Populationisinsufficient,whereasFigure4.PopulationofGrandRapids,
MIbyrace(1980)isbetter.Ifthefigurehasatitleintheimage,cropit.
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Graphsshouldalwaysincludealegendthatexplainsthesymbols,abbreviations,and
terminologyusedinthefigure.Thesetermsmustbeconsistentwiththoseusedinthe
textandinotherfigures.Theletteringinthelegendshouldbeofthesametypeand
sizeasthatusedinthefigure.
Summary:
APAAbbreviations
InAPA,abbreviationsshouldbelimitedtoinstanceswhena)theabbreviationis
standardandwillnotinterferewiththereadersunderstandingandb)ifspaceand
repetitioncanbegreatlyavoidedthroughabbreviation.
Thereareafewcommontrendsinabbreviatingthatyoushouldfollowwhenusing
APA,thoughtherearealwaysexceptionstotheserules.Whenabbreviatingaterm,use
thefulltermthefirsttimeyouuseit,followedimmediatelybytheabbreviationin
parentheses.
AccordingtotheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA),abbreviationsarebest
usedonlywhentheyallowforclearcommunicationwiththeaudience.
Exceptions:Standardabbreviationslikeunitsofmeasurementandstatesdonotneedto
bewrittenout.APAalsoallowsabbreviationsthatappearaswordsinMeriam
WebstersCollegiateDictionarytobeusedwithoutexplanation(IQ,REM,AIDS,
HIV).
Donotuseperiodsorspacesinabbreviationsofallcapitalletters,unlessitisaproper
nameorreferstoparticipantsusingidentityconcealinglabels:
MA,CD,HTML,APA
P.D.James,J.R.R.Tolkien,E.B.WhiteorF.I.M.,S.W.F.
Exceptions:UseaperiodwhenabbreviatingtheUnitedStatesasanadjective(U.S.
MarinesorU.S.Senator)
UseaperiodiftheabbreviationisLatinabbreviationorareferenceabbreviation:
etc.,e.g.,a.m.orVol.7,p.12,4thed.
Donotuseperiodswhenabbreviatingmeasurements:
cd,ft,lb,mi,min
Exceptions:Useaperiodwhenabbreviatinginch(in.)toavoidconfusion.
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Unitsofmeasurementandstatisticalabbreviationsshouldonlybeabbreviatedwhen
accompaniedbynumericalvalues:
7mg,12mi,M=7.5
measuredinmilligrams,severalmilesaftertheexit,themeansweredetermined
Onlycertainunitsoftimeshouldbeabbreviated.
Donotabbreviate:
day,week,month,year
Doabbreviate:
hr,min,ms,ns,s
Toformthepluralofabbreviations,addsalonewithoutapostropheoritalicization.
vols.,IQs,Eds.
Exception:Donotaddstopluralizeunitsofmeasurement(12mnot12ms).
AbbreviationsinCitations
Citationsshouldbeascondensedaspossible,soyoushouldknowthebasicrulesof
abbreviationendorsedbytheAPAtoprovideyourreaderswithreferenceinformation.
Alwaysabbreviatethefirstandmiddlenamesofauthors,editors,etc.
Shakespeare,W.,Chomsky,N.
Usethefollowingabbreviationswithincitations(takenoteofcapitalization):
APACitationAbbreviations
BookPart
Abbreviation
edition
revisededition
ed.
Rev.ed.
SecondEdition
2nded.
Editor(s)
Translator(s)
Ed.orEds.
Trans.
Nodate
Page(s)
Volume(s)
n.d.
p.orpp.
Vol.orVols.
Number
Part
No.
Pt.
TechnicalReport Tech.Rep.
Supplement
Suppl.
Summary:
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StatisticsinAPA
Whenincludingstatisticsinwrittentext,besuretoincludeenoughinformationforthe
readertounderstandthestudy.Althoughtheamountofexplanationanddataincluded
dependsuponthestudy,APAstylehasguidelinesfortherepresentationofstatistical
information:
Donotgivereferencesforstatisticsunlessthestatisticisuncommon,used
unconventionally,oristhefocusofthearticle
Donotgiveformulasforcommonstatistics(i.e.mean,ttest)
Donotrepeatdescriptivestatisticsinthetextiftheyrerepresentedinatableor
figure
Usetermslikerespectivelyandinorderwhenenumeratingaseriesofstatistics
thisillustratestherelationshipbetweenthenumbersintheseries.
Punctuatingstatistics
Useparenthesestoenclosestatisticalvalues:
...provedtobestatisticallysignificant(p=.42)withallvariables.
Useparenthesestoenclosedegreesoffreedom:
t(45)=4.35
F(3,87)=2.11
Usebracketstoencloselimitsofconfidenceintervals:
89%CIs[3.45,2.7],[6.0,3.89],and[7.23,1.89]
Usestandardtypeface(noboldingoritalicization)whenwritingGreekletters,
subscriptsthatfunctionasidentifiers,andabbreviationsthatarenotvariables.
Useboldfaceforvectorsandmatrices:
V,
Useitalicsforstatisticalsymbols(otherthanvectorsandmatrices):
t,F,N
Useanitalicized,uppercaseNinreferencetonumberofsubjectsorparticipantsinthe
totalsample.
N=328
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Useanitalicized,lowercaseninreferencetoonlyaportionofthesample.
n=42
Summary:
APAClassroomPoster
TheAPAposteratthelinkbelowisaprintablejpgfileyoumaydownloadandprint
outatdifferentsizesforuseinclassrooms,writingcenters,orasapocketreference.
Pleasekeepinmindthatthefilesize,asaprintqualityresource(120dpi),islarge,so
itmaytakeawhiletodownload.Youmayadjusttheprintsizeoftheposterfromyour
printmenu.Asis,theposteris27x36inches.
Becausetheposterisquitelarge,standardprinterscannotprinttheposter.Ifyoudo
nothaveaccesstoaprinterthatcanprintlargedocuments,contactalocalprintshopto
printtheposter.ThePurdueOWLcannotgrantrequeststoprintandmailposters.
Ifyoudonothaveaccesstoaprintshoptoprinttheposter,pleaseusetheresources
wehaveavailablehereforprintingonstandard8.5x11inchpaper.Gotoresource
youwouldliketoprint,scrolldowntothebottomofthepage,andclick"Full
ResourceforPrinting."
AlsopleasenotethattheposteronlycontainsbasicAPAguidelines.Fordetailed
instructions,pleaseseethecompleteOWLAPAresourceshere.
ThePurdueOWLAPAClassroomPosterwasdevelopedbyKateBouwensforthe
PurdueProfessionalWritingPurdueOWLInternshipclass,English490,inspring
2009.
PurdueOWLAPAClassroomPoster(Pleasenote:Theposterisbestviewedin
Firefox.)
Summary:
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APAChanges6thEdition
TheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA)updateditsstylemanualinthe
summerof2009.Thisresourcepresentsthechangesmadebetweenthefifthandsixth
editions.PleasenotethatthefirstprintingoftheAPAsixtheditioncontained
misprintsifyouareusingtheAPAmanual,makesureyouareusingatleastthe
secondprintingofthesixthedition.
Traditionally,psychologistswerethemainusersofAPA,butrecently,studentsand
writersinotherfieldsbeganusingAPAstyle.Therefore,thesixtheditionwaswritten
withabroaderaudienceinmind.Thechangesmadetothesixtheditionreflectthis
broaderaudience.
ThisresourcewascreatedfollowingtheAPAmanualsWhatsNewinAPA,is
organizedaccordingtotheAPAmanualchapters,andhighlightsupdatestothesixth
editionthatmostconcernstudentwritersinsteadofthoseinterestedinpublishing
manuscripts.Foramorecompletediscussionofthechanges,pleasevisitthissite.
LevelsofHeading
Headingsareusedtohelpguidethereaderthroughadocument.Thelevelsare
organizedbylevelsofsubordination,andeachsectionofthepapershouldstartwith
thehighestlevelofheading.
FifthEdition(Section3.31intheAPAmanual)
APAHeadings
Level Format
1
2
3
4
5
CENTEREDUPPERCASEHEADINGS
CenteredUppercaseandLowercaseHeadings
Centered,Italicized,UppercaseandLowercase
Headings
Leftaligned,Italicized,UppercaseandLowercaseSide
Heading
Indented,italicized,lowercaseparagraphheading
endingwithaperiod.
SixthEdition(3.03)
APAHeadings
Level Format
Centered,Boldface,UppercaseandLowercase
1
Headings
Leftaligned,Boldface,UppercaseandLowercase
2
Heading
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3
4
5
Indented,boldface,lowercaseheadingwitha
period.
Indented,boldface,italicized,lowercaseheading
withaperiod.
Indented,italicized,lowercaseheadingwitha
period.
Forexample,inascientificreportfollowingAPAstyle,areportcontainsthree
sections:Method,Results,andDiscussion.Eachofthesesectionsstartwithlevel1
headings:
Methods(Level1)
SiteofStudy(Level2)
ParticipantPopulation(Level2)
Teachers.(Level3)
Students.(Level3)
Results(Level1)
SpatialAbility(Level2)
Testone.(level3)
Teacherswithexperience.(Level4)
Teachersintraining.(Level4)
Testtwo.(Level3)
KinestheticAbility(Level2)
ReducingBiasinLanguage(3.11)
Usingpreciselanguageisexpectedinscientificwriting,andthesixtheditionoffers
newwaysinwhichtotalkaboutresearchparticipants(notethatsubjectsisstillan
acceptabletermtouse,butparticipantsismorerepresentativeoftheindividuals
rolesintheresearchproject).
Refertoparticipantsattheappropriatelevelofspecificity.Themanualprovides
theexampleofusingwomenandmentorefertoallhumanbeingsinsteadofonly
usingman.Manisappropriatetousewhenreferringtoonemanbutnotwhen
referringtoapopulationthatincludesmenandwomen.
Refertoparticipantshowtheywishtobecalled.Trytoavoidlabelsifpossible,but
ifthisisnotavoidable,berespectful.Focusonthepeopleandnotthelabel.For
example,insteadoflabelingagrouptheelderly"or"thearthritic,"labelsinwhich
individualsarelost,tryolderadults"or"awomanwitharthritis."
Acknowledgeparticipantsparticipationwhilestillfollowingtherulesinyour
field.Forexample,acognitivepsychologystudentmightusethetermsubjectsin
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herresearchreport,butanursingstudentmightusethetermpatientstoreferto
thosewhoparticipatedinhisresearch.Whatevertermyouchoosetouse,besureyou
areconsistentthroughoutyourpaperandwithyourfieldsguidelines.
TheMechanicsofStyle
Spacing(4.01).Regardingpunctuationinmanuscriptdrafts,APAsuggestsusingtwo
spacesafterperiodsendingsentencestoaidreadability.
Onespace:Previousresearchshowsthatpatientsareinterestedinpalliativecare.This
researchprojectexploreshowtodiscusspalliativecarewithpatients.
Twospaces:Previousresearchshowsthatpatientsareinterestedinpalliativecare.
Thisresearchprojectexploreshowtodiscusspalliativecarewithpatients.
Approximations(4.3132).Usewordstoexpressapproximationsofdays,months,
andyear.
Istartedspelunkingaboutfouryearsago.
Reportingstatistics(4.35,44,and10).Useazerobeforethedecimalpointwith
numberslessthanonewhenthestatisticcanbegreaterthanone.
0.56kg
Donotuseazerobeforethedecimalpointwhenthenumbercannotbegreaterthan
one.
r=.015
Includeeffectsizesandconfidenceintervalswithstatistics.Thiswillallowthereader
tomorefullyunderstandtheconductedanalyses.
Usebracketstogrouptogetherconfidenceintervallimitsinboththebodytextand
tables(5.15).
95%Cls[7.2,4.3],[9.2,12.4],and[1.2,0.5](p.94)
DisplayingResults
Thesixtheditionincludesasection(5.01)onthepurposeofdisplayingdata.This
sectioncanhelpyoudecidewhenandhowtodisplayyourdata.Forexample,your
datamightshowthatyouareexploringdataandinformation,oryourdatamayservea
storagepurposeforlaterretrieval.
Morethanlikely,though,yourdatawillserveeitheracommunicationpurposetoshow
youhavediscoveredmeaningindataandyouwanttoshow/communicatetoothers
thismeaning.
Figures.Figuresincludegraphs,charts,maps,drawings,andphotographs.Asa
generalrule,onlyincludefigureswhentheyaddtothevalueofthepaper.Ifthefigure
merelyrepeatswhatiswritteninthepaper,donotincludeit,asitdoesnotaddany
newinformationtothepaper.
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Thesixtheditionalsoemphasizestheimportanceofclearlylabeling
electrophysiological,radiological,andgeneticdata.
References
DirectQuotations(6.0121)
Thesixtheditionprovidesexplicitrulesfordirectquotationsandstatesthatyoumust
creditthesourcewhenparaphrasing,quotinganauthordirectly,ordescribinganidea
thatinfluencedyourwork(p.170).
Ifthequotationislessthan40words,incorporatethequotationintothetextandplace
quotationmarksroundthequotation.Citethesourceimmediatelyafterthequotation
andcontinuewiththesentence.
Porter(1998)hasstatedthat,Theinternetworkedclassroomhasthepotential(notyet
realized)toempowerstudents(p.5),andthisresearchprojectexaminesthis
potential.
Ifthequotationyouareusingfallsattheendofthesentence,enclosethequotation
withquotationmarkswithoutincludingthequotationsoriginalpunctuation.Heresa
sentenceasitappearsintheoriginaltext:
Semanticframes/domainsrepresentoneofthetwomajororganizingprinciplesfor
conceptualstructure(Croft&Cruse,2004,p.32).
Hereswhatthesentencelookslikewhenquotedwithinatext:
Inarguingforframesemantics,CroftandCruse(2004)asserted,Semantic
frames/domainsrepresentoneofthetwomajororganizingprinciplesfor
conceptualstructure(p.32).
Ifthequotationhasmorethan40words,useablockquotation.Beginthequotationon
anewlineandindentahalfinchfromtheleftmargin.Doublespacetheentire
quotation,andattheendofthequotation,providecitationinformationafterthefinal
punctuationmark.
JohnNicholson(1820)anticipatedthiseffectwhendiscussionfarmingmethodsinthe
nineteenthcentury:
Perhapsitwouldbewell,ifsomeinstitutionweredevised,andsupportedatthe
expenseoftheState,whichwouldbesoorganizedaswouldtendmost
effectuallytoproduceaduedegreeofemulationamongFarmers,byrewards
andhonorarydistinctionsconferredbythosewho,bytheirsuccessful
experimetnaleffortsandimprovements,shouldrenderthemselvesduly
entitledtothem.(p.92)
TheReferenceList
Referencesthatappearinthetextmustappearinthereferenceslistinalphabetical
orderbytheauthorslastname,withtheexceptionofpersonalcommunicationonly
citepersonalcommunicationinthetext,notinthereferencelist.
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Electronicsources(6.31).Becauseelectronicpublishinghasbecomeastandardin
research,thesixtheditionprovidesanoverviewofelectronicsourcesandhowto
referencethem,specificallywithURLsandDOIs.
URLs,morecommonlyknownasawebaddress,locateinformationhousedonthe
Internet.Thefiftheditionspecifiedthatreferencestoelectronicsourcesshouldreferto
thearticlesordocumentsURL.However,theyarepronetobreakingordeleting,
andtoresolveissuesassociatedwiththeunstablenatureofURLs,publishershave
startedusingDOIswitharticles.
Formoredetailsonhowtociteelectronicsourceswithfollowingthesixthedition,
consultyourAPAmanualortheOWLsresourceoncitingelectronicsources.
Whilecitingfromawebpage,youmaynotbeabletofindapagenumbertoreferto,
i.e.,thereisnopagination.Instead,refertotheparagraphnumberfromwhichyouare
citingwhereyouwouldusuallyinsertapagenumberbyusingpara.insteadofp..
Besuretoincludetheauthors/sname/sandyear,too,ifapplicable.
ThePurdueUniversityWritingLabandPurdueOnlineWritingLab(OWL)assist
clientsintheirdevelopmentaswritersnomatterwhattheirskilllevelwith
oncampusconsultations,onlineparticipation,andcommunityengagement
(PurdueOWL,2010,Mission,para.1).
Missionisusedheretorefertothesectioninwhichthisquotewasfound.
Summary:
OWLMailAPAFAQs
ThefollowingFAQsaddressissuesinAPAcitationand/orformatting.Theentriesin
thissectionarebasedonfrequentlyaskedquestionsreceivedbyourOWLMail
Tutors.WeencourageyoutoscanthroughthesebeforeyousendyourAPArelated
questionsintoOWLMail.Also,FurtherinformationonAPAstyleandcitationcanbe
foundatthePurdueOWLsAPAStyleandFormattingresource.
ImwritinganAPAstylepaper,butIcantgettheheaderonthefirst
pagetobedifferentthanthesubsequentpages.HowdoIseta
differentheaderonthefirstpage?
IfyouareusingWord2007,youcanmaketheheaderofthefirstpagedifferentfrom
theheaderonthesecondandfollowingpages.Todothis,pleasefollowthesesteps:
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1.AfteropeningWord2007,clickon"Insert"atthetopofthepage.
2.Clickon"Header"andchoosetheHeadertemplateyouwishtouse.Type
inthetextyouwouldlikeforthefirstpage.
3.Whenyoutypeinyourtextintheheader,youwillseethe"Design"tab
ishighlighted.Thereyoucanclickon"Differentfirstpage."Thiswill
allowyoutotypeindifferenttextwithinyourheaderbeginningwithpage
two.
IfyoudonothaveaversionofWordwhichallowsyoutodothis,youcansimplytype
RunningHead:SHORTENED
TITLEOFYOURPAPERattheuppermostlineonthefirstpagewithout
typingitinsidetheheader.Thentypetheshortenedtitleinsidethe
headerasyouwishittoappearthroughoutyourdocument.
UsingAPA,howdoIciteanauthoriftheirworkisreferencedmore
thanonceinasingleparagraph?
Hereswhatthe6theditionoftheAPAmanualsays:"Withinaparagraph,whenthe
nameoftheauthorispartofthenarrative...youneednotincludetheyearin
subsequentnonparentheticalreferencestoastudyaslongasthestudycannotbe
confusedwithotherstudiescitedinthearticle.Doincludetheyearinallparenthetical
citations"(pg.174).
Inotherwords,everytimeyoubringuptheauthorinanewparagraph,you
shouldusetheyear,butyoudonthavetowithinaparagraph,aslongasitsclearfrom
yourwordingthatyouarediscussingthesameauthor.Ifyouweregivingadirect
quotationthatneededaparentheticalreferenceforthepagenumber,thenyoud
includetheyearaswell.
HowdoIciteaworkthathasnolistedauthorinanAPAstylepaper?
AccordingtotheOWLwebsitesresourceonAPAstylecitations,"Whenyouressay
includesparentheticalcitationsofsourceswithnoauthornamed,useashortened
versionofthesourcestitleinsteadofanauthorsname.Usequotationmarksand
italicsasappropriate.Forexample,parentheticalcitationsofthesourceabovewould
appearasfollows:(MerriamWebsters1993)."Thebibliographicalcitationisas
follows:
MerriamWebsterscollegiatedictionary(10thed.).(1993).Springfield,MA:
MerriamWebster.
WhatdoIdoifthesourcetypethatImusingdoesntappearinany
APAreference/styleguides?
TheAPAmanualmodelsseveraldifferenttemplatesforreferences,buttheforms
givenmaynotapplytoalldocuments.Inthiscase,theAPAmanualstatesthatyou
shouldformattheentryasbestyoucaninaccordancewiththeirmodels:
"Occasionally,however,youmayneedtouseareferenceforasourceforwhichthis
chapterdoesnotprovidespecificguidance.Insuchacasechoosetheexamplethatis
mostlikeyoursourceandfollowthatformat...Whenindoubt,providemore
informationratherthanless."(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,2009p.193).
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WhatdoIdoifawebsiteismissinginformationrequiredforan
APAstylecitation?
TheAPAStyleBlogisahelpfulsourcewhenitcomestocitingwebsiteswithmissing
information.
Forexample,ifyourwebsitehasnoauthor,youcanusethefollowingexampleasa
templateforthecitationforyourreferencepage:
All33Chileminersfreedinflawlessrescue.(2010,October13).Retrievedfrom
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809/ns/world_news
americas/
Asyoucansee,thetitleofthedocumentismoveduptowheretheauthorsname
wouldbe.
Ifyourwebsitehasnodate,youcanput"n.d."instead.Forexample:
TheCollegeofWilliamandMary.(n.d.).Collegemissionstatement.Retrievedfrom
http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/provost
/mission/index.php
IfIcoauthorapaper,howshouldtheauthorsnamesappearinan
APAstyletitlepage?
Accordingtothe6theditionoftheAPAmanual,"Thenamesoftheauthorsshould
appearintheorderoftheircontributions,centeredbetweenthesidemargins.For
nameswithsuffixes(e.g.,Jr.andIII),separatethesuffixfromtherestofthename
withaspaceinsteadofacomma.Theinstitutionalaffiliationshouldbecenteredunder
theauthorsname,onthenextline"(p.24).
Someexamplesincludethefollowing:
Twoauthors,oneaffiliation:
JohnQ.FosterIIandRoyR.DavisJr.
EducationalTestingService,Princeton,NewJersey
Threeauthors,oneaffiliation:
JuanitaFuentes,PaulDykes,andSusanWatanabe
UniversityofColoradoatBoulder
Twoauthors,twoaffiliations:
DavidWolf
UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley
AmandaBlue
BrandonUniversity
Threeauthors,twoaffiliations:
MariahMeadeandSylviaEarleywine
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GeorgetownUniversity
ImincludingclipartinmyAPAstylePowerPointpresentation.How
doIproperlycitetheclipartthatImgoingtouse?
IfyouareusingtheclipartsimplytoadornyourPowerPointpresentation,youdont
needtociteit.The6thEditionoftheAPAmanualdoesnotofferaspecificdiscussion
ofthisissue,butitseemsunnecessarytoprovidecitationonadocumentpresentedvia
theMicrosoftprogramforstockimagesthataspecifictothatsoftwarepackage.
However,iftheclipartispresentedinaseparatemedium(likeahandout),andyou
wanttobeverythoroughaboutcitationorifyourpresentationisspecificallyabout
clipartandthepointistodiscussclipartfromdifferentsources,thenyoushouldcite
thesource.Hereistheformatyoushouldfollow:
TitleofProgram(Versionnumber)[Descriptionofformat].Location:Name
ofproducer.
Herestheexampleinthe6thEditionoftheAPAmanual:
ComprehensiveMetaAnalysis(Version2)[ComputerSoftware].Englwood,NJ:
Biostat.
Fortheclipartfromonlinesources,becausethesearetextsthatarerelocatedfroman
outsidesource,youshouldprobablycitethemregardlessofthesituation.Heresthe
format:
Nameofimagecreator,A.A.(Yearimageswasmade).Titleofimagein
italics[mediumofimagei.efiletype].Retrievedfromhttp://.....
HowdoIciteunpublishedworksinAPA?
HereistherelevantformatfromtheAPAmanual,6thedition,p.211:
Unpublishedmanuscriptswithauniversitycited:
Blackwell,E.,&Conrod,P.J.(2003).Afivedimensionalmeasureof
drinkingmotives.Unpublishedmanuscript,Departmentof
Psychology,UniversityofBritishColumbia,Vancouver,Canada.
Manuscriptinprogressorsubmittedforpublication:
Ting,J.Y.,Florsheim,P.,&Huang,W.(2008).Mentalhealthhelpseeking
inethnicminoritypopulations:Atheoreticalperspective.
Manuscriptsubmittedforpublication[or"Manuscriptinpreparation"].
Alongwiththeformatforthelatterwork,youcanaddtheuniversitywheretheauthor
works(ifindeedtheyaredoingresearchaspartoftheirpositionwithauniversityor
college).
Imwritingapaperaboutcomputeraidedwritinginstruction.How
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doIcitepiecesofsoftwareinAPA?
Accordingtothe6theditionoftheAPAmanual,hereisthegeneralformat
forcitingsoftware:
Rightsholder,A.A.(Year).Titleofprogram(Versionnumber)[Description
ofform].Location:Nameofproducer.
Alternatively,insteadofusing"Location:..."youcanuse"Retrievedfrom
http://www...."
Ifyoucan'tfindwhotherightsholderis(i.e.thecompanyorpersonwho
madethesoftware),youcanstartthecitationwiththenameofthe
program.
Heresanotherexamplefromthemanual:
ComprehensiveMetaAnalysis(Version2)[Computersoftware].Englewood,
NJ:Biostat.
Thedatemaybeexcludedifitisnotavailable.
Ifyouarecitingapieceofsoftwareforasmartphoneofavideogameconsole,Iwould
usethemostdescriptivetermforthekindofsoftwareyoureusing,i.e.,[iPhone
application].
HowdoIcitemyprofessorsclassroomPowerPointpresentationsin
APA?
YourfirstchoiceistofollowtheformatforonlinePowerPointpresentationslides
exemplifiedonthispageofthePurdueOWL,andtosimplynotincludetheurl:
Youwouldreferencethissourceintextasyounormallywouldbytheauthorslast
nameanddate.
Yoursecondchoiceistorefertothelectureaspersonalcommunication.Foran
example,pleaseseethisresourceonthePurdueOWL.
Pleasenote:personalcommunicationisonlycitedintextandnotwithinyour
Referenceslist.
HowdoIcitelecturenotesinmyAPAstyleresearchpaper?
ThecitationontheReferencepageforthelecturenoteswouldlooklikethefollowing
inAPA:
Author.(year).Initalicswritethenameortitleofthelecture.PersonalCollectionof
(thelecturersname),schoolororganizationtheyteachfor,city,state.
Berliner,A.(1959).LectureonReminiscencesofWundtandLeipsig.
PersonalCollectionofA.Berliner,UniversityofAkron,AkronOH.
HowdoIciteaworkofart,likeSalvadorDalisTheEcumenical
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Council,inAPA?
ThereisnoofficialAPAcitationstyleforpaintingsorotherworksofart,butthe
APAStyleBlogrecentlyaddressedthisquestionwiththeinarecentpost.Youcan
accessthatpostbyclickinghere.
Astheysay,"Therearenoguidelinesforpaintings,sculptures,ormorecomplicated
installations(e.g.,achair,aphotoofachair,andadefinitionofchair).Soletsuse
theFrankenreferenceconcepttomodelafewwaystohandleartinyourreference
list."
Thebasicformattheysuggestisbelow(usingWyethspaintingChristinasworldas
anexample:
Wyeth,A.(1948).Christinasworld[Painting].Retrievedfrom
http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/index
Icreatedandadministeredmyownsurveyforaproject.HowwouldI
citethissurveyinanAPAstylepaper?
Sinceasurveyyouconductedyourselfisnotpublishedelsewherebysomeoneelse,
youdonotciteitinthesamewayyouciteothermaterials.Instead,inyourpaperyou
describeyoursurveyandmakeitclearthatthedatayourereferringtoisfromthe
survey,usuallybysayingsoinintroductorysentences.Inyourpaper,youshould
includeashortoverviewofyoursurveymethod:whomthesurveywasadministered
to,howitwasadministered,howmanyresponsesyougot,andwhatkindofquestions
youasked.Youshouldincludeacopyofthesurveyinstrument(thefullsetof
questionsasked)asanappendixtoyourpaper.Youdonotneedtoincludeyoursurvey
inyourworkscitedlist.
HowdoesonecitestatebillsinAPA?
APAfollowstheguidelinesforlegalcitationsintheUnitedStatesasoutlinedinThe
Bluebook.YoucanaccessaversionofTheBluebookbyclickinghere.
However,guidelinesforreferencestolegalmaterialscanalsobefoundon
pages216224inthe6thofthePublicationManualoftheAPA.
Thefollowingsamplereferencetoastatuteinastatecodeandits
explanationcanbefoundonpage220:
MentalCareandTreatmentAct,4Kan.Stat.Ann.5929012941(1983&
Supp.1992).
Explanation:ThisKansasactcanbefoundincodifiedversionbetweensections2901
and2941inChapter59ofvolume4ofthe1983editionofKansasStatutesAnnotated.
Twoamendmentstotheactandadditionalreferencesareprovidedinthe1992
supplementfortheKansasStatutesAnnotated.
HowdoIciteartifactsinanAPAstylepaper?
Artifactsmayfallunder"ArchivalDocumentsandCollections."Anextensive
explanationofthiscanbefoundinthe6theditionoftheAPApublicationmanual.The
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generalformatforthisreferenceisasfollows:
Author,A.A.(Year,MonthDay).Titleofmaterial.[Descriptionof
material].NameofCollection(Callnumber,Boxnumber,Filenameor
number,etc.).NameofRepository,Location.
Thisgeneralformatmaybemodifiedforcollectionsrequiringmoreorlessspecific
informationtolocatematerials,fordifferenttypesofcollections,orforadditional
descriptiveinformation.Iftheartifactyouarereferencingisnotaccessiblebyothers,
norisitreproducible,itmaynotneedtobecited.
HowdoIciteaproductsinstructionalguide(e.g.,theAppleiPad
usersmanual)inAPA?
WhiletheAPApublicationmanuallistsmanydifferentreferences,product
instructionsarenotsomethingthathasaspecificreferenceexample.Sincethereisnot
aspecificreferenceguidelineforinstructions,Iwouldadaptanothersimilarreference
foryouruses.Forexample:
TitleoftheInstructions(Year).Nameoftheproduct.CompanyName,City,State.
CurrentLocationoftheProduct.
Note:Iftheproductismaintainedatabusiness,listthenameofthebusinessandcity,
stateforthe"currentlocationofproduct."Ifyouowntheproductyouarereferencing,
list"Copyinpossessionofauthor."
HowdoIcitegenealogiesinAPA?
TheAPAdoesnotseemtospecificallyaddressthisissue,probablybecauseitisvery
particular.Hereswhatwevebeenabletofindfromothersources:
Genealogy.comoffersamethodofcitingbirth/deathcertificates,whichcanbefound
byclickinghereandscrollingdowntotheOfficialRecordssectionofthepage.
Archive.govalsoofferssuggestionsonhowtocitebirth/deathcertificates,whichcan
beaccessedbyclickinghere.
Copyright19952016byTheWritingLab&TheOWLatPurdueandPurdueUniversity.All
rightsreserved.Thismaterialmaynotbepublished,reproduced,broadcast,rewritten,orredistributed
withoutpermission.Useofthissiteconstitutesacceptanceofourtermsandconditionsoffairuse.
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