How to write a good APA reference By Jan Bollen

Agenda What Does “APA Style” Mean? Why APA Cross-Reference your source Using an consistent format Establishing Credibility and Avoiding Plagiarism Structure of paper The running head Title or cover page Abstract Body of paper References

What Does “APA Style” Mean? APA Style refers to a system of documentation used by the American Psychological Association. Required in research essays and papers written in sciences. APA Style emphasizes the names of researchers

Why APA Allows readers to cross-reference your sources easily Provides consistent format within a discipline Gives you credibility as a writer Protects yourself from plagiarism

Cross-Referencing Your Sources Cross-referencing allows readers to locate the publication information of source material. This is of great value for researchers who may want to locate your sources for their own research projects.

Using a Consistent Format Using a consistent format helps your reader understand your arguments and the sources they’re built on. It also helps you keep track of your sources as you build arguments.

Establishing Credibility and Avoiding Plagiarism The proper use of APA style shows the credibility of writers; such writers show accountability to their source material. Proper citation of the sources in APA style can help to avoid plagiarism, which is a serious offense.

Structure of paper Main structure Title page or Front page Cover page Abstract or summary Introduction Content List of abbreviations / List of figures

The running head The running head (left) is a shortened version of the paper’s full title, All in CAPITALS on every page. It is used to help reader identify the titles for published articles Page numbering (right)

Title or Cover page Title: short covering the subject, no more than 12 words; centered, uppercase and lowercase, on the half of the page Author’s name: first name, middle initial(s), and last name; centered, below title. Institution: location where the author were when the research was conducted; centered, below author’s name

Abstract A short, powerful summary between 150 and 200 words; one single paragraph; at the beginning of the document. To put it simple: What the author did; How the author did it; What the author found; What the author concluded.

Body of paper Introduction: What is interesting? History and build rationale for conducting study. Method: Participants, Apparatus, Materials, Design and Procedure Results: Summarize data and statistics Discussion: Evaluates, interprets results.

Reference page 1 A list of every source that you make reference to in your document. Provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited. Each retrievable source cited must appear on the reference page, and vice versa.

Reference page 2 Alphabetical by last name (letter by letter) Chronological within author (earliest is first) if same year add a,b,c Web based journal articles & books require full citation plus the web address.

Reference page 3 book Author's name(s). Year of publication. Title (Edition). Location of publisher. Publisher. When there is no author listed or the author is unknown, begin the entry with the work's title. If there are more than six authors, list the first six and "et al" indicating there are additional authors.

Reference page 3 book

Reference page 4 article Author's name(s). (Year). Title of article. Title of periodical, volume. Page numbers. Digital object identifiers (if available) When there is no author or unknown, begin the entry with the work's title.

Reference page 4 article

Reference page 5 web page Author's name(s). (Publication date). Title of document. Retrieved from URL Begin with the title of the website if no author is listed. If a date is not available put (n.d.) after the title.

Reference page 5 web page