Documenting Sources: Essentials of APA Format Produced by: Purdue University Writing Lab Adapted for use by: O’Kelly Library Winston-Salem State University

Why Use APA Format? Allows readers to cross-reference the researchers sources easily Provides consistent format within a discipline Gives credibility to the researcher Protects the researchers from plagiarism

What is APA Format? A parenthetical documentation style Meaning citations appear in the text of the paper

What is APA Format? Commonly utilized for research in science-related fields, as opposed to MLA style, which is used for research in the liberal arts Provides researchers with a format for cross-referencing their sources from the parenthetical references to the reference page

Cross-Referencing Sources Cross-referencing allows readers to locate the original source material This is of great value for researchers who may want to locate the sources for their own research studies You enter a community of researchers by sharing your sources

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

Establishing Credibility The proper use of APA style shows the credibility of researchers Such researchers show accountability to their source material

Avoiding Plagiarism Proper citation of your sources in APA style can help you avoid plagiarism, which is a serious offense Plagiarism may result in anything from failure of the assignment to expulsion from school

Where Is APA Format Found? Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. (2001) Online Catalog BF76.7.P Websites: (quick guide) (electronic sources) (sample paper)

Where Is APA Format Found? More Websites shop/citapa.htm (examples) shop/citapa.htm (examples) /bibliography/apa/apamenu.htm (examples) /bibliography/apa/apamenu.htm Sabbatical/apa/apaquiz.html (quiz) Sabbatical/apa/apaquiz.html

APA Style: Two Main Concerns Reference Page Parenthetical Citations

Reference Page A list of every source that is made reference to in the research paper Provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in the research paper Each source cited in the research paper must appear on the reference page, and vice versa

Reference Page Called a “bibliography” by other styles, but APA makes a distinction between the reference page and a bibliography The reference page includes only the sources used in the research paper In contrast, a bibliography can cite works for background or further reading

Reference Page Citations should contain the following basic information: Author’s name Title of work Publication information

Reference Page: A Few Rules Put at the end of paper Begin reference list on a separate page using References as the title, centered at the top Use italics for Titles Authors: Last name first List alphabetized by author Indent ½ inch from left margin after first line of entry (hanging indentation) Only first word of title is capitalized Use & rather than and for multiple authors

References: Some Examples Book: Shay, John & Miller, Harold. (2001). Combat trauma and the undoing of character. New York: Touchstone. Article in a Magazine: Klein, J. (1998, October 5). Dizzy days. The New Yorker, Titles are italicized not underlined anymore, according to the 5 th edition, 2001

References: Some Examples Web page: Poland, D. (1998, October 26). The hot button. Roughcut. Retrieved October 28, 2002 from At minimum, a reference to an Internet source should provide the title or description, a date (either of publication, update, or date of retrieval) and the URL (address) Give the author(s) if possible. If not, begin the entry with the title

References: Some Examples Newspaper article: Tomas, Anthony. (1998, October 27). Master teachers whose artistry glows in private. New York Times, p. B2. Source with no known author: Cigarette sales fall 30% as California tax rises. (1999, September 14). Los Angeles Times, p. A17.

References: Some Examples Article from an electronic database: Sanford, Charles. (2001, October-November). Computers in education: A necessity. Technology Today, 86, 542. Retrieved January 21, 2002, from Academic Search Elite database.

References For more details, see Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. (2001)

When Are Parenthetical Citations Used? When quoting any words that are not your own Quoting means to repeat another source word for word, using quotation marks

When Are Parenthetical Citations Used? When summarizing facts and ideas from a source Summarizing means to take ideas from a large passage of another source and condense them, using your own words When paraphrasing a source Paraphrasing means to use the ideas from another source but change the phrasing into your own words

Handling Quotes in the Text When a quotation is used in the text, include the author, year and page number Enclose in parentheses 40 words or less: incorporate into text and use double quotation marks Longer than 40 words: use double spaced block with no quotation marks, each line indented 5 spaces from left margin

Handling Quotes in the Text Two types of citations for quotations: If the author’s name appears in the text of the paper, only the date is cited If the author’s name does not appear in the text of the paper, both the name and date are cited, separated by a comma

Handling Quotes in the Text EXAMPLES: Caruth (1996) states that a traumatic response frequently entails a “delayed, uncontrolled repetitive appearance of hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena” (p.11). A traumatic response frequently entails a “delayed, uncontrolled repetitive appearance of hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena” (Caruth, 1996, p.11).

Handling Parenthetical Citations Quotations marks are not used for summarizing or paraphrasing Credit must be given to the original author(s) through a citation

Handling Parenthetical Citations Sometimes additional information is necessary: More than one author with the same last name: (H. James, 1878); (W. James, 1880) Two or more works in the same parentheses: (Fussell, 1975; Caruth, 1996; Showalter, 1997) Work with six or more authors: (Smith et al, 1998) Specific part of a source: (Jones, 1995, chap. 2)

Handling Parenthetical Citations If the source has no known author, then use an abbreviated version of the title: Full Title: “California Cigarette Tax Deters Smokers” Citation: (“California,” 1999)

Handling Parenthetical Citations If the reference is a personal communication: Source: message from C. Everett Koop Citation: (C. E. Koop, personal communication, May 16, 1998)

Handling Parenthetical Citations: Example Recently, the history of warfare has been significantly revised by Higonnet et al (1987), Marcus (1989), and Raitt and Tate (1997) to include women’s personal and cultural responses to battle and its resultant traumatic effects. Feminist researchers now concur that “It is no longer true to claim that women's responses to the war have been ignored” (Raitt & Tate, p. 2). Though these studies focus solely on women's experiences, they err by collectively perpetuating the masculine-centered impressions originating in Fussell (1975) and Bergonzi (1996). However, Tylee (1990) further criticizes Fussell, arguing that his study “treated memory and culture as if they belonged to a sphere beyond the existence of individuals or the control of institutions” (p. 6). From: “Shell Shock and the Great War” by Andrew J. Kunka, Purdue University (unpublished manuscript).

General Format: Content The final paper should include, in the order indicated below, as many of the following sections as are applicable, each of which should begin on a separate page: title page, which includes a running head, page header, title, author and institution name abstract text references appendixes author note footnotes/endnotes tables figure captions figures

General Format: Some Examples Typed (12 pt.) Times New Roman or Courier font preferred Double-spaced throughout the paper 27 lines of text maximum per page Standard-sized (8.5 X 11 inches) white paper Margins of 1 inch on all sides Line length 6 ½ inch maximum

General Format: Some Examples Space once after all punctuation (exceptions) Flush left justification Do not split words at the end of line Indent the first line of each paragraph Use the tab key set at 5 – 7 spaces Pages numbered

Title Page The page header includes the first 2 or 3 words of the title placed 5 spaces to the left of the page number on every page Running head is only on the title page Flush left following the words RUNNING HEAD on line below the page header Uppercase Less than 50 characters Title is uppercase and lowercase and centered on upper half of page Author’s name is uppercase and lowercase, follows title Institution affiliation is uppercase and lowercase, follows author

Abstract 1 paragraph summary of important elements of paper Begins on new page (page 2) Centered on first line below the page header 120 word maximum Block format

Body of Paper Begins on new page (page 3) Title of paper is centered on first line below the page header in uppercase and lowercase The introduction (not labeled) starts on the line following the title Headings are used to organize the paper, for example: Method, Results, Discussion

Finally Always check the manual for details Always see your instructor for variations in style