1. Ch 6. APA Style

2. What is APA? APA stands for “American Psychological Association” APA is shorthand for the writing style manual published by the APA: The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

3. What is a style manual and who needs one? Support the unique research and writing methods of each discipline and profession Reduce misunderstandings by setting consistent guidelines recognized by readers all over the world To guide researchers, writers, and readers through a science- based method of inquiry. It is intended to support the underlying principles of objectivity, transparency, ethics, and clarity. Adopted in other fields—notably education, business, and undergraduate nursing—that share similar research protocols.

4. Why so many guides? Why can’t everyone use the same one? In order to meet the needs of other disciplines or professions. Use of the APA ensures that STU students had a solid stylistic foundation for their academic and professional writing.

5. What’s in the APA that I need to know? (1) Along with other useful information, the manual contains the following essential sections: 1. The “Writing Clearly and Concisely” section (pp. 61-84) is an excellent guide to getting ideas across clearly, effectively, and objectively. 2. “Mechanics of Style” section (pp. 87-114) lays out the rules of punctuation, spelling, and capitalization, among other things, as they apply in your discipline. No guesswork.

6. What’s in the APA that I need to know? (2) 3. The “Crediting Sources” section (pp. 169-189) explains methods for documenting credible research sources in an academically ethical way. 4. The “Reference Examples” section (pp. 193-244) provides dozens of examples for listing sources on your reference page in such as way that readers can identify and retrieve them. 5. The index (pp. 259-272) helps you locate specific information in the manual.

7. What is a Scholarly Source? Sources consulted for scholarly papers generally... 1. Have been reviewed by professional experts (peers, juries) in the field of study. 2. Contain content regarded as scholarly by professionals in the field. 3. Are archived (stored for availability) for a significant length of time.