A guide to citing and documenting sources using APA Claire McMurray, Ph.D., KU Writing Center

A guide to citing and documenting sources using APA

Claire McMurray, Ph.D., KU Writing Center

Why are there different citation styles?MLA Format

• in-text style• humanities• how writings influence one

another, authorship• Highlights author’s name,

pg #

APA Format

• in-text style• social sciences• how research has evolved and

dates of publication• Highlights author’s name, year,

page #Chicago Format

• footnote style• historical research• helps reader focus on evidence

and source origins• very flexible• can mix discursive and

bibliographic footnotes

Resources (on handout) KU Writing Center (face-to-face

consultations, email feedback, videoconferences, quick questions, writing guides)

www.writing.ku.edu

APA Handbook

Purdue Owl APA Overview website

http://blog.apastyle.org/

When in all else fails: google the question, search for reputable sources

Why cite using APA?

Acknowledge those you’ve learned from

Build credibility (for yourself and the people you work with)

Guide readers to further information

What is included in the APA format? Document guidelines

(formatting) Writing style and tone Organization and structure In-text citation guidelines References guidelines

*Hint: use Zotero, EndNote, or Word “References” to organization your citations

Types of PapersLiterature Review

• Title page• Introduction section• List of references

Experimental Report

• Title page• Abstract• Introduction• Method• Results• Discussion• References• Appendices (if necessary)• Tables/Figures (if necessary)

Other Papers• Use general format guidelines• Consult your advisor• Consult APA Handbook

APA Style Expectations for writing style,

tone and organization Explicit (thesis up front with

“map”) Concise Values standardization of

papers so that research can easily be compared

Avoiding Bias in Language

Be descriptive and specific: Describe individuals and groups as they describe themselves,

including them in the decision when possible. Find alternatives to the generic “he” and “man.” Age: be specific and avoid pejorative terms (e.g. elderly)

Person-first language: “person with neurosis” “person who lives with bi-polar disorder”

“Sexual orientation” rather than “sexual preference” Racial & Ethnic groups are capitalized

“Black” rather than “black”; “White” rather than “white” etc.

Verbs Use past tense or present perfect in literature review and

to present your results: Sanchez (2004) has reported that… We found that 65% of the participants adopted more formal

speech… Use present tense to discuss or synthesize:

Overall analysis suggests that… The majority of researchers seem to support the hypothesis…

VerbsPassive and active voice

“Verbs are vigorous, direct communicators”Prefer the active voice

The survey was conducted in a controlled setting.

We conducted the survey in a controlled setting.

Use passive judiciously to focus the object or recipient of action rather than the actor

The speakers were attached to either side of the chair.

Numbers Expressed in numerals:

Numbers 10 and above Numbers below 10 grouped for comparison with numbers 10 and

above Numbers preceding a unit of measurement or statistical function Numbers representing time, date, age, population size, etc. Numbers in series, such as Tables, Chapters, etc.

Expressed as words: Numbers below 10 “Zero” and “one” when words would be easier to comprehend than

numerals Any number that begins a title, text heading, or sentence Common fractions (two-thirds) Numbers expressing approximate lengths of time (about three

hours)

Punctuation Use commas between all elements of a

series: A, B, and C. Use comma to set off the year in dates

and in parenthetical reference citations. (Lastname, 2010)

Use a semicolon to separate elements in a series already containing commas.

Punctuation Use a colon between a complete

introductory clause and a final phrase or a complete sentence, as in These are the options: Introduce a single-payer system or create a government insurance pool.

Hyphenate compound words used as adjectives, as in same-day appointment or two-time winner.

Do not use dashes; instead, use parentheses, as in Studs Terkel (author of the classic Working) died recently.

Formatting: Title Page Running Head on every page

Running head: SHORT TITLE ALL CAPS IN HEADER 1

Full Title of Paper: Sentence Case, Centered Left to Right

Name of Author

Institutional Affiliation

Author Note

Departmental affiliation

Changes of Affiliation (if any)

Acknowledgments

Special circumstances

Person to contact (mailing address, email)

No more than 50 characters

Full title is centered and positioned in upper half of the page, Times New Roman, 12 pt font

Formatting: Heading Levels Use levels consecutively, meaning that, if your paper has

three levels, use levels 1, 2, and 3 Levels have slightly different formatting

Level of Heading Formatting of Heading

1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

2 Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

5 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

Formatting Levels: like an outline

Outline How it would look in your paper

I. Method

a. First type

i. Part One

ii. Part Two

b. Second Type

i. Part One

ii. Part Two

II. Results

Method

In this paper I used two types of methods to figure out the results

of my experiment.

First Type: Sand Collecting

The first type of method I used was the sand collecting method.

Part one of the sand collecting method: collection.

This part included collecting sand and putting it into giant buckets

to be sorted by grain size.

Part two of the sand collecting method: testing.

This part included…

In-Text Citation: ParaphrasesIf you mention the author in the sentence, place the publication year in parenthesis directly after name: Walter (2000) found that the strengths perspective worked well with…

If you do not mention the author’s name, save parenthetical reference for the end:Many researchers have studied the strengths perspective (Walter, 2000; Davis, 1998).

In-Text Citation: QuotationsAuthor in sentence:

Miele (1993) found that “the ‘placebo effect’ disappeared when [only the first group’s] behaviors were modified” (p. 276).

Author not in sentence:She stated that “The ‘placebo effect’…disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner” (Miele, 1993, p. 276).

Reference Page Title the page “References.”

Double space the entire reference page—no extra

space between entries.

List alphabetically.

List works by the same author chronologically from

earliest to latest.

Common Problems: Citing WebsitesIn Text

When referring in passing to a website within your text, the url is sufficient. Don’t add it to the references list.

Ex: Gussie Fink-Nottle has set up a discussion forum for newt fanciers (http://gfnnfg.livejournal.com/).

List (author, date) or (title, date) at the end of the sentence for more in-depth discussion of a website.

Common Problems: Citing WebsitesReferences

When citing a document or piece of information from a website, you need to put it on the references list.

Author, A. (date). Title of document [Format description]. Retrieved from http://URL. When a doi (digital object identifier) exists, use instead of url.

Author, A.A, & Author, B.B. (Date). Title of article. Title of journal, vol. #, page range. doi:000000/0000000. Something missing? Check the APA Style Blog. Often there are

no dates or authors for websites. Consider purchasing APA Style Guide to Electronic

References.

Common Problems: Tables and Figures Check APA Manual: Section

5 (Displaying Results) pg. 125-167

Check Purdue Owl website (on handout)

Decide the table’s or figure’s purpose (exploration, communication, calculation, storage, decoration)

Consider using a standard (canonical) form when possible

Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 40

1

2

3

4

5

6

Chart Title

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

Common Problems: A Source w/in a SourceIn Text (as cited in Author, date).Ex: In his e-mails, Smith argued that asynchronous line dancing would be the next Internet meme (as cited in Jones, 2010).

References List only the SECONDARY

source (source in which you found the quote) on your references list.

Questions?Don’t feel ashamed if you still have a question. No one can memorize all of the APA rules and guidelines. Everyone needs to look them up from time or to figure it out with someone else’s guidance. Come visit the Writing Center for more help!