SOME BASIC ELEMENTS ©2014, TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY, W.L. ADAMS CENTER FOR WRITING APA STYLE.

SOME BASIC ELEMENTS

© 2 0 1 4 , T E X A S C H R I S T I A N U N I V E R S I T Y, W. L . A D A M S C E N T E R F O R W R I T I N G

APA STYLE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

APA Style Summary………………………………………..……3-4Title Page………………………………………………………..……..5Running Head………………………………………………….…….6Levels of Headings…………………………………………………..7Parenthetical Citations…………………………………….…..….8Direct Quotations…………………………………..…………..9-12Reference Page………………………………………….…..….13-15Works With Two Authors……………………………………….16Works With Multiple Authors…………………………….17-18Agency or Group as Author………………………………….…19No Author Given…………………………………….….…….…..20Personal Communication……………………………………….21Citing Secondary Sources……………………………………….22Electronic Sources ……….…………………………………..23-25Passive Voice Verbs……………………………….………………26Tables, Figures, Appendices………………………………27-29Index to Slides………………………………………..…………....30

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What Does “APA Style” Mean?

APA Style refers to a system of documentation used by the American Psychological Association.

APA Style is often required in research essays and papers written in sciences, medical fields, and business.

APA Style emphasizes the names of researchers and how current the research is by including authors and years in parenthetical citations: (Carmona, 2004).

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Summary of APA Style

Use a separate title page, formatted in APA style, and use a 12-point serif font such as Times New Roman.

Use parenthetical citations that emphasize author and timeliness when you paraphrase: (Jones, 2003)

Include page numbers in the citation only when you use a direct quotation: (Jones, 2003, p. 54)

Block-quote passages of 40+ words. Omit quotation marks, cite as usual.

On the reference list, emphasize year of publication, and do not capitalize titles of articles. Do capitalize titles of journals they appear in.

(APA, 6.03-6.31)

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The Title Page:

APA Style requires a separate title page that follows a specified format: Running head appears upper left. Page number appears upper right. Paper title, author and

institutional affiliation (if required) appear centered mid-page.

Use a 12-point serif font (such as Times New Roman), double-space, and set margins to 1 inch all around throughout the paper.

(APA 2.01, 8.03)

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RUNNING HEAD

A “running head” is a shortened form of the paper’s title, labeled and placed at the top left corner of the title page, flush with the left margin. The short title will be in all caps:

Running head: DATING VIOLENCEInclude the running head on all subsequent

pages. Omit the words “running head” after the title page. Include only the head itself, flush left, all caps.

DATING VIOLENCE(MLA 8.03)

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LEVELS OF HEADINGS

APA allows five levels of headings, arranged to indicate subordination:

Level 1 : Centered, Boldface, Uppercase & Lowercase heading

Level 2: Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase heading

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

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

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

(APA 3.03)

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Parenthetical Citations

APA emphasizes the credentials of a writer and how current the information is, so include the author and the year (if available) with all material you refer to or paraphrase, either in your text or in a parenthetical citation:

The cost of treating obesity is exceeded only by the cost of treating illnesses from tobacco use (Carmona, 2004).

According to Carmona (2004), the cost of treating obesity is exceeded only by the cost of treating illnesses from tobacco use.

A 2004 study by Carmona showed that the cost of treating obesity is exceeded only by the cost of treating illnesses from tobacco use.

(APA 6.03-6.21)

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Direct Quotations

Page numbers are required in parenthetical citations when you use a direct quotation:

Critser (2003) noted that despite growing numbers of overweight Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young” (p. 5).

Despite growing numbers of overweight Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young,” noted Critser (2003, p. 5).

Many health care providers still “remain either inignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young,” despite growing numbers of overweight Americans (Critser, 2003, p. 5).

(APA 6.03)

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Exceptions

If there is no page number for an online source, use paragraph numbers if they are “visible.” If not, use section titles:

(Jones, para. 16) OR (Jones, 2009, “Geologic Time Discrepancies”)

(APA, 6.05)

If there is no date given:(Jones, n.d.) (APA, 6.28)

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When to Block-Quote

If your quotation contains fewer than 40 words, you do not need a “block quote.” Incorporate it into the text of the paper in the usual way, and enclose it in quotation marks, and cite it in a parenthetical note with page number:

In the most recent findings (Smith, 2009) on sickle-cell anemia, “the genetic history of each parent played an important role in predictions of the transfer of the disorder to a third generation of patients” (p. 435).

(APA 6.03)

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Formatting a block quote in APA

For a quotation of more than 40 words, set it off as a block quote. Start on a new line, indent each line 5 spaces, and omit the quotation marks (APA 6.03).Cite as usual (but with the period before the page citation):

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The APA Reference Page

The reference page should be double-spaced with one-inch margins (APA 8.03).

Alphabetize references by author surnames and use a hanging indent of five spaces:

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References in APA Style

List authors by surnames, followed by first and (if available) middle initials. Separate initials and all following elements by periods.

Emphasize the currency of the info by placing the year after the author’s name.

Next comes the title of the work……followed by publication information.

(APA 6.22-6.32)

Smith, M. P.

(2008).

Autoimmune assays for the 21st century.London: Oxford University

Press.

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References in APA Style

Italicize book titles. Also italicize periodical titles. Capitalize only the first letter of the title and subtitle, as well as any proper nouns:

Smith, M.P. (2008). Autoimmune assays for the 21st century. London: Oxford University Press.

Do not italicize or use quotation marks for article titles in journals or magazines. Capitalize all main words of journal titles.

Black, L.S. (2003). Autoimmunity and ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics, 16(45), 223-226.

Italicize volume numbers: Arjun, M.K. (1999). Improving autoimmune assays. Studies in Genetics, 18(4), 212-

213.

(APA 6.26-6.30)

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Works With Two Authors

Cite both names every time you refer to a source with two authors. Use an ampersand to separate their names in parenthetical citations and in the reference list:

Parenthetical note:Review of the literature yields only one study (Smeeth & Iliffe, 2002) that could serve as a model

for further research into community-based screening for visual impairment, based on a program for the elderly.

In-text citation:Smeeth and Iliffe (2002) examined a community-based screening program targeting visual

impairment in the elderly.

Reference List:Smeeth, L., & Iliffe, S. (2002). Community screening for visual impairment in the elderly. Cochrane

Database of Systematic Reviews. 2(CD001054). doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD1001054

(APA, 6.12)

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Works With Multiple Authors

For three to five authors, establish all names the first time you cite the source in your text. For seven or more authors, use only the first author’s name. In all subsequent parenthetical citations, use the first author surname followed by et al. Use an ampersand (&) to separate the last two names. Do not use et al. in reference lists.

First parenthetical note:

One study noted a temporal variation in historic fire regimes in Rocky Mountain National Park (Sibold, Veblen, & Gonzales, 2006).

OR Sibold, Veblen, & Gonzales (2006) observed both spatial and temporal variation in historic fire regimes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Subsequent parenthetical notes:(Sibold et al., 2006)

Reference List entry: Sibold, J.S., Veblen, T.T., & Gonzalez, M.E. (2006). Spatial and temporal variation in historic fire regimes in subalpine forests across the Colorado Front Range in Rocky

Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Journal of Biogeography, 33 631– 647.( APA 4.26, 6.27, and Table 6.1 )

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Works With Multiple Authors

For sources with eight or more authors, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” in all parenthetical citations, and use an ellipsis between the sixth and last authors’ names in your reference entry.

Parenthetical note:The most recent study (Sieg et al., 2005) examined an array of predictors for Ponderosa pine

survival after brushfires, but that data is limited to mountainous regions of the American West.

Reference List: Sieg, C.H., McMillin, J.D., Fowler, J.F., Allen, K.K., Negro, J.F., Wadleigh, L.L.,

. . . & Gibson, K.E. ( 2006). Best predictors for postfire mortality of Ponderosa pine trees in the Intermountain West. Forest Science. 52(6):718 –728.

(APA 6.27 and APA Table 6.1)

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Agency or Group as Author

Spell out the full name of a group author in your reference entry and the first time you refer to it in the text. If not, you must use the full name in your parenthetical note. Lengthy organization names or groups known by familiar acronyms may be abbreviated in subsequent parenthetical citations, as long as it is easy to find the

reference in the list.

First parenthetical note:Data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2000) suggests that maternal

health is a key indicator of future infant wellbeing and child health.

Subsequent parenthetical notes:(USDHHS, 2000)

Reference List:US Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Maternal, infant, and

child health. Healthy people 2010. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services.

(APA, Table 6.1 and 6.13)

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No Author Given

If there is no person or agency listed as author, use the title, both in your text and in the reference list. In parenthetical citations, use only the first few words of the title. Italicize book, periodical, brochure, or report titles; articles, chapters and web pages should be put in quotation marks. In the reference list, the title should be in the author position, before the date and publication information.Notice that APA uses conventional capitalization for ths type of citation.

Parenthetical note: (“New drug,” 1993)Reference List:

New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart failure. (1993, July 15) The Washington Post, p. A12. (APA 6.15)

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Personal Communication

To cite letters, emails, interviews, memos, and telephone conversations that are not archived, indicate in a parenthetical citation that the communication was personal and provide the date. Do not include personal communications in the reference list.

Example:Carmona readily acknowledged the discrepancy between the research design of the pilot study and his corroborative study (personal communication, June 16, 2007).

APA 6.20

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Citing Secondary Sources

If you cite a source you encountered only within another source, make that clear in your parenthetical citation, but in the reference list, provide only the source you actually accessed yourself.

In-text citation:Johnson’s autoimmune assay was inconclusive (as cited in Smith, 2013) since the study was halted prematurely.

Reference list citation:Smith, J.M. (2013). Factors in the mitigation of autoimmune disorders. Immunity Quarterly Research, 12 508-525.

APA 6.17

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Electronic Sources: URLs

In general, cite sources as usual for print, but add a component that allows electronic access: a URL, an alphanumeric electronic map to specific sites of information available on the internet. No retrieval date is necessary. For example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Antibiotics threat resistance in the U.S. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ drugresistance/threat-report-2013/

(APA, 6.31)

Electronic Sources: DOIs

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is an alphanumeric string assigned to a publication to provide an electronic route or unique permalink to a specific document.

Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

All DOIs begin with “10”… …followed by a prefix identifying the publishing

organization… …and a suffix identifying the document.

( APA, 6.31)

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Electronic Sources in References

A URL should follow the words “Retrieved from” in the reference.

Black, L.S. (2003) Autoimmunity and ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics, 16(45), 223-226.

Retrieved from http://www.interscience.wiley.com A DOI should follow the letters “doi” (lower-case) and a colon with no spaces.

Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival

times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi:10.1037/0278-

6133.24.2.225

Do not hyphenate URLs or DOIs at line breaks; do not add a period after them either, as these may be seen as part of the address or code. Retrieval dates are unnecessary unless the content may change over time (e.g. Wikipedia).

APA recommends using a DOI whenever it is available. If necessary, insert a line break in a URL before most punctuation, but

don’t break up the URL’s protocol (e.g. http://).

(APA 6.31)

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Passive Voice Verbs

In APA style, “prefer the active voice”:Brinkley and Giovanni (1998) tabulated the intervals at which homeless people sought medical care during a crisis.

Use passive voice only when you want to focus on the recipient of the action:

The precise intervals at which homeless people sought medical care during a crisis were tabulated correctly by Brinkley and Giovanni (1998) but less successfully by Horchow and Biswas (2002).

Some professors forbid the use of passive voice verbs entirely.

See Sections 3.18 and 3.21 of the APA Publication Manual (6th ed.) for a detailed discussion of the passive voice.

For a more thorough explanation of the passive voice and practice identifying and revising it, link to the Center for Writing’s tutorial on the passive voice on our website.

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Tables, Figures, and Appendices

Number all tables and figures in Arabic numerals corresponding to the order in which they appear: Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.

If you present visuals in an appendix at the end of the paper, use a capital letter for identification: Appendix A, Appendix B.

(APA, 5.01-5.30)

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Tables and Figures

If you quote findings as a table, or quote an entire table or figure, acknowledge your source in a reference note below the last line of the graphic (note the differences between this note and parenthetical citations or reference entries).

(APA, 5.01-5.30)

0

1

2

3

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5

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Series 1Series 2Series 3

Note. Adapted from “Title,” by A. A. Author, 2007, Title of Journal, 204, p. 319. Copyright 2007 by the Publisher.

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Sample Citation for Quoted Table

Adapted from “A Dimensional Model of Personality Disorder Incorporating DSM Cluster A Characteristics,” by J.L. Tackett, A.L. Silberschmidt, R.F. Krueger, and S.R. Sponheim, 2008, Journal of Applied Psychology, 117, p. 457. Copyright 2008 by American Psychological Association.

(APA, 5.01-5.30)

Categ

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Categ

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2

Categ

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Categ

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Series 1Series 2Series 3

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INDEX TO SLIDES

Agency or Group as Author…………………………………….19Appendices……………………………………………………………27 APA Style Summary………………………………………..……3-4Direct Quotations…………………………………..…………..9-12DOI……………………………………………………………………..24Electronic Sources……….……………………………………23-25Figures…………………………………………………….………27-29Levels of Headings…………………………………………………..7No Author Given…………………………………….…….……….20Parenthetical Citations…………………………………….…..….8Passive Voice Verbs……………………………….………………26Personal Communication……………………………………….21Reference Page………………………………………….…..….13-15Running Head………………………………………………….…….6Secondary Sources………………………………………………..22Tables, Figures, Appendices………………………………27-29Title Page………………………………………………………..……..5URL…………………………………………………………………….23Works With Two Authors……………………………………….16Works With Multiple Authors…………………………….17-18