Using APA

Using APAUsing APAYes, you canYes, you can

APA – American Psychological Assn.APA – American Psychological Assn.

• Author’s last name and year• Common in sciences and some social

sciences too• Much more common to paraphrase rather

than direct quote• Entire lecture adapted Hacker, 2007

Providing backgroundProviding background

• Use facts and statistics to provide background or to support generalizations

• ….willows have shown a decline in growth and fitness due to heavier grazing from ek and deer (Hebblewhite et al., 1995)

Explaining terms or conceptsExplaining terms or concepts

• Crawley (1997) defined the compensatory growth hypothesis as increased carbon allocation to growth resulting from herbivory, such that a medium amount of herbivory would stimulate more growth.

Supporting your claimsSupporting your claims

• Willows are a primary food source for beaver; thus, when there is a willow decline, beaver populations also fall (Nolet, 2005)

Leading authority to your argumentLeading authority to your argument

Small streams contain diverse species of fish, invertebrates, and algae (Wigington et al., 2006; Meyer et al., 2007) and are critical for retaining and removing nitrogen (Peterson et al., 2001)

et al. is short for et alias, which is Latin for “and friends”

Cite borrowed ideasCite borrowed ideas

• Any facts or ideas that you read in another source should be cited

• Cite early and often to show evidence and give examples for your claims

• If you use the language directly, you MUST use quotation marks, or it is plagiarism

• In science, we generally avoid direct quotation unless the language itself is compelling

Signal phrasesSignal phrases

• These phrases will introduce citations• Davis (2008) noted that…• Past tense is preferable to present perfect

tense: so Davis (2008) claimed is better than Davis (2008) has claimed

• Avoid passive voice– It has been noted – Davis (2008) noted

• Use only last names, i.e. Kleier (2008) rather than Catherine Kleier (2008)

Signal phrases continuedSignal phrases continued

• List of signal phrases is on page 424 of Hacker

Includes:• Asserted• Claimed• Compared• Observed• Reported• Suggested• Wrote

Documenting SourcesDocumenting Sources

• References• Crawley, M. J. (1997). Plant-herbivore dynamics. In M. J.

Crawley (Ed.), Plant Ecology (pp. 401-474). Oxford, England: Blackwell Science, Ltd.

• Dorn, R. D., & J. L. Dorn. (1997). Rocky Mountain region willow identification field guide. Golden, CO: U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region

• Hebblewhite, M. White, C.A., Nietvelt, C. G., McKenzie, J. A., Hurd, T. E., Fryxell, J. M., Bayley, S. E., Paquet, P. C. (2005). Human activity mediates a trophic cascade caused by wolves. Ecology, 86, 2135-2144.

• Kleier, C. C., Carello, C., Hoffa, A. (2006) Willow (Salix spp.) disturbance in a subalpine forest. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Memphis, TN.

• Nolet, B. A., Broftova, L., Heitkonig, I. M. A., Vorel, A., Kostkan, V. (2005). Slow growth of a translocated beaver population partly due to a climatic shift in food quality. Oikos, 111, 632-640.

• Weber, W. A. (1976). Rocky Mountain Flora. Boulder, CO: Colorado Associated University Press.

For more assistanceFor more assistance

• Check Hacker • See the library’s handout on APA:

http://www.regis.edu/content/lib/pdf/lib.handouts.APAcitationstyle.pdf

• APA style guide from the online writing lab (owl) at Purdue University: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

• Ask a librarian!