Working with APA

Working with APA

APA = American Psychological Association

Stylistic standards for publishing manuscripts in anthropological and psychological journals.

The current, sixth edition was released in 2009, with most changes focusing on how to cite electronic sources

Typically, Social and Behavioral Sciences use it:

What is APA?

PsychologySocial WelfareNursing

Business

Sciences Education

You must cite others’ ideas and work, especially direct quotations, to avoid plagiarizing.

As an author, you build your ethos (credibility) by citing your sources.

You further build credibility by citing recent, relevant resources that your readers can look up if they want to know more. APA includes the year of the source in the parenthetical citation

and as the second piece of information in the References because the publication date is equally important as the author.

Why do we use APA?

Reading APA Sources

Abstract 150250 word, single paragraph that summarizes the paper. A reader should be able to decide if the paper is relevant to

their research by skimming an abstract.

Introduction Describes the topic or the problem being researched. The thesis or goal of the research is presented. The importance and relevance of their article is described. Brief literature review may be included.

Getting Started

APA § 2.04–2.05

Literature Review

Reviewing Literature

Summarizes and synthesizes current literature on a topic.

Cites main authors and studies that appear repeatedly throughout others’ work (to build credibility).

Presents possible gaps or problems with current literature.

Suggests future research.

APA § 1.02

Methods Provides detailed info on the research design, participants, equipment,

materials, variables, and actions taken by the participants.

Should provide enough detail to allow someone else to repeat the process.

Reading Research

Results Summarizes the findings using text, tables, charts, and

graphs; lots of statistics: p-values, ANOVAs, etc.

Discussion Explains authors’ thoughts about the findings, any potential

problems with their research, and how their findings relate to previous studies.

APA § 2.06–2.08

APA In-Text Citations

Citing Sources

Directly Quote – copying and pasting, word for word, from another text: Use quotation marks and cite the source, either as part of the sentence or parenthetically.

Paraphrase – more than changing just one or two words: Put a sentence or chunk of text into your own words and cite, but do not use quotation marks.

Summarize – explain the main idea(s) of a text: Cite.

Synthesize – compare and contrast several sources: Cite more than one source in a sentence (sources are separated by semi-colons).

APA § 1.10, 6.01–6.10

The best way to integrate sources into your writing is to introduce them in the sentence with signal phrases. A signal phrase is the last name(s) of the author(s), the publication date in parentheses, and a past tense verb. For example:

Integrating Sources

As Jones (2013) noted, “Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time” (p. 199).

Jones (2013) found “students often had difficulty using APA style” (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

According to Jones (2013), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.

arguedassertedclaimed

confirmed contended

emphasizednoted

observedpointed out

reportedsuggested

wroteNo page number is necessary when paraphrasing.

APA § 6.03–6.09

Readers will expect citations for statistics, facts, definitions, and phrases like “research shows” or “studies suggest.” These sentences are ideal for parenthetical citations at the end of the sentence, which include the last name of the author(s) and the publication year.

Integrating Sources

“Approximately 78% of all statistics are made up” (Smith, O’Doole, & Jones, 2013).

APA style is proven to increase your social skills and sharpen your wit (Smith et al., 2013). For sources with 1-5 authors, list all

authors the first time you cite that source. For 3-5 authors, the subsequent citations will be the first author + et al. For 6+ authors, the citation will always be first author + et al.

Note that the period goes outside the parentheses

APA § 6.11–6.21

In-Text Citations

APA Table 6.1

APA Writing Style

Use past tense in literature review and to present your results: Sanchez (2004) 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…

Use active voice: When you write about roles of the participant, use active voice that portrays

them as active participants, rather than passive recipients:

“The students completed the survey” instead of “The survey was

completed by the students”

Verb Tenses

APA § 3.06

Use appropriate level of specificity: Avoid non-specific: “at-risk children” Be specific: “children at risk for early dropout” Avoid non-specific: “over 18 years of age” Be specific: “18- to 35-year-olds”

Avoiding Biased Language

Be sensitive to labels: Ask how participants prefer to be described

Person-first language: “child with autism” rather than “autistic child” or “person who lives with bi-polar” instead of “bi-polar person”

Capitalize racial and ethnic groups: “Black” or “White” or “African-American” or “Caucasian-American”

APA § 3.11; blog.apastyle.org

Only use gendered pronouns when you are referring to a specific person; otherwise, avoid the bias of gendered pronouns by: Rephrasing the sentence Using plural nouns or plural pronouns - "they" or "their” Replacing the pronoun with an article - instead of "his," use "the” Dropping the pronoun - many sentences sound fine if you just omit the

troublesome "his" from the sentence Replacing the pronoun with a noun such as "person," "individual,”

"child," "researcher," etc.

Language Sensitivity

(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/14/)

“Researchers who use APA often work with a variety of populations, some of whom tend to be stereotyped by the use of labels and other biased forms of language. Therefore, APA offers specific recommendations for eliminating bias in language concerning race, disability, and sexuality.”

APA § 3.12

APA Format

APA Title Page

Style: Times New Roman, 12 pt,double spaced, 1” margins

Title, Name, School: Centered

Author’s Note: Info about paper: class, professor, & date

APA § 8.03

Title Page Header

1. Right click in the top margin of the paper.2. Select Edit Header.3. Check Different First Page in the Header & Footer tool ribbon.4. Type Running head: and a short title for your paper in CAPS.5. Hit tab twice, then click the Page Number drop down button, select Current Position,

then Plain Number.

3

5 4 5

5

APA § 8.03

1. After completing your title page, hit enter after the Author Note until you’re on a new page.

2. Right click in the heading area of the page and select Edit header. Type your short title in all CAPS in the far left column.

3. Hit tab twice. In the tool bar, in the far right column, click on the Page Number drop-down button Current Position Plain Number

4. If your teacher does not want a page number on the title page, click Page Number, Format Page Numbers, then type in “0” in the Start at box.

Page Headers

APA § 8.03

• Click on the corner of the Paragraph toolbar

• Double spaced• Left aligned• ½” paragraph indent• 0 pt space above &

below paragraphs

Text

APA § 8.03

Levels of Headings

APA § 3.03; blog.apastyle.org

References

Insert a page break for a new page.

The page should be double spaced—no extra space between entries.

Select all of your citations, then open the Paragraph window and select Hanging under the “Special” drop-down option

List alphabetically (Use AZ Sort button)

List works by the same author chronologically from earliest to latest.

APA § 8.03

Sample APA References

Who?When?What?Where?

Generic Reference

Who created this reference?

When was it created?

What is the title of this reference?Where can this reference be found?

blog.apastyle.org

Fairman, J. A., Rowe, M. D., Hassmiller, S., & Shalala, D. E. (2011). Broadening the scope of nursing practice. New England Journal of Medicine, 364, 193-196.

According to Fairman, Rowe, Hassmiller, and Shalala (2011), state regulations limit the extent to which nurse practitioners (NPs) can exercise their skills and knowledge. However, sixteen states (not including Florida) now allow NPs to independently practice (Fairman et al., 2011).

Journal Article

Author initials only, no degrees. In article titles, only capitalize first letter, proper nouns, and after colon.

List up to 5 authors the first time; after that, first author + et al.

APA § 7.01.3

Periodical

McGregor, J.(2015, April 23). The happiest countries in the world. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2015/04/23/the-happiest-countries-in-the-world/

Of 150 countries, Switzerland ranks the happiest, according to the World Happiness Report (McGregor, 2015).

Note that the World Happiness Report is not the author, though the tag line seems to suggest it. Always cite the author of the source, even if the author is quoting another source.

Lock, R. D. (2004). Taking charge of your career direction: Career planning guide, book 1 (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

Lock (2004) defined career maturity as

your ability to make appropriate and informed career decisions, becoming aware of what is required to make career choices, and the degree to which those choices are realistic and consistent over time. … [It] involves making truthful self-estimates of one’s abilities, sufficient experience with the social environment, family togetherness, and personal characteristics such as self-respect and being thoughtful. (p. 4)

Book

Block quotes are over 40

words, indented ½”,

and do not use quotation

marks.

An ellipses (…) indicates removed text. [Square brackets] indicate text inserted for clarity.

APA § 7.02

Website: Organization as Author

National Institute of Mental Health. (2012). Bipolar disorder in adults. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder-in-adults/index.shtml?rf#pub1

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2012), bipolar disorder is often characterized by mood changes ranging from irritability, anger, and hopelessness to mania, hyperactivity, and risky behavior.

If an organization has an acronym, you can abbreviate it in parentheses after spelling it out the first time. If the first time you use it is in parentheses, use square brackets inside the parentheses.

When there is no clear author but the content is clearly created by an organization, cite the organization as author.

APA § 7.03.32; blog.apastyle.org

Frequently asked questions about bipolar disorder. (2013). Retrieved from http://bbrfoundation.org/frequently-asked-questions-about-bipolar-disorder

Bipolar disorder is diagnosed based on reported symptoms, cycles, and family history; it cannot be identified through blood draws or brain scans (“Frequently asked,” 2013).

Website: No Author

When there is no author, the article title appears first. The date will always be second.

The title of the article goes in quotation marks and is abbreviated to 1-2 words

APA § 7.03.32; blog.apastyle.org

Video Blog Post

TED. (2015, April 3). Bill Gates: The next outbreak? We’re not ready [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Af6b_wyiwI

In his recent TED Talk, Bill Gates discussed the possible results of an Ebola outbreak (TED, 2015).

APA § 7.11.77; blog.apastyle.org

Use the person or username who posted the video as the author. If you have both, follow the real name(s) with the username in square brackets.

If you want to quote or paraphrase material from a video, include the time stamp after the year: (TED, 2015, 4:32–4:36)

DSC-UCF Writing Center Resource: http://www.daytonastate.edu/cwc/citations.html

Purdue Owl: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/

APA Website Tutorial: http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm

Use Google! “APA + ______”

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