Basics of APA Style

Standards for organizing and presenting research in the social sciences, including Business & Education.

A set of rules for scholarly writing, including layout, citations and references, and writing style.

Overseen by American Psychology Association since

1929, now in its 6th Edition.

What is APA Style?

Consistent formatting allows your readers easily to understand your ideas.

Journals and grant makers require it.

You must master it to be a scholar.

Why Use APA Style?

It is important to be familiar with its contents, and to refer to it often.

Now in its 6th edition. What's new to the 6th edition?

APA Style Website: http://www.apastyle.org/

APA Publication Manual

Fonts, Margins, & Spacing in APA Style Papers

Font: Use only Times New Roman, size 12, for text.

Double-space the entire paper, including text, titles, block quotes, references, and figure captions.

Margins: 1 inch all around.

Indent the first line of paragraphs .5 inch.

Align the text left and leave the right ragged.

Formatting an APA Paper

Main Sections of APA Style Papers

Title Page Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion References Appendices

Main Sections of APA Style Papers

Pagination Page 1: Title page Page 2: Abstract Page 3: Beginning of text

References begin on a new page after the last page of text.

Each table and figure starts on a new page.

Each appendix begins on a new page.

Pagination in APA Style

Title Page

Abstract

Introduction

References

Headings inAPA Style Papers

Headings

Elementary School StudentsGirls    Grade one.    High achievers.    Math.    Reading.    Low achievers.    Grade two.Boys    Grade one.    Grade two.

High School Students

Headings

Use headings numerically, without skipping levels. Title of paper does not count as a heading. Do not make a heading called Introduction. All headings of equal importance are given the same

heading level. Use only as many headings levels as needed. If a section can be divided into two or more sections,

assign each subsection a heading. Section 3.02 of the APA Publication Manual has more

information about headings.

Headings

Citations in APA Style:Basic Format

Citations show whose work you used and how to find it in your references list.

Cite anything that influenced your writing, even if you paraphrased the author's words.

Take careful notes of the sources you use.

No plagiarism (even unintentional).

Table 6.1 in the APA Publication Manual has examples of how to do citations.

Citations

To insert a citation in your text, include the author's last name and year of publication. Name and year must always “touch.”

• Smith (2003) found that business leaders often make difficult ethical decisions.

• Business leaders often make difficult ethical decisions (Smith, 2003).

• In 2003, Smith's seminal study of business leaders found that they often make difficult ethical decisions.

Citations

Citations in APA Style:Multiple Sources and Authors

When you cite two or more works together, list the citations as they appear in the reference list.

• Two studies (Anderson, 2007; Smith, 2003) found that business leaders wrestle with hard decisions.

• Training materials are available (Department of Education, 2003, 2008).

• Over the past decade, Smith (2005a, 2005b, 2008) published many studies on business leadership.

Table 6.1 in the APA Publication Manual has more  examples of how to do citations.

Citations

There are special rules when works have multiple authors.

For a work with 6 or more authors, use the first author's last name then “et al.”

… (Smith et al., 2004).

For a work with 5 or fewer authors, list all the authors the first time you make a citation. …(Walker, Allen, Bradley, Ramirez, & Soo, 2009).

But, the 2nd (and subsequent) time you cite a source with 3 or more authors, use “et al.”

Citations

Citations in APA Style:Direct & Block Quotations

If you quote an author's work directly, add page numbers to the citation.

“Principals successful at implementing school change initiatives often have a clear vision to guide themselves and their schools toward their goals” (White-Smith & White, 2009, p. 261).

White-Smith and White (2009) argue that, “In particular, we need to understand how principals make decisions about responding to multiple accountability sources . . .” (p. 261).

Citations

If a direct quote is 40 words or more, omit the quotation marks and display it as a freestanding block of text (a “block quote”) .5 inch from the left margin. Double-space the entire quotation. Punctuation goes before the citation.

The role of the leader emerges as a relevant factor inthe assessment of job characteristics, especially inregards to the leader’s ethical conduct in theworkplace. This study thus offers potential insightsrelevant to job design components, thereby pointingtoward new directions for future research andtheoretical development. (Piccolo, Greenbaum, DenHartog, & Folger, 2010, p. 274)

Citations

How do you quote online sources with no pagination?

• Hall, Strangman, and Meyer (2009) argue that “...differentiated instruction applies an approach to teaching and learning that gives students multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas” (para. 1).

• “Differentiated instruction is a process to teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class” (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2009, Definition section, para. 1).

See Section 6.05 of the APA Publication Manual.

Citations

References in APA Style:Basic Format

The reference list helps readers find the sources you used. It must be as accurate and complete as possible.

All works cited must be in the reference list, except personal communications and classical works.

Do not add a reference if you did not cite it in your paper.

Chapter 7 of the APA Publication Manual covers how to do the reference list.

References List

All references have:

Author name (or names) Publication date Title of the work Publication data DOI or URL, if there is one

Pay close attention to the order of the elements of the reference, for these must always be presented consistently.

References List

The references list starts on a new page at the end of the main text of your paper, before any appendices.

Put references in order by authors' last names.

Only list initials for the first and middle name of an author. For example, “Author, A. A. & Author, B. B.”

Indent all lines of the reference, except the first, .5 inch.

Double-space the references list, both within and between references.

References List

Capitalization: For article and books, type title in “sentence-case” capitalization. For journal titles and conference names, use “title-case” capitalization

Italicize the journal title and volume number

Include the issue number in parentheses if the journal is paginated by issue

Do not put a period at the end of the DOI or URL

If you list a URL, do not list a retrieved date unless the content of the webpage is potentially unstable.

References List

References List

References in APA Style:What is a DOI?

What is a DOI?o A unique identifier for a source.o Not all sources have them yet.o Usually near the copyright information. Often on

the first page of an article.o Looks something like this:

10.3102/0034654309332560o CrossRef can help:

www.crossref.org/SimpleTextQuery/

References List

References List

References in APA Style:Commonly Used Sources

For scholarly writing, the most commonly used sources are:

• Journal articles• Books• Chapters in edited books• Conference papers• Websites

References List

Journal article

Komai, M. & Stegeman, M. (2010). Leadership based

on asymmetric information. RAND Journal of Economics,

41(3), 35-63. doi: 10.1111/j.1756- 2171.2009.00089.x

References List

Entire book

Hirschey, M. (2009). Managerial economics (12th ed.).

Florence, KY: South-Western Cengage Learning.

References List

Chapter in an edited book

Hart, S. N. (1993). Children's rights in a civilized society. In M.

A. Jensen & S. G. Goffin (Eds.), Visions of entitlement:

The care and education of America's children (pp. 85-

134). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

References List

Webpage with no author

How standardized testing damages education. (2007).

Retrieved from http://www.fairtest.org/facts/howharm.htm

References List

Basics of APA Style Quiz