APA Style

• All college level students will need to use documentation when writing papers for university classes. There are several styles of documentation; the most common are APA and MLA.
• The URL for the American Psychological Association is http://www.apa.org

If you are required to use APA style, you will need to purchase the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition, which can be found in public libraries, university libraries, university writing centers, many bookstores, and book services. Please note that this is the 6th edition; it was published in the summer of 2009. Those of you who have used the 5th edition will notice several changes in the style.

This handout brifly describes some basic APA documentation procedures. It is not intended to be inclusive, nor is it intended to replace the style manual.

Manuscript Preparation

How to create ciattions within the text:

Quoted material in text: Enclose quotations of fewer than 40 words in double quotation marks (do not indent or block off). In parentheses, include the page number of the quoted text preceded by "p.".
     Example: Johnson (2007) found that "earlier studies on reactions could not be verified" (p. 32).

Works with no identified author:
     Cite the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year.
     Example: Numbers seeking free care have doubled in the past year ("Study Finds," 2009).

Quoted material from an Internet source without pagination:
     a) If paragraph numbers are provided, use them in place of page numbers.
     Example: Basu and Jones (2007) suggest the need for an "intellectual...cyberspace" (para. 4)

     b) If neither page nor paragraph number is provided, but headings are used, cite the appropriate heading and the number of the paragraph following it. You will need to count the paragraphs yourself.
     Example: Verbunt (2008) found that "the level...condition" (Discussed section, para. 1).

     c) If neither page nor paragraph is provided and headings are too long to be cited in full, use a shortened heading with quotation marks. Again, you will need to count the paragraphs yourself.
     Example: According to Golan (2007), "Empirical...behavior" ("Mandatory Labeling Has Targeted," para. 4). (The original heading was "Madatory Labeling Has Targeted Information Gaps and Social Objectives.")

Guidelines for writing the References section:

• Center the word References at the top of the page of this section.
• Double-space all lines. Note: To save space, the examples on this tipsheet are not double-spaced.
• Indent the second and following lines of a reference entry.
• Use only the initials of the author's first and middle (if given) names.
• Place the date of publication in parentheses following the author's name.
• If no author is given, start with the title and then the date.
• APA uses capitalization sparingly. In titles of articles and books, capitalize proper names, and the first words of titles and subtitles. Do capitalize important words in the titles of periodicals.
• Do not put quotation marks around article titles. Titles of books and names of journals are italicized.
• For periodicals: include volume number (italicized) and page span (not italicized). Example: 4, 16-19
• For books, include publication city and publishing company. Example: Grand Rapids, MI: Longman.
• Give surnames and initials for up to and including 7 authors. When authors number 8 or more, include the first six authors names, then insert thre ellipses, and add the last author's name. Note: this is a change from the 5th edition.

Listed below are two important changes made to the References section in the 6th edition:

1) Previous editions required a retrieval date for online sources (Retrieved on Date from URL). The 6th edition no longer requires a retrieval date.
2) The 6th edition discusses a new way of locating online material--the digital object identifier, or DOI. The DOI, not used by 2600 publishers, is a unique series of numbers assigned to online books and journal articles. The series of numbers, usually found on the first page of an electronic document, should be used to replace the URL in an entry in the References section. See the examples below. (For more information on the DOI, se pp. 188 and 198 of the APA manual.)

Examples of how to list selected materials:

Books

Book with two authors:
Broadhead, G.J., & Freed, R.C. (2009). Deflecting immigration: Networks, markets and regulation in Los Angeles. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois.

Electronic version of a print book:
With DOI:
Schiraldi, G. (2001). The post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook. doi: 10.10360071393722

Without DOI:
Shotton, M. (1989). Computer addiction. Retrieved from http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/html/index.asp

Article in a reference book:
International working-class movement. (1977). In Great Soviet encyclopedia. (Vol. 15, pp 76-86). New York, NY: McMillan.

Article or chapter in a book:
Haybron, D.M. (2008). Philosophy and the science of subjective well being. M. M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well being (pp. 17-43). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Periodicals

Journal article with continuous pagination and without DOI:
Light, M. A. (2008). The geographical expansion...law enforcement. Law Enforcement Journal, 8(1), 73-82.

Journal article without DOI and paginated by issue:
White, J. R. (1999). The way to use APA: Insider's guide. Writing Center Market, 12(3), 21-23.

Newspaper article:
Schwartz, J. (1993, May 30). Obesity...social status. The Washington Post, pp A1, A4.

Online newspaper article:
Brody, J. (2007, May 1). Mental reserves. The New York Times. Retrived from http://www.nytimes.com

Magazine article:
Chamberline, J. (2008, May). Enhancing worker well-being: Occupational...health. Monitor on Psychology, 39(5) 26-29.

Online magazine article:
Clay, R. (2008). Science and ideology: Psychologists fight back. Monitor on Psychology, 39(6). Retrived from http://www.apa.org/monitor/