Current, Recoverable Investigation

An Introduction to American Psychological Association (APA)

Documentation Style

UNO Writing Center Workshop

Carol Dillon

Amanda Linder

Updated Sept. 2009 by Carol Dillon

Disciplines

• Social Sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology

• Humanities: Education, Art

• Interdisciplinary studies: Technical Communication, Composition

APA Philosophy

“Research is complete only when the results are shared with the scientific community. Although such sharing is accomplished in various ways, both formal and informal, the traditional medium for communicating research is the scientific journal” (Publication Manual of the APA, 2009, p. 9).

APA Values Currency

• Assessment of Relevance

• Accumulated Knowledge

• Timeliness vs. Timelessness

APA Values Authorship

• Downplays gender and ethnicity by presenting authors / researchers using their surname and first initial: Dillon, C.

• Acknowledges that many research studies are conducted by groups of researchers, who are all considered authors/investigators (up to seven authors in reference list citation)

• Orders authors within a multiple-author reference entry by extent of contribution (uses same order as original source)

APA Values Recoverable Data

• Preferences access and verifiability

• Preferences recoverable electronic resources:If recoverable (websites, archived discussions),

cite in document and in reference list.If non-recoverable (email, non-archived

discussions, chat logs), cite in the text but not in the reference list.

Applying APA

Major Changes in the 7th ed.

• “Space twice after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence”--exclamation points, question marks and periods (APA, 2009, p. 88)

• DOI system (pp. 188-91)• Title page format (p. 41)• Abstract contents (pp. 25-27)

Major Points of Confusion in APA

• Title page • Abstract• Heading levels• Parenthetical references Secondary sources (APA, p. 178) Personal communications (APA, p. 179) • Reference list

Title Page

• Insert a header (top of first page)The page number at the right marginThe title all in caps at the left margin

• The title (again) centered—use two lines for a longer title

• The author’s name, centered• The institution (in academic papers, the

instructor and date on separate lines), centered

(All of these elements should appear in the top half of the page.)

Abstract--Theoretical Paper

• “How the theory or model works and/or the principles on which it is based and

• What phenomena the theory or model accounts for and linkages to empirical results” (APA, 2009, p. 27).

Heading Levels (APA, p. 62)

• Level 1: Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

Level One• Level 2: Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and

Lowercase Heading

Level Two

Levels for Headings (cont.)

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

Level three.

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

Level four.

Levels for Headings (cont.)

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

Level five.

Using the Five Heading Levels

• If your paper needs only 1 level, use #1

Level One

• If your paper needs 2 levels, use # 1 and #2

Level One

Level Two• Note: The heading formats have changed

(Publication Manual for APA, 2009, pp. 62-63).

More Headings

• If your paper needs 3 levels, use levels #1, #2 and # 3

Level One

Level Two

Level three.

Headings for a Long Paper

• If your paper needs 4 levels, use levels #1, #2, #3, and #4

Level One

Level Two

Level three.

Level four.

• Very few papers would need Level #5

Level five.

Parenthetical Citations

• “Cite [reference] the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work” (APA, 2009, p. 169).

Secondary Sources

• “Use secondary sources sparingly” (APA, p. 178)• If your source quotes another source, use double

quotation marks--“blah, blah, blah”--and give credit to both sources in your parenthetical citation: (Rogers as cited in Ker, 2004, p.1).

Ker is the source you used in your paper (will appear on your

Reference page) and is quoting another (secondary) source, Rogers.

APA Handbook, p.

178

Personal Communications and . . .

Interviews, emails, letters, etc.

• Cite information in a parenthetical:

(R. J. Ahl, personal communication,

May 2, 2005)

• Do not list the source on the reference list

References

The last page of a paper using APA style documentation consists of a list of sources used within the paper (most of those in your parenthetical citations at the end of a quote, summary or paraphrased section).

Examples—APA Handbook, pp. 49-51

Specific entry formats--APA Handbook, pp. 193-224

References (cont.)

The Reference List• arranges entries alphabetically

• uses hanging indentation

• is double-spaced throughout, no extra spaces between entries

Resources

• Official APA websitehttp://www.apastyle.org

• CQResearcherhttp://library2.cqpress.com.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/cqresearcher

• Purdue Online Writing Lab’s Guide to APAhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

This PowerPoint presentation was created by consultants at the

University of Nebraska at Omaha Writing Center.

http://www.unomaha.edu/writingcenter/workshops.php