A guide to citing and documenting sources using APA
Claire McMurray, Ph.D., KU Writing Center
Why are there different citation styles?MLA Format
• in-text style• humanities• how writings influence one
another, authorship• Highlights author’s name,
pg #
APA Format
• in-text style• social sciences• how research has evolved and
dates of publication• Highlights author’s name, year,
page #
Chicago Format• footnote style• historical research• helps reader focus on evidence
and source origins• very flexible• can mix discursive and
bibliographic footnotes
Resources (on handout) KU Writing Center (face-to-face
consultations, email feedback, videoconferences, quick questions, writing guides)
www.writing.ku.edu
APA Handbook
Purdue Owl APA Overview website
http://blog.apastyle.org/
When in all else fails: google the question, search for reputable sources
Why cite using APA?
Acknowledge those you’ve learned from
Build credibility (for yourself and the people you work with)
Guide readers to further information
What is included in the APA format? Document guidelines
(formatting) Writing style and tone Organization and structure In-text citation guidelines References guidelines
*Hint: use Zotero, EndNote, or Word “References” to organization your citations
Types of Papers
Literature Review
• Title page• Introduction section• List of references
Experimental Report
• Title page• Abstract• Introduction• Method• Results• Discussion• References• Appendices (if necessary)• Tables/Figures (if necessary)
Other Papers• Use general format guidelines• Consult your advisor• Consult APA Handbook
APA Style Expectations for writing style,
tone and organization Explicit (thesis up front with
“map”) Concise Values standardization of
papers so that research can easily be compared
Avoiding Bias in Language
Be descriptive and specific: Describe individuals and groups as they describe themselves,
including them in the decision when possible. Find alternatives to the generic “he” and “man.” Age: be specific and avoid pejorative terms (e.g. elderly)
Person-first language: “person with neurosis” “person who lives with bi-polar disorder”
“Sexual orientation” rather than “sexual preference” Racial & Ethnic groups are capitalized
“Black” rather than “black”; “White” rather than “white” etc.
Verbs Use past tense or present perfect in literature review and
to present your results: Sanchez (2004) has 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…
VerbsPassive and active voice
“Verbs are vigorous, direct communicators”Prefer the active voice
The survey was conducted in a controlled setting.
We conducted the survey in a controlled setting.
Use passive judiciously to focus the object or recipient of action rather than the actor
The speakers were attached to either side of the chair.
Numbers Expressed in numerals:
Numbers 10 and above Numbers below 10 grouped for comparison with numbers 10 and
above Numbers preceding a unit of measurement or statistical function Numbers representing time, date, age, population size, etc. Numbers in series, such as Tables, Chapters, etc.
Expressed as words: Numbers below 10 “Zero” and “one” when words would be easier to comprehend than
numerals Any number that begins a title, text heading, or sentence Common fractions (two-thirds) Numbers expressing approximate lengths of time (about three
hours)
Punctuation
Use commas between all elements of a series:
A, B, and C. Use comma to set off the year in dates
and in parenthetical reference citations. (Lastname, 2010)
Use a semicolon to separate elements in a series already containing commas.
Punctuation Use a colon between a complete
introductory clause and a final phrase or a complete sentence, as in These are the options: Introduce a single-payer system or create a government insurance pool.
Hyphenate compound words used as adjectives, as in same-day appointment or two-time winner.
Do not use dashes; instead, use parentheses, as in Studs Terkel (author of the classic Working) died recently.
Formatting: Title Page Running Head on every page
Running head: SHORT TITLE ALL CAPS IN HEADER 1
Full Title of Paper: Sentence Case, Centered Left to Right
Name of Author
Institutional Affiliation
Author Note
Departmental affiliation
Changes of Affiliation (if any)
Acknowledgments
Special circumstances
Person to contact (mailing address, email)
No more than 50 characters
Full title is centered and positioned in upper half of the page, Times New Roman, 12 pt font
Formatting: Heading Levels Use levels consecutively, meaning that, if your paper has
three levels, use levels 1, 2, and 3 Levels have slightly different formatting
Level of Heading Formatting of Heading
1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
2 Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
5 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
Formatting Levels: like an outline
Outline How it would look in your paper
I. Method
a. First type
i. Part One
ii. Part Two
b. Second Type
i. Part One
ii. Part Two
II. Results
Method
In this paper I used two types of methods to figure out the results
of my experiment.
First Type: Sand Collecting
The first type of method I used was the sand collecting method.
Part one of the sand collecting method: collection.
This part included collecting sand and putting it into giant buckets
to be sorted by grain size.
Part two of the sand collecting method: testing.
This part included…
In-Text Citation: ParaphrasesIf you mention the author in the sentence, place the publication year in parenthesis directly after name: Walter (2000) found that the strengths perspective worked well with…
If you do not mention the author’s name, save parenthetical reference for the end:Many researchers have studied the strengths perspective (Walter, 2000; Davis, 1998).
In-Text Citation: QuotationsAuthor in sentence:
Miele (1993) found that “the ‘placebo effect’ disappeared when [only the first group’s] behaviors were modified” (p. 276).
Author not in sentence:She stated that “The ‘placebo effect’…disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner” (Miele, 1993, p. 276).
Reference Page Title the page “References.”
Double space the entire reference page—no extra
space between entries.
List alphabetically.
List works by the same
author chronologically from earliest to latest.
Common Problems: Citing Websites
In Text When referring in passing to a website within your text, the url
is sufficient. Don’t add it to the references list. Ex: Gussie Fink-Nottle has set up a discussion forum for newt
fanciers (http://gfnnfg.livejournal.com/). List (author, date) or (title, date) at the end of the sentence for
more in-depth discussion of a website.
Common Problems: Citing WebsitesReferences
When citing a document or piece of information from a website, you need to put it on the references list.
Author, A. (date). Title of document [Format description].
Retrieved from http://URL. When a doi (digital object identifier) exists, use instead of url.
Author, A.A, & Author, B.B. (Date). Title of article. Title of
journal, vol. #, page range. doi:000000/0000000. Something missing? Check the APA Style Blog. Often there are
no dates or authors for websites. Consider purchasing APA Style Guide to Electronic
References.
Common Problems: Tables and Figures Check APA Manual: Section
5 (Displaying Results) pg. 125-167
Check Purdue Owl website (on handout)
Decide the table’s or figure’s purpose (exploration, communication, calculation, storage, decoration)
Consider using a standard (canonical) form when possible
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 40
1
2
3
4
5
6
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
Common Problems: A Source w/in a SourceIn Text (as cited in Author, date).
Ex: In his e-mails, Smith argued that asynchronous line dancing would be the next Internet meme (as cited in Jones, 2010).
References List only the SECONDARY
source (source in which you found the quote) on your references list.
Questions?
Don’t feel ashamed if you still have a question. No one can memorize all of the APA rules and guidelines. Everyone needs to look them up from time or to figure it out with someone else’s guidance. Come visit the Writing Center for more help!