Transcript The essentials of creating a document using APA. Presenter: Sean McCandless APA stands for “American Psychological Association” and is a documentation style used.

The essentials of creating a document
using APA.
Presenter: Sean McCandless
APA stands for “American Psychological Association” and is a
documentation style used in:
PSYCHOLOGY (obviously)
And is the preferred style in:
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS (as an alternative to CSE)
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS
ENGINEERING
GEOGRAPHY
GEOLOGY
NURSING
PHILOSOPHY (as one of many preferred styles).
POLITICAL SCIENCE
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
SOCIOLOGY (as an alternative to ASA)
APA is infrequently used in English (this is dependent on the university) and
not used in History.
 Recently, APA
announced numerous and
significant errors in their first printing of
the 6th edition.
 They
have released a list of all the
mistakes. It is available here:
 http://supp.apa.org/style/pubmanreprint-corrections-for-2e.pdf
 This presentation conforms to the FIXED
guidelines.
 Standard
margins on Microsoft Word will
suffice.
 1” margins
all around are typically the
best.

Times New Roman 11 to 12-pt font is the
most common, but Calibri is also used.
 Elements:
 This
has changed in the 6th edition!
 Running
head: SHORTENED TITLE or
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION
 This
will run in the header of EVERY
SINGLE PAGE!
• However, the words “Running head” will ONLY
appear on the title page and NO OTHER page
after.
 Full
title, positioned in the upper half of
the page
 Your
 If
name; institutional affiliation
required by instructor, class
information, instructor’s name, date
centered at bottom of page.
 New
in APA 6th edition!
 While
not required for student papers or
dissertations, APA now allows an author note
(NOT Author’s Note!)
 To create, center Author Note below the title,
byline, and institutional affiliation. Start each
paragraph with an indent. Include:
 1) Departmental affiliation, 2) changes in
affiliation, and 3) acknowledgements.
 If
your paper requires an abstract, this
will be the first page after the title page.
 Center “Abstract” at the top of the page.
 Give a brief summation of the focus and
findings of the paper. This should
include major research covered and
findings.
 Also, notice that the words “Running
head” do not appear, but the shortened
title does.
 Regardless
of whether you have an
abstract or not, the first page of the actual
body of the paper will have the FULL
TITLE CENTERED at the top of the page.
 If
the first part of the paper is the
introduction, you will not write
“Introduction” unless specifically
required to do so by your instructor.
A common question asked about APA is, “How do I do headings and section
headers?”
A professor will sometimes have specific requirements for section headers, but
if no specific requirements are indicated, APA has requirements, which have
changed in the 6th edition:
Method/Results/Discussion/Conclusion
Procedure
Participants
Any other sub-level
Sub-sub level.
Sub-sub-sub level.
Sub-sub-sub-sub level.
A frequently used form of section headings is the following:
I. Introduction
Sub point
Sub-sub point
Sub-sub-sub point.
II. Main Section I
Sub point
III. Main Section II
Sub point
IV. Conclusion

Generally speaking, APA guidelines suggest
avoiding as many direct quotations as possible.

APA guidelines state that most of the cited
information in a paper should be paraphrased.


Page numbers are NOT required for paraphrasing,
but their use is encouraged, especially for long and
complex works.
Any “unusual” or highly specific piece of information,
regardless of whether it is paraphrased or cited
directly, should come with page numbers.
 Directly
cited material should fulfill this
criterion:
 1)
If paraphrasing borrowed information
detracts from that information’s
explanatory power or uniqueness, it
should be quoted directly.
 Example:
 “I
have a dream.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.
 Versus:
 Martin
Luther King noted that a dream
was something that he had.
 If
you must directly cite someone, page
numbers are required for EACH citation.
 The
abbreviation “p.” is used for a single
page. Example: (Doe, 2007, p. 7).
 The
abbreviation “pp.” is used for
multiple pages. Example: (Doe, 2007, pp.
21-22).
 Quotations
40 words or over must be put
in a block quotation.
 Indent
ALL lines of the quotation one
inch. DO NOT place the information in
quotation marks. Double space the entire
quotation.
 Provide
the page numbers at the end of
the citation.
s
When citing an author, you have the choice of placing the name followed by the
year at the beginning of the sentence or in a parenthetical citation at the end.
Beginning:
Doe (2007) found that rats cannot vomit.
End:
A recent study of rats found that they cannot vomit (Doe, 2007).
Famous Reprinted Works
Freud (1901/2007) asserted that the superego is created from the shattered
remnants of a resolved Oedipal complex.
Classical Works
In The Republic, the Guardians do not own property (Plato, trans. 1997).
•Two authors:
•Cite the last names of both authors EACH TIME the source is used:
Doe and Koenig (2007) note that modern Western political idealism has
its basis in the writings of Immanuel Kant.
OR:
Modern Western political idealism has its basis in the writings of
Immanuel Kant (Doe & Koenig, 2007).
When citing multiple authors in text, you will use either “and” or the
ampersand ( “& “) depending on where you decide to put the citation.
If you incorporate the authors’ names into a sentence, you will need to make
it grammatically correct, so “and” will be used:
Feckless, Porpora, and Buxtehude (2004) found that in the early 1990s
the world, on average, used about 13.1 terawatts of electricity each
year.
If, however, you want to put the parenthetical citation at the end, the
ampersand is used:
In the early 1990s the world, on average, used about 13.1 terawatts of
electricity each year (Feckless, Porpora, & Buxtehude, 2004).
•Three to Five authors
•Cite the last names of ALL authors the first time it is used:
Doe, Koenig, and Porpora (1998) note that constructivism is becoming a
more popular theory in political science.
•The next citation in the paper will be the following:
Doe et al. (1998) found that most political scientists prefer synthesizing
political theories.
•If you cite the authors again in the same paragraph:
Doe et al. demand further research into Marxism’s place on the world
stage.
Six or more authors
Cite only the first author followed by “et al.” for each in-text citation:
Mearsheimer et al. (2008) assert that neo-realism as a theoretical
paradigm is experiencing a backlash.
OR:
Neo-realism as a theoretical paradigm is experiencing a backlash
(Mearsheimer et al., 2008).
Some authors out there release A LOT of material,
sometimes in the same year. Suppose you have
material by the same author that are all published
in the same year….
In this instance, alphabetize the sources based
upon the TITLE of the work. Then, assign a lowercase letter for each source.
Doe, J. (2008a). Egyptian death rituals. Journal of Egyptian History, 9(2), 90123.
Doe, J. (2008b). Tutankhamen: Egypt’s boy pharaoh. Cairo: National
Publishing.
In the text, you would cite them as follows:
Doe (2008a) notes that Egyptian death rituals were highly complex. In
the case of Tutankhamen, the boy pharaoh was adorned in a highly
ritualized fashion with precious metals and jewelry (Doe, 2008b).
However, most Egyptians could not afford these expensive
accoutrements but were buried with valuables nonetheless, such as
amulets, scarabs made of semi-precious metals, or even toys (Doe,
2008a, p. 99).
Notice how even though the same author is being used, you are required to
indicate when you switch between the two different sources by indicating
the “a” and “b” of the publication information.
At times it is necessary to draw attention to numerous sources coming to similar
conclusions.
When making statements like “Several studies found” or “Many researchers
have noted,” examples MUST be provided and listed alphabetically
Numerous studies (Gills, 2006; Josper,
2001; Zirconia, 2005) have sought to define
the importance of Davos culture in
international bargaining agreements.
At times, no author is listed. This most often happens with encyclopedia and
dictionary entries and some online sources. In this instance, use the
shortened title of the work in a parenthetical citation at the END of the
referenced material.
Coronal mass ejections can greatly disrupt satellite communications
(“Coronal mass ejections,” 2005).
Also, some sources do not have publication dates listed. This most often
happens with online sources. This is typically highly suspicious, and these
types of sources should be avoided. For a source with no date listed, use
“n.d.” to signify that there is no date listed.
Moreover, it is noted that most people prefer Prada over Dolce and
Gabanna (“Brand preferences,” n.d.).
As with all titles, only capitalize the first letter of the first word, the first letter of
the first word after a colon, and the first letter of ANY proper noun.
At times you will have to switch sources mid-sentence. In these instances, it is
best to cite the source DIRECTLY AFTER the information rather than lumping
all of the citations at the end:
While most individuals in Germany have a working
knowledge of classical composition techniques
(Porpora, 1998), the vast majority of Germans do not
have similar knowledge about Baroque composition
(Feckless, 1999) or late-Renaissance a capella
techniques (Listing, 2001).
Personal communications include e-mails,
interviews, telephone conversations, class
lectures, or ANYTHING THAT DOESN’T PROVIDE
RECOVERABLE DATA.
These types of sources TYPICALLY WILL NOT go
into your References page.
Many teachers, however, require personal
communications to be cited in the References
page. In that instance, follow your teacher’s
instructions.
To cite these in-text, do the following:
For example, human evolutionary psychology is an
emerging field that can provide insights into
nationalist behaviors (M. Pratarelli, personal
communication, August 29, 2001).
If you obtain great information from a source via e-mail,
the exact copy of the e-mail can be placed in an Appendix
attached to the paper. We will review how to create
Appendices later in this presentation.
Very often, organizations will be cited as
the authors of documents.
This most often happens with government
departments or private industries.
When citing organizations as authors, place
the organization’s name in the author’s
position in the same manner you would if
you were citing a human author.
The National Institute of Mental Health (2005)
notes that the national prevalence for
schizophrenia is 1%.
OR:
The national prevalence for schizophrenia is 1%
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2005).
After mentioning the corporate author in such a
fashion, you can use the acronym for subsequent
citations.
Electronic sources are cited in text in the same fashion as print sources.
When using an online source, you will need:
1) The name of the author, whether it is a human or organization; if an author is
not identified, you will use the NAME of the article;
2) The year of publication;
3) The section of the internet document;
4) The paragraph number.
Dolce and Gabanna had to change their 2004-2005 advertising
campaign after the profuse level of complaints from consumers
(Herneckli, 2006, Trends section, para. 3).
If the source isn’t divided into sections, include simply the paragraph number:
Prada was favored 7/10 over Oakley (Herneckli, 2005, para. 5).
NEVER, EVER, EVER,
EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER,
URL
EVER PUT THE
IN
THE BODY OF THE
TEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unless it is part of the narrative of your paper, which occurs only rarely.
•At times it is necessary to cite that
the source you are using is using
another source.
•This most often happens when the
work you are reading cites someone
else. Rather than going to the original
source, you can cite that the work in
YOUR hands is citing someone else.
To cite an author citing someone else, you will
need to cite the ORIGINATOR of the idea AS
WELL AS the source you are using.
If you want to avoid this, simply go to the original
source.
However, if you don’t want to do that, the easiest
way to do this is as follows:
Very often, you will need to cite a chapter or an article within a larger
anthology.
Suppose you are using an article in an edited book; the article is about the
role of parietal cortex in cognition. How do you do this? SIMPLE!
Let’s say that the article is Memory and cognition: Probing the parietal cortex
written by Jane Horrocks in 2001. The article is in the book Principles of
cognitive psychology edited by Georg Listing.
For the in-text citation, you will cite Horrocks (2001) as the author.
Example: Horrocks (2001) notes that sensory modalities play an
important role in cognition with the right parietal cortex being heavily
involved in time perception.
For the References page, you will cite it as such:
Horrocks, J. (2001). Memory and cognition: Probing the parietal cortex. In G.
Listing (ed.), Principles of cognitive psychology (pp. 99-110).
Davenport, CT: Parietal Publishing.
Typically, APA requires figures, graphs, and tables to be placed in an
Appendix AFTER the References page.
Some professors, however, want the data directly in the paper itself.
What is also important is whether YOU GENERATED the figure, graph, or
table or whether you are BORROWING it/them.
If YOU generated the graph, label it (Graph 1, Graph 2, Table 1, etc.) and
refer to it in the paper.
…as shown in Table 8, most respondents indicated a preference for
Prada.
Ask your professor if he or she wants the figure/graph/table DIRECTLY in
the paper or in an appendix.
If you are BORROWING a figure/graph/table, a note MUST accompany it. Place
the note BELOW the figure/graph/table with the following information:
Note. From “Title of Article,” by J. Doe and J. Horrocks, 2008, Journal of Ethology
Studies , 50(6), p. 92. Copyright 2008 by Name of Copyright Holder.
•The References page is a list of all the research you
referenced (or used) while writing your paper. It is
ordered alphabetically by author, whether human or
organizational.
•DO NOT divide your sources based upon type, e.g., don’t
put all the electronic sources, or books, or journal articles
in their own categories.
•If you use a source without an author listed, use the first
letter of the title as the means for placing it in the
alphabetical list.
For References pages, observe the following rules:
Cite the author’s or authors’ last name(s) in full BUT ONLY USE THE INITIALS
OF THE FIRST AND ANY MIDDLE NAMES.
Example: Doe, J., Kilper, G.H.P., & Feckless, T. (2001).
When citing titles, capitalize only: 1) The first letter of the first word; 2) the
first letter of the first word after a colon; 3) The first letter of any proper noun
or an adjective that when in its noun form is proper.
Example: Mastication and deglutition: A comparison between Canadian
and American rats.
Book titles are italicized. APA’s 6th edition also specifies how to cite
books/journals from print sources, which have DOIs (digital object
identifiers), and from websites
Examples:
Doe, J. (2001). How Rome conquered Gaul. Paris: Pater
Patriae Publishing.
Doe, J. (2002). How Gaul was conquered by Rome. Retrieved from
http://www.xxxxxxxx
Doe, J. (2003). How Gaul was conquered and how Rome conquered it.
Paris: Pater Patriae Publishing. doi: xxxxxxxxx
The names of journals along with the volume and issue numbers are italicized,
but the TITLES ARE NOT.
Example:
DOI available:
Varner, A. (2007). A comparative analysis of the United Kingdom and the United
States in the post-Cold War era. Journal of International Economy, 98(3),
100-145. doi: 10.9999/02856737-6133.22
DOI not available:
Varner, A. (2008). A comparative analysis of France and Germany in the postCold War era. Journal of International Economy, 99(2), 89-102.
Varner, A. (2009). A comparative analysis of India and China in the post-Cold War
era. Journal of International Economy, 100(2), 99-130. Retrieved from
http://home_page_of_journal
Book:
Doe, J. (2001). Egyptian death rituals and their historical significance. Cairo:
National Publishing.
Journal:
Doe, J. (2001). Realism: An examination of its efficacy. Journal of International
Relations, 82(5), 19-27.
Whole website:
National Kleptomaniacs Association [NKA]. (2008). Who has time to buy
anything? Retrieved from http://www.website.de
Section of website
National Kleptomaniacs Association [NKA]. (2008). Why stealing isn’t stealing.
In Who has time to buy anything? Retrieved from
http://kleptomaniacal.org/stealing_isnt_stealing
In APA, footnotes are used for ONLY two purposes:
1) To highlight special publication information
(such as permission to publish) about a source,
especially tables, graphs, figures, pictures, and
so forth;
2) To add extra details about a subject that are not
needed in the body of the paper but add extra
information without interrupting the flow of the
paper.
While tempting to use and possibly a time saver, citation
machines on the Internet and others are not that great.
Most citation machines make small mistakes when it comes to
documentation, and a professor who is a stickler for citations
will probably notice the mistakes.
In the end, citation machines are NOT that much of a time
saver because a conscientious writer will have to go back to
fix the mistakes.
My advice? Get the basics down so that you don’t have to
worry about saving time or if the citation machine is correct.
Questions????
If there is a particular type of citation
that I have not covered, please ask
now so that I can demonstrate how to
document it.
Any other
issues/questions/comments?