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APA Style
Go to Amazon to purchase the APA Publication Manual.
American Psychological Association (APA) style is a widely accepted format for writing research papers, particularly for social science manuscripts and theses. APA style specifies, for example, the names and order of headings, formatting and organization of citations and references, and the arrangement of tables, figures, footnotes, and appendices.
APA style officially refers to The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, a style manual of over 401 pages now in its fifth edition. It is published by the American Psychological Association, which is the main scholarly organization for academic psychologists in the United States. A well-known alternative approach is the MLA style manual.
Why Use APA Style?
Although adopting certain aspects of APA style may be resented by some authors, it is widely agreed that it serves a useful purpose. Uniform style across journals helps readers to navigate and access material more efficiently. Scholars who experience uncertainty when writing may find the manual a useful guide. For example, the “Nondiscriminatory Language” sections of the manual discourage authors from writing in a stytle that is derogatory to women and minorities. Scholarly journals that require APA style sometimes allow their authors to deviate from it when this increases clarity.
APA Style Headings
Following APA style, headings are used to organize articles and give them a hierarchical structure. APA style prescribes a specific format for headings (from one to five levels) within an article. They are referred to on page 113 of the 5th edition of the Publication Manual using the following level numbers:
- Level 5: Centered Uppercase Heading
- Level 4: Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period
- Level 3: Flush Left, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Side Heading
- Level 2: Centered, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
- Level 1: Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
According to APA style, if an article has:
- One level: use Level 1 headings
- Two levels: use Level 1 (superordinate) and Level 3 (subordinate) headings
- Three levels: use Level 1, Level 3 and Level 4 (from superordinate to subordinate)
- Four levels: use Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 (from superordinate to subordinate)
- Five levels: use Level 5, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 (from superordinate to subordinate)
APA Reference Citations in Text
Reference citations in text are those which are referenced within a passage of text in the body of an article. APA style defines that a reference section may only include articles which are cited within the body of an article. This is the distinction between a document having a reference section and a bibliography, which may incorporate sources that have been read by the authors as background but are not referred to or included in the body of a document.
APA follows a number of rules for formatting in-line citations. The following is not an exhaustive list—it applies only to books, published articles, and conference proceedings. It does not cover quotations, nor all scenarios that may arise when referring to an article or document. Hopefully, it is enough to get a feel for how it is used.
Single Author
Format should be author’s last name (no initials) followed directly by a comma, and then the year of publication. You may choose not to use enclosing brackets around the authors’ names and refer to the article as part of a natural sentence (year should normally remain enclosed within brackets). The same holds for multiple authors.
Example:
- Social representations theory posits that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority (Pauling, 2007).
Alternative:
- Pauling (2007) posits that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority.
Two Authors
- Authors should be presented in the order that they appear in the published article. If they are cited within closed brackets, use the ampersand (&) between them. If not enclosed in brackets, then use expanded “and.”
Example:
- Social representations theory posits that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority (Pauling & Liu, 2007).
Alternative:
- Pauling and Liu (2007) posit that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority.
Three to Five Authors
With three to five authors, the first reference to an article includes all authors. Subsequent citations in the same document may refer to the article by the principal author only plus “et al.” (Note the reference section must contain all authors.)
Example:
- Social representations theory posits that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority (Pauling, Liu, & Guo, 2007).
Alternative:
- Pauling, Liu, and Guo (2007) posit that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority.
Subsequent instances in the same document:
- Pauling et al. (2007) posit that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority.
Alternative:
- Social representations theory posits that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority (Pauling et al., 2007).
Six Authors
Starting with the first mention in text, the correct format is author et al. In the reference, all six author names should be included.
Example:
- Pauling et al. (2007) posit that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority.
More than Six Authors
Starting with the first mention in text, the correct format is author et al. In the reference, the first six author names should be followed by “et al.”
Example:
- Pauling et al. (2007) posit that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority.
Multiple Publications, Same Author
If an author has multiple publications that you wish to cite, you use a comma to separate the years of publication in chronological order (oldest to most recent). If the publications occur in the same year, the Publication Manual recommends using suffixes a, b, c, etc. (Note that corresponding letters should be used in the reference list, and these references should be ordered alphabetically by title.)
Example:
- Social representations theory posits that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority (Pauling, 2004, 2007).
Alternative:
- Pauling (2004, 2007) suggests that scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority.
Multiple Publications, Different Authors
Follow the rules for one author above, using a semicolon to separate articles. Citation should first be in alphabetical order of the author, then chronological.
- Social representations theory posits that reified scientific knowledge that exists at the boundaries of a given society will be interpreted in meaningful and often simplified forms by the majority (Alford, 1995; Pauling, 2004, 2007; Sirkis, 2003).
Reference List
The APA style guide prescribes that bibliographies and other lists of names should be ordered by surname first, and mandates inclusion of surname prefixes. For example, “Martin de Rijke” should be sorted as “De Rijke, M.”
Print Sources
Book by one author:
- Sherman, R. D. (1956). The terrifying future: Contemplating color television. San Diego: Halstead.
Book by two or more authors:
- Kurosawa, J., & Armistead, Q. (1972). Hairball: An intensive peek behind the surface of an enigma. Hamilton, ON: McMaster University Press.
Article in an edited book:
- Stanz, R. F. (1983). Practical methods for the apprehension and sustained containment of supernatural entities. In G. L. Yeager (Ed.), Paranormal and occult studies: Case studies in application (pp. 42–64). Place: Publisher.
Article in a journal with continuous pagination:
- Rottweiler, F. T., & Beauchemin, J. L. (1987). Detroit and Sarnia: Two foes on the brink of destruction. Canadian/American Studies Journal, 54, 66–146.
Article in a journal paginated separately:
- Crackton, P. (1987). The Loonie: God's long-awaited gift to colourful pocket change? Canadian Change, 64(7), 34–37.
Article in a monthly magazine:
- Doe, J. (2001, May). My life as a grocery-store delivery boy. Hot & Steamy Letters, pp. 81–85.
Article in a newspaper
- Wrong, M. (2005, August 17). Misquotes are “Problematastic” says Mayor. Toronto Sol, p. 4.
Government document
- Revenue Canada. (2001) Advanced gouging: Manual for employees (MP 65–347/1124). Ottawa: Minister of Immigration and Revenue.
Online Sources
For electronic references, Web sites, and articles online, the APA Style Web site asserts some basic rules. The first is to direct readers specifically to the source material and the second is to provide references that work.
Internet article based on a print source
- Marlowe, P., Spade, S., & Chan, C. (2001). Detective work and the benefits of colour versus black and white [Electronic version]. Journal of Pointless Research, 11, 123–124.
Article in an Internet-only journal
- Blofeld, H. V. (1994, March 1). Expressing oneself through Persian cats and modern architecture. Felines & Felons, 4, Article 0046g. Retrieved October 3, 1999, from http://journals.f+f.org/spectre/vblofeld-0046g.html.
Article in an Internet-only newsletter
- Paradise, S., Moriarty, D., Marx, C., Lee, O. B., Hassel, E., et al. (1957, July). Portrayals of fictional characters in reality-based popular writing: Project update. Off the Beaten Path, 7(3). Retrieved October 3, 1999, from http://www.newsletter.offthebeatenpath.news/otr/complaints.html.
Stand-alone Internet document, no author identified, no date
- What I did today. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2002, from http://www.cc.mystory.life/blog/didtoday.html.
Document available on university program or department Web site
- Rogers, B. (2078). Faster-than-light travel: What we've learned in the first twenty years. Retrieved August 24, 2079, from Mars University, Institute for Martian Studies Web site: http://www.eg.spacecentraltoday.mars/university/dept.html.
Electronic copy of a journal article, three to five authors, retrieved from database
- Costanza, G., Seinfeld, J., Benes, E., Kramer, C., & Peterman, J. (1993). Minutiæ and insignificant observations from the nineteen-nineties. Journal About Nothing, 52, 475–649. Retrieved October 31, 1999, from NoTHINGJournals database.
E-Mail or other personal communication (cite in text only)
- (A. Monterey, personal communication, September 28, 2001).
Book on CD
- Nix, G. (2002). “Lirael, Daughter of the Clayr” [CD]. New York: Random House/Listening Library.
Book on tape
- Nix, G. (2002). “Lirael, Daughter of the Clayr” [Cassette Recording No. 1999-1999-1999]. New York: Random House/Listening Library.
