Quick Guide to APA Style

by Dr. Janet Waters

APA Writing Style - updated for the new 6th edition

APA writing and referencing style is the standard format required by the American Psychological Association for writing psychology papers and research reports.  This handout is based on the new 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.  Handouts based on the previous edition are out of date.

To write papers or reports in APA style, generally paraphrase the ideas, theories or research from psychology sources into your own words (rather than relying on numerous direct quotes).  Always give the citation and reference for every source, for both quoted and paraphrased material.  If you fail to cite the source of your information, you are plagiarizing, that is, claiming another's work and ideas as your own.  This is a serious academic offense that will lead to failure of your paper, or even the course. 

Tips on writing style in your papers/reports:

Use a formal, direct and clear writing style, avoiding slang or casual language.  Write with precision, using the correct psychological term for a concept.  Do not write "feel" when you mean "think".  Avoid first or second person; do not use "I", "me", or "you".

In presenting theories or research in psychology, use the researcher's or author's name to avoid reification (e.g. avoid "the article says..." as an article or research study can not speak).  Use last names only.  There is no need to add your sources' qualifications, as they all should be psychologists.

APA requires the use of non-sexist and unbiased language.  Avoid "he" and "mankind", and language or terms that show cultural or ethnic bias.  To refer to a culture or group, use a term preferred by members of that culture.  To refer to a person with a psychological disorder, do not refer to them as the disorder (e.g. "the individual with schizophrenia", not "the schizophrenic"). 

Tips on formatting your papers/reports:

Papers and research reports must always be typed and double-spaced, with 1 inch (2.5 cm) margins on all sides.  The recommended typeface is Times New Roman, 12 point font.  The margins are left-justified (even only on the left margin).  Indent the first line of every paragraph five spaces.  Use two spaces after periods at the end of sentences, and one space after periods within references and within sentences (for abbreviations, for example).

Reference citations in your paper

In APA referencing style, paraphrased and quoted material is cited where you use the information in the paper itself, in parenthetical reference citations which include the author's last name(s) and the date.  These sources are also listed in full in a References section at the end of the paper.  Unlike MLA style, APA style emphasizes the date of a study, instead of the page number.  However, page numbers are added to the date when you are using direct quotes.  For further information on APA style, go to the APA website.

On this page:

• Citing Paraphrased Material
• Secondary Sources
• Quotations
• Referencing Personal Communications
• References Section

Citing Paraphrased Material

Whenever you include information or ideas from any source, you must give the author's last name and the date of publication, either as part of your sentence or in parentheses.  APA also encourages the addition of page numbers for long or complex texts.  For example:

Meyer (1992) discussed the variety of methods of inducing hypnosis.
There are a variety of methods of inducing hypnosis in subjects (Meyer, 1992). 

Cite both names if there are two authors.  Join the names with an ampersand (&) only when in parentheses (if used within a sentence, use 'and' - for example, Shaver and Fraley) .  Use initials where authors have the same surname.  When there are more than two authors, cite all the names the first time, and from then on, only the first name and "et al." (Latin for "and others"):

(Shaver & Fraley, 1998)
(S. Fenton & D. Fenton, 2004)
(Cuesta, Peralta, & DeLeon, 2003) - first reference citation
use (Cuesta et al., 2003) for subsequent citations

If an article has no author, use the first few words of the title or the name of the organization, and the year.  Use quote marks for the title of an article, or italicize the title of a book, brochure, or report. If there is no date, use n.d. (for "no date").  For example:

Current evidence from research on the brain ("Brain Breakthrough", 2002) indicates that...
In the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association [APA], 2009)...

In subsequent references to well known organizations, the abbreviation alone may be used (APA, 2009).
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Secondary Sources

When you paraphrase a secondary source (that is, you read about Freud's theory of dreams in a text by Weiten & McCann), you usually give the name of the original source (i.e. Freud) in your sentence, but cite and reference the secondary source only, as follows.  For example:

According to Freud (as cited in Weiten & McCann, 2010), all dreams are wish fulfilments.

Quotations

Avoid using too many quotes, but if you do directly quote a source, you must give the page number as well as author and date.  Place commas between the elements of the citation, and indicate pages with p. for one page and pp. for more than one.  In short quotes, the period goes after the citation as follows:

According to Weiten and McCann (2010, p. 323), fluid intelligence involves "reasoning ability, memory capacity and speed of information processing", while crystallized intelligence involves the "ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills in problem solving" (p. 323).

If you quote a passage of more than 40 words, block and indent it five spaces, without quotation marks.  A second paragraph within the block quotation would be indented an additional five spaces.  For block quotes, the period goes before the reference. The quotation is double-spaced.  If you italicize a portion of the quotation to add an emphasis, indicate that with [emphasis added].  If you add a word, enclose it in brackets (e.g.[the results]), and if there are errors in the quote, follow the original quote, inserting [sic] after the error. If the original text included citations, keep them in the quote, but do not list these in the References section. 

    Smith (1996) found that:

The "placebo effect", which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner.  Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again [emphasis added], even when reel [sic] drugs were administered.  Earlier studies (e.g., Abdullah, 1984; Fox, 1979) were clearly premature in attributing [the results] to a placebo effect. (p. 276)

Referencing Personal Communications

Interviews, lectures, email, etc. are rarely used because they cannot be retrieved by the reader.  They are therefore cited only in your text, and not listed in the References section.  Give the initials and surname of your source, and the date.  For example:

    According to the elder, T. Daniels (personal communication, June 7, 2006)...

    Ability to visualize has been found to be related to both creativity and emotions (J. Waters, personal communication, June 3, 2006).

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References Section

At the end of your paper, append a References section in which all your cited sources (books, articles, and other sources) appear alphabetically by the first author's last name. The subtitle of this section is References (centred, and not bolded).  Provide the full reference, which includes all the information necessary for the reader to retrieve the source, in a standard format.  Each entry should be a hanging indent.  The details of the format must be followed exactly, including correct punctuation. For example:

Book: The four parts of the entry, separated by periods, are (a) the author's name (surname followed by initials); (b) the year of publication, in parentheses; (c) the title, which is italicized. Only the first word of the title and subtitle, and proper names, are capitalized; (d) the city (and state/province if city not known) followed by a colon and the publisher's name.  For example:

Weiten, W., & McCann, D. (2010). Psychology: Themes and variations (2^nd Cdn. ed.). Toronto,
       ON: Nelson.

Wade, C., Tavris, C., Saucier, D., & Elias, L. (2006). Psychology (2^nd Cdn. ed.). Toronto, ON:
       Pearson.

Chapter or article in an edited collection: a) author of the article; b) year of publication of the edited book; c) title of the article or chapter; d) editor's name, initials first, then (Ed.); e) italicized title of the edited book and page numbers of the chapter; f) city and publisher.  For example:

Wallerstein, J.  S.  (1998). Children of divorce: The dilemma of a decade. In B. Slife (Ed.), Taking
       sides: Clashing views on controversial psychological issues (10th ed., pp. 114-121).
       Guilford, CT: Duskin/McGraw-Hill.

Journal Article with DOI (digital object identifier): In most articles found through PsycINFO or PsycARTICLES, you will find a DOI (digital object identifier) at the top right of the first page. 

The elements of journal article references include: (a) the author's name; (b) the year of publication; (c) the title of the article with only the first words of the title and subtitle capitalized; (d) the title of the journal, italicized and with all main words capitalized, followed by a comma; e) the volume number, italicized, the issue number in parentheses and not italicized, and then the page numbers. Do not include the abbreviations Vol or pp; f) the DOI if there is one.  For example:

Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of
       terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

Journal Article without DOI: Omit the DOI in cases when there is none on the article, for example for a older print version of a journal article:

Cuesta, M. J., Peralta, B., & DeLeon, J. (1994). Schizophrenic syndromes associated with treatment
       response. Progress in Neurology, Psychopharmacology, and Biological Psychiatry, 18, 87-99.

Magazine article: Add the month of publication after the year for magazine articles (see the following example). If there is no author, the title of the article is substituted.

Walter, C. (2006, December/January). Why do we cry? Scientific American Mind, 17(6), 44-51.

Online magazine article: Use the magazine format, but add the URL at the end.

Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back about the misuse of research.
       Monitor on Psychology, 39(6). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/

Newspaper article: Give the month and day after the year. If there is no author, the title of the article is substituted.

Fox, M. (2007, September 15). Loneliness linked to genes, researchers say. The Vancouver Sun,
       p. B4. 

Loneliness linked to genes, researchers say. (2007, Sept 15). The Vancouver Sun, p. B4. 

Online newspaper article: Use the newspaper format, but add the URL at the end.

Fox, M. (2007, September 15). Loneliness linked to genes, researchers say. The Vancouver Sun. 
        Retrieved from http://www.vancouversun.com

Abstract of an article: The reference citation for an Abstract of an article found on a database (PsycINFO) (without a DOI):

Ludwig, D. N. (1996). Preschool children's cognitive styles and their social orientations [Abstract].
        Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70, 915-921. 

"Informally published"documents from a web site: If an author is identified, begin with the author's name; if not, use the title. If no publication date is given, use n.d. (no date).

A short biography of Jean Piaget. (1999). Retrieved from http://www.piaget.org/

Shaver, P. R., & Fraley, R. C. (n.d.). Self-report measures of adult attachment. Retrieved from
        http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/Shaver/measures.html

Nonprobability Sampling

Non-probability Sampling

A. Nonprobability sampling plans are all those which do not meet the requirements of probability sampling; they result in samples in which all elements do not have an equal chance of selection. These plans are used when the researcher does not have the resources (time, money) to develop probability samples. They are considered inferior but often necessary. It is true that some nonprobability plans result in good samples; many result in poor samples.

B. Types of nonprobability sampling plans:

1. Availability sampling - selection of elements as they present themselves. This often results in a self-selecting sample, one of the worst types of samples and often very biased.

Examples: survey which collects data by leaving questionnaires in a public place and instructs respondents to fill it out if they wish; survey in a magazine.

2. Judgmental sampling - (this is a little confusing, as the text uses the term purposive sampling in discussing this type; I am reserving that term for a different type, see 5. below) selection of elements based on knowledge of the population. This would include the use of "matched pairs" which are often used in experimental and quasi-experimental designs. This is discussed in the text as "purposive or judgmental sampling" but I am using "purposive" differently (see below).

Example: selection of one-half of the clients in an agency which you know to be representative of the population based on their demographic and situational characteristics.

3. Quota sampling - accidental or purposive selection of elements in order to fill quotas based on stratifications in the population. "The poor man's stratified random selection." This is usually considered a better type of NPS and may result in an effective sample.

Example: selection of twenty-year old, female accounting major to fill quota in survey of MTSU students, etc. with other types.

4. Snowball sampling - selection of elements based on information gained from preceding elements. These are used most often in studies of deviance where population is difficult to access.

Example: interviews with victims of spouse abuse: find out about second respondent from first, etc.

5. Purposive sampling - selection of every nth element.

Sources of Knowledge

Sources of Knowledge

There are many ways in which we learn what we know. Many of these are used to help us become more effective social workers. Science is one of them.

1. Mystical experiences - relating to experiences outside of sensory and traditional religious sources. Not the same thing presented in the book as "mystification."
Example: the lion cub in The Lion King seeing his dead father in the clouds calling him back home.

2. Revelation - an instance of God's disclosure to us. A lot like a mystical experience but with the authority of religion behind it.
Example: Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.

3. Authority - information received from sources which are accepted as knowledgeable by the society.
Example: students who accept what their teacher says.

4. Personal experience - knowledge gained through trial and error or other types of experience with "reality."
Example: a child learns that a stove is hot by feeling the heat.

5. Intuition - pure, untaught, non-inferential knowledge (tamed mysticism), usually described as "having a feeling."
Example: I feel that the person I am meeting for the first time is going to be a very important part of my life in the future.

6. Logic - the extension of what is learned from another source to a new situation or type of situations. Involves deductive, inductive, and other processes.

a. Deductive logic moves from general principles to specific applications. Example: I have learned from an authority that babies cry when they are hungry. My baby is crying, I decide she may be hungry.

b. Inductive logic moves from specific cases to general principles. Example: I have learned from personal experience that my baby cries when she is hungry. I decide that babies cry when they are hungry.

7. Science - the use of the "empirical method," a generally accepted combination of authority, personal experience, and logic as a defined way to make decisions about what is. This is very highly regarded in our culture and most social workers are expected to show respect for and use of knowledge gained in this way. Example: a social worker doing a needs assessment survey to decide what types of services are needed in the community.

It is very important to remember that these different sources of knowledge are not mutually exclusive, even though many people present them as if they were. Science is the primary focus for this course, but it should not be the only source of knowledge which helps you make decisions about helping clients and constituents.

Quasi experimental research design

Quasi-Experimental Designs

Quasi-experiments - research design types which approximate experiments and which are used when it is infeasible or unethical to use an experimental design. These designs take advantage of naturally-occurring phenomena to examine the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Quasi-experiments do not control for all other variables as well as experiments, but they often do so well enough to provide acceptable results.
Types of quasi-experimental designs:

1. Posttest only control group (post-facto design) - similar to experiments but do not include pre-test of dependent variable; similarity of pretest scores is assumed based on similarity between experimental and control groups.
2. Pretest-posttest comparison group - similar to experiments but do not include control group selected by researcher; takes advantage of non- experimental selection process which result in a comparison group sufficiently similar to experimental group to justify use as "control." May include repetition with switch, so that E. group becomes C. group and vice- versa. This latter design, sometimes called staging, is popular in evaluation research.

Example of staging: Elements are assigned to original E. group on first-come, first-served basis. E. group is enrolled in program designed to educate adolescents about impact of alcohol abuse. This group and C. group composed of those on waiting list are both pre- and post-tested. After original E. group has completed program, C. group becomes E. group through enrollment; original E. group becomes C. group for second stage. Third testing of both groups completes the process.

3. Posttest only comparison group - less similar to experiments in that before-after testing and proper C. group are both lacking, but still an acceptable design in some situations.
There are several descriptive group-level designs presented in the text which are not quasi-experimental designs because they lack a control or comparison group. They are worth inclusion here as they are use for descriptive research in spite of their shortcomings.
4. Randomized one-group posttest-only design - this involves a good method of selecting elements but a poor system of controlling for extraneous variables during the research process.
5. One-group pretest-posttest design - this includes a good method of measuring a difference but no control or comparison group. It may be acceptable if there is a good deal of information about characteristic scores for the population.
6. Interrupted time-series design - this is similar to single-subject designs, but measures the dependent variable for a group rather than individuals.

concept of research

                                                         Concept of Research


Research means searching for new knowledge. there are various ways and methods of acquiring knowledge and information through which curiosities of learners are satisfied and solutions to the problems are found. major sources of knowledge are as follows: 


1. Experience.
2. Authority.
3. Deductive reasoning.
4. Inductive reasoning.
5. Scientific approach.

Some Definitions of Research

1. Research may be defined as application of scientific method in the studying of problem. it is systematic attempts to obtain answers to meaningful questions about phenomena or events through the scientific procedure.                                                  Lokes Koul
2. research is formal, systematic application of scientific method to study problem; educational research is the formal, systematic application of scientific method to the study of educational problems.                                                                  L.R. Gay
3. Research can be defined as scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic.                                                                                           Kothari
4. Systematic method to gain new knowledge is research.                         Redman and Mory