APA QUICK STUDY. By Dr Abel Scribe PhD

Transcription

1 APA QUICK STUDY By Dr Abel Scribe PhD The APA Quick Study is a concise guide to the basic features and essential rules of APA (American Psychological Association) style. Based on the current fifth edition of the APA Publication Manual (2001), it is a companion guide to the APA Research Style Crib Sheet. While the Crib Sheet focuses on the details, the Quick Study highlights those features that are trademarks of APA style. APA Quick Study Contents 1. Documentation A research paper threads its way into a dialogue among researchers. This conversation is documented by citations and references. If the documentation is poor or incomplete the dialogue sputters and fails, becoming little more than noise. You must get this right. 2. Page Formatting There are separate instructions for preparing a paper for publication, a copy manuscript (the main focus of the Publication Manual), and for presentation in its final form, a final manuscript (described in chapter 6 of the APA Manual). The latter is the form appropriate for class papers, theses, and dissertations. 3. APA Editorial Style (Text Rules) APA style merges into common English usage. But what is unique to APA style, and what is common usage? There are five sets of rules that merit particular attention: (a) abbreviations, (b) capitalization, (c) emphasis, (d) numbers, and (e) quotations. Introduction APA style is widely used in the fields of psychology and education, and by others. In the early 1990s a study identified over a thousand journals using the style. The best explanation for this popularity is the quality of its documentation. If you are working on a serious project a thesis, dissertation, or paper for publication the APA Manual is an essential acquisition. The style is comprehensive and detailed, so don t handicap your work by guessing. But at a basic level the style is not difficult to use. American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) Washington, DC: Author. Style has two meanings. It can refer to a style of expression, as for example, a story in the style of Ernest Hemingway. It can also refer to a style of presentation, as in the style of the American Psychological Association. This is the focus of the APA Manual, and the APA Quick Study. Common Usage vs. APA Style. APA style is easier to understand if a firm line is drawn between what is common usage and what is unique to the style. Absent this clarity, the style becomes a study of arbitrary rules and exceptions. It s not that complicated. Quick Study 1: Documentation There are three basic styles of references: (a) author-date, (b) bibliography, and (c) note, as in endnotes or footnotes. APA style uses the author-date style, with text citations placed in parentheses (parenthetical citations) in author-date format. References and citations must correspond, that is, everything cited in the text must be referenced, and only the works cited are included in the reference list. There are two practices to keep in mind when formatting APA references: 1. APA style references have a passion for parentheses. APA style calls for parentheses or brackets around a lot the material that goes into composing a reference. These do not necessarily serve a purpose, it s just the way APA style wants it done. 2. APA style references use standard punctuation throughout. APA style always uses standard punctuation in references. It puts a period after all abbreviations or initials, and commas between items in a series, like the names of several coauthors to a work.

2 APA Quick Study Fall Character Spacing. APA style calls for following all punctuation, both in references and in the text, with just a single space when preparing a manuscript for publication (except after a period in an abbreviation or initials that are followed immediately by a comma). For final manuscripts follow conventional rules in the text (only) double space after the end of a sentence to improve readability. References are composed of elements. These are: (a) author, (b) date, (c) title, (d) publication information, and (e) Internet access information. Each element is followed by a period. APA style follows these rules: 1. Author. The list of References is organized alphabetically by author. The lead author s name goes last name first, as do all other coauthors to a work. Only first and middle initials are used. With two or more authors the last author s name is preceded by an ampersand (&), an APA trademark. But other names, such as editors and translators not serving as the author in a reference, go in their normal order, again with just first and middle initials. 2. Date. The date is placed in parentheses after the list of authors. APA style formats full dates in American fashion (Month Day, Year); the year first for the publication date in references: (2006, October 31); in normal order for Internet retrieval dates. 3. Title. All titles are formatted lowercase (sentence caps): only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Titles of books and the names of journals (journal names are capitalized as proper nouns) are placed in italics. Titles of articles or chapters are not placed in quotes. 4. Publication Information (Books). APA style, like other styles, introduces the publisher of a book by first giving the place of publication, then the name of the publisher: Baltimore, MD: Artless Press. Use standard two-character postal abbreviations for states. Publication Information (Periodicals). By convention (shared with other styles) no publisher is given for journals and other periodicals, the title or name of the journal is sufficient. This is followed by the publication information in the form: volume(issue), pages. The volume number (only) is placed in italics, an APA trademark. APA style does not drop digits in page number ranges: write not Internet access. APA style has adopted a sensible access statement for online sources in the form: Retrieved October 31, 2006, from There is no period after the URL! Example. The basic elements are found in a reference to a chapter in an anthology. Jung, C. G. (1971). The concept of the collective unconscious. In J. Campbell (Ed.), The portable Jung (pp ). New York: Viking Penguin. Example. An article in an online journal illustrates the elements in a reference to a periodical. Barry, J. M. (2004, January). The site of origin of the 1918 influenza pandemic and its public health implications [Commentary]. Journal of Translational Medicine 2(3), 1 4. Retrieved November 18, 2005, from Block Formats The block formats illustrate how these rules are applied to format references to various sources. The APA Crib Sheet has specific examples. Note the use of parentheses and punctuation. Book: Chapter: Journal: Author, F. M. (2006). The title of the book or volume (Xth ed.). City, ST: Publisher. Author, F. M., & Coauthor, F. M. (2006). Title of the chapter. In F. M. Editor (Ed.), Title of the edited book (pp ). City, ST: Publisher. Author, F. M., Coauthor, F. M., & Coauthor, F. M. (2006). Title of the journal article: No quotes, lowercase text. Journal Name, 10(3), Newspaper: Author, F. M. (2006, May 1). Title of the newspaper article. Name of the Newspaper, pp Report: Writer, F. M. (2006). Title of a published report (Report Number 123). City, ST: Publisher.

3 APA Quick Study Fall References to Journals: Print, Facsimile, Online APA style has three ways of referencing journal articles depending on the medium in which they are published. Facsimiles in Portable Document Format (PDF) are commonly available for print articles. These references are formatted like references to print sources with the note [Electronic version] in brackets added after the title. Online versions add a retrieval statement. Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group. (2002). Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St. John s Wort) in major depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial [Electronic version]. JAMA, 287, Text Citations Ideas and direct quotes are cited in the text using parenthetical citations in the form: (Author, date). Only last names are used in the citation. When a direct quote is cited the page number is added: (Author, 2006, p. 123). When there are two or more coauthors, the last author is preceded by an ampersand: (Author, Author, & Author, 2006). Remember: APA references have a passion for parentheses, follow conventional punctuation. Quick Study 2: Page Format Chapter 6 in the APA Manual, Material Other Than Journal Articles, gives instructions for formatting papers in their final form for a class, thesis, or dissertation, a final manuscript. Three changes are called for: (a) block paragraph spacing, (b) tables and figures embedded in the text (not on separate pages at the end of a paper), and (c) the consolidation of the title and abstract pages on a single page. Title in the Style of the American Psychologist Author M. Lastname University Affiliation [ Course - Date ] Abstract An abstract is not too common a feature in a student paper, but required when submitting any paper for publication in an APA journal. This is a good feature for students, especially graduate students, to emulate in their work. An abstract is a brief concise description of the research--what you were looking for, why, how you went about it, and what you found. It is limited to 120 words in APA style. Absent an abstract, proportion the title and author block on the page. Abstracts to articles published in APA journals are set in italics, a feature not specified in the APA Manual but a stylistic touch adding a professional appearance. Centered Title in the Style of the American Psychologist Short Title Header 2 Psychology papers do not begin with the heading Introduction. All papers begin with an introduction, this is understood. The APA (American Psychological Association) Manual (2001) encourages you to take steps to improve readability--the headings shown are in a bold font, and there are two spaces at the end of sentences. Level A Heading Double space the text. Credit the works of others, as well as direct quotes, to their authors. Multiple citations go alphabetically (Alt, 2001; Baca, 1999; Car 2004). 1 Level B Heading: Block Quotes Quotes of 40 words or longer are indented and single-spaced. These block quotes are usually introduced with a colon. For example, Thoreau (1854/1960) argued that: The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go to the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats.... But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things. (p. 10) 1 Run-in paragraph heading. Use sentence caps, in italics, ending with a period or other punctuation. 1 Footnotes go inside the margins! Margins are 1 inch around the page. Block paragraph spacing single spaces blocks of text, double spacing before and after. Titles (and other headings), the abstract, author information, block quotes, and references are all block paragraph spaced. In copy manuscripts for publication everything is double spaced. Number every page! The title page is page one.

4 APA Quick Study Fall Short Title Header 10 References Allport, G. W. (1979). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley. (Original work published 1954) Brewer, B. W., Scherzer, C. B., Van Raalte, J. L., Petitpas, A. J., & Anersen, M. B. (2001). The elements of (APA) style: A survey of psychology journal editors. American Psychologist, 56(3), Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (1995). The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Coyle, J. T. (2003). Use it or lose it--do effortful mental activities protect against dementia? [Perspective]. New England Journal of Medicine, 348, Jung, C. G. (1971). The concept of the collective unconscious. In J. Campbell (Ed.), The portable Jung (pp ). New York: Penguin Books. McGlynn, E. A., Asch, S. M., Adams, J., Keesey, J., Hicks, J., DeCristofaro, A., et al. (2003). The quality of health care delivered to adults in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 348, Rundle, R. (2002, May 1). Obesity s hidden costs. Wall Street Journal, pp. B1-B4. Stephan, W. G. (1985). Intergroup relations. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp ). New York: Random House. Wilson, E. O. (1998, March). Back from chaos. Atlantic Monthly, 281, Short Title Header 8 Place tables and figures in the text close to where they are first discussed (in manuscripts for publication they come at the end of the paper on separate pages). Tables and figures are numbered consecutively. Each table must have a descriptive title in italics and heading caps explaining the contents. Table 1 Homicides by Race of Victim: United States 1993 Race Population a Homicides Rate b Black c 29,986 12, * White 199,686 12, Other d 19, ** Total 248,710 24, Note. Data developed from the Statistical Abstract of the United States: a Population in 1000s. b Rate per 100,000 persons in the population. c The rate for Black males was 69.2, for White males 9.0. d About one-half the Other category was comprised of Asian Americans and Native Americans. *p <.05, two-tailed test. **p <.01, two-tailed test. There are three kinds of notes that may be added to a table: (a) general notes that apply to the entire table following the word Note in italics, (b) specific notes marked by superscript letters, and (c) probablitiy notes. Each type of note begins on a new line. Readers rarely study tables--make tables small, concise, focused. APA style requires the use of a serif font, such as Times Roman or Courier. A serif font has small cross bars on the letters. The APA Manual also expresses a preference for a fairly large, 12-point, font, but accepts a smaller (10-point) elite typewriter-sized font as well. Tables and figures are placed on separate pages and added to the end of a manuscript when preparing a paper for publication (copy manuscript). When preparing a final manuscript they are inserted at the appropriate place in the text. Do not break tables or figures across separate pages. Quick Study 3: APA Editorial Style Standard American English usage is sometimes ambiguous, and some conventions may not be familiar to those new to research writing. There are five topics that merit special attention: some shared by other styles, some unique to APA style. 1. Abbreviations There are two rules to note, both standard usage in research writing: (a) define acronyms, and (b) never use lowercase or Latin abbreviations in plain text. Acronyms are letters representing words. Technically APA is an initialism since each letter is pronounced separately, while NASA is a true acronym since it is pronounced as a word. Acronyms must be defined the first time they are used. For example, the American Psychological Association (APA) publishes its own style guide. This can also be written, the APA (American Psychological Association) publishes a style guide. Acronyms should be used sparingly. Unless they are very familiar, like FBI or CIA, a reader can remember just a few in the course of a research paper. If many pages come between the first usage and subsequent usage, the reader can forget what the acronym stands for. It is then prudent to give the full term and repeat the acronym a second time. The goal is to achieve clarity for the reader.

5 APA Quick Study Fall Lowercase abbreviations, and especially Latin abbreviations, are never used in a text. Latin abbreviations common in scholarly discourse, include et al. (et alii, and others), e.g. (exampli gratia, for example), etc. (et cetera, and so forth), i.e. (id est, that is), and N.B. (nota bene, take careful note). These may be used only in references or inside parentheses in the text (e.g., like this). Otherwise, write out the English equivalent, for example, like this. 2. Capitalization Rule APA style has its own rules for capitalizing words in headings and titles. Heading capitalization capitalizes the first character of all major words in a title, label, or phrase (APA, 2001, p. 94). Short articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but), and prepositions (by, in, of) are not capitalized, but all words of four characters or more are capitalized in APA style. Sentence capitalization capitalizes just the first word, the first word after a colon, and any proper nouns in a heading or title. Titles of books and articles are formatted lowercase in references (sentence caps), but when noted in the text are formatted in heading caps. Titles of books and volumes, reports, Web Pages, and the names of journals are also placed in italics. Titles of articles are placed in quotes. 3. Emphasis: Italics or Quotes? Emphasis can be added to a word or phrase by placing it in italics or quotation marks. This is done only once, when the word or phrase is first introduced. Standard and APA usage follow the same rules. Scare quotes is the term given to adding emphasis by placing a word or phrase in quotation marks. They indicate the phrase is being used ironically, or in a nonstandard sense. All other emphasis is added by placing a word or phrase in italics. Foreign words or special terms are also introduced by placing them in italics (the first time only). 4. Numbers: Figures or Words? Use figures to express numbers 10 and above and words to express numbers below 10 as long as the numbers below 10 do not express precise measurements and are not grouped with numbers above 10 (APA, 2001, p. 122). Begin a sentence. When numbers or a date are required to open a sentence, write them out. For example: Five girls and 16 boys tried out for the varsity soccer team. If you can, rewrite the sentence. Mixed numbers? Be consistent, do not mix numerals with written numbers when they refer to similar things. For example, Only 5 of the 15 people on the tour (not five of the 15 tourists) were willing to visit the city after the riot. APA style has a special set of numbers that are always written as numerals. These are numbers that represent time; dates; ages; sample, subsample, or population size; specific numbers of subjects or participants in an experiment; scores and points on a scale; exact sums of money; and numerals as numerals. Write in about 3 years; 2 weeks ago; 1 hr 34 min; at 12:30 a.m.; 2-year-olds; 3 participants [but two raters, seven observers]; 9 rats; scored 4 on a 7-point scale; were paid $5 each; the numerals on the scorecard were 0 6 (APA, 2001, p. 124). Numbers that denote a specific place in a numbered series, parts of books and tables, and each number in a list of four or more numbers are also written with numerals. Write Grade 8 [but the eighth grade; see section 3.45]; Trial 3; Table 4; page 71; chapter 5; row 5; and 1, 3, 4, and 7 words, respectively (APA, 2001, p. 125). 5. Quotations: Block Quotes? Shorter quotes are placed in quotations marks in the text. Display a longer quotation of 40 words or more as a freestanding block of typewritten lines [block quote], and omit the quotation marks (APA, 2001, p. 117). Block quotes are continuously indented from the left margin one-half inch. Single space within a block quote, double space before and after. Quotes are used most effectively when they are embedded in the flow of your text. They may be edited to do so according to rules specified in the APA Manual and abstracted in the APA Crib Sheet.