APA Documentation

1. APA Documentation A Learning Enhancement Center WorkshopCoconino Community College

2. American Psychological Association (APA) • This format is used to document papers in the social and behavioral sciences.

3. The process of documentation requires that you acknowledge those whose work you have: • Summarized • Paraphrased • Quoted in your paper.

4. Two different types of documentation are required when writing from outside sources: • In-text citations • A Reference page

5. In-text citations: • An In-text (within the paper) citation identifies where another's words, facts or ideas are being used. In-text citations are placed within parentheses.

6. The basic form of the APA in-text parenthetical citation: • Consists of an author’s last name and a date. • A comma follows the author’s name.

7. Example: • In a recent study of reaction times (Millard, 1970) no change was noticed.

8. If the author’s name is mentioned in the text: • The year of publication, in parentheses, immediately follows.

9. Examples: • When Millard (1970) compared reaction times among the participants, he noticed an increase in errors. If the year and the author are in the text: • In 1994 Pradha found improvement in short-term memory with accompanying practice.

10. Page numbers in citation: • May be given for indirect citations and MUST be given for direct quotations. A comma follows the date if page numbers are given. Page numbers are preceded by p. or pp.

11. Example: • Many others agree with the assessment that “this is a seriously flawed study” (Methasa, 1994, p.22) and do not include its data in their own work.

12. Two or more sources used in a single sentence: • While Porter (1994) suggests that the ecology of the aquifer might be hardier than suspected “given the size of the drainage area and the nature of the subsurface rock” (p. 62), there is no reason to believe that the county needs another shopping mall in a vicinity described as “one of the last outposts of undisturbed nature in the county” (Martinez, 1992, p. 28).

13. The second type of documentation needed is the Reference page: • It is a separate page at the end of the paper. Center the title “References”at the top of the page. • Include all sources cited in the paper, electronic and print. • It should have a hanging indent. • It is ordinarily double spaced. • Arrange alphabetically by author. If there is no author, alphabetize according to the first significant word in the title of the source. • Main works are italicized on the Reference page. • Capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns and adjectives in the title of a work. Within a title, capitalize the first word after a colon. • Conclude each entry with a period.

14. Reference entry for a book: • Author(s) last name, First Initial. Middle initial. followed by a period and one space • (Date of publication in parentheses). followed by a period and one space • Title of work italicized. followed by a period and one space • Place of publication: followed by a colon and one space • Publisher. followed by a period

15. Example: • Pearce, J. L. (1993). Volunteers: The organizational behavior of unpaid workers. London: Routledge.

16. Reference entry for an article in a scholarly journal or magazine: • Author, Initial(s). (date).(same as previous format) • Title of the article. (not italicized)followed by a period and one space • Name of Periodical, italicizedfollowed by a comma and space(the entire name of periodicals is capitalized) • Volume number,followed by a comma and space • Page numbers. followed by a period

17. Example: • O’Meara, J. T. (1989). Anthropology as empirical science. American Anthropologist, 91, 354-369.

18. Electronic sources: • Citing electronic sources is continuously evolving. Be advised that the goal of referencing online information is the same as for other types, to credit the author and to help your reader find the material. For further examples of APA electronic citations see the APA website: <http://www.apastyle.org>.

19. Reference entry for an online document: • Author(s). same as print and followed by a period • (Date in parentheses).followed by a period and a space • Main title of work italicized.followed by a period and space • The word “Retrieved” month day comma, year, (that you took the info. from the internet) followed by a comma • The word “from” • The <url>. followed by a period. (If you retrieved the info. from a database you must include the name of that database after the word “from” period. There is no <url> following)

20. Example of an online encyclopedia, no author : • Elk. (2003). Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved May 16, 2004, from <http://search.eb.com/>.

21. Example of an online subscription database: • Ries, M. (2002, Winter). Andre Masson: Surrealism and his discontents. Art Journal 61, 4-86. Retrieved May 20, 2004, from Academic ASAP, Gale Group database.

22. Please note: • More examples of both in-text and reference citations are available in the APA Style handout which can be found in the Learning Enhancement Center. For unusual entries check the following: • The latest publication manual for the American Psychological Association • The APA website: <http://www.apastyle.org>.

23. References • Hairston, M., Ruszkiewicz, J., & Seward, D. (1997). Coretext: A handbook for writers. New York: Longman. • Harris, M. (1997). Prentice hall reference guide to grammar and usage. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.

24. The Learning Enhancement Center is designed to serve the students of CCC. We are eager to be a facilitator of successful learning. Please let us know what your needs are and we will design ways to meet them. Thank you for attending this workshop.