PPA 503 – The Public Policy-Making Process

1. PPA 503 – The Public Policy-Making Process Lecture 2c – APA Editorial Style

2. Punctuation • Period. • Use a period to end a complete sentence (also abbreviations, quotations, numbers, and references). • Comma. Use a comma • Between elements (including before and and or) in a series of three or more items. • The height, width, or depth. • To set off a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause, that is, a clause that embellishes a sentence but if removed would leave the grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence intact. • Switch A, which was on a panel, controlled the recording device.

3. Punctuation • Comma (contd.) • To separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. • Cedar shavings covered the floor, and paper was available for shredding and nest building. • To set of the year in exact dates. • April 18, 1992, was the correct date. • But, April 1992 was the correct date. • To separate groups of three digits in most numbers of 1,000 or more.

4. Punctuation • Comma (contd.). Do not use a comma • Before an essential or restrictive clause, that is, a clause that limits or defines the material it modifies. Removal of the clause would alter the meaning. • The switch that stops the recording device also controls the light. • Between the two parts of a compound predicate. • The results contradicted Smith’s hypothesis and indicated that the effect was nonsignificant. • To separate parts of measurement. • 8 years 2 months.

5. Punctuation • Semicolon. Use a semicolon • To separate two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction. • The participants in the first study were paid; those in the second were unpaid. • To separate elements in a series that already contains commas. • The color order was red, yellow, blue; blue, yellow, red; or yellow, red, blue.

6. Punctuation • Colon. Use a colon • Between a grammatically complete introductory clause (one that could stand as a sentence) and a final phrase or clause that illustrates, extends, or amplifies the preceding thought. If the clause following the colon is a complete sentence, it begins with a capital letter. • For example, Freud (1930/1961) wrote of two urges: an urge toward union with others and an egoistic urge toward happiness. • They have agreed on the outcome: Informed participants perform better than do uninformed participants.

7. Punctuation • Colon (contd.). Do not use a colon • After an introduction that is not a complete sentence. • The policy alternatives included The status quo, which reflected the current policy choices, Alternative A, which required direct intervention, and Alternative B, which required indirect intervention.

8. Punctuation • Dash • Use a dash to indicate only a sudden interruption in the continuity of a sentence. Do not overuse. • These two alternatives—reducing benefits and disqualifying recipients—significantly reduced the size of the program. • Quotation marks • Use double quotation marks • To introduce a word or phrase used as an ironic comment, as slang, or as an invented or coined expression. Use only the first time cited. • Considered “normal” behavior. • The “good-outcome” variable . . . The good-outcome variable.

9. Punctuation • Quotation marks (contd.) • To reproduce material from a test item or verbatim instructions to participants. • The first question was “what is your gender?” Use italics and not double quotation marks • Identify the anchors of a scale. • To cite a letter, word, phrase, or sentence as a linguistic example. • To introduce a technical or key term.

10. Punctuation • Parentheses Use parentheses • To set off structurally independent elements • The patterns were significant (see Figure 5). • To set off reference citations in text. • Kingdon (2003) suggests • To introduce an abbreviation • The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) • To set off letters that identify items in a series within a sentence or paragraph. • The policies include (a) welfare policy, (b) energy policy, and (c) defense policy.

11. Punctuation • Parentheses (contd.) Do not use parentheses • To enclose material within other parentheses (use brackets to enclose material within parentheses). • (the Department of Housing and Urban Development [DHUD]). • Back to back. • (e.g., policy learning; May 1990).

12. Punctuation • Brackets Use brackets • to enclose parenthetical material that is already within parentheses. • (The results for the control group [n=8] appear in Figure 2.) • Exception: do not use brackets if the meaning is clear using commas. • Not (as Imai [1990] later concluded) • But (as Imai, 1990, later concluded) • to enclose material inserted in a quotation by someone other than the author. • “when [the author’s] words are quoted” (Dummy, 1995, p. 151).

13. Punctuation • Slash Do not use a slash • When a phrase would be clearer. • Not: Smith acted as a supervisor/mentor. • But: Smith acted as a supervisor or mentor. • For simple comparisons. Use a hyphen or short das (en dash) instead. • Test-retest reliability • Not: test/retest reliability.

14. Spelling • Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is the standard spelling reference for APA journals and books. • The more comprehensive version is the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. • Plural forms of Latin or Greek origin Singular Plural Appendix appendices Cannula cannulas Datum data Matrix matrices Phenomenon phenomena Schema schemas

15. Spelling • Hyphenation • Use the dictionary to determine the use of hyphens in compound words. • Follow-up is a noun or adjective, but follow up is a verb. • If a compound is in a dictionary, it is considered a permanent compound (e.g., high school, caregiver, and self-esteem). • Spelling can also change (life-style became lifestyle; data base became database).

16. Spelling • General principles of hyphenation • Do not use a hyphen unless it serves a purpose. If a compound adjective cannot be misread, do not use a hyphen. • Grade point average. • Health care reform. • In a temporary compound that is used as an adjective before a noun, use a hyphen if the term can be misread or if the term expresses a single thought (all words modify the noun). • Different-word lists (lists of different words). • Different word lists (different lists of words). • Most compound adjective rules are applicable only when the compound adjective precedes the term it modifies. If it follows the term, do not use a hyphen. • Client-centered advice. • But: the advice was client centered.

17. Spelling • General principles of hyphenation. • Write most words with prefixes as one word; however, there are exceptions. • When two or more compound modifiers have a common base, this base is sometimes omitted in all except the last modifier, but the hyphen is retained.

18. Capitalization • Words beginning a sentence • The first word of a complete sentence. • The first word after a colon that begins a complete sentence. • Major words in titles and headings • Not conjunctions, articles, or short prepositions, but all words four letters or longer. Capitalize all verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. When a capitalized word is hyphenated, capitalize both words. Capitalize the first word after a colon or dash in the title. • Major words in article headings and subheadings. • Major words in table titles and figure legends. • References to titles of sections within the same article.

19. Capitalization • Proper nouns and trade names. • Proper nouns and adjectives and words used as proper nouns. • Names of departments if they refer to a specific department. • Trade and brand names of drugs, equipment, food, programs, etc. • Do not capitalize names of laws, theories, models, or hypotheses (except retain uppercase in proper names).

20. Capitalization • Nouns followed by numerals or letters. • On Day 2 of Experiment 4. • Do not capitalize nouns that denote common parts of books or tables followed by numerals or letters. • Titles of tests • Capitalize complete, exact titles of published and unpublished tests. • Do not capitalize shortened, inexact, or general titles of tests

21. Italics • Use italics for • Titles of books, periodicals, and microfilm publications. • Genera, species, and varieties. • Introduction to a new, technical, or key term or label (do not italicize after the first use). • Letter, word, or phrase used as a linguistic example. • Words that could be misread. • Periodical volume numbers in reference lists.

22. Italics • Do not use italics • Foreign phrases and abbreviations (ad lib, et al., per se, vis-à-vis. • Greek letters. • Mere emphasis.

23. Abbreviations • Use abbreviations sparingly. • Do not overuse because it creates confusion. • Do not underuse. If you introduce an abbreviation, and only use it two or three times subsequently, you are better spelling it out in all cases. • Explain the abbreviation the first time, and use the abbreviation subsequently. • Some abbreviations are in dictionaries. They can be used without explanation. • IQ, REM, ESP, AIDS, HIV, NADP, ACTH. • Use the standard Latin abbreviations only inside parentheses. Spell out the English equivalent in the main text (e.g., use and so forth for etc.).