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Some APA Guidelines

Originally created 12/03/02, Updated December 14, 2003

This information is intended as a quick reference for the 5th edition of the APA manual. It is NOT a substitute for the APA Manual, 5th Edition. If you wish to download and use this information on your computer, the instructions for both these tasks can be found in the document on downloading files from the web.

A great tutorial can be found at APA Interactive Tutorial
http://www.kevinschoepp.ca/APAtutorial/contents.htm

See APA Online for more information. (Added October 4, 2006)
http://www.apastyle.org/elecsource.html#88

Items Featured

Excellent help can also be found at:

What is APA and Why Do We Have to Use It?

APA, which stands for the American Psychological Association, is one of the styles of scholarly writing that provide a format for scholarly papers and for quotes, citations, and references. Most nursing schools and many journals have selected the APA style. In scholarly writing you are creating new knowledge by synthesizing the published ideas of others and adding your interpretations. Or you are using information from publications in an effort to persuade or inform others, or to provide support for a given position. To avoid plagiarizing, unless an idea is well known in your discipline, you must always give credit for ideas that originated in other sources.

Become familiar with the APA manual. In both the table of contents and the index the 5th edition APA manual lists topics both by pages and section numbers. The manual provides a textual explanation and an example for each type of reference. These guidelines only contain examples of some of the more common ones.

Some like to purchase an APA program for use with a word processor. A more economical purchase is a reference program such as End Note which permits you to store references from an electronic bibliographic index and will provide references for a paper in any desired format including APA.

The APA style of reference and paper format is not difficult to learn. If you have previously used other methods, one thing that you may find different is the list of references. You can only include in the reference list items that have been cited in the text itself. Should you want to include others that may have guided your thinking, or would provide more information for a reader, they must be listed on a separate page under the title "Bibliography."

Examples of all pages in an APA paper can be found in the APA manual on pages 306 to page 320.

Excellent help can also be found at:

Title Page

The title should summarize the main ideas of the paper in a simple, concise terminology. (See page 10 in the 5th APA manual.) The title page is numbered page one. It contains a header that contains a brief description of the paper, a running head not to exceed 50 characters and identifying information. See page 306 for a sample (the circles on these examples give sections where more information can be found about a given part of the example) and page 296 for more formatting instructions.

Header Information

The header (Information on how to create one using a word processor) contains a brief (one to five words) description of the paper and the page number. It is placed on each page. The text may be the same as the running head on the title page or different. Right justify the the header text from the page number by five spaces. (See pages 310+ for examples.)

Identifying Information

This is the author's name with no letter credentials (e.g. not RN, BSN etc.), and the institutional affiliation, each on a separate line. This information should be centered top to bottom on the page. (Instructions for creating a vertically centered page.)

Abstract

The abstract is well described on page 12 and 298 in the APA manual. Readers often decide whether to read an article based on the abstract, and, some only read an abstract (A dangerous precedent if you are using it for a citation.). In some cases, as a student you may not need to include an abstract for a formal paper. However, unless told otherwise assume that one is needed.

The Document

The document begins on page 3 with the title centered (See page 307 5th edition APA manual for an example.)

Headings

A well developed document contains sections that are marked off with headings. A good heading can save many words by eliminating the need for elaborate transitions. You still should be sure that each section leads into the next one. Creating and using an outline of what you intend to write provides great headings. The outline will probably change as you develop the paper, but it will still provide ideas for headings.

Headings are formatted differently depending on the number of levels in the paper. In the APA 5th edition manual see pages 113 - 115 and 289 to 290 for information on the format.

Citations

Text citations are an important part of the document. A citation is a quick and dirty reference in the text of a document that the reader can use to locate the full reference on the reference page. They are used to credit others with ideas that they have published which provide support for what you write, as well as to enable your readers to follow up on ideas about which you have written. The information in a citation is usually a paraphrase of what an author has written, not a quote. Quotations are cited differently.

A citation provides the authors' last name and the date the document was written.

Unless one is using a quote, one is not required to include a page number In the citation. It does, however, lend even more support to your writing. Also, it provides you with specific help for locating the information when you want to be sure that you have cited correctly, or when you need to further explore the topic. In general, it is a good habit to develop. Interestingly, in the 5th edition APA manual it says "When paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another work, authors are not required [but] are encouraged to do so, [include page numbers in a citation] especially when it would help an interested reader locate the relevant passage in a long text." (APA 5th edition, p. 121) In other words, it is never wrong, and is a good habit. ( This is a quote and a page number is required.)

Secondary Sources: Citations should be primary sources, that is, the citation should be from a reading that you personally have read and have in hand, or have read on the Web. Occasionally, it is necessary to use what is called a secondary source, such as when the source is difficult to find (i.e. it is foreign, very old, or from proceedings of a conference).

For example, if you read in an article by Greene published in the American Journal of Nursing in 2002, the text, "Graves and Corcoran (1989) state that etc." and you use the information without looking at the original, you are using a secondary source. You would cite this as (Graves and Corcoran as cited in Greene, 2002).

Page 247 in the 5th edition APA manual provides more information about secondary sources. In the reference list you would only include the primary source, that is, both the Greene and Graves and Corcoran article would be listed.

Contents of a citation

In the APA style, a text citation contains the author's last name, but no initials, and year of publication from which the idea or fact that was stated originated. If more than one author has written the same thought, both sources are noted. If there is no author, a few words from the title are used to allow the reader to find it in the reference list.

Citation for an author when the author's name is not used in the text.
E.G. Regulatory barriers in Europe are generally lower than those in the U.S. (Barnett, 2001)

Citation for an author when you use the authors name in the text
E.G. Barnett (2001) writes that regulatory barriers in Europe are generally lower than those in the U.S.

Citations differ depending on how many authors the source has.

For one or two authors: Cite the authors every time you use the reference.
E.g. (Graves & Corcoran, 1989)

If there are three to five authors, cite all authors the first time and in subsequent citations cite the first author followed by et al., not underlined and with a period after the al, followed by the year. (APA, 1994)

If there are 6 or more authors, in text citations, just use the first author and "et al." In the reference list you must include ALL the authors.

If the author(s)' name is used in the text of the paper, add the year in parentheses after the author's name.
E.g. Graves and Corcoran (1980) tell us that.....

For no author. Cite the first few words of the title in the reference list and the year.
E.G. The House Committee(Healthcare Begins, 2006).

Citation of a chapter in an edited book.

When the source is a chapter in an edited book, or a chapter in a book in which the primary author is not the author of the chapter that you are citing, cite the authors' of the chapter and the date of publication of the book. In the reference list, you will cite the author of the chapter and the book. (For how to reference)

Placement of citation

Text citations are placed in the document at the place where the idea appears. Place the citation at the end of the first sentence that uses information from the source.

Same Citation in a Paragraph

There are times when you use the same source in a paragraph. In this case, cite it the first time you use it, then you do not need to cite it again unless you intersperse it with a different citation.

When to Cite

Citing sources is especially important if the thoughts are "new." For example, we all know that informatics is changing health care. If you use an idea which is fairly well known, you do not need to cite it, but when you find information or ideas that are new such as, "Informatics is going to provide us with the ability to determine which treatments are effective and which are ineffective." You should cite the source. When in doubt cite!

Knowing the purposes that citations serve should help you decide when to cite. The purposes of citations are:

  1. To preserve intellectual property rights, that is, writers who generate ideas and text are given appropriate credit.
  2. To provide credibility for your statements. When a reader sees a citation in your text the reader know that this information is not only stated by you, but that another shares the same thought. It helps tie your paper into the literature.
  3. To serve as a reference for those interested in more information about the topic. This is especially true if the topic is one that is not widely disseminated. You may already be aware of this because when writing a paper you have used references in an article for more information. This writer often finds that these sources do not turn up in any bibliographic search, yet are rich sources of information.
  4. When the ideas of another are used in a paper, it is plagiarism if credit is not given to the originator of the idea.

For more information and examples of right and wrong uses of citations see Using Information from Other Sources in Formal Writing.

For citations from an electronic source see Using Online Electronic Sources

Quotes

When you use the exact wording of another writer for more than one or two words you are using a quote. Not citing the quote is plagiarism. Do not place anything between the end of the quote and the citation. (See the APA manual p. 292.) A citation for a quote should look like this:

(Graves & Corcoran, 1989, p. 227)

It is usually better to paraphrase (put in your own worlds) and cite the source than to quote. Use quotations sparingly.

If you are quoting something that is not a complete sentence, use ellipsis (...) to show that material has been omitted. Or, if you omit sentences in a quote, use the ellipsis to indicate the missing material. In any case be sure that what remains of the quote both makes sense and fits the point you were illustrating with the quote.

If you have used a quotation in any document that will be published anywhere, it is necessary to get the written permission of the owner of the copyright. For journals and books , this is generally the publisher. For Web pages look for a contact. Today it is assumed that anything that is published anywhere, including on the Web (Including this document) is copyrighted. Do not hesitate to ask for permission, in 99% of the cases, the publisher is delighted to give permission because it is publicity for the work.

Quotes from Electronic Sources:

Quoting from electronic sources requires different approaches for citing the location. (For more information see pages 120-121 of the 5th edition APA manu al..)

If the paper is in the PDF format and you are reading it with Acrobat reader, then you can use a page number just as you would in a print resource.

If the document is an html file:

Using Online Electronic Sources.

Electronic sources present interesting dilemmas when using them for citations. For one, Web sources are often not permanent, or they change URLs (addresses). To protect yourself, it is recommended that when you use an online source, you print the source. The printed source should contain both the date it was printed and the URL from which it was retrieved. Then you can always defend yourself that indeed it was an accurate citation.(Use good document evaluation techniques and be sure that your source is reliable.)

Another option is to download it to your computer. The drawback to the later is that the URL will not be available, nor will the date that you retrieved the document, so make a note of it. If you print it, print it from its original site, otherwise the URL will not be available.

With experience one learns which resources will most likely be temporary. Any site whose home page features many different links in different boxes probably changes the information frequently. This includes ezines (these are different from online journals) and newspapers. In general, any reference from a page that presents current events will probably be available only briefly.

Another dilemma occurs with the use of frames. A frame is an overriding file that stays on the screen while other files load in space it provides. In these cases, it is difficult to ascertain the true URL of a page. To determine if frames are being used, check the URL in the location (Netscape) or address (Internet Explorer) bar in your browser, then click on a link. If the URL does not change, a frame is being used. (You can get out of the frame by right clicking on the link, and selecting open in another window from the drop down menu.) When frames are used, it may be difficult for a reader to find the source of the citation. For this reason it is safest to print the resource. Also, try to reconstruct how you reached this resource, and make a note of that for future use.

Citing an electronic source.

To cite an electronic source, follow the rules for regular citations as much as possible. If an author name is not available, use the title of the document. If the year is not found using one of the three methods from Discovering a Date for a Web Page, use "n.d." (without the quotes) where the date would be.

It is strongly suggested that when you place an URL (web address) for a citation in a document that you use copy and paste for the URL. (Directions for copying and pasting an URL.) A copied and pasted URL is always correct.

Reference List (See pages 235+ in the 5th edition APA Manual)

The reference list starts on a separate page headed by the centered word "References." Use a forced page to be sure that the references remain on a separate page after you edit the document. The list must be alphabetized by author, or if their is no author, the title.

Contents

Only include resources that are cited in the text. If you have used other items as indirect sources, or you wish to provide a further reading list, create a separate list, on a separate page called "Bibliography."

Format

Each paragraph should be a hanging paragraph, that is the first line is outdented 5 spaces to the left margin of the other lines. (How to create a hanging paragraph.)

Italics and Case

All titles of journals or books, not articles or chapter names, should be in italics. For some odd reason, book titles only have the first word of the title capitalized (exception is the first word after a colon. Journal names are always capitalized.

Some Formats:

Journal:

Elliot, D. D. (1995). Promoting critical thinking in the classroom.
      Nurse Educator 21 (2), 49-52.

In the above, 21 is the volume number and 2 is the issue number, while 49-52 are page numbers.

Book:

Thede, L. Q. (2003). Informatics and Nursing: Opportunities and Challenges. 
       Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins..

In the above note the capitalization of the word after the colon. This format is used for titles for all references.

Chapter in Book not written by authors listed on cover:

Brennan, P. F. & Casper, G. R. (1995). Modeling for decision support. In M. J. Ball, 
       K. J. Hannah,S. K Newbold & J. V. Douglas (Eds.), Nursing informatics: 
       Where caring and technology meet. (Pp. 287 - 294.). New York: Springer-Verlag.

(In above, note placement of initials for editors. Should the reference just be a chapter in a book that is otherwise written by one author, omit the letters "Ed.")

Electronic Reference.

The format for an electronic reference is essentially the same as for print. If the document is a reprint from a print source, be sure to cite the original source and you should also add [Electronic Version].

Example for an online article: (Note titles are in italics! Also note the use of Upper and lower case.)

 Gordon, M. (Sept. 30, 1998): Nursing nomenclature and classification system
        development Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved January 21, 2001
        from http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/tpc7/tpc7_1.htm.

Example of an online article that is a reprint from a print source.

Graves. J. R. & Corcoran,  S. (1989). The study of nursing informatics. [Electronic
        Version] IMAGE:Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 21, (4), 227-231. Retrieved
        January 23, 2001 from http://www.nih.gov/ninr/research/vol4/Overview.html 
Using fonts effectively in your multimedia presentation. (n.d.). Retrieved 
       November 3, 1999 from http://www.presentersuniversity.com/cgi/
       course.cgi?site=fonts.html&list=visaids.html.

If the citation is from an online journal, cite the same way you would a journal, but include the date it was retrieved and the URL. If you retrieved an article online from a print journal through a library Web site that is connected with an agency for which you work or an educational institution for which you work, cite as you would a print article, but add [Electronic version], but omit the URL and date retrieved. In this case using the URL is useless because no one outside your agency can access this article.

See the 5th edition APA manual page 268+ for more information about electronic resources.

Additionally, there is an excellent discussion of electronic citations at
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

Plagiarism

The 4th edition of the APA manual stated: "...there are basic ethical principles that underlie all formal writing. These long-standing ethical principles are designed to achieve two goals.

  1. To ensure the accuracy of scientific and formal writing and
  2. To protect intellectual property rights." (APA, 1994, p. 292.)"

For a discussion of this topic, see page 349 of the 5th edition APA manual. Suffice it to say that plagiarism often results in disciplinary action.

More Resources

 

Acronyms

When using an acronym, the first time it is used in the document proper, write it out in full and put the acronym in parentheses after the full name. e.g.

American Nurses Association (ANA)

Discovering a Date for a Web Page.

Too many web page designers fail to use dates on their pages. There are, however, three possible ways to find a date. Don't use n.d. (no date) unless you have tried all three.

  1. Look at the entire page - there is apt to be a date near the top or bottom.
    • If there is a date for an update use that unless there is a date for the original.
    • Use the copyright date if there is no update date. Copyrights are often renewed for an entire site every year, thus this is not necessarily a good date to use.
  2. If you are using Netscape click on View>Page Information and check the date which may or may not be there.
  3. Find a contact somewhere on the cite and send an email message asking what the date is for the page that you wish to use. Be sure to include the page title and URL in your request.

Citation (and reference) Maker. An off site place that formats a citation and the reference for the reference list when you provide the correct information. Note, this cite only formats the citation, it does not tell you where to place the citation, or if you should place it. Nor does it provlde the correct capitalization. Not helpful for many online sources. Best bet - learn this information!
http://citationmachine.net/index.php

For questions or broken links please email the author .

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Copyright 2003/2008 Linda Q. Thede
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