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USING AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) DOCUMENTATION FORMAT
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If you are asked to use APA format, the booklet to consult is THE PUBLICATION
MANUAL OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (4th Edition). A copy of
this manual is in the Writing Center (257 Morgan Hall) and Mabee Library.
Included here is a brief summary of APA style in citing references.
In your text:
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of citation.
Include the author's last name and year of publication in your text.
- Smith (1992) compared reaction times . . . .
- In a recent study of reaction times (Smith, 1992) . . . .
- In 1992, Smith compared reaction times . . . .
For Short Quotations:
To indicate short quotations (fewer than 40 words) in your text,
enclose the quotation within double quotation marks. Provide the author,
year, and specific page citation in the text, and include a complete reference
in the reference list.
He stated, "The placebo effect disappeared when behaviors were studied
in this manner" (Smith, 1992, p. 276), but he did not clarify which
behaviors were studied.
Smith (1992) found that "the placebo effect disappeared when
behaviors were studied in this manner" (p. 276).
For Long Quotations:
Place quotations longer than 40 words in a free-standing block of
typewritten lines, and omit the quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new
line, indented five spaces from the left margin. Type the entire quotation
double-spaced on the new margin and indent the first line of any subsequent
paragraph within the quotation five spaces from the new margin.
Smith (1992) found the following:
The placebo effect disappeared when behaviors were studied in this
manner. Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again, even
when real drugs were administered. Earlier studies conducted by the
same group of researchers were clearly premature in attributing the
results to a placebo effect. (p. 276)
At the end of your paper, list in alphabetical order all the references
you cited in the text of your writing. (UNDERLINE books and journals/magazines
rather than using the tildes [squiggly lines] used in the examples below.)
For Periodicals:
Format includes name (last name first and initials rather than first name),
year of publication in parentheses, titles (only the first letter capital-
ized, with books and periodicals underlined), volume and page numbers.
Periods separate author, year, and title. Commas separate periodical and
volume number (issue number in parentheses). A period follows page numbers.
Indent first line six spaces. (See examples/some exceptions below.)
(one author) Harlo, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing
psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative
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Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.
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(two authors) Atkins, R. C. & Schiffrin, R. M. (1971). The
control of short-term memory. Scientific American,
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225 (2), 82-90.
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(no author) The blood business. (1972, September 11) Time,
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117, 47-48.
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(newspaper Eight APA journals initiate controversial blind
article
no author) reviewing. (1972, June). APA Monitor, pp. 1, 5.
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(magazine Gardner, H. (1981, December). Do babies sing a
article)
universal song? Psychology Today, pp. 70-76.
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(monograph) Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for
internal versus external control of reinforcement.
Psychological Monographs, 80 (1, Serial No. 609).
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For Books:
Format includes name (last name first and initials rather than first name),
year of publication in parentheses, title (only the first letter capital-
ized, with books and periodicals underlined), place of publication (followed
by a colon, then publisher (followed by a period). Periods separate author,
year, and title. Indent first line six spaces. (See examples/some
exceptions below.)
(one author) Bernstein, T. M. (1965). The careful writer: A
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modern guide to English usage. New York: Athenaeum.
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(two authors) Strunk, W. & White, E. B. (1979). The elements
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of style (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
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(institutional British Psychiatric Association. (1993). Styles
or corporate ~~~~~~
author) of paranoia. (Rev. ed.). London: Author.
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(edited volume) Maher, B. A. (Ed.). (1964-1972). Progress in
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experimental personality research (6 vols.).
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New York: Academic Press.
(article in Ries, A. H. (1966). Trends in physiological
edited book) psychology. In E. Stellar & J. M. Sprague (Eds.),
Progress in physiological psychology (pp. 101-103).
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New York: Academic Press.
(government Clements, S. D. (1966). Minimal brain dysfunction
publication) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
in children (NINDS Monograph No. 3, U.S. Public
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Health Service Publication No. 1415). Washington,
D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.