full meaning of apa in research

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What is APA?

In this section we are going to look at how you can set up a paper in APA style. Specifically, we are going to look at citing books and journal articles within your research paper.

APA is the style of documentation of sources used by the American Psychological Association. This form of writing research papers is used mainly in the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, sociology, as well as education and other fields.

How Does APA Style Work?

When working with APA there are two things to keep in mind: in-text citations and the reference page. In-text citations will use the author's name and the date within your research paper. These citations will refer back to the reference page at the end, which lists all the sources that you may have used in your research paper.

Note: If you are assigned a research paper in APA style for one of your courses, it's a good idea to ask your instructor the questions below. He or she will be able to explain details about the requirements for the paper. For now, we will go over the basic instructions of how to use in-text citations and how to set up the reference page.

When Would I Have to Cite a Source in APA?

Anytime you summarize, paraphrase, or quote information from another source, like passages from books or articles in an academic journal, you are required to list within your text the author's name and the year the article was published. There are a couple of ways this can be arranged. Here are a few examples.

• Another theory came from the idea of the “matching hypothesis.” This was presented by Goffman (1952), who believed that men had the tendency to choose spouses who were of similar social status. The sums of these attributes include are social skills, wealth, power, intelligence, attractiveness, and other skills that are valued in society.

With the example above, the writer puts the author's last name in the text and immediately after it puts the date in parentheses.

• In 1971 Berscheid, Dion, Walster, and Walster conducted another “computer date” dance. This time they paired similar attractive persons together for the date. An independent panel of judges assessed the attractiveness of each of the subjects.

Here, the authors' names and the date of publication are both put into the body of the text, without using parentheses.

Citing a Journal Article

If i cite a journal article in the body of my text does it mean that the authors of that journal article agree with the arguments in my paper.

No, not necessarily. Dr. Sadler, a professor in the psychology department at IUP, states that you can cite articles that will agree or disagree with your ideas. He goes on to say:

• The agreement or disagreement should be conveyed by your wording. For example, “This interpretation is consistent with findings by Smith and Jones (1999) . . . .” Or, you might say, “If my prediction is confirmed, it would falsify the theory of episodic memory proposed by Tulving (1984)” Or, “A number of researchers do not agree with this view (e.g., Brown, 1993; Stevens, 1992; Treisman, 1994).”

So, not only can you use journal articles to support your ideas, but you can also use them to show that some authors do not agree with your ideas or have ideas different from yours.

Preparing to Cite A Source

How do i let the reader know that i am about to cite a source.

To let the reader know that a journal article is about to be cited in the body of your paper, you can use signal phrases that are appropriate for the ideas you want to express. These words include: adds, argues, claims, denies, illustrates, grants, notes, observes, suggests, etc. You could also use the standard “said.”

This is expressed in the sample below:

• In an influential article, Terrace, Petitto, Sanders and Bever (1979) argued that the apes in the language experiments were not using language spontaneously but were merely imitating their trainers, responding to conscious or unconscious cues.

References Page

What is the references page and how is it put together.

The References page lists all the sources you have cited in your paper. The entry for a journal article should look like this:

• Berscheid, E., Dion, K. K., Walster, E., and Walster, G. W. (1971). Physical attractiveness and dating choice: A test of the matching hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , 7, 173-189.

As you can see in the example above, the authors' names appear first (last name, first name). Then the year of publication is given in parentheses. Then the title is listed (with only the first word of the title, the first word after the colon, and proper nouns capitalized). Then the name of the journal (in italics) is listed, the volume number, and finally, the pages of the article.

For a book, the entry looks like this:

• Schaller, G. B. (1993). The Last Panda . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

In the example above, the author's name is listed (last name, first name), then the date, followed by the title with only the first word capitalized, the city of publication, and then the name of the publisher.

Written by Mariel Lorenz This guide for APA was adapted from: Hacker, D. (2003). A Writer' Reference . (5th ed.). Boston: St. Martin's. American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Updated January 28, 2005 by Renee Brown

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What is APA Style?

The APA (American Psychological Association) style format is the preferred citation style for social science research papers. What does APA style mean? APA style is a set of guidelines for writing and formatting research papers in psychology and related fields. APA is frequently used in the fields of economics, criminology, political science, sociology, business, and pedagogy. When we talk about APA style in research, we are talking about the rules for what a research paper must contain and how it should be written. APA provides specific guidelines for nearly all aspects of manuscript formatting, from font choice to margins and punctuation.

Why Do We Use APA Style? We use APA style for several important reasons. First, APA is referred to as a citation style because it includes specific rules for how the references you cite should be formatted and indicated in your research paper. Proper citation ensures that you will never be accused of plagiarism and lets others who read your paper understand where you got your information. Second, APA style provides style and writing guidelines to make sure that your research paper is easy to read and has all of the necessary elements. The primary purpose of APA style is to promote scientific communication by facilitating clarity of expression and standardizing the organization and content of manuscript formatting.

What Does APA Style Include? So, what is included in an APA style research paper? In fact, APA style has three levels. The first level dictates organization. The second level addresses writing style and language use. The third level deals with mechanics such as punctuation. Let’s begin with the first level - organization.

Level 1 - Organization

An APA style research paper must include:

• A title page - limit your title to a maximum of 12 words and avoid the use of abbreviations and unnecessary words
• An abstract - the abstract should discuss the topic under study, the research questions, any subjects of the research, your research methods, the findings/results, analysis of the data, and your conclusions
• An introduction - address the problem and premise upon which the research was based
• Your methodology - explain in detail how you did your research
• Your results - explain what you found
• A discussion - talk about what your findings mean
• References - a list of the sources you cited

There are more specific guidelines for the manuscript formatting of abstracts and title pages, many examples of which can easily be found by referring to the APA Manual of Style.

Level 2 - Writing Style

An APA style research paper should be written formally. Your intended audience is other academics, your colleagues, and you want to communicate with them very clearly and professionally. This means:

• No pop culture references
• Minimize literary devices (metaphors, irony, imagery, etc.)
• Be direct and straightforward
• Use technical terms, but only where appropriate
• Avoid biased language

In other words, your writing should sound as clear and neutral as possible. It is recommended that you avoid using colorful language to try to sound fancy. For example, if you had your research subjects jump up and down on one leg for ten minutes, say so. Don’t try to use complex phrasing like “participants utilized a unipedal movement to propel themselves off of the ground and then return to land.” With regard to biased language, always use gender-inclusive language (firefighters vs. firemen). Use specific group labels (Asian Americans vs. minorities) and avoid euphemisms (adults with learning disabilities vs. special adults). It’s always a good idea to Google search any terms you want to use if you aren’t sure whether they are offensive or not.

Level 3 - Mechanics

APA style manuscript formatting demands the use of double-spacing and 8.5 x 11 paper with 1-inch margins. Times New Roman 12pt font is recommended. There are a large number of specific recommendations for proper manuscript formatting of an APA style paper, which can be found in the APA Manual of Style. Some of the most common recommendations include:

• Use title case for headings
• Use numerals for numbers 10 and above
• Hyphenate compound adjectives that precede a noun (fact-checking organization, not fact checking organization)
• Spell out a term before introducing its abbreviation in parentheses (the United Nations (UN))
• Left align all tables and figures
• Use in-text citations for sources
• Use footnotes sparingly

What is APA Citation?

Citation in APA style follows a specific format. In general, you should cite citations in the text and then provide the full citation in the “References” section at the end of your paper. Note that APA style requires this section to be titled “References.” “Works Cited” or “Bibliography” is not an acceptable alternative in APA style manuscript formatting .

Citation style will differ somewhat depending on whether you are citing a journal article, book, blog entry, news article, conference paper, social media post, or some other type of media. For the sake of a simple example, we will cite a journal article here.

In-text Citation Example

• According to some scholars (Lee, 2005), civil society in South Korea plays a divisive rather than a unifying role in the nation’s fledgling democracy.
• Lee (2005) argues that civil society in South Korea plays a divisive rather than a unifying role in the nation’s fledgling democracy.

References Citation Example

Lee, S. J. (2005). Democratization and polarization in Korean society. Asian Perspective , 99-125.

Fortunately, you don’t need to worry about memorizing the tricky details of APA citation for every media format you might cite in your research paper. Citation generators abound online that can do the job for you. However, it’s always a good idea to double-check the APA Manual of Style to make sure your references are cited correctly.

Now that you know what APA style is all about, you’re ready to write a great research paper! Remember, there are numerous online sources that can help you format your citations. Always check the APA Manual of Style or ask your professor or advisor for help if you need it. Once you get the hang of it, writing in APA style will come naturally to you.

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APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)

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APA Citation Style Overview

Home » APA Citation Style Overview

What is APA Style?

APA Style is a set of conventions and standards for written communications put forth by the American Psychological Association. These standards allow for ease of communication between authors and readers, similar to the way physicists or mathematicians use universal symbols to make communication easier.

APA Style is primarily used in academic settings for research papers among university students and faculty.

APA Style has standards concerning,

• Format and page layout (margins, headings, page numbers, etc.)
• Stylistic considerations (spelling, abbreviations, punctuation, footnotes, etc.)
• Citing Sources
• Preparing a finished product for publication

Why Should I Use APA Style?

As with anything you write, you must keep you audience in mind. Who will be reading your work? In APA Style, you will find a set of conventions that, when adhered to, allow for the ease of communication. Using one set style type allows readers to navigate their way through your work with ease and follow your arguments, citations, and source materials.

Can you imagine if every researcher in a given discipline used a different method of source citation? Think of all the wasted time the reader would spend just trying to understand the organization of the paper, let alone the arguments being put forth.

The APA Style allows for a consistent, uniform presentation of a paper’s findings so that the maximum amount of time can be spent on the content, not the formatting.

Who Uses APA Style?

APA Style is primarily used in the social sciences but is also used elsewhere.

• Public Health

All major styles have formatting requirements for how the text should appear on your page. This allows for ease of reading and a consistent experience across papers.

• Margins should be one inch from the top, bottom, left, and right of the paper. (1 inch = 2.5cm)
• Page numbers should be set at one-half inch (1.25 cm) from the upper right hand corner and flush with the right margin.
• The running head of the paper should be set one-half inch (1.25 cm) from the upper left hand corner and flush with the left margin.

Except for the running title and pages numbers, the margins on an APA Style papers should be one inch at the top and bottom and on both sides of the text.

The first word of every paragraph should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This can be accomplished in Microsoft Word and other word processors by hitting the “tab” key.

Text Formatting

• Font: APA Style prefers Times New Roman
• Size: 12-point font size
• Do not justify the text
• Double-space the entire research paper
• Leave one space after a period (unless instructor prefers two)

When writing a paper in APA Style or any other style, you should always choose a font that is easy to read. You also want to pick a typeface that has a clear contrast between its regular and italic style . APA Style prefers using Times New Roman, but if your instructor specifies something different, follow his/her guidelines.

Next you will want to pick a standard size to use, 12-point font when using APA. Again, if your academic department or teacher has its own standard, use that.

Your paper should be double-spaced throughout its entirety, including quotations, notes, and onto your references page, and appendix.

Finally, leave one space, not two, after each period or other concluding punctuation mark unless your teacher prefers otherwise.

Order of an APA Style Research Paper

• Abstract (start on separate page numbered page 2)
• Text (start on separate page numbered page 3)
• References (start on separate page)
• Tables (start on separate page)
• Figures (start on separate page)
• Appendices (start on separate page)

Unlike MLA Style, which has an optional title page, APA Style requires all research papers to feature a title page. As such, they also have specific formatting requirements for how that title page should look.

A title page in APA Style has five elements:

• Running Head
• Author Byline
• Institutional Affiliation
• Author’s Note.

The running head is an abbreviated version of your title that will be at the top of every page of your paper. It should be set one-half inch (1.25 cm) from the upper left hand corner and flush with the left margin.

The top of your title page should also include a right-aligned page number, which will always be “1” since this will be your first page.

Your paper’s title should be a few spaces down on your paper and centered. Underneath the title, list your name and institutional affiliation.

Your title should not be underlined, in quotations, bolded, or in all capitals. Only primary words should be capitalized, and you should only italicize words that would appear in italics in your text. For example,

• My Opinion on Huckleberry Finn
• Attitudes Toward Race Relations in To Kill A Mockingbird

APA Style recommends that your title be less than 12 words. Do not use a period after your title or after any of the headings in your paper.

The last item to be included on a title page is the author’s note. The author’s note appears with printed scholarly articles. It identifies the author’s departmental affiliation, provides acknowledgements, states any disclaimers or possible conflicts of interest, and provides contact information for the reader. The author’s note is different than the abstract and is generally not required on student papers.

If you are an undergraduate student, default not to include an author’s note.

The abstract is a concise summary of the entire article. Think of it like an executive summary. A good abstract will identify the problem discussed in the article, indentify the parties involved in the study, briefly mention methodology, and outline the findings and conclusion.

Most scholarly journals require an abstract, but many undergraduate professors do not. Check with each instructor on whether or not they want an abstract included.

Your paper should be double-spaced throughout, and on all text pages, the running head of your paper should appear as seen below.

Page Numbers

• Place page number on all pages, including cover page.
• Page numbers should be one-half inch from top right of paper and flush with the right margin.

Each page on your paper should have an ordered number in the top right hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. This includes your cover page.

Also, appearing flush with your left margin should be the shortened title of your research paper. If you do not have a shortened title, include the first few words or your regular title.

Tables and Figures

In APA Style, single and one-and-a-half spacing is acceptable in tables.

Any tables or figures mentioned in text should also appear in a separate section following the references page.

Citations and Reference List

Properly documenting your sources is extremely important. Not only does it avoid accidental plagiarism, but it also allows the reader to see whom you are referencing.

In APA Style, you cite your sources with parenthetical citations in your text that reference a chronological list that follows your research paper called a references page.

These parenthetical citations are called “in-text citations” and there are a few ways you can do them.

In APA Style the in-text citations provide at least the author’s last name and the year of publication. If you are not directly quoting the material or if you are referencing an entire book, article, or other work, you do not need to include a page number. However, if you are using direct quotes or paraphrasing a material, you should include a page number.

The examples below will include page numbers.

Author Not Mentioned In Text (Name, Year, Page)

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years (Smith, 2005, p. 87).

Author Mentioned in Text (Year)…(Page)

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about by various authors such as John Smith for years (2005, p. 87).

Author with Same Last Name as Others in References List (Initial + Name, Year, Page)

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years (J. Smith, 2005, p. 87).

Two Authors (Name & Name, Year, Page)

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years (Smith & Colson, 2005, p. 87).

Three-Five Authors

First citation: (name, name,…, & name, year, page).

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years (Smith, Colson, & Brown, 2005, p. 87).

Subsequent Citation: (Name et al., Year, Page)

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years (Smith et al., 2005, p. 87).

Six or More Authors (Name et al., Year, Page)

Work without an author (short title, year, page).

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years ( Title of Book , 2005, p. 87).

Multiple Citations with Different Authors (Cite; Cite; Cite)

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years (Smith et al., 2005; Johnson et al., 2009).

Multiple Citations With the Same Author (Name, Year, Year, …, Year)

• This idea is nothing new and has been talked about for years (Smith, 2005, 2009, 2011).

Footnotes are minimally used in APA Style to provide additional content or to acknowledge copyright permission status. They are not used for citations.

Reference List Page

Your reference page should immediately follow your paper’s text. Any source that you use in your paper should appear in an alphabetized list on this page. Here are the basic guidelines,

• Entries are in alphabetical order by authors’ last name, or by title for sources without authors.
• Author’s first name is always reduced to initials.
• Entries should be double-spaced and have a period at the end.
• In article titles, only capitalize the first word and proper nouns. *
• Use the ampersand “&” instead of “and” for entries with multiple authors.
• Use p. or pp. to abbreviate paper number.
• The first line of an entry is flush with the left margin. If an entry goes on to two lines, indent it one-half inch.
• Italicize, not underline, books.

In APA Style titles of articles in a newspaper or online are treated just like a sentence. Only the first word is capitalized. If there is a colon, the first word after colon is also capitalized. Proper nouns are capitalized too, just like a sentence.

Citation Examples

Below are specific examples and guides you can use for creating your own citations from sources in the following mediums.

Citing Books

Basic format.

Author Name. (Year of publication). Title and subtitle . City of publication: Name of publisher.

Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird . New York: Grand Central Publishing.

If the book was produced by an organization, not an individual, list the organization as the author.

Electronic Book

Lee, H. (2009). To kill a mockingbird [Kindle edition]. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

(Original work published in 1960).

Lee, H. (2009). To kill a mockingbird [PDF e-book]. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

Online Book

Twain, M. (2010) Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 . Available at [URL]

Edited Book (Anthology or Collection of Essays)

Meehan, W. (Ed.). (2009). Conversations with William F. Buckley Jr . Jackson: University Press of

Mississippi.

Revised or Updated Edition

If the book you are citied is an updated or revised edition, include this information between the title and the publication facts.

Sowell, T. (2015). Basic of Economics (5th ed.). New York: Basic Books.

Multivolume Work

If you cite one book from a group of books (called a multivolume work), list only the specific volume that you consulted.

Byrne, M. S. C. (Ed.). (1981). The Lisle letters (Vol. 4). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Single Chapter in an Edited Book

If you only need to cite a single chapter in an anthology, use the below method. This basic method works for citing a letter in a collection, a short story in a collection, a single poem in a collection.

Lamb, B. (2009). William F. Buckley Jr.: Happy days were here again. In W. Meehan (Ed.), Conversations

with William F. Buckley Jr. (pp. 99-118). University Press of Mississippi.

Introduction, Prefaces, Afterwords

If you are citing an introduction or preface to a book that was written by someone other than the book’s author, cite it separately.

Friedman, M. (1994). Introduction. In F. Hayek, The road to serfdom . (pp. 1-9). Chicago: University of

Chicago Press.

Citing Articles from Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers

Author’s Name. (Date of publication in Parenthesis). Title and subtitle. Journal Title , Volume number, Page number.

Print Journal

Matarrita-Cascante, D. (2010). Beyond growth: Reaching tourism-led development. Annals of Tourism

Research, 37.4, 41-63.

Print Journal Obtained from Publisher

If you obtained access to a print journal through an online database, include information for the print edition, followed by the database (in italics). If there are no page numbers, use “n. pag.” instead.

Matarrita-Cascante, D. (2010). Beyond growth: Reaching tourism-led development Electronic Version.

Annals of Tourism Research, 37.4, 41-63.

Print Journal Obtained from Online Database

Research, 37.4, 41-63. Retrieved from JSTOR database.

Online Journal

Research, 37.4. Retrieved October 22, 2005, from [URL]

Print Magazine

For print magazines, do not include article or issue numbers, even if they are given. If, in the magazine, the article is interrupted by other content, list all pages.

Salam, R. (2013, October 14). Bill de Blasio’s New York. National Review . 17-20.

Print Magazine Consulted Online

Salam, R. (2013, October 14). Bill de Blasio’s New York. National Review . Retrieved March 15, 2009,

Newspaper Article

For print, include all pages numbers, with letters identifying sections, if available.

Wei, L. (2015, March 1). China rate cut renews economic concerns. The Wall Street Journal , B1, B2.

Wei, L. (2015, March 1). China rate cut renews economic concerns. The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved

March 1, 2015, from [URL]

Citing From Reference Works

American Heritage Dictionary (5th ed.). (2012). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing

American Heritage Dictionary Online . (n.d.). Available from [URL]

Internal Combustion Engine. (2004). The world book encyclopedia . Chicago: World Book.

Citing Internet Websites and Blogs

Websites don’t follow the same rules as some of the other traditional sources from above do. Given this fact, you may need to improvise at times, doing your best to still supply the same kind of information that is required of a traditional publication.

• Author, if listed
• Website Title
• Date of Publication, (If none, put “n.d.”)
• Retrieval Statement (or “Available from” and a homepage)

Single Web Page

University of Michigan Library. Introduction to Research. (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2005, from the

University of Michigan Library website: [URL]

Salam, R. (2015, March 1). The underpolicing problem. The Corner [Web log]. Available from [Web log

homepage URL]

Salam, R. (2015, March 1). The underpolicing problem. The Corner [Web log]. Retrieved from [URL]

YouTube Video

Poster’s Username/Author. (Publication Year) Title of Video Clip . Medium. Retrieved from [URL to video]

LibertyinOurTime. (2010). How much can discrimination explain? Online video clip. Retrieved from [URL]

Additional Information

For more information on APA Style, I advise getting either of the following books,

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition.

A Writers’ Reference, 7th Edition by Diana Hacker.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Chapter 11: Presenting Your Research

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

Learning Objectives

• Define APA style and list several of its most important characteristics.
• Identify three levels of APA style and give examples of each.
• Identify multiple sources of information about APA style.

What Is APA Style?

APA style  is a set of guidelines for writing in psychology and related fields. These guidelines are set down in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2006) [1] . The  Publication Manual  originated in 1929 as a short journal article that provided basic standards for preparing manuscripts to be submitted for publication (Bentley et al., 1929) [2] . It was later expanded and published as a book by the association and is now in its seventh edition ( view the APA Style website online ). The primary purpose of APA style is to facilitate scientific communication by promoting clarity of expression and by standardizing the organization and content of research articles and book chapters. It is easier to write about research when you know what information to present, the order in which to present it, and even the style in which to present it. Likewise, it is easier to read about research when it is presented in familiar and expected ways.

APA style is best thought of as a “genre” of writing that is appropriate for presenting the results of psychological research—especially in academic and professional contexts. It is not synonymous with “good writing” in general. You would not write a literary analysis for an English class, even if it were based on psychoanalytic concepts, in APA style. You would write it in Modern Language Association (MLA) style instead. And you would not write a newspaper article, even if it were about a new breakthrough in behavioural neuroscience, in APA style. You would write it in Associated Press (AP) style instead. At the same time, you would not write an empirical research report in MLA style, in AP style, or in the style of a romance novel, an e-mail to a friend, or a shopping list. You would write it in APA style. Part of being a good writer in general is adopting a style that is appropriate to the writing task at hand, and for writing about psychological research, this is APA style.

The Levels of APA Style

Because APA style consists of a large number and variety of guidelines—the Publication Manual  is nearly 300 pages long—it can be useful to think about it in terms of three basic levels. The first is the overall  organization  of an article (which is covered in Chapter 2 “Manuscript Structure and Content” of the  Publication Manual ). Empirical research reports, in particular, have several distinct sections that always appear in the same order:

• Title page.  Presents the article title and author names and affiliations.
• Abstract.  Summarizes the research.
• Introduction.  Describes previous research and the rationale for the current study.
• Method.  Describes how the study was conducted.
• Results.  Describes the results of the study.
• Discussion.  Summarizes the study and discusses its implications.
• References.  Lists the references cited throughout the article.

The second level of APA style can be referred to as  high-level style  (covered in Chapter 3 “Writing Clearly and Concisely” of the  Publication Manual ), which includes guidelines for the clear expression of ideas. There are two important themes here. One is that APA-style writing is formal rather than informal. It adopts a tone that is appropriate for communicating with professional colleagues—other researchers and practitioners—who share an interest in the topic. Beyond this shared interest, however, these colleagues are not necessarily similar to the writer or to each other. A graduate student in British Columbia might be writing an article that will be read by a young psychotherapist in Toronto and a respected professor of psychology in Tokyo. Thus formal writing avoids slang, contractions, pop culture references, humour, and other elements that would be acceptable in talking with a friend or in writing informally.

The second theme of high-level APA style is that it is straightforward. This means that it communicates ideas as simply and clearly as possible, putting the focus on the ideas themselves and not on how they are communicated. Thus APA-style writing minimizes literary devices such as metaphor, imagery, irony, suspense, and so on. Again, humour is kept to a minimum. Sentences are short and direct. Technical terms must be used, but they are used to improve communication, not simply to make the writing sound more “scientific.” For example, if participants immersed their hands in a bucket of ice water, it is better just to write this than to write that they “were subjected to a pain-inducement apparatus.” At the same time, however, there is no better way to communicate that a between-subjects design was used than to use the term “between-subjects design.”

APA Style and the Values of Psychology

Robert Madigan and his colleagues have argued that APA style has a purpose that often goes unrecognized (Madigan, Johnson, & Linton, 1995) [3] . Specifically, it promotes psychologists’ scientific values and assumptions. From this perspective, many features of APA style that at first seem arbitrary actually make good sense. Following are several features of APA-style writing and the scientific values or assumptions they reflect.

Another important element of high-level APA style is the avoidance of language that is biased against particular groups. This is not only to avoid offending people—why would you want to offend people who are interested in your work?—but also for the sake of scientific objectivity and accuracy. For example, the term  sexual orientation  should be used instead of  sexual preference  because people do not generally experience their orientation as a “preference,” nor is it as easily changeable as this term suggests (APA Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Joint Task Force on Guidelines for Psychotherapy With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients, 2000) [4] .

The general principles for avoiding biased language are fairly simple. First, be sensitive to labels by avoiding terms that are offensive or have negative connotations. This includes terms that identify people with a disorder or other problem they happen to have. For example,  patients with schizophrenia  is better than  schizophrenics . Second, use more specific terms rather than more general ones. For example,  Chinese Canadians  is better than  Asian Canadians  if everyone in the group is, in fact, Chinese Canadian. Third, avoid objectifying research participants. Instead, acknowledge their active contribution to the research. For example, “The  students completed  the questionnaire” is better than “The  subjects were administered  the questionnaire.” Note that this principle also makes for clearer, more engaging writing. Table 11.1 shows several more examples that follow these general principles.

The previous edition of the  Publication Manual  strongly discouraged the use of the term  subjects  (except for nonhumans) and strongly encouraged the use of participants  instead. The current edition, however, acknowledges that  subjects can still be appropriate in referring to human participants in areas in which it has traditionally been used (e.g., basic memory research). But it also encourages the use of more specific terms when possible:  university  students ,  children , respondents , and so on.

The third level of APA style can be referred to as  low-level style  (which is covered in Chapter 4 “The Mechanics of Style” through Chapter 7 “Reference Examples” of the  Publication Manual .) Low-level style includes all the specific guidelines pertaining to spelling, grammar, references and reference citations, numbers and statistics, figures and tables, and so on. There are so many low-level guidelines that even experienced professionals need to consult the  Publication Manual  from time to time. Table 11.2 contains some of the most common types of APA style errors based on an analysis of manuscripts submitted to one professional journal over a 6-year period (Onwuegbuzie, Combs, Slate, & Frels, 2010) [5] . These errors were committed by professional researchers but are probably similar to those that students commit the most too. See also Note 11.8 “Online APA Style Resources” in this section and, of course, the  Publication Manual  itself.

Online APA Style Resources

The best source of information on APA style is the Publication Manual itself. However, there are also many good websites on APA style, which do an excellent job of presenting the basics for beginning researchers. Here are a few of them.

Purdue Online Writing Lab

Douglas Degelman’s APA Style Essentials [PDF]

Doc Scribe’s APA Style Lite [PDF]

APA-Style References and Citations

Because science is a large-scale collaboration among researchers, references to the work of other researchers are extremely important. Their importance is reflected in the extensive and detailed set of rules for formatting and using them.

At the end of an APA-style article or book chapter is a list that contains references  to all the works cited in the text (and  only  the works cited in the text). The reference list begins on its own page, with the heading “References,” centred in upper and lower case. The references themselves are then listed alphabetically according to the last names of the first named author for each citation. (As in the rest of an APA-style manuscript,  everything  is double-spaced.) Many different kinds of works might be cited in APA-style articles and book chapters, including magazine articles, websites, government documents, and even television shows. Of course, you should consult the  Publication Manual  or Online APA Style Resources for details on how to format them. Here we will focus on formatting references for the three most common kinds of works cited in APA style: journal articles, books, and book chapters.

Journal Articles

For journal articles, the generic format for a reference is as follows:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of article.  Title of Journal, xx (yy), pp–pp. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx

Here is a concrete example:

Adair, J. G., & Vohra, N. (2003). The explosion of knowledge, references, and citations: Psychology’s unique response to a crisis.  American Psychologist, 58 (1), 15–23. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.15

There are several things to notice here. The reference includes a hanging indent. That is, the first line of the reference is not indented but all subsequent lines are. The authors’ names appear in the same order as on the article, which reflects the authors’ relative contributions to the research. Only the authors’ last names and initials appear, and the names are separated by commas with an ampersand (&) between the last two. This is true even when there are only two authors. Only the first word of the article title is capitalized. The only exceptions are for words that are proper nouns or adjectives (e.g., “Freudian”) or if there is a subtitle, in which case the first word of the subtitle is also capitalized. In the journal title, however, all the important words are capitalized. The journal title and volume number are italicized; however, the issue number (listed within parentheses) is not. At the very end of the reference is the digital object identifier (DOI), which provides a permanent link to the location of the article on the Internet. Include this if it is available. It can generally be found in the record for the item on an electronic database (e.g., PsycINFO) and is usually displayed on the first page of the published article.

For a book, the generic format and a concrete example are as follows:

Author, A. A. (year).  Title of book . Location: Publisher. Kashdan, T., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2014). The upside of your dark side. New York, NY: Hudson Street Press.

Book Chapters

For a chapter in an edited book, the generic format and a concrete example are as follows:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor, B. B. Editor, & C. C. Editor (Eds.),  Title of book  (pp. xxx–xxx). Location: Publisher. Lilienfeld, S. O., & Lynn, S. J. (2003). Dissociative identity disorder: Multiple personalities, multiple controversies. In S. O. Lilienfeld, S. J. Lynn, & J. M. Lohr (Eds.), Science and pseudoscience in clinical psychology (pp. 109–142). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Notice that references for books and book chapters are similar to those for journal articles, but there are several differences too. For an edited book, the names of the editors appear with their first and middle initials followed by their last names (not the other way around)—with the abbreviation “Eds.” (or “Ed.,” if there is only one) appearing in parentheses immediately after the final editor’s name. Only the first word of a book title is capitalized (with the exceptions noted for article titles), and the entire title is italicized. For a chapter in an edited book, the page numbers of the chapter appear in parentheses after the book title with the abbreviation “pp.” Finally, both formats end with the location of publication and the publisher, separated by a colon.

Reference Citations

When you refer to another researcher’s idea, you must include a reference citation  (in the text) to the work in which that idea originally appeared and a full reference to that work in the reference list. What counts as an idea that must be cited? In general, this includes phenomena discovered by other researchers, theories they have developed, hypotheses they have derived, and specific methods they have used (e.g., specific questionnaires or stimulus materials). Citations should also appear for factual information that is not common knowledge so that other researchers can check that information for themselves. For example, in an article on the effect of cell phone usage on driving ability, the writer might cite official statistics on the number of cell phone–related accidents that occur each year. Among the ideas that do not need citations are widely shared methodological and statistical concepts (e.g., between-subjects design,  t  test) and statements that are so broad that they would be difficult for anyone to argue with (e.g., “Working memory plays a role in many daily activities.”). Be careful, though, because “common knowledge” about human behaviour is often incorrect. Therefore, when in doubt, find an appropriate reference to cite or remove the questionable assertion.

When you cite a work in the text of your manuscript, there are two ways to do it. Both include only the last names of the authors and the year of publication. The first method is to use the authors’ last names in the sentence (with no first names or initials) followed immediately by the year of publication in parentheses. Here are some examples:

Burger (2008) conducted a replication of Milgram’s (1963) original obedience study.

Although many people believe that women are more talkative than men, Mehl, Vazire, Ramirez-Esparza, Slatcher, and Pennebaker (2007) found essentially no difference in the number of words spoken by male and female college students.

Notice several things. First, the authors’ names are treated grammatically as names of people, not as things. It is better to write “a replication of Milgram’s (1963) study” than “a replication of Milgram (1963).” Second, when there are two authors the names are not separated by commas, but when there are three or more authors they are. Third, the word  and  (rather than an ampersand) is used to join the authors’ names. Fourth, the year follows immediately after the final author’s name. An additional point, which is not illustrated in these examples but is illustrated in the sample paper in Section 11.2 “Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style”, is that the year only needs to be included the first time a particular work is cited in the same paragraph.

The second way to cite an article or a book chapter is parenthetically—including the authors’ last names and the year of publication in parentheses following the idea that is being credited. Here are some examples:

People can be surprisingly obedient to authority figures (Burger, 2008; Milgram, 1963).

Recent evidence suggests that men and women are similarly talkative (Mehl, Vazire, Ramirez-Esparza, Slatcher, & Pennebaker, 2007).

One thing to notice about such parenthetical citations is that they are often placed at the end of the sentence, which minimizes their disruption to the flow of that sentence. In contrast to the first way of citing a work, this way always includes the year—even when the citation is given multiple times in the same paragraph. Notice also that when there are multiple citations in the same set of parentheses, they are organized alphabetically by the name of the first author and separated by semicolons.

There are no strict rules for deciding which of the two citation styles to use. Most articles and book chapters contain a mixture of the two. In general, however, the first approach works well when you want to emphasize the person who conducted the research—for example, if you were comparing the theories of two prominent researchers. It also works well when you are describing a particular study in detail. The second approach works well when you are discussing a general idea and especially when you want to include multiple citations for the same idea.

The third most common error in Table 11.2 has to do with the use of  et al.  This is an abbreviation for the Latin term  et alia , which means “and others.” In APA style, if an article or a book chapter has more than two authors , you should include all their names when you first cite that work. After that, however, you should use the first author’s name followed by “et al.” Here are some examples:

Recall that Mehl et al. (2007) found that women and men spoke about the same number of words per day on average.

There is a strong positive correlation between the number of daily hassles and the number of symptoms people experience (Kanner et al., 1981).

Notice that there is no comma between the first author’s name and “et al.” Notice also that there is no period after “et” but there is one after “al.” This is because “et” is a complete word and “al.” is an abbreviation for the word  alia .

Key Takeaways

• APA style is a set of guidelines for writing in psychology. It is the genre of writing that psychologists use to communicate about their research with other researchers and practitioners.
• APA style can be seen as having three levels. There is the organization of a research article, the high-level style that includes writing in a formal and straightforward way, and the low-level style that consists of many specific rules of grammar, spelling, formatting of references, and so on.
• References and reference citations are an important part of APA style. There are specific rules for formatting references and for citing them in the text of an article.
• Practice: Find a description of a research study in a popular magazine, newspaper, blog, or website. Then identify five specific differences between how that description is written and how it would be written in APA style.
• Walters, F. T., and DeLeon, M. (2010). Relationship Between Intrinsic Motivation and Accuracy of Academic Self-Evaluations Among High School Students. Educational Psychology Quarterly, 23, 234–256.
• Moore, Lilia S. (2007). Ethics in survey research. In M. Williams & P. L. Lee (eds.), Ethical Issues in Psychology (pp. 120–156), Boston, Psychological Research Press.
• Vang, C., Dumont, L. S., and Prescott, M. P. found that left-handed people have a stronger preference for abstract art than right-handed people (2006).
• This result has been replicated several times (Williamson, 1998; Pentecost & Garcia, 2006; Armbruster, 2011)
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) (2010). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. ↵
• Bentley, M., Peerenboom, C. A., Hodge, F. W., Passano, E. B., Warren, H. C., & Washburn, M. F. (1929). Instructions in regard to preparation of manuscript.  Psychological Bulletin, 26 , 57–63. ↵
• Madigan, R., Johnson, S., & Linton, P. (1995). The language of psychology: APA style as epistemology.  American Psychologist, 50 , 428–436. ↵
• American Psychological Association, Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Joint Task Force on Guidelines for Psychotherapy With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients. (2000). Guidelines for psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients . Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20081022063811/http://www.apa.org:80/pi/lgbc/guidelines.html ↵
• Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Combs, J. P., Slate, J. R., & Frels, R. K. (2010). Editorial: Evidence-based guidelines for avoiding the most common APA errors in journal article submissions. Research in the Schools, 16 , ix–xxxvi. ↵

A set of guidelines for writing in psychology and related fields.

A book produced by the APA containing standards for preparing manuscripts to be submitted for publication in order to facilitate scientific communication by promoting clarity of expression and standardizing the organization and content of articles and book chapters.

Referring to an article, the sections that are included and what order they appear in.

The second level of APA style which includes guidelines for the clear expression of ideas through writing style.

Third level of APA style which includes all the specific guidelines pertaining to spelling, grammar, references and reference citations, numbers and statistic, figures and tables, and so on.

The source of information used in a research article.

The referral to another researcher’s idea that is written in the text, with the full reference appearing in the reference list.

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Basic Rules of APA Format

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Verywell / Bailey Mariner

• Major Sections
• In-Text Citations
• Important Tips

Helpful Resources

Are you writing a paper for a psychology class? If so, you will likely need to use APA format to organize your paper and list the sources you used.

APA format is quite different from some of the other typical academic writing styles and guidelines you may used in the past. And, while it may take some getting used to, learning how to write an APA paper is a useful skill for anyone, whether you are a psychology major or just taking some social science classes for fun.

What Is APA Format?

APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is commonly used to cite sources in psychology , education, and the social sciences. APA style originated in a 1929 article published in Psychological Bulletin that laid out the basic guidelines for academic writing in this genre. These guidelines were eventually expanded into the APA Publication Manual .

Why is APA format so important in psychology and other social sciences? Because, by using APA style, researchers and students writing about psychology can communicate information about their ideas and experiments in a consistent format. Consistency ensures readers know what to look for as they read journal articles and other forms of psychological writing.

If you have never taken a psychology or social science class before, then you are probably accustomed to using a different style guide, such as MLA or Chicago style.

New college students are often surprised to find that, after spending years having another formatting style drilled into their heads, many university-level classes instead require APA style.

It can be a difficult transition, especially if you have to bounce back and forth between different styles for different classes. However, getting a solid grasp of the basics and bookmarking a few key resources can make this new format a bit easier.

How to Section Your Paper

In most cases, your paper should include four main sections: a title page, abstract, main section, and reference list.

Your title page should contain your title, name, and school affiliation. The page should also display the course number and name, the instructor's name, and the due date of your paper. The purpose of your title page is to let the reader know what your paper is about and who it was written by.

An abstract is a brief summary of your paper that immediately follows your title page. According to APA format, your abstract should be about 100 to 200 words although this can vary depending upon the specific publication or instructor requirements.

For an essay type paper, the main body of your paper will include the essay itself. If you are writing a lab report , then your main body will be broken down into further sections. The four main components of a lab report include the introduction , method , results , and discussion sections.

The reference section of your paper will include a list of all of the sources that you used in your paper. If you cited information anywhere in your paper, it needs to be properly referenced in this section.

One rule of thumb to remember is any source cited in your paper needs to be included in your reference section. And any source listed in your reference section must also be mentioned somewhere in your paper.

How to Handle In-Text Citations

As you are writing your paper, it is important to include citations in your text to identify where you found the information you are using. Such notations are called in-text citations. APA format dictates that in-text citations in APA format should include the author's name followed by the date of publication.

For example, if you were to cite Sigmund Freud's book The Interpretation of Dreams , you would use the following format: (Freud, 1900). The extended information on the source should then appear in your reference section.

Important Tips for Reference Pages

The exact format of each reference will vary depending on whether you are referencing an author or authors , a book or journal article , or an electronic source .

It pays to spend some time looking at the specific requirements for each type of reference before formatting your source list. Here are some useful tips for incorporating reference pages into your document.

• Start a new page for your references titled "References."
• Center title text at the top of the page.
• Put references should be in alphabetical order.
• Align the first line of a reference flush with the left margin and indent each additional line beneath it (usually accomplished by using the TAB key).
• Double-spaced the text
• Use italics for titles of books, journals, magazines, and newspapers.

Any reference that appears in the text of your report or article must be cited on the reference page, and any item appearing on your reference page must be also included somewhere in the body of your text.

If you are struggling with APA format or are looking for a good way to collect and organize your references as you work on your research, consider using a free APA citation machine . These online tools can quickly generate an APA style for most sources but should be double-checked for accuracy.

Purchasing a copy of the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is a great way to learn more about APA format and to have as a resource when writing in APA format. Looking at examples of APA format can also be very helpful.

While APA format may seem complex, it will become easier when you familiarize yourself with the rules and format.

It is also important to remember that, while the overall format may be similar for most papers, your instructor may have specific requirements. These can vary depending on whether you are writing an essay or a research paper. Your instructor may also require you to maintain and turn in an APA format bibliography .

American Psychological Association. About APA Style .

Nagda S. How to write a scientific abstract. J Indian Prosthodont Soc. 2013;13(3):382-383. doi:10.1007/s13191-013-0299-x

Masic I. The importance of proper citation of references in biomedical articles. Acta Inform Med. 2013;21(3):148-55. doi:10.5455/aim.2013.21.148-155

American Psychological Association.  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."