American Psychological Association (APA)

Tips

SUNY Empire State College

Nursing Program

Getting Started with APA

This presentation contains a brief overview of APA style. Please

consult your 6th edition of the APA manual for detailed descriptions

and examples of proper citations, including those for special

circumstances. This is not intended to be an all inclusive review.

APA style, like other citation and format styles, provides a set of

standards and guidelines for writing scholarly papers.

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The Title Page

• You will need the following information:

– Title of Paper (no more than 12 words), your name, and institutional affiliation

– Running head: This is an abbreviated title all in capital letters. The title is to be no

more than 50 characters (this includes spacing).

– Page number: Starts at page 1 and is located in the header.

– See chapter 2.01 in the APA manual for further explanation

Example on Next Slide

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The Title Page (continued)

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1. Running head: Title of paper capitalized and no more than 50 characters

(this includes spacing)

2. Page Number

3. Title is centered, located towards the top of paper, and no more than 12 words

4. Your name and

institutional affiliation

In-Text Citation

• You will need at least the following information:

– Author’s last name

– Publication year

– Page number for direct quotes

– See table 6.1 in the APA manual for further examples

Example of One Author:

(Jones, 2011) OR Jones (2011)

Example of Two Authors:

(Jones & Smith, 2010) OR Jones and Smith (2010)

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1. This is used when there is no reference to the

author in the narrative.

1. This is used when there is no reference to the

author in the narrative

2. This is used when there is no reference to the

author in the narrative.

2. This is used when the

author's name is part of the narrative

Direct Quote Less than 40 Words

• Direct quote less than 40 words:

– Quote marks around quote (“) and lead-in phrase before direct quote OR

– In-text citation after end of quote but before the punctuation mark

– Include author, date of publication, and page number

– See chapter 6.03 in the APA manual for further explanation

Example:

Jones (2011) states that “times are changing rapidly” (p. 5).

OR

Although “times are changing rapidly” (Jones, 2011, p. 5), some issues remain static.

2. Citation after quote and a

period at the end of the sentence

1. Author’s last name

and date of publication

3. Lead in phrase before quote

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2. Indented

Direct Quote More than 40 Words

• Direct quote is more than 40 words:

– Indent content

– No quotation marks (“)

– Lead in phrase before direct quote; maintain double spacing throughout

– After period, place In-text citation at end of quote

– See chapter 6.03 in the APA manual for further explanation

Example A:

This is made up content:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec cursus congue

massa nec venenatis. Phasellus vulputate laoreet odio non aliquam. Fusce

consequat molestie dui sed malesuada.Donec convallis malesuada metus sed

semper. Aliquam non tortor ligula Fusce pharetra felis id tortor. (Jones, 2011, p. 5)

1. Lead in phrase before quote

starts

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Direct Quote More than 40 Words (continued)

Example B:

Jones (2011) states

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec cursus congue

massa nec venenatis. Phasellus vulputate laoreet odio non aliquam. Fusce

consequat molestie dui sed malesuada.Donec convallis malesuada metus sed

semper. Aliquam non tortor ligula Fusce pharetra felis id tortor faucibus ac

commodo ipsum tincidunt. (p. 5)

1. Lead in phrase before quote. If more

than one author, separate with “and”

2. Page number after

period

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Reference List

• Placed as last page of document

• Start references on a separate page

• Page number continues onto reference page(s)

• Use heading labeled “References” and centered on page

• Entries are listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name (or by title when no

author is listed)

• Hanging indentation is used when citation is longer than one line (first line is left

justified and subsequent lines are indented one half inch)

• Example:

Blais, K. K., & Hayes, J. S. (2011). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and

perspectives (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

• See chapter 6.22 in the APA manual for further explanation

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Books

• See chapter 7.02 in the APA manual for further examples

Citation Layout:

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Date of Publication). Title in italics (xx ed.).

Location: Name of Publisher.

Example:

Blais, K. K., & Hayes, J. S. (2011). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives

(6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Image from flickr.com by c.a. muller

2. Title is in italics. First word and first word after colon is always capitalized 1. If more than

one author, separate with

“&”

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Periodicals With Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• See chapter 7.01 in the APA manual for further examples

Periodical Layout:

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Date of Publication). Title. Journal in Italics,

Volume(Issue), page range. Doi: then add the number

Example:

Kulhanek, B. (2001). EMR development…Always be prepared. Nursing Management, (42)12, 24-27. doi:10.1097/01.NUMA.0000407575.88737.e8

Image from Photos.com

2. The journal name and volume are both in italics 1. If more than one author,

separate with “&”

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3. Need doi information

Periodicals Without Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• See chapter 7.01 in the APA manual for further examples

Periodical Layout:

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Date of Publication). Title. Journal in Italics,

Volume(Issue), page range. Retrieved from http://web site address

Example:

Marano, H. (2011). The scoop on chocolate: Is chocolate really healthy? Psychology Today, 44(2), 44-45. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.esc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1b54a10e-e082-48c4-986e-e8b8d79f1f14%40sessionmgr13&vid=6&hid=10

Image from Photos.com

2. The journal name and

volume are both in italics

1. If more than one author, separate with “&”

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3. Need to put “Retrieved from http://” and then the

web site address

Nonperiodical Web Document

• See chapter 7.11 in the APA manual for further examples

Layout:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month Day of Publication). Title of document.

Retrieved from http://web site address

Example:

Boisvert, J. E., & Smith, T. A. (2011, May 1). This is a pretend example. Retrieved from

http://www.boisvertandsmith.com

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2. In this case, it is just a username

Internet Videos

• See chapter 7.11 in the APA manual for further examples

Layout:

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year, Month Day of Publication). Title [Video file]. Retrieved from http://web site address

Example:

HealthLiteracy. (2009, March 18). Helen Osborne speaks at UIC [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgIhCBSoe9o&feature=player_embedded

Image from flickr.com by Movieing Memories

1. Put video file in brackets

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Citation Generators

• Citation generators assist you in generating references. You will need all of the

necessary information (title, year of publication, authors’ names, etc.) from the

resource.

• Please keep in mind, you still have to double-check the reference as the citation

generator might not be up-to-date.

• Empire State College’s List of Citation Tools:

– http://subjectguides.esc.edu/content.php?pid=51434&sid=576198

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Other Tips

• If no date of publication use (n.d.)

• When more than two authors, use a comma between authors to separate

• Be sure your work is your own; if you borrow others’ information, make sure you properly cite. See the college policy on academic integrity and plagiarism.

• Font is double spaced and 12 point, Times New Roman

• If using numbers in your paper:

– Numbers 1 to 10 express in words (example: one)

– Any numbers over 10 express in numerals (example: 40)

• Helpful pages in APA Manual (6th ed.)

– Pages 41-59

– Pages 169-192

– Page 177

– Pages 193-224

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Image from Microsoft Clip Art 2010

APA Resources

• Empire State College’s Web Site on Citations

– http://subjectguides.esc.edu/content.php?pid=51434&sid=576198

• APA Style, 6th edition

– http://www.apastyle.org/

• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

– http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01

• University at Albany, Citation Fox

– http://library.albany.edu/cfox

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