apa style research articles are written for what audience

How to Write an APA Research Paper

Psychology/neuroscience 201, v iew in pdf format.

An APA-style paper includes the following sections: title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Your paper may also include one or more tables and/or figures. Different types of information about your study are addressed in each of the sections, as described below.

General formatting rules are as follows:

Do not put page breaks in between the introduction, method, results, and discussion sections.

The title page, abstract, references, table(s), and figure(s) should be on their own pages. The entire paper should be written in the past tense, in a 12-point font, double-spaced, and with one-inch margins all around.

(see sample on p. 41 of APA manual)

• Title should be between 10-12 words and should reflect content of paper (e.g., IV and DV).
• Title, your name, and Hamilton College are all double-spaced (no extra spaces)
• Create a page header using the “View header” function in MS Word. On the title page, the header should include the following: Flush left: Running head: THE RUNNING HEAD SHOULD BE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. The running head is a short title that appears at the top of pages of published articles. It should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spacing. (Note: on the title page, you actually write the words “Running head,” but these words do not appear on subsequent pages; just the actual running head does. If you make a section break between the title page and the rest of the paper you can make the header different for those two parts of the manuscript). Flush right, on same line: page number. Use the toolbox to insert a page number, so it will automatically number each page.

Abstract (labeled, centered, not bold)

No more than 120 words, one paragraph, block format (i.e., don’t indent), double-spaced.

• State topic, preferably in one sentence. Provide overview of method, results, and discussion.

Introduction

(Do not label as “Introduction.” Title of paper goes at the top of the page—not bold)

The introduction of an APA-style paper is the most difficult to write. A good introduction will summarize, integrate, and critically evaluate the empirical knowledge in the relevant area(s) in a way that sets the stage for your study and why you conducted it. The introduction starts out broad (but not too broad!) and gets more focused toward the end. Here are some guidelines for constructing a good introduction:

• Don’t put your readers to sleep by beginning your paper with the time-worn sentence, “Past research has shown (blah blah blah)” They’ll be snoring within a paragraph!  Try to draw your reader in by saying something interesting or thought-provoking right off the bat.  Take a look at articles you’ve read. Which ones captured your attention right away? How did the authors accomplish this task? Which ones didn’t?  Why not?  See if you can use articles you liked as a model. One way to begin (but not the only way) is to provide an example or anecdote illustrative of your topic area.
• Although you won’t go into the details of your study and hypotheses until the end of the intro, you should foreshadow your study a bit at the end of the first paragraph by stating your purpose briefly, to give your reader a schema for all the information you will present next.
• Your intro should be a logical flow of ideas that leads up to your hypothesis. Try to organize it in terms of the ideas rather than who did what when. In other words, your intro shouldn’t read like a story of “Schmirdley did such-and-such in 1991. Then Gurglehoff did something-or-other in 1993.  Then....(etc.)” First, brainstorm all of the ideas you think are necessary to include in your paper. Next, decide which ideas make sense to present first, second, third, and so forth, and think about how you want to transition between ideas. When an idea is complex, don’t be afraid to use a real-life example to clarify it for your reader. The introduction will end with a brief overview of your study and, finally, your specific hypotheses. The hypotheses should flow logically out of everything that’s been presented, so that the reader has the sense of, “Of course. This hypothesis makes complete sense, given all the other research that was presented.”
• When incorporating references into your intro, you do not necessarily need to describe every single study in complete detail, particularly if different studies use similar methodologies. Certainly you want to summarize briefly key articles, though, and point out differences in methods or findings of relevant studies when necessary. Don’t make one mistake typical of a novice APA-paper writer by stating overtly why you’re including a particular article (e.g., “This article is relevant to my study because…”). It should be obvious to the reader why you’re including a reference without your explicitly saying so.  DO NOT quote from the articles, instead paraphrase by putting the information in your own words.
• Be careful about citing your sources (see APA manual). Make sure there is a one-to-one correspondence between the articles you’ve cited in your intro and the articles listed in your reference section.
• Remember that your audience is the broader scientific community, not the other students in your class or your professor.  Therefore, you should assume they have a basic understanding of psychology, but you need to provide them with the complete information necessary for them to understand the research you are presenting.

Method (labeled, centered, bold)

The Method section of an APA-style paper is the most straightforward to write, but requires precision. Your goal is to describe the details of your study in such a way that another researcher could duplicate your methods exactly.

The Method section typically includes Participants, Materials and/or Apparatus, and Procedure sections. If the design is particularly complicated (multiple IVs in a factorial experiment, for example), you might also include a separate Design subsection or have a “Design and Procedure” section.

Note that in some studies (e.g., questionnaire studies in which there are many measures to describe but the procedure is brief), it may be more useful to present the Procedure section prior to the Materials section rather than after it.

Participants (labeled, flush left, bold)

Total number of participants (# women, # men), age range, mean and SD for age, racial/ethnic composition (if applicable), population type (e.g., college students). Remember to write numbers out when they begin a sentence.

• How were the participants recruited? (Don’t say “randomly” if it wasn’t random!) Were they compensated for their time in any way? (e.g., money, extra credit points)
• Write for a broad audience. Thus, do not write, “Students in Psych. 280...” Rather, write (for instance), “Students in a psychological statistics and research methods course at a small liberal arts college….”
• Try to avoid short, choppy sentences. Combine information into a longer sentence when possible.

Materials (labeled, flush left, bold)

Carefully describe any stimuli, questionnaires, and so forth. It is unnecessary to mention things such as the paper and pencil used to record the responses, the data recording sheet, the computer that ran the data analysis, the color of the computer, and so forth.

• If you included a questionnaire, you should describe it in detail. For instance, note how many items were on the questionnaire, what the response format was (e.g., a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)), how many items were reverse-scored, whether the measure had subscales, and so forth. Provide a sample item or two for your reader.
• If you have created a new instrument, you should attach it as an Appendix.
• If you presented participants with various word lists to remember or stimuli to judge, you should describe those in detail here. Use subheadings to separate different types of stimuli if needed.  If you are only describing questionnaires, you may call this section “Measures.”

Apparatus (labeled, flush left, bold)

Include an apparatus section if you used specialized equipment for your study (e.g., the eye tracking machine) and need to describe it in detail.

Procedure (labeled, flush left, bold)

What did participants do, and in what order? When you list a control variable (e.g., “Participants all sat two feet from the experimenter.”), explain WHY you did what you did.  In other words, what nuisance variable were you controlling for? Your procedure should be as brief and concise as possible. Read through it. Did you repeat yourself anywhere? If so, how can you rearrange things to avoid redundancy? You may either write the instructions to the participants verbatim or paraphrase, whichever you deem more appropriate. Don’t forget to include brief statements about informed consent and debriefing.

Results (labeled, centered, bold)

In this section, describe how you analyzed the data and what you found. If your data analyses were complex, feel free to break this section down into labeled subsections, perhaps one section for each hypothesis.

• Include a section for descriptive statistics
• List what type of analysis or test you conducted to test each hypothesis.
• Refer to your Statistics textbook for the proper way to report results in APA style. A t-test, for example, is reported in the following format: t (18) = 3.57, p < .001, where 18 is the number of degrees of freedom (N – 2 for an independent-groups t test). For a correlation: r (32) = -.52, p < .001, where 32 is the number of degrees of freedom (N – 2 for a correlation). For a one-way ANOVA: F (2, 18) = 7.00, p < .001, where 2 represents the between and 18 represents df within Remember that if a finding has a p value greater than .05, it is “nonsignificant,” not “insignificant.” For nonsignificant findings, still provide the exact p values. For correlations, be sure to report the r 2 value as an assessment of the strength of the finding, to show what proportion of variability is shared by the two variables you’re correlating. For t- tests and ANOVAs, report eta 2 .
• Report exact p values to two or three decimal places (e.g., p = .042; see p. 114 of APA manual).  However, for p-values less than .001, simply put p < .001.
• Following the presentation of all the statistics and numbers, be sure to state the nature of your finding(s) in words and whether or not they support your hypothesis (e.g., “As predicted …”). This information can typically be presented in a sentence or two following the numbers (within the same paragraph). Also, be sure to include the relevant means and SDs.
• It may be useful to include a table or figure to represent your results visually. Be sure to refer to these in your paper (e.g., “As illustrated in Figure 1…”). Remember that you may present a set of findings either as a table or as a figure, but not as both. Make sure that your text is not redundant with your tables/figures. For instance, if you present a table of means and standard deviations, you do not need to also report these in the text. However, if you use a figure to represent your results, you may wish to report means and standard deviations in the text, as these may not always be precisely ascertained by examining the figure. Do describe the trends shown in the figure.
• Do not spend any time interpreting or explaining the results; save that for the Discussion section.

Discussion (labeled, centered, bold)

The goal of the discussion section is to interpret your findings and place them in the broader context of the literature in the area. A discussion section is like the reverse of the introduction, in that you begin with the specifics and work toward the more general (funnel out). Some points to consider:

• Begin with a brief restatement of your main findings (using words, not numbers). Did they support the hypothesis or not? If not, why not, do you think? Were there any surprising or interesting findings? How do your findings tie into the existing literature on the topic, or extend previous research? What do the results say about the broader behavior under investigation? Bring back some of the literature you discussed in the Introduction, and show how your results fit in (or don’t fit in, as the case may be). If you have surprising findings, you might discuss other theories that can help to explain the findings. Begin with the assumption that your results are valid, and explain why they might differ from others in the literature.
• What are the limitations of the study? If your findings differ from those of other researchers, or if you did not get statistically significant results, don’t spend pages and pages detailing what might have gone wrong with your study, but do provide one or two suggestions. Perhaps these could be incorporated into the future research section, below.
• What additional questions were generated from this study? What further research should be conducted on the topic? What gaps are there in the current body of research? Whenever you present an idea for a future research study, be sure to explain why you think that particular study should be conducted. What new knowledge would be gained from it?  Don’t just say, “I think it would be interesting to re-run the study on a different college campus” or “It would be better to run the study again with more participants.” Really put some thought into what extensions of the research might be interesting/informative, and why.
• What are the theoretical and/or practical implications of your findings? How do these results relate to larger issues of human thoughts, feelings, and behavior? Give your readers “the big picture.” Try to answer the question, “So what?

Final paragraph: Be sure to sum up your paper with a final concluding statement. Don’t just trail off with an idea for a future study. End on a positive note by reminding your reader why your study was important and what it added to the literature.

References (labeled, centered, not bold)

Provide an alphabetical listing of the references (alphabetize by last name of first author). Double-space all, with no extra spaces between references. The second line of each reference should be indented (this is called a hanging indent and is easily accomplished using the ruler in Microsoft Word). See the APA manual for how to format references correctly.

Examples of references to journal articles start on p. 198 of the manual, and examples of references to books and book chapters start on pp. 202. Digital object identifiers (DOIs) are now included for electronic sources (see pp. 187-192 of APA manual to learn more).

Journal article example: [Note that only the first letter of the first word of the article title is capitalized; the journal name and volume are italicized. If the journal name had multiple words, each of the major words would be capitalized.] 

Ebner-Priemer, U. W., & Trull, T. J. (2009). Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation. Psychological Assessment, 21, 463-475. doi:10.1037/a0017075

Book chapter example: [Note that only the first letter of the first word of both the chapter title and book title are capitalized.]

Stephan, W. G. (1985). Intergroup relations. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (3 rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 599-658). New York: Random House.

Book example: Gray, P. (2010). Psychology (6 th ed.). New York: Worth

Table There are various formats for tables, depending upon the information you wish to include. See the APA manual. Be sure to provide a table number and table title (the latter is italicized). Tables can be single or double-spaced.

Figure If you have more than one figure, each one gets its own page. Use a sans serif font, such as Helvetica, for any text within your figure. Be sure to label your x- and y-axes clearly, and make sure you’ve noted the units of measurement of the DV. Underneath the figure provide a label and brief caption (e.g., “Figure 1. Mean evaluation of job applicant qualifications as a function of applicant attractiveness level”). The figure caption typically includes the IVs/predictor variables and the DV. Include error bars in your bar graphs, and note what the bars represent in the figure caption: Error bars represent one standard error above and below the mean.

In-Text Citations: (see pp. 174-179 of APA manual) When citing sources in your paper, you need to include the authors’ names and publication date.

You should use the following formats:

• When including the citation as part of the sentence, use AND: “According to Jones and Smith (2003), the…”
• When the citation appears in parentheses, use “&”: “Studies have shown that priming can affect actual motor behavior (Jones & Smith, 2003; Klein, Bailey, & Hammer, 1999).” The studies appearing in parentheses should be ordered alphabetically by the first author’s last name, and should be separated by semicolons.
• If you are quoting directly (which you should avoid), you also need to include the page number.
• For sources with three or more authors, once you have listed all the authors’ names, you may write “et al.” on subsequent mentions. For example: “Klein et al. (1999) found that….” For sources with two authors, both authors must be included every time the source is cited. When a source has six or more authors, the first author’s last name and “et al.” are used every time the source is cited (including the first time). 

Secondary Sources

“Secondary source” is the term used to describe material that is cited in another source. If in his article entitled “Behavioral Study of Obedience” (1963), Stanley Milgram makes reference to the ideas of Snow (presented above), Snow (1961) is the primary source, and Milgram (1963) is the secondary source.

Try to avoid using secondary sources in your papers; in other words, try to find the primary source and read it before citing it in your own work. If you must use a secondary source, however, you should cite it in the following way:

Snow (as cited in Milgram, 1963) argued that, historically, the cause of most criminal acts... The reference for the Milgram article (but not the Snow reference) should then appear in the reference list at the end of your paper.

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Scholarly Voice: Tone and Audience

Tone and audience.

The concepts of tone and audience are interwoven with many topics addressed throughout the Scholarly Voice pages. The purpose of this page is to define these concepts as they relate to writing, APA style, and capstone documents.

Basics of Tone

Tone  refers to the attitude a writer conveys toward the subject matter and the reader. The tone of a document can affect how the reader perceives the writer’s intentions. These perceptions, in turn, can influence the reader’s attitude toward the text and the writer. To strike the right tone, writers should be mindful of the purpose and audience for their work when making decisions about word choice,  sentence structure , and specificity of information.

Tone in APA Style

In APA style, the tone (see APA 7, Section 4.7) should reveal a writer’s attitude as interested but neutral and professional. Writers should present information and arguments in an engaging but objective manner and choose courteous and respectful language when providing critical analysis of the work of past researchers.

Discourteous: However, the researchers completely neglected to consider. . .

Neutral: However, the researchers did not address. . .

Discourteous: Jones (2018) missed the point about. . . 

Neutral: Jones (2018) did not mention. . .

In the above examples, the first version appears to reveal assumptions and judgments about the previous researchers’ intentions or abilities. The revised versions present the same criticism but without the subjective and unduly harsh tone.

Tone in Capstone Writing

Capstone writers may have strong feelings or opinions about the problems they are addressing through their research. However, revealing personal attitudes through a subjective tone can make writers appear to take sides (e.g., in defense of the population they seek to help). In the spirit of scientific objectivity and professionalism, capstone writers should rely on compelling evidence and analysis rather than emotional appeals. Readers of APA-style writing expect logical, evidence-based arguments and critical but respectful discussion of previous research, and they may perceive emotionally charged, hyperbolic, or seemingly biased language as less credible. 

Certain words (e.g., unfortunately, clearly, heartbreaking, amazing, etc.) can reveal a subjective attitude and seem to impose the writer’s opinion instead of allowing readers to form their own opinions based on the presented information. Generally, such words can be omitted without taking away from the substance of the sentence. 

Subjective: Unfortunately, researchers have found that many health professionals lack the necessary health literacy awareness, knowledge, and skills.

Objective: Researchers have found that many health professionals lack the necessary health literacy awareness, knowledge, and skills.

Basics of Audience

The fundamental purpose of writing is to communicate ideas to other people—an  audience . To do this effectively, writers should consider questions such as the following before and during the writing process: 

• Who are the intended or likely readers for the document? 
• What do these readers want and/or expect from the writer and from the text?  
• What level of background knowledge do the readers probably have related to the subject matter? 

Answering these questions can help writers see the document from the viewpoint of the prospective audience and decide what to write and how to write it—that is, the content of the text and the form, style, and tone of that content. 

Audience for APA Style

Readers tend to approach a text with certain expectations based on their prior experience with texts in the same genre. Because of the emphasis in APA style on precision and clarity, readers have generally come to expect APA-style research writing to be clear, efficient, and logically organized, and they expect specific, credible information that is reported in a straightforward, unbiased manner. In other words, they expect clarity, objectivity, specificity, economy of expression, and professionalism. To communicate effectively with an APA-minded audience, writers should work to meet these expectations.

Audience for Capstone Writing

A capstone document shares many traits with research articles published in journals. However, because capstone writers are both student and researcher, they need to bear in mind two levels of audience: a smaller immediate audience and a somewhat broader eventual audience. 

Capstone writers’ immediate audience includes their committee, the URR, and the CAO, who evaluate the document and determine whether or when it moves forward in the capstone process. These readers serve in some ways as a trial audience, providing feedback to ensure that the document is ready for the larger audience. However, they have some capstone-specific expectations. For example, because capstone students are in the process of demonstrating their readiness to conduct research independently, faculty expect them to display mastery of certain research concepts or processes with a level of specificity that would be unnecessary in an article published in a journal.

The larger audience, at whom the bulk of the capstone document’s message is aimed, consists of interested researchers and professionals in the student’s field and related fields—in other words, the writer’s professional and academic peers. Capstone writers should keep this audience in mind throughout the writing process. Following the advice of faculty, the program checklist or rubric, and the guidelines in the APA manual will help capstone writers convey their message to these eventual readers.

Summary of Tone and Audience for the Capstone

A capstone document marks a writer’s debut as a member of a community of scholars. The attitude conveyed in this document necessarily reflects the position of a person displaying an understanding of certain research concepts and writing conventions while also contributing something new to the literature. By adopting an objective and professional tone and keeping the audience in mind, a writer can demonstrate awareness of and respect for other members of the scholarly community and ensure that readers are able to focus on the substance of the document.

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Libraries | Research Guides

Apa style explained, citation basics - apa style video, the manual & complementary resources, comparing citation styles, the why of apa style, rhetoric of citation systems.

• APA Style Click on this link and use your computer's media player to view a short video (6 min, 53 sec) about APA Style for in-text citations and reference lists/bibliographies.

APA Style is authoritatively defined and illustrated in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , currently in its 7th edition (2019).

• The NU Libraries have print copies of this book . 
• Heavy users of the Publication Manual can purchase a print or ebook copy. 
• The ebook edition is searchable (and cost prohibitive for Library purchase )

Complementary, FREE, Resources:

• The APA provides free grammar, style, and formatting guidance on their website
• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) Guide to APA Style provides free guidance for APA Style (also MLA and Chicago styles)
• Purdue OWL also provides sample papers in APA Style which can be helpful to have on-hand to guide you when writing
• For quantitative research, using the standards will increase the reproducibility of science
• For qualitative research, using the standards will increase the methodological integrity of research
• Plagiarism - What Is It?
• Paraphrasing - Examples 
• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
• Avoiding Plagiarism

Academic Writer - produced by the APA, a series of tutorials and resources to support excellence in academic writing.  NOT FREE, but a free trial is provided for educators.

The objectives of all citation styles are extremely similar yet it can be challenging to move between styles to meet the requirements of different classes and instructors.

Remember to always take a deep breath.

The elements to include in a citation rarely vary between styles.  What changes is the sequence of the elements and their format.  Here is a high level comparison of the major differences between APA and MLA citation styles.  Scribbr also provides more detailed comparisons of several major citation styles.

Definitions:

• In-Text Citation Acknowledgement of the source for text that is quoted or paraphrased from another source, placed in the text using parenthesis
• Numerical Citations Acknowledgement of the source for text that is quoted or paraphrased from another source using a number either in brackets or as superscript that links to the full citation in a numbered list.
• Note citations A citation and/or text note is placed at the bottom of the relevant page of text, indicated by a number either in brackets or as superscript.

Image source: Scribbr

I am not endorsing any services (free or fee) provided by Scribbr but their graphics are very helpful.

Note: When using citations generated by any kind of software, always review your references and make any necessary corrections before using.

In the examples above there is an error in the citations for one of the publications.  The error appe ars in all three styles generated by JSTOR.  Can you identify it?

Type of Source Answers : The work by Wanzo is a chapter in a book.  The work by Million is an article in a journal.

Citation Errors Made by JSTOR in the examples above: The author's name, Rebecca Wanzo, is not capitalized in any of the citation styles.  Neither are the names of the editors of the  book in which Ms. Wanzo's chapter appears, Maggie Hennefield and Nicholas Sammond.

Students have raised a number of questions about why APA Style is as it is.  A number of the requirements appear counter-intuitive and are labor-intensive.

On May 20, 2020 John Barker, Teaching Assistant in the School of Professional Studies spoke with Chelsea Bromstad Lee, a member of the APA Style team who authored and edited the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual.  Ms. Lee has worked for the APA since 2007.

Ms. Lee explained that a task force invested many hours in debating the changes from the 6th edition to the 7th edition.  Many rules changed to increase the productivity of authors in a digital environment. COVID-19, which has reduced or eliminated access to print content, has made digital productivity more pressing for authors.  Many rules that could have changed to accommodate digital workflows have not yet changed due to convention.  What follows are some of the more specific questions addressed during their conversation.

Why should students be forced to follow APA when so many other styles exist, such as AMA or MLA? What are the inherent advantages of APA over other styles?

ANSWER:  Inherent Advantages of APA Style

There are inherent advantages of APA Style. Some are exclusive. A principle underlying these advantages is that APA Style provides best practices beyond formatting and citation style. APA focuses on optimizing writing for the sciences. The APA has the following working groups and committees to develop these advantages:

• APA Style Team;
• APA Publications and Communications Board Task Force on Journal Article Reporting Standards;
• APA Working Group on Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research;
• APA Public Interest Bias-Free Language Committees (aging, disability, and ethnic minorities);
• Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity;
• Committee on Socioeconomic Status; and
• Committee on Women in Psychology. Below is a list of the inherent advantages:  

Scholarly Writing & Publishing Principles: Chapter 1 of the APA Publication Manual, 7 th edition covers

• types of scholarly articles, student papers, dissertations, and theses.
• Ethical, legal, and professional standards in publishing (includes a checklist for ethical publishing)

Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS): Chapter 3 of the APA Publication Manual, 7 th edition & APA Style JARS website

• JARS helps readers fully understand the research being reported and draw valid conclusions from the work,
• JARS allows reviewers and editors to properly evaluate manuscripts submitted for publication for their scientific value,
• JARS enables future researchers to replicate the research reported,
• JARS fosters transparency (for more on the ethic of transparency in JARS, see the JARS website , and
• JARS improves the quality of published research.
• Bias-Free Language Guidelines: Chapter 5 of the APA Publication Manual ,7 th edition

Why are there so many rules (for both citations and overall paper formatting and style)? Many students perceive that searching for the rules distracts them from the clear and precise writing that APA style emphasizes.

ANSWER:  Convention and a Large APA User Base Are the Logic Behind Many APA Style Rules Many APA rules exist because of convention. For example, in 1929, when APA Style began, the APA team believed that the use of sentence case, instead of title case, for journal titles in references was easier to read.  Even though the use of sentence case involves changing from title case when students copy and paste a title, the 7 th edition team believed that due to the existing APA customer base, this convention should be retained. This logic persists for other rules, such as the rules for writing numbers versus numerals.

Why should students be forced to follow APA when most journals do not adhere to APA? Many students suggest that we adopt the style that emerges as the "consensus" style of most journals.

• All citation styles are a compromise between authors’ needs and the needs of print and digital workflows. 
• Regardless of style, authors must conform to the style of the journal or organization for which they are authoring content.
• Learning APA can improve writing in all areas of life.  The principles of clear and precise writing can improve personal and professional communications.  Many APA skills are transferable to content authored in other styles.

Some students (and many of our faculty) in the class are attorneys or individuals who have studied legal research techniques. For legal references, APA relies on The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Association, 20191001, p. xxi) yet modifies some of the rules.  Why? What is wrong with the Bluebook standard?

ANSWER:  "There is nothing wrong with Bluebook style. However, the vast majority of our users are  not  attorneys or individuals who have studied legal research techniques. To accommodate our audience, we decided that we would permit writers to put URLs at the end of legal references. This makes retrieving the legal source used much easier for writers and readers. Students who do  not  have the years of experience your students have assume they should include a URL when using an online resource. Thus, the guideline supports their instincts as well as does no harm. If your students want to use straight Bluebook style for legal references, that it fine with us."  (C.Lee, personal communication May 14, 2020).

Why has the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual made changes to the format for in-text citations?

ANSWER: In the Preface/Introduction, the manual states that the new format for in-text citations is designed to make it easier for screen readers to read the content to persons with vision difficulties as well as assist readers and writers who use "other assistive technologies."

These articles, published by Robert J. Connors  provide discussion of the development of citations and footnotes alongside the development of modern scholarship.  For those who are really interested!

Connors, Robert J.  The rhetoric of citation systems -- Part I: The development of annotation structures from the renaissance to 1900 .  Rhetoric Review , 17:1, 6-48, DOI: 10.1080/07350199809359230

Connors, Robert J.  The rhetoric of citation systems -- Part II: Competing epistemic values in citation , Rhetoric Review , 17:2, 219-245, DOI: 10.1080/073501999359242

Find That DOI

• CrossRef DOI lookup tool - use citation information to find whether a DOI has been assigned. APA Style requires inclusion of the DOI , regardless of whether it is included on the document version that you use.

Don't See YOUR Question?

The APA responds to individual questions by email and estimates a 3-business day response time. [email protected]

In addition to webpages guiding users on the application of APA Style, the APA also uses Social Media to provide assistance . 

Eckstein, Jessica J. "American Psychological Association (APA) Style." The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods , edited by Mike Allen, vol. 1, SAGE Reference, 2017, pp. 26-28. Gale eBooks , Accessed 28 May 2020.

This encyclopedia entry provides an overview of APA Style, its goals, characteristics, history, and controversies, with citations to additional works. The article discusses the 6th edition of the Manual.  The 7th edition was published in 2020.

• Last Updated: Jan 3, 2024 10:39 AM
• URL: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/APAStyle

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Chapter 11: Presenting Your Research

Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style

Learning Objectives

• Identify the major sections of an APA-style research report and the basic contents of each section.
• Plan and write an effective APA-style research report.

In this section, we look at how to write an APA-style empirical research report , an article that presents the results of one or more new studies. Recall that the standard sections of an empirical research report provide a kind of outline. Here we consider each of these sections in detail, including what information it contains, how that information is formatted and organized, and tips for writing each section. At the end of this section is a sample APA-style research report that illustrates many of these principles.

Sections of a Research Report

Title page and abstract.

An APA-style research report begins with a  title page . The title is centred in the upper half of the page, with each important word capitalized. The title should clearly and concisely (in about 12 words or fewer) communicate the primary variables and research questions. This sometimes requires a main title followed by a subtitle that elaborates on the main title, in which case the main title and subtitle are separated by a colon. Here are some titles from recent issues of professional journals published by the American Psychological Association.

• Sex Differences in Coping Styles and Implications for Depressed Mood
• Effects of Aging and Divided Attention on Memory for Items and Their Contexts
• Computer-Assisted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Child Anxiety: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial
• Virtual Driving and Risk Taking: Do Racing Games Increase Risk-Taking Cognitions, Affect, and Behaviour?

Below the title are the authors’ names and, on the next line, their institutional affiliation—the university or other institution where the authors worked when they conducted the research. As we have already seen, the authors are listed in an order that reflects their contribution to the research. When multiple authors have made equal contributions to the research, they often list their names alphabetically or in a randomly determined order.

In some areas of psychology, the titles of many empirical research reports are informal in a way that is perhaps best described as “cute.” They usually take the form of a play on words or a well-known expression that relates to the topic under study. Here are some examples from recent issues of the Journal Psychological Science .

• “Smells Like Clean Spirit: Nonconscious Effects of Scent on Cognition and Behavior”
• “Time Crawls: The Temporal Resolution of Infants’ Visual Attention”
• “Scent of a Woman: Men’s Testosterone Responses to Olfactory Ovulation Cues”
• “Apocalypse Soon?: Dire Messages Reduce Belief in Global Warming by Contradicting Just-World Beliefs”
• “Serial vs. Parallel Processing: Sometimes They Look Like Tweedledum and Tweedledee but They Can (and Should) Be Distinguished”
• “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Words: The Social Effects of Expressive Writing”

Individual researchers differ quite a bit in their preference for such titles. Some use them regularly, while others never use them. What might be some of the pros and cons of using cute article titles?

For articles that are being submitted for publication, the title page also includes an author note that lists the authors’ full institutional affiliations, any acknowledgments the authors wish to make to agencies that funded the research or to colleagues who commented on it, and contact information for the authors. For student papers that are not being submitted for publication—including theses—author notes are generally not necessary.

The  abstract  is a summary of the study. It is the second page of the manuscript and is headed with the word  Abstract . The first line is not indented. The abstract presents the research question, a summary of the method, the basic results, and the most important conclusions. Because the abstract is usually limited to about 200 words, it can be a challenge to write a good one.

Introduction

The  introduction  begins on the third page of the manuscript. The heading at the top of this page is the full title of the manuscript, with each important word capitalized as on the title page. The introduction includes three distinct subsections, although these are typically not identified by separate headings. The opening introduces the research question and explains why it is interesting, the literature review discusses relevant previous research, and the closing restates the research question and comments on the method used to answer it.

The Opening

The  opening , which is usually a paragraph or two in length, introduces the research question and explains why it is interesting. To capture the reader’s attention, researcher Daryl Bem recommends starting with general observations about the topic under study, expressed in ordinary language (not technical jargon)—observations that are about people and their behaviour (not about researchers or their research; Bem, 2003 [1] ). Concrete examples are often very useful here. According to Bem, this would be a poor way to begin a research report:

Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance received a great deal of attention during the latter part of the 20th century (p. 191)

The following would be much better:

The individual who holds two beliefs that are inconsistent with one another may feel uncomfortable. For example, the person who knows that he or she enjoys smoking but believes it to be unhealthy may experience discomfort arising from the inconsistency or disharmony between these two thoughts or cognitions. This feeling of discomfort was called cognitive dissonance by social psychologist Leon Festinger (1957), who suggested that individuals will be motivated to remove this dissonance in whatever way they can (p. 191).

After capturing the reader’s attention, the opening should go on to introduce the research question and explain why it is interesting. Will the answer fill a gap in the literature? Will it provide a test of an important theory? Does it have practical implications? Giving readers a clear sense of what the research is about and why they should care about it will motivate them to continue reading the literature review—and will help them make sense of it.

Breaking the Rules

Researcher Larry Jacoby reported several studies showing that a word that people see or hear repeatedly can seem more familiar even when they do not recall the repetitions—and that this tendency is especially pronounced among older adults. He opened his article with the following humourous anecdote:

A friend whose mother is suffering symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) tells the story of taking her mother to visit a nursing home, preliminary to her mother’s moving there. During an orientation meeting at the nursing home, the rules and regulations were explained, one of which regarded the dining room. The dining room was described as similar to a fine restaurant except that tipping was not required. The absence of tipping was a central theme in the orientation lecture, mentioned frequently to emphasize the quality of care along with the advantages of having paid in advance. At the end of the meeting, the friend’s mother was asked whether she had any questions. She replied that she only had one question: “Should I tip?” (Jacoby, 1999, p. 3)

Although both humour and personal anecdotes are generally discouraged in APA-style writing, this example is a highly effective way to start because it both engages the reader and provides an excellent real-world example of the topic under study.

The Literature Review

Immediately after the opening comes the  literature review , which describes relevant previous research on the topic and can be anywhere from several paragraphs to several pages in length. However, the literature review is not simply a list of past studies. Instead, it constitutes a kind of argument for why the research question is worth addressing. By the end of the literature review, readers should be convinced that the research question makes sense and that the present study is a logical next step in the ongoing research process.

Like any effective argument, the literature review must have some kind of structure. For example, it might begin by describing a phenomenon in a general way along with several studies that demonstrate it, then describing two or more competing theories of the phenomenon, and finally presenting a hypothesis to test one or more of the theories. Or it might describe one phenomenon, then describe another phenomenon that seems inconsistent with the first one, then propose a theory that resolves the inconsistency, and finally present a hypothesis to test that theory. In applied research, it might describe a phenomenon or theory, then describe how that phenomenon or theory applies to some important real-world situation, and finally suggest a way to test whether it does, in fact, apply to that situation.

Looking at the literature review in this way emphasizes a few things. First, it is extremely important to start with an outline of the main points that you want to make, organized in the order that you want to make them. The basic structure of your argument, then, should be apparent from the outline itself. Second, it is important to emphasize the structure of your argument in your writing. One way to do this is to begin the literature review by summarizing your argument even before you begin to make it. “In this article, I will describe two apparently contradictory phenomena, present a new theory that has the potential to resolve the apparent contradiction, and finally present a novel hypothesis to test the theory.” Another way is to open each paragraph with a sentence that summarizes the main point of the paragraph and links it to the preceding points. These opening sentences provide the “transitions” that many beginning researchers have difficulty with. Instead of beginning a paragraph by launching into a description of a previous study, such as “Williams (2004) found that…,” it is better to start by indicating something about why you are describing this particular study. Here are some simple examples:

Another example of this phenomenon comes from the work of Williams (2004).

Williams (2004) offers one explanation of this phenomenon.

An alternative perspective has been provided by Williams (2004).

We used a method based on the one used by Williams (2004).

Finally, remember that your goal is to construct an argument for why your research question is interesting and worth addressing—not necessarily why your favourite answer to it is correct. In other words, your literature review must be balanced. If you want to emphasize the generality of a phenomenon, then of course you should discuss various studies that have demonstrated it. However, if there are other studies that have failed to demonstrate it, you should discuss them too. Or if you are proposing a new theory, then of course you should discuss findings that are consistent with that theory. However, if there are other findings that are inconsistent with it, again, you should discuss them too. It is acceptable to argue that the  balance  of the research supports the existence of a phenomenon or is consistent with a theory (and that is usually the best that researchers in psychology can hope for), but it is not acceptable to  ignore contradictory evidence. Besides, a large part of what makes a research question interesting is uncertainty about its answer.

The Closing

The  closing  of the introduction—typically the final paragraph or two—usually includes two important elements. The first is a clear statement of the main research question or hypothesis. This statement tends to be more formal and precise than in the opening and is often expressed in terms of operational definitions of the key variables. The second is a brief overview of the method and some comment on its appropriateness. Here, for example, is how Darley and Latané (1968) [2] concluded the introduction to their classic article on the bystander effect:

These considerations lead to the hypothesis that the more bystanders to an emergency, the less likely, or the more slowly, any one bystander will intervene to provide aid. To test this proposition it would be necessary to create a situation in which a realistic “emergency” could plausibly occur. Each subject should also be blocked from communicating with others to prevent his getting information about their behaviour during the emergency. Finally, the experimental situation should allow for the assessment of the speed and frequency of the subjects’ reaction to the emergency. The experiment reported below attempted to fulfill these conditions. (p. 378)

Thus the introduction leads smoothly into the next major section of the article—the method section.

The  method section  is where you describe how you conducted your study. An important principle for writing a method section is that it should be clear and detailed enough that other researchers could replicate the study by following your “recipe.” This means that it must describe all the important elements of the study—basic demographic characteristics of the participants, how they were recruited, whether they were randomly assigned, how the variables were manipulated or measured, how counterbalancing was accomplished, and so on. At the same time, it should avoid irrelevant details such as the fact that the study was conducted in Classroom 37B of the Industrial Technology Building or that the questionnaire was double-sided and completed using pencils.

The method section begins immediately after the introduction ends with the heading “Method” (not “Methods”) centred on the page. Immediately after this is the subheading “Participants,” left justified and in italics. The participants subsection indicates how many participants there were, the number of women and men, some indication of their age, other demographics that may be relevant to the study, and how they were recruited, including any incentives given for participation.

After the participants section, the structure can vary a bit. Figure 11.1 shows three common approaches. In the first, the participants section is followed by a design and procedure subsection, which describes the rest of the method. This works well for methods that are relatively simple and can be described adequately in a few paragraphs. In the second approach, the participants section is followed by separate design and procedure subsections. This works well when both the design and the procedure are relatively complicated and each requires multiple paragraphs.

What is the difference between design and procedure? The design of a study is its overall structure. What were the independent and dependent variables? Was the independent variable manipulated, and if so, was it manipulated between or within subjects? How were the variables operationally defined? The procedure is how the study was carried out. It often works well to describe the procedure in terms of what the participants did rather than what the researchers did. For example, the participants gave their informed consent, read a set of instructions, completed a block of four practice trials, completed a block of 20 test trials, completed two questionnaires, and were debriefed and excused.

In the third basic way to organize a method section, the participants subsection is followed by a materials subsection before the design and procedure subsections. This works well when there are complicated materials to describe. This might mean multiple questionnaires, written vignettes that participants read and respond to, perceptual stimuli, and so on. The heading of this subsection can be modified to reflect its content. Instead of “Materials,” it can be “Questionnaires,” “Stimuli,” and so on.

The  results section  is where you present the main results of the study, including the results of the statistical analyses. Although it does not include the raw data—individual participants’ responses or scores—researchers should save their raw data and make them available to other researchers who request them. Several journals now encourage the open sharing of raw data online.

Although there are no standard subsections, it is still important for the results section to be logically organized. Typically it begins with certain preliminary issues. One is whether any participants or responses were excluded from the analyses and why. The rationale for excluding data should be described clearly so that other researchers can decide whether it is appropriate. A second preliminary issue is how multiple responses were combined to produce the primary variables in the analyses. For example, if participants rated the attractiveness of 20 stimulus people, you might have to explain that you began by computing the mean attractiveness rating for each participant. Or if they recalled as many items as they could from study list of 20 words, did you count the number correctly recalled, compute the percentage correctly recalled, or perhaps compute the number correct minus the number incorrect? A third preliminary issue is the reliability of the measures. This is where you would present test-retest correlations, Cronbach’s α, or other statistics to show that the measures are consistent across time and across items. A final preliminary issue is whether the manipulation was successful. This is where you would report the results of any manipulation checks.

The results section should then tackle the primary research questions, one at a time. Again, there should be a clear organization. One approach would be to answer the most general questions and then proceed to answer more specific ones. Another would be to answer the main question first and then to answer secondary ones. Regardless, Bem (2003) [3] suggests the following basic structure for discussing each new result:

• Remind the reader of the research question.
• Give the answer to the research question in words.
• Present the relevant statistics.
• Qualify the answer if necessary.
• Summarize the result.

Notice that only Step 3 necessarily involves numbers. The rest of the steps involve presenting the research question and the answer to it in words. In fact, the basic results should be clear even to a reader who skips over the numbers.

The  discussion  is the last major section of the research report. Discussions usually consist of some combination of the following elements:

• Summary of the research
• Theoretical implications
• Practical implications
• Limitations
• Suggestions for future research

The discussion typically begins with a summary of the study that provides a clear answer to the research question. In a short report with a single study, this might require no more than a sentence. In a longer report with multiple studies, it might require a paragraph or even two. The summary is often followed by a discussion of the theoretical implications of the research. Do the results provide support for any existing theories? If not, how  can  they be explained? Although you do not have to provide a definitive explanation or detailed theory for your results, you at least need to outline one or more possible explanations. In applied research—and often in basic research—there is also some discussion of the practical implications of the research. How can the results be used, and by whom, to accomplish some real-world goal?

The theoretical and practical implications are often followed by a discussion of the study’s limitations. Perhaps there are problems with its internal or external validity. Perhaps the manipulation was not very effective or the measures not very reliable. Perhaps there is some evidence that participants did not fully understand their task or that they were suspicious of the intent of the researchers. Now is the time to discuss these issues and how they might have affected the results. But do not overdo it. All studies have limitations, and most readers will understand that a different sample or different measures might have produced different results. Unless there is good reason to think they  would have, however, there is no reason to mention these routine issues. Instead, pick two or three limitations that seem like they could have influenced the results, explain how they could have influenced the results, and suggest ways to deal with them.

Most discussions end with some suggestions for future research. If the study did not satisfactorily answer the original research question, what will it take to do so? What  new  research questions has the study raised? This part of the discussion, however, is not just a list of new questions. It is a discussion of two or three of the most important unresolved issues. This means identifying and clarifying each question, suggesting some alternative answers, and even suggesting ways they could be studied.

Finally, some researchers are quite good at ending their articles with a sweeping or thought-provoking conclusion. Darley and Latané (1968) [4] , for example, ended their article on the bystander effect by discussing the idea that whether people help others may depend more on the situation than on their personalities. Their final sentence is, “If people understand the situational forces that can make them hesitate to intervene, they may better overcome them” (p. 383). However, this kind of ending can be difficult to pull off. It can sound overreaching or just banal and end up detracting from the overall impact of the article. It is often better simply to end when you have made your final point (although you should avoid ending on a limitation).

The references section begins on a new page with the heading “References” centred at the top of the page. All references cited in the text are then listed in the format presented earlier. They are listed alphabetically by the last name of the first author. If two sources have the same first author, they are listed alphabetically by the last name of the second author. If all the authors are the same, then they are listed chronologically by the year of publication. Everything in the reference list is double-spaced both within and between references.

Appendices, Tables, and Figures

Appendices, tables, and figures come after the references. An  appendix  is appropriate for supplemental material that would interrupt the flow of the research report if it were presented within any of the major sections. An appendix could be used to present lists of stimulus words, questionnaire items, detailed descriptions of special equipment or unusual statistical analyses, or references to the studies that are included in a meta-analysis. Each appendix begins on a new page. If there is only one, the heading is “Appendix,” centred at the top of the page. If there is more than one, the headings are “Appendix A,” “Appendix B,” and so on, and they appear in the order they were first mentioned in the text of the report.

After any appendices come tables and then figures. Tables and figures are both used to present results. Figures can also be used to illustrate theories (e.g., in the form of a flowchart), display stimuli, outline procedures, and present many other kinds of information. Each table and figure appears on its own page. Tables are numbered in the order that they are first mentioned in the text (“Table 1,” “Table 2,” and so on). Figures are numbered the same way (“Figure 1,” “Figure 2,” and so on). A brief explanatory title, with the important words capitalized, appears above each table. Each figure is given a brief explanatory caption, where (aside from proper nouns or names) only the first word of each sentence is capitalized. More details on preparing APA-style tables and figures are presented later in the book.

Sample APA-Style Research Report

Figures 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, and 11.5 show some sample pages from an APA-style empirical research report originally written by undergraduate student Tomoe Suyama at California State University, Fresno. The main purpose of these figures is to illustrate the basic organization and formatting of an APA-style empirical research report, although many high-level and low-level style conventions can be seen here too.

Key Takeaways

• An APA-style empirical research report consists of several standard sections. The main ones are the abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references.
• The introduction consists of an opening that presents the research question, a literature review that describes previous research on the topic, and a closing that restates the research question and comments on the method. The literature review constitutes an argument for why the current study is worth doing.
• The method section describes the method in enough detail that another researcher could replicate the study. At a minimum, it consists of a participants subsection and a design and procedure subsection.
• The results section describes the results in an organized fashion. Each primary result is presented in terms of statistical results but also explained in words.
• The discussion typically summarizes the study, discusses theoretical and practical implications and limitations of the study, and offers suggestions for further research.
• Practice: Look through an issue of a general interest professional journal (e.g.,  Psychological Science ). Read the opening of the first five articles and rate the effectiveness of each one from 1 ( very ineffective ) to 5 ( very effective ). Write a sentence or two explaining each rating.
• Practice: Find a recent article in a professional journal and identify where the opening, literature review, and closing of the introduction begin and end.
• Practice: Find a recent article in a professional journal and highlight in a different colour each of the following elements in the discussion: summary, theoretical implications, practical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Long Descriptions

Figure 11.1 long description: Table showing three ways of organizing an APA-style method section.

In the simple method, there are two subheadings: “Participants” (which might begin “The participants were…”) and “Design and procedure” (which might begin “There were three conditions…”).

In the typical method, there are three subheadings: “Participants” (“The participants were…”), “Design” (“There were three conditions…”), and “Procedure” (“Participants viewed each stimulus on the computer screen…”).

In the complex method, there are four subheadings: “Participants” (“The participants were…”), “Materials” (“The stimuli were…”), “Design” (“There were three conditions…”), and “Procedure” (“Participants viewed each stimulus on the computer screen…”). [Return to Figure 11.1]

• Bem, D. J. (2003). Writing the empirical journal article. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, & H. R. Roediger III (Eds.),  The compleat academic: A practical guide for the beginning social scientist  (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ↵
• Darley, J. M., & Latané, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4 , 377–383. ↵

A type of research article which describes one or more new empirical studies conducted by the authors.

The page at the beginning of an APA-style research report containing the title of the article, the authors’ names, and their institutional affiliation.

A summary of a research study.

The third page of a manuscript containing the research question, the literature review, and comments about how to answer the research question.

An introduction to the research question and explanation for why this question is interesting.

A description of relevant previous research on the topic being discusses and an argument for why the research is worth addressing.

The end of the introduction, where the research question is reiterated and the method is commented upon.

The section of a research report where the method used to conduct the study is described.

The main results of the study, including the results from statistical analyses, are presented in a research article.

Section of a research report that summarizes the study's results and interprets them by referring back to the study's theoretical background.

Part of a research report which contains supplemental material.

Research Methods in Psychology - 2nd Canadian Edition Copyright © 2015 by Paul C. Price, Rajiv Jhangiani, & I-Chant A. Chiang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Research and Publication

The peer-reviewed literature represents the accumulated knowledge of a field. To ensure the quality of each contribution, authors must accurately and ethically conduct their research by following journal article reporting standards . They then must disseminate their findings and results to other researchers and to the broader public by publishing in high-quality journals that engage in a rigorous peer review process.

The guidelines on these pages help authors navigate the research and publication process, including determining what information to include in their research report, preparing a manuscript for submission to a journal, and communicating with editors and reviewers during peer review. Each journal will have its own submission policies, so consult the journal’s editor or website for specific guidance on how to format and what to include with your manuscript.

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APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

Apa 7th edition, what is the purpose, quick links.

• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes
• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation
• Audiovisual
• Conference Presentations
• Social Media
• Legal References
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• Additional Resources
• Reference Page

APA Publications in the Library

This guide pertains to the 7th edition of the APA Manual.

This guide is designed to support the citation and reference needs of USC students, staff, and faculty.  The 7th edition of the manual does make distinctions between formatting certain components for academic use over publication.  This guide will distinguish student/academic formatting where applicable. 

This guide is designed as a "quick" reference to common APA citation, reference and formatting criteria.  When in doubt, we encourage users to consult with the APA publication manual or APA website for further clarification as the authority on formatting.

Attribution for guide: Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

What is the purpose of citations?

Citations help readers locate your sources. They help to continue the scholarly conversation. To learn more about how citations can help you avoid plagiarism, view this interactive tutorial: 

USC Library Lessons: Avoiding Plagiarism through Citations

When considering citations and references for your papers, you can ask yourself, "could someone find this information in the future?"

A client's personal file would not need a citation because your reader cannot go find that information again.  Census statistics would require a citation because your reader could go locate that information again.

APA requires FOUR ELEMENTS of every citation:

• Who- Author of content
• When- Date content was published
• What- Title of content
• Where- Publication information. This can be the website you got it from or the journal or book's publication information.

If any of the elements listed above are unavailable, check out "Missing Reference Information" from APA for more information.

• APA Style Website As part of our Style and Grammar Guidelines, we explain the basics of paper format, grammar, punctuation, in-text citations, references, bias-free language, and more. Much of what you used to find on the sixth edition blog, you can now find on the APA Style website.
• Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper by Robert V. Labaree Last Updated Aug 21, 2024 966430 views this year
• Owl Purdue 7th Edition Style Guide and Formatting Writing guide from Owl Purdue covering the 7th edition of the APA Manual
• Quick Reference Guide Quick guide on how to identify components to configure a reference for Journal article, book, and chapter from an edited book.
• Annotated Sample Student Paper Sample student paper with formatting annotations.
• Sample student paper
• Annotated Sample Professional Paper Sample professional paper with formatting annotations
• Sample professional paper
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APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Formatting Your Paper

• About In-text Citations
• In-Text Examples
• What to Include
• Volume/Issue
• Bracketed Descriptions
• URLs and DOIs
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with No Author
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• Chapters and Parts of Books
• Classical Works
• Course Materials
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multi-Volume Works
• Newspaper Article
• Patents & Laws
• Personal Communication
• Physicians' Desk Reference
• Social Media
• Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)
• Formatting Your Paper
• Formatting Your References
• Annotated Bibliography
• Headings in APA
• APA Quick Guide
• NEW!* Submit your Paper for APA Review

APA recommends using the same font throughout your paper. IRSC Librarians recommend using 12-point Times New Roman font. If not using Times New Roman, then another serif  or  sans serif typeface should be used for its readability. Only use different typeface in figure descriptions, in that case, use a font between 8 and 14 points.

Line Spacing & Margins

Use double-spacing throughout the entire paper.To add double-spacing in Microsoft Word, highlight all the text you want double-spaced, then click on Page Layout . Next to the word Paragraph click on the arrow. Under Spacing , Line Spacing , select Double and then click OK .

Leave 1 in. margins from top to bottom and side to side. Microsoft Word usually is set to 1 in. margins. You can check this by clicking on Page Layout , then click on Margins. The margin you are using is highlighted, select Normal if it is not already selected. 

Number of Spaces after a Period

APA style recommends placing one space  after a period

• that ends a sentence, 
• when the period separates parts of a reference entry, 
• and after author name abbreviations (i.e. Lander, F. K.).

Do not put a space after a period

• for internal abbreviations (i.e., U.S., p.m.).

Video How-To Set-Up an APA Paper for a Mac

APA Research Paper Template

• APA Research Paper Template for Word 2016 This template was created and saved as a Word template for Microsoft Word 2016.

You can save this template in Microsoft Word (IRSC students, download Office for free, see a librarian if you need help). Above is a template you can use every time you need to set-up a research paper using APA style format. Simply open the template and type your own information every time you need to write an APA style research paper. 

• APA Research Paper Template with an Abstract

The newest edition of APA, 7th edition does not require the use of an abstract for student papers; however, your instructor may wish you to include one. This template has the abstract included.

Sample Paper

The new APA 7th edition has a format for writing a professional paper as well as one for a student paper. These directions are a set-up for student papers. In the header, on the right, is the page number, starting with 1. Centered on the page is the full title of the paper in boldface type. Place one extra space after the title of the paper. Following is the author (or authors if this is a group paper), the department and institution to which the paper is affiliated, the course number and course name, the professor's name, and the due date of the paper.

The text of your paper begins on the second page. The full title starts it off at the top center of a new page, in boldface font. For the rest of the paper, you only need page numbers in the header. Remember to cite!

Your References start on its own page and goes at the end of your paper. Title it References, centered, and bold-faced at the top. The references are alphabetized and have a hanging indent.

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APA Style: APA Citations and Writing

Guides online.

• APA Style and Grammar Guidelines (7th Edition)
• APA Style 7th Edition Reference Examples
• APA Style 7th Edition Handouts and Guides
• Guide for formatting student papers by APA (7th Edition) Info on how to set up your title page, what font, margins, line spacing and indentation you should use, as well as sample papers to look at for guidance.
• APA 6th edition/ 7th edition Comparison Quick Guide (ECU Libraries)

Mission Not So Impossible: APA Edition

Annotated Bibliographies

• Developing a thesis statement (UW-Madison)
• Examples of Annotated Bibliography entries in APA citation style (UNC Chapel Hill)

Annotated bibliographies differ from abstracts or summaries of articles. Annotated bibliographies are a list of sources (journal or news articles, books, websites, datasets, etc.) on a particular topic. The list is usually in alphabetical order by author and employs a single citation style . The propose of an annotated bibliography is:

• To prove you have done some valid research to back up your argument and claims
• To explain the content of your sources, assess their usefulness, and share this information with others who may be less familiar with them

Some questions to help with your analysis of a source might include:

• What’s the main point or thesis of this source?
• Does the author seem to have particular biases or are they trying to reach a particular audience?
• How does this source relate to your own research and ideas?
• How does this source relate to other sources you have read? Do they have aspects of the same argument or opposing views?

Here are a few links to help you better understand and construct an annotated bibliography.

• Annotated Bibliography with examples (UW-Madison)
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography (Cornell)

Graphic Organizers to help you build an annotated bibliography:

• Making Connections - Web Organizer

Writing and Citing Help at UR

• Writing and Citing Guide Provides links to easy to use guides to citing in MLA, APA and other popular citation styles and resources to help you hone your writing skills.
• Writing Help from the Writing, Speaking and Argument Center The Writing, Speaking and Argument Center can help you at any stage of the writing process. Whether you need a quick help sheet, or an appointment with a writing consultant, there are many resources available at here.

What's a DOI Number?

A DOI (short for D igital O bject I dentifier) is a unique number assigned to any digital object like an article , a data set , image , etc.  The doi starts with the number 10 and might contain numbers, letters, and often slashes and periods.  

The doi number is 10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68

How to cite an article with a DOI: APA (American Psychological Association) Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 68-78. doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68 ​

ASA (American Sociological Association) Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci. 2000. "Self-determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-being."  American Psychologist  55(1). Retrieved March 7, 2018 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68).

For more information on DOIs, visit  https://www.doi.org/ 

Guides in Print

Writing for Disciplines in the Social Sciences

• Political Science

Citation Managers

Citation managers like RefWorks, EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero help you track and organize your citations, so that when you're writing your paper, you can easily cite your sources. Citation managers also help you insert citations, create endnotes and bibliographies. 

Helpful Research Guides in the Social Sciences

• Brain & Cognitive Sciences
• Political science
• Public Health
• UR Research Guides by Subject (Complete list)

Connect with River Campus Libraries

• Last Updated: Aug 29, 2023 3:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.rochester.edu/apa

Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• APA Style 7th edition

How to Cite in APA Format (7th edition) | Guide & Generator

This citation guide outlines the most important citation guidelines from the 7th edition APA Publication Manual (2020). Scribbr also offers free guides for the older APA 6th edition , MLA Style , and Chicago Style .

Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr

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Table of contents

Apa in-text citations, apa references, formatting the apa reference page, free lecture slides, frequently asked questions.

In-text citations are brief references in the running text that direct readers to the reference entry at the end of the paper. You include them every time you quote or paraphrase someone else’s ideas or words to avoid plagiarism .

An APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). If you’re citing a specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170) .

Parenthetical vs. narrative citation

The in-text citation can take two forms: parenthetical and narrative. Both types are generated automatically when citing a source with Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator.

• Parenthetical citation: According to new research … (Smith, 2020) .
• Narrative citation: Smith (2020) notes that …

Multiple authors and corporate authors

The in-text citation changes slightly when a source has multiple authors or an organization as an author. Pay attention to punctuation and the use of the ampersand (&) symbol.

Missing information

When the author, publication date or locator is unknown, take the steps outlined below.

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

APA references generally include information about the author , publication date , title , and source . Depending on the type of source, you may have to include extra information that helps your reader locate the source.

Reference examples

Citing a source starts with choosing the correct reference format. Use Scribbr’s Citation Example Generator to learn more about the format for the most common source types. Pay close attention to punctuation, capitalization, and italicization.

Generate APA citations for free

It is not uncommon for certain information to be unknown or missing, especially with sources found online. In these cases, the reference is slightly adjusted.

On the first line of the page, write the section label “References” (in bold and centered). On the second line, start listing your references in alphabetical order .

Apply these formatting guidelines to the APA reference page:

• Double spacing (within and between references)
• Hanging indent of ½ inch
• Legible font (e.g. Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11)
• Page number in the top right header

Which sources to include

On the reference page, you only include sources that you have cited in the text (with an in-text citation ). You should not include references to personal communications that your reader can’t access (e.g. emails, phone conversations or private online material).

Are you a teacher or professor looking to introduce your students to APA Style? Download our free introductory lecture slides, available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

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When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization—e.g., a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company’s website—use the organization’s name as the author in the reference entry and APA in-text citations .

When no author at all can be determined—e.g. a collaboratively edited wiki or an online article published anonymously—use the title in place of the author. In the in-text citation, put the title in quotation marks if it appears in plain text in the reference list, and in italics if it appears in italics in the reference list. Shorten it if necessary.

When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your APA in-text citation . If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website ) but the text is long, you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:

(Caulfield, 2019, Linking section, para. 1).

Section headings can be shortened if necessary. Kindle location numbers should not be used in ebook citations , as they are unreliable.

If you are referring to the source as a whole, it’s not necessary to include a page number or other marker.

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:

Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).

APA Style usually does not require an access date. You never need to include one when citing journal articles , e-books , or other stable online sources.

However, if you are citing a website or online article that’s designed to change over time, it’s a good idea to include an access date. In this case, write it in the following format at the end of the reference: Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.uva.nl/en/about-the-uva/about-the-university/about-the-university.html

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APA Style Examples

Proceedings.

• Books/eBooks
• Gov't/legal
• Unpublished/Not retrievable
• Stats/Figures
• Ask a Librarian
• Online with DOI
• Online without DOI from a database or print version
• Online without DOI, with a nondatabase URL

NOTE: To standardize citations, all DOIs  need to be proceeded by https://doi.org/ before the DOI number

REFERENCE (ONE AUTHOR)

(For more examples, see p. 317 of the 7th edition)

IN TEXT 

Parenthetical: (Robbins, 2015).

Narrative: Robins (2015)

 REFERENCE (TWO AUTHORS)

Kowalski, R. M., & Limber, S. P. (2013). Psychological, physical, and academic correlates of cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53 (1), S13-S20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.201209.018

Parenthetical citation: ( Kowalski & Limber, 2013 ).

Narrative citation: Kowalski and Limber (2013)

REFERENCE (21 or more authors)

Acconcia, T. V., Agocs, A. G., Barile, F., Barnafoldi, G. G., Bellwied, R., Bencedi, G., Bencze, G., Berenyi, D., Boldizsar, L., Chattopadhyay, S., Cindolo, F., Cossyleon, K., Chinellato, D. D., D'Ambrosio, S., Das, D., Das, K., Das-Bose, L., Dash, A. K., De Cataldo, G., . . . Yoo, I.;-K. (2014). A very high momentum particle identification detector. The European Physical Journal Plus, 129 (5), 91- . https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2014-14091-5

IN TEXT  (3 or more authors)

Parenthetical citation: (Acconcia et al. , 2014 ).

Narrative citation: Acconcia et al. (2013) 

  IN TEXT   

    Parenthetical citation: (Almazroui, 2015).     Narrative citation:  Almazroui ( 2015 )

REFERENCE (ONE  AUTHOR )

IN TEXT   

    Parenthetical citation: (Stamps, 2019).     Narrative citation: Stamps (2019)

REFERENCE (TWO AUTHORS)

    Parenthetical citation: (Akin & Huang, 2019).     Narrative citation: Akin and Huang (2019)

Napoli, P. M., & Napoli, A. B. (2019). What social media platforms can learn from audience measurement: Lessons in the self-regulation of "black boxes". First Monday, 24 (12), 488-497. https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/ article/view/10124/8288

IN TEXT 

Parenthetical citation: (Napoli & Napoli, 2019).

Narrative citation: Napoli and Napoli (2019)

(For more examples, see p. 320 of the 7th edition)

Parenthetical citation: ( Enserink, 2020 ).

Narrative citation: Enserink (2020 )

REFERENCE (TWO AUTHORS)

    Cohen, J., & Normille, D. (2020, January 10). China delivers verdict on gene editing of babies. Science, 367 (6474), 130. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.367.6474.130

  IN TEXT 

Parenthetical citation: ( Cohen & Normille, 2020 ).

Narrative citation: Cohen and Normille (2020)

(For more examples, see p. 320 of the 7th edition)

Parenthetical citation: (Kessler, 2016).

Narrative citation: Kessler (2016)

    Bower, B. (2016, July 9). Deadly devotion. Science News, 190 (1), 18-21. 

Parenthetical citation: ( Bower, 2016 ).

Narrative citation: Bower (2016)

(For more examples, see p. 320 of the 7th edition)

Parenthetical citation: (Hilgedick, 2019).

Narrative citation: Hilgedick (2019)

    Schulz, K. (2017, April 24). Literature's arctic obsession. The New Yorker . https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/ 2017/04/24/literatures-arctic-obsession

 Parenthetical citation: ( Schulz, 2017) .

 Narrative citation: Schulz (2017)

 IN TEXT 

 Parenthetical citation: ( Baron, 2003 ).

 Narrative citation: Baron (2003)

    Kolata , G. (2016 , June 23). A cautionary tale of stem cell therapy abroad.  New York Times,  A19.

   IN TEXT 

   Parenthetical citation: (Kolata, 2016).

    Narrative citation: Kolata (2016) 

REFERENCE (NO AUTHOR)

    Alberni youth fundraises for Ukraine with bracelets. (2022, April 27). Alberni Valley News ,  A4.

   Parenthetical citation: (“Alberni youth fundraises,” 2022).

   Narrative citation: “Alberni youth fundraises” (2022) 

(For more information, see p. 320 of the 7th edition)

        IN TEXT 

 Parenthetical citation: ( Rosenbloom, 2020 ).

  Narrative citation: Rosenbloom (2020)

    Wade, N., & Solberg, S. G. (2002, January 25). Scientists herald a versatile adult cell. New York Times, A14. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/25/us/scientists-herald-a-versatile-adult-cell.html

    IN TEXT 

   Parenthetical citation: (Wade & Solberg, 2002).

   Narrative citation: Wade and Solberg (2002)

(For more information, see p. 332 of the 7th edition or Conference Proceedings References )

IN TEXT   

      Parenthetical citation: (Dabney et al., 2013).

       Narrative citation:  Dabney et al. (2013)

Consult the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. , for more examples of periodical reference citations (beginning on page 316, section 10.1)

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Types of APA Papers

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. There is currently no equivalent 7th edition page, but we're working on one. Thank you for your patience. Here is a link to our APA 7 "General Format" page .

There are two common types of papers written in fields using APA Style: the literature review and the experimental report (also known as a "research report"). Each has unique requirements concerning the sections that must be included in the paper.

Literature review

A literature review is a critical summary of what the scientific literature says about your specific topic or question. Often student research in APA fields falls into this category. Your professor might ask you to write this kind of paper to demonstrate your familiarity with work in the field pertinent to the research you hope to conduct. 

While the APA Publication Manual does not require a specific order for a literature review, a good literature review typically contains the following components:

• Introduction
• Thesis statement
• Summary and synthesis of sources
• List of references

Some instructors may also want you to write an abstract for a literature review, so be sure to check with them when given an assignment. Also, the length of a literature review and the required number of sources will vary based on course and instructor preferences.

NOTE:  A literature review and an annotated bibliography are  not  synonymous. While both types of writing involve examining sources, the literature review seeks to synthesize the information and draw connections between sources. If you are asked to write an annotated bibliography, you should consult the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  for the APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies.

Experimental/Research report

In many of the social sciences, you will be asked to design and conduct your own experimental research. If so, you will need to write up your paper using a structure that is more complex than that used for just a literature review. We have a complete resource devoted to writing an experimental report in the field of psychology  here .

This structure follows the scientific method, but it also makes your paper easier to follow by providing those familiar cues that help your reader efficiently scan your information for:

• Why the topic is important (covered in your introduction)
• What the problem is (also covered in your introduction)
• What you did to try to solve the problem (covered in your methods section)
• What you found (covered in your results section)
• What you think your findings mean (covered in your discussion section)

Thus an experimental report typically includes the following sections.

• Multiple experiments (if you conduct more than one)
• Appendices (if necessary)
• Tables and/or figures (if necessary)

Make sure to check the guidelines for your assignment or any guidelines that have been given to you by an editor of a journal before you submit a manuscript containing the sections listed above.

As with the literature review, the length of this report may vary by course or by journal, but most often it will be determined by the scope of the research conducted.

Other papers

If you are writing a paper that fits neither of these categories, follow the guidelines about  General Format , consult your instructor, or look up advice in the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association .

When submitting a manuscript to a journal, make sure you follow the guidelines described in the submission policies of that publication, and include as many sections as you think are applicable to presenting your material. Remember to keep your audience in mind as you are making this decision. If certain information is particularly pertinent for conveying your research, then ensure that there is a section of your paper that adequately addresses that information.

APA Style 7th Edition

• Student Paper
• Professional Paper
• In-Text Citations
• Reference Citations
• Additional Resources
• Citing Artificial Intelligence

See also Authors in References and In-Text Citations for APA Style 7th Edition (Quick Guide) .

Examples by Number of Authors

1 Author • 2 Authors   • 3-20 Authors   • 21+ Authors   • Works with No Author Listed   • Anonymous Works

2 Authors

3 to 20 Authors

21+ Authors

Works with No Listed Author

Anonymous Works

In the world of APA Style, group authors are not several individuals who write and publish together; instead a group authors are organizations - such as corporations, governments, the armed forces, charities, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and more. Below are some examples of organizations.

If a source does not have the name or names of specific people listed as an author or creator, look to see if there is an organizational name taking credit for the information in the source.

University of Northern Colorado Colorado Animal Rescue Anheuser Busch Denver International Airport Colorado Public Radio North Colorado Medical Center Celestial Seasonings King Soopers United Airlines Colorado Department of Higher Education Archdiocese of Denver

Smithsonian Institute American Psychological Association United States Army Exxon Mobile United Nations American Red Cross Museum of Modern Art Centers of Disease Control and Prevention International Olympic Committee World Health Organization Bureau of Land Management

• To document multiple sources giving the same information, one parenthetical citation can include text citations for multiple sources. This can also lend emphasis to certain evidence in your writing.
• Put the text citations in alphabetical order by first author listed, as in the References.
• If one citation has more importance than the others, list that citation first, followed by a semicolon, the words 'see also', and the rest of the citations in alphabetical order by first author listed, as in the References.

Example 21: Multiple Sources Supporting the Same Evidence or Idea

Example 22: One  Important Source and Multiple Other Sources Supporting the Same Evidence

Rules of Text Citations

Corresponding Reference Citation  • Parenthetical or Narrative  • Author(s) & Year of Publication  • Citing an Idea or Concept  • Quoting a Source  • AND versus Ampersand (&)  • et al.

Rule #1: Corresponding Reference Citations For each text citation there must be a corresponding citation in the reference list, and for each reference list citation there must be at least one corresponding text citation. Each corresponding citation must have identical spelling and year.  The purpose of the text citation is to briefly give readers the identity of the information you are citing, and allow them to quickly find full citation information in the References that enables readers to locate the exact piece of literature you used.

The in-text citation must have exact corresponding information to the reference citation.

Rule #2: Parenthetical or Narrative

In-text citations can be given either in the narrative or parenthetical of a paper. It is your choice when to use parenthetical or narrative in-text citations, but you should always consider which makes sense for the structure of your sentence and what you are trying to express and what makes your work flow. Look at the example below and consider which you think sounds better.

Rule #3: Author(s) & Year of Publication

Each text citation must include at least two pieces of information:

• author(s) - If a source has no listed author, the title moves into the place of the author in both the reference and the in-text citations.
• year of publication - If a source has no date listed - either copyright date or date of update or other date indicating date of content creation or publication - list the date as n.d. (for no date) in both the reference and the in-text citations.

Rule #4: Citing a Specific Idea or Concept

If citing an entire work - summarizing the entire idea of book, article, website, or other source - no page number, chapter number, paragraph number, or section header is needed.

If citing a specific idea or concept within a book, article, report, or other source: include the page number(s), chapter number, or section header. To be more precise the paragraph (para.), table, figure, slide number, or time (in the case of audio or visual materials) can be given. It is important to get your reader as closely to the specific place in the source as possible.

(Feinstein, 2022, p. 78 ) - single page example ( Feinstein , 2022, pp. 42-61 ) - multiple page example ( Feinstein , 2022, Chapter 5 ) ( Feinstein , 2022, Methodology ) ( Feinstein , 2022, para. 7 ) - single paragraph example ( Feinstein , 2022, paras. 8-9 ) - multiple paragraphs example ( Feinstein , 2022, Table 4 ) ( Feinstein , 2022, Fig. A ) ( Feinstein , 2022, Slides 21-22 ) ( Feinstein , 2022, 00:42:13 )

Rule #5 Quoting a Source

When including a quotation from a source in your work, always indicate the specific place the quotation comes from, so that readers can find that quotation again easily. Generally, this will mean including the page number(s) in the text citation; however, when a page number is not available, use other place indications (paragraph, chapter, section, slide, time, etc.). See Rule #4.

Short quotation = 40 words or less

• Incorporate the quote into the text
• Enclose quotation in double quotation marks
• Provide author, date, and page number (or other indication of place)
• If using a narrative citation, place the page number (or other indication of place) after the quote within parentheses

Example 27:  Short Quotation 

Example 28:  Long Quotation  Please note that the spaces between the example text and long quotation should not exist.

Long quotation = 41 words or more

• Separate a long quote by placing the quote in a separate block of text
• Do not use quotation marks with a block quote
• Start a block quote on a new line and indent both left and right margins by 0.5 inches
• Like the rest of the paper, double-space the block quotation

Reference Citation

[Speech transcript]. Voices of Democracy.

Quotation in Text with Narrative Citation

On August 28, 1963 John Lewis, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, spoke at the March on Washington and his speech has become of one of the most well-known speeches in the Civil Rights movement. The opening of his speech was notable:  We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of.  For hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here.  For they are receiving starvation wages, or no wages at all. While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day.  While we stand here there are students in jail on trumped-up charges.  Our brother James Farmer, along with many others, is also in jail. We come here today with a great sense of misgiving (para. 1). Rule #6 AND versus Ampersand (&) Use an ampersand (&) when using a parenthetical citation. Use the word 'and' when using and narrative citation and the author(s) appear in the text instead of parentheses. Reference Citation (4), 238-333.  Narrative Citation demonstrated that homophobia was reduced over a 16-week human sexuality course through educational interventions; the researchers posit that this difference is due to the dispersal of myths and stereotypes.  Parenthetical Citation Research substantiates that homophobia can be reduced through educational interventions; researchers posit that this difference is due to the dispersal of myths and stereotypes (Wright & Cullen, 2001).  Rule #7 et al. For any source with three or more authors, only the surname of the first listed author and the abbreviation "et al." will appear in the in-text citation to represent all of the authors, whether there are three authors or 103 authors. The abbreviation "et al." is short for "et alia" which is Latin for "and others." In the following example, the source (an open letter) has 81 authors, 20 of which will appear in the reference citation (authors 1-19 and the last author), but only one author will appear in the in-text citation along with "et al." Reference Citation , Animal Political-El Sabueso, Aos Fatos, Bolivia Verifica, BOOM, Check Your Fact, Code for Africa-PesaCheck, Colombiacheck, CORRECTV, Cotejo.info, Chequeado, Delfi Lithuania, Demagog Association, Doqruluk Payi, Dubawa, Ecuador Chequea, Ellinika Hoaxes, Fact Crescendo, Fact-Check Ghana, ... 15min. (2022, January 12). [Published letter]. Poynter.  Narrative Citation (2022) sent an open letter to the CEO of YouTube proposing solutions to the disinformation being distributed through the social media giant. Parenthetical Citation , 2022). Unique Name Issues Notable & Famous Mononyms • Notable & Famous Unique Polynyms  • Screennames & User Names  • Suffixes Notable & Famous Mononyms A mononym is a person's name that consists of only one word; this is often, but not always, a first name without a surname. For instance, the musician best known to the world as Prince was legally known as Prince Rogers Nelson. Examples of Mononyms Adele • Homer • Voltaire • Plato • Moliére • Eminem • Pythagoris • Colette Reference Citation . (1970). (S. Robb, Trans.; 4th ed.). Liveright. (Original work published 1555) Narrative Citation Nostradamus 1970 Reference Citation . (2002). [Photograph of painting on London's Waterloo Bridge, South Bank]. Wikipedia. Narrative Citation Banksy 2002 is left is open to audience interpretation, but the artwork is often accompanied by the words, "There is always hope." Notable & Famous Unique Polynyms A polynym is a name consisting of multiple words. Most people in today's world have polynyms, but historically individuals did not have both given names and surnames as most do now and contemporarily famous individuals may brand themselves with unique polynyms that do not act as a normal person's name in APA Style. If an author or creator has a unique polynym such as the examples below, give the full name as used without inverting the last name into first place nor creating initials from first or second words/names. Examples of Unique Polynyms Joan of Arc  •  The Weeknd  •  Pliny the Younger  •  Wilhelm II  •   Malcolm X  •  Thales of Miletus  •  El Greco  •  Lady Gaga  • G awain Poet Reference Citation . (2011). . Doggy Style; Capitol. Parenthetical Citation Listening to (Snoop Dogg, 2011) is a confusing journey that does not appear to have a specific theme, but rather twists and turns and elicits a variety of responses with random rhythms and a variety of guest artists. Reference Citation . (2021). (N. M. Campbell, Trans.). Catholic University of America Press. (Original work published ca. 1163) Narrative Citation Screennames & User Names If the person's real name is known as well as the screenname/user name, give the person's actual name first with surname first followed by first and middle initials and followed by the screenname/user name in square brackets. If the person's actual name is not known and all that is given is the screenname/user name, give the screenname/user name exactly as it appears in author's place within the citation. Reference Citation , B. [thisisbillgates]. (2022, February 8).  [Online forum post]. Reddit.  Parenthetical Citation Reference Citation . (2022, March 4).  [Online forum post with image]. Imgur.  Parenthetical Citation Reference Citation  [blmlosangeles]. (2022, February 24).  [Image]. Instagram. Parenthetical Citation Lucy Parsons advocated for the "rights of women, children, political prisoners, people of color, unhoused people, and sex workers" and fought for "free access to birth control and the right of women to seek divorce" (Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, 2022, para. 3). Reference Citation [uncuniversitylibraries]. (2022, January 25). [Image]. Facebook.  Parenthetical Citation Do NOT include name suffixes that indicate a credential - such as Ph.D. (Philosophy of Doctorate degree), DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice), BCEE (Board Certified Environmental Engineer), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), etc. Do include name suffixes that indicate generational designations - such as Sr., Jr., II, III, IV, etc., but only in the reference citation and not within the in-text citation. Reference Citation III, diSessa, A. A., & Roschelle, J. (1993). Misconceptions reconceived: A constructivist analysis of knowledge in transition. (2), 115-163. Parenthetical Citation If citing  multiple sources by the same author  (or group of authors that are listed in the same order on a number of papers)  with the same publication year , arrange the citations in order of title and place lowercase letters directly after the publication year in the citation. Beall (2016 d ; see also 2015; 2016 c ; 2016 e ; 2017) expounded the threat of predatory publishers in medical literature and the long-term damage such journals may inflict upon the scientific record. He further asserts that predatory journals may cause significant setbacks to scientific advancement (Beall, 2016 a ), but offers advice and best practices for scholarly authors to follow (Beall, 2016 b ). Bartholomew, R. E. (2014). Science for sale: The rise of predatory journals. J ournal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 107 (10), 384-385. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076814548526 Beall, J. (2015). The ‘metric’ system: Yet more chaos in scholarly publishing. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 6 (11), 2020-2021. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.5b00910 Beall, J. (2016 a ). Ban predators from the scientific record. Nature, 534 , 326. https://doi.org/10.1038/534326a Beall, J. (2016 b ). Best practices for scholarly authors in the age of predatory journals. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 98 (2), 77-79. https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsann.2016.0056 Beall, J. (2016 c ). Dangerous predatory publishers threaten medical research. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 31 (10), 1511-1513. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.10.1511 Beall, J. (2016 d ). Medical publishing and the threat of predatory journals. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, 2 (4), 115-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2016.08.002 Beall, J. (2016 e ). Pharmacy research and predatory journals: Authors beware. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 73 (19), 1548-1550. https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp160150 Beall, J. (2017). Predatory journals threaten the quality of published medical research. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 47 (1), 3-5. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2017.0601 Cobey, K. D., Grudniewicz, A., Lalu, M. M., Rice, D. B., Raffoul, H., & Moher, D. (2019). Knowledge and motivations of researchers publishing in presumed predatory journals: A survey. BMJ Open, 9 (3), e026516. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026516 << Previous: Headings Next: Reference Citations >> Last Updated: Aug 2, 2024 1:56 PM URL: https://libguides.unco.edu/apa How to write for a non-academic audience Communicating about research is more important than ever Vol. 52 No. 1 Print version: page 87 As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, the clear delivery of research findings to the public can be a matter of literal life or death. This is especially true for psychological science, which can offer a wealth of knowledge about crucial topics ranging from social inequities to the implementation of public health measures. But writing for the general public isn’t the same as academic writing—and it’s not something that most psychologists train for. Fortunately, it’s a skill that many psychologists are well-positioned to learn. If your job involves teaching, communicating with clients, or putting yourself in others’ shoes, you’re probably halfway there. “I really, really want to encourage psychologists to write for a broad audience,” says Lisa Damour, PhD, a clinical psychologist who writes a column on adolescence for The New York Times and cohosts a parenting podcast called Ask Lisa . “It’s a public service.” Despite numerous political controversies, the public’s confidence in science and scientists remains high. The Pew Research Center found that as of 2019, 86% of Americans said they had a great deal or fair amount of confidence that scientists act in the public interest, up from 83% in 2016. That’s higher than Americans’ confidence in public school principals and significantly exceeds people’s confidence in elected officials, which were at 77% and 35%, respectively, in 2019. What that means is there is a lot of demand for writing directly from scientists and those who use scientific research in their careers. Damour and other science writers shared these tips for science communicators. Know your audience The first step in communicating science is knowing who you’re addressing. At the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York, instructors ask students to think about what they want their audience to feel, think, or do. This becomes a mission statement to guide everything they write. “We do a lot of exercises that are audience-specific, so you might adapt one piece of writing for three different audiences,” says Ken Weitzman, a playwright and instructor at the Alda Center. For example, a scientific audience might be most interested in the methodological advances made by a new research paper, says Erika Check Hayden, the director of the Science Communication Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A general audience isn’t as likely to find methodology as gripping on its own, so you need to find an angle that applies to people’s lives. “What is the human dimension of the research or the study or the concept that you’re trying to communicate?” Hayden says. Lead with the takeaway Perhaps the most dramatic difference between academic writing and popular writing is format. A scientific paper is like an inverted triangle: It starts broadly with the background of the research, covers details and methods, and finally reaches the takeaway message in the conclusion. Writing for a popular audience flips that formula upside down. “They want to know your findings first and then how and why that’s important,” says Hayden. Only after getting the key takeaway messages up top can you delve into background and other details of the research. You’ll want to be able to craft your main point to ensure it captures the attention of the audience that needs to hear it most. Nix jargon and embrace metaphors Precision in academic writing often requires repetition: If you’re writing about major depressive disorder, you’ll use that terminology consistently. In popular writing, though, you may need to pull out the thesaurus to vary your vocabulary, Damour says. A little linguistic flexibility translates to better readability for general audiences. Similarly, simplify sentences, use active voice, and use metaphors liberally when describing complex concepts. And cut out jargon: Your readers may boggle at the term “type I error,” but they’re likely to immediately grasp “false positive.” Don’t think of this process as “dumbing down” your work, says Michelle Nijhuis, a science journalist and coeditor of The Science Writers’ Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, Publish, and Prosper in the Digital Age . “The people you’re speaking to aren’t dumb,” Nijhuis says. “They just are interested in different things than you’re interested in.” Cutting jargon and simplifying sentences also makes it easier to get your message across. “If you’re struggling to parse the sentence that somebody wrote, you can’t also wrap your head around a brand-new concept,” says Art Markman, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin who writes for media outlets such as Fast Company . Be honest, but don’t over-caveat Another difference between academic and popular writing is how each handles uncertainty. In academic writing, it’s important to center caveats and limitations of any research study. This is also important when writing for a general audience, but caveats should be handled with care. General audiences are more likely than scientists to see uncertainty as undermining the main argument. When you introduce uncertainty, include enough context so that your audience understands why your message still matters. “Don’t go so far with your caveating that you undercut the significance of what you have to say,” Nijhuis says. Find your outlet There are a dizzying array of ways to communicate about research, from podcasts to blogs to op-eds. Damour got her start at The New York Times by writing a piece for the Motherlode blog and sending it to the editor cold—but not before poring over previous posts and writing to match the parenting blog’s style. It helps to think of different outlets as different clothing brands, she says. Some are selling fancy coats, others sportswear. “Sometimes where academics struggle is they’re trying to submit an embroidered coat to a place that sells parkas,” she says. “There’s nothing wrong with the embroidered coat, but the outlet that sells parkas doesn’t work with that kind of content.” Before reaching out to an editor you want to write for, make sure you understand their audience and writing style, Damour says. It’s also useful to understand what kind of content they publish. Most daily news publications will want a timely “hook,” like a new study or ripped-from-the-headlines topic. Others, like The New Yorker, run deep dives that don’t need to be as timely (though you’ll still have to explain why the topic is relevant to readers). Just because someone else has written about a topic doesn’t mean you can’t too, Damour adds. In commercial book publishing in particular, editors like to publish books on topics that are already selling well. Leverage your network You don’t have to launch a science-writing sideline in a vacuum. Markman started communicating directly to the public after his frustration with politicians cutting funding for behavioral research boiled over. He worked with his university’s public affairs office to start doing more media work and began writing op-eds. Many professional organizations, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, also offer resources for science communication. Markman also recommends reaching out to colleagues who are already writing for the general public for advice and for inroads into publishing. It’s also worthwhile to interact with journalists, he says. Markman landed a regular writing gig at Entrepreneur magazine because reporters there interviewed him so often that the editor finally reached out to see if he would write for them. Local NPR affiliates are often interested in hearing from professionals in their regions, Markman says. He cohosts a long-running podcast called Two Guys on Your Head on KUT-FM in Austin. Science communication was once viewed as somewhat suspect in academic circles, Damour says, but that is changing. There is now an active community of scientist-communicators online (often under the hashtag #scicomm on social media) and far broader acceptance that communicating results is part of a researcher’s job. There are also many formal resources, including online workshops and trainings, to teach science communication skills. “We should be proud of what we know as psychologists, and we should be generous in sharing it, especially now,” Damour says. American Association for the Advancement of Science Communication Toolkit www.aaas.org/resources/communication-toolkit If I understood you, would I have this look on my face? Alda, A., Random House, 2018 Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science Workshops www.aldacenter.org/workshops The craft of science writing: Selections from The Open Notebook Carpenter, S. (Ed.), The Open Notebook, 2020 On writing well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction Zinsser, W., Harper Perennial, 2016 Contact APA You may also like. 489 IMAGES Research Paper Apa Style How To Write An Apa Introduction Page Apa Style Guide Definition Essay Basics: Format a References Page in APA Style APA Style cheat sheet: How to cite a journal article using APA Style How To Write An Article Review Apa Style : How to write an article rewiew? COMMENTS Ch.8. The Process of Research Flashcards Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like 1. APA-style research articles are written for an audience of ______. a. the general public b. doctoral students c. other researchers in psychology and related fields d. undergraduate students, 2. The APA-style section's correct order is ______. a. results, discussion, references, abstract b. abstract, introduction, method ... PDF APA Style Research Article Activity This activity helps students find, cite, analyze, and summarize a scholarly research article. For each step of the activity, type your responses directly into the text fields provided, or copy the questions into your preferred word-processing program and answer them there. Complete this activity multiple times to help you write papers such as ... How to Write an APA Research Paper Title page. (see sample on p. 41 of APA manual) Title should be between 10-12 words and should reflect content of paper (e.g., IV and DV). Title, your name, and Hamilton College are all double-spaced (no extra spaces) Create a page header using the "View header" function in MS Word. On the title page, the header should include the following: About APA Style APA Style originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style guidelines, that would codify the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension. They published their guidelines as a seven-page article ... Academic Guides: Scholarly Voice: Tone and Audience Summary of Tone and Audience for the Capstone. A capstone document marks a writer's debut as a member of a community of scholars. The attitude conveyed in this document necessarily reflects the position of a person displaying an understanding of certain research concepts and writing conventions while also contributing something new to the ... Resources & Explanations Avoiding Plagiarism. Academic Writer - produced by the APA, a series of tutorials and resources to support excellence in academic writing. NOT FREE, but a free trial is provided for educators. Cite Right, Third Edition by Charles Lipson. Publication Date: 2018. Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style More details on preparing APA-style tables and figures are presented later in the book. Sample APA-Style Research Report. Figures 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, and 11.5 show some sample pages from an APA-style empirical research report originally written by undergraduate student Tomoe Suyama at California State University, Fresno. Research and publication Research and Publication. The peer-reviewed literature represents the accumulated knowledge of a field. To ensure the quality of each contribution, authors must accurately and ethically conduct their research by following journal article reporting standards. They then must disseminate their findings and results to other researchers and to the ... Publishing and presenting research October 7, 2021. Psychological scientists often lament that there isn't greater understanding, appreciation, and application of our science. In this highly interactive webinar, our panel of knowledgeable experts will discuss how psychological scientists can communicate their work to a broader audience. Recommended reading (PDF, 60KB) PDF APA Style Article To cite a Web document, use the author-date format. If no author is identified, use the first few words of the title in place of the author. If no date is provided, use "n.d." in place of the date. Consider the following examples: Degelman (2009) summarizes guidelines for the use of APA writing style. PDF Writing an Empirical Paper in APA Style Margins. APA specifies 1-inch margins all around (top, bottom, left, right). Pagination. Use your word processor's header function to put page numbers in the upper-right-hand corner one inch from the right-hand edge of the page. Start with the title page and go all the way through. APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and ... PDF APA Guide to Preparing Manuscripts for Journal Publication Introduction. This guide provides an overview of the process of preparing and submitting a scholarly manuscript for publication in a psychology journal. Drawing on the experiences of authors of scholarly writings, peer reviewers, and journal editors, we seek to demystify the publication process and to offer advice designed to improve a ... LibGuides: APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Formatting Your Paper The new APA 7th edition has a format for writing a professional paper as well as one for a student paper. These directions are a set-up for student papers. In the header, on the right, is the page number, starting with 1. Centered on the page is the full title of the paper in boldface type. Place one extra space after the title of the paper. APA Style: APA Citations and Writing Writing and Citing Guide. Provides links to easy to use guides to citing in MLA, APA and other popular citation styles and resources to help you hone your writing skills. Writing Help from the Writing, Speaking and Argument Center. The Writing, Speaking and Argument Center can help you at any stage of the writing process. How to Cite in APA Format (7th edition) On the first line of the page, write the section label "References" (in bold and centered). On the second line, start listing your references in alphabetical order. Apply these formatting guidelines to the APA reference page: Double spacing (within and between references) Hanging indent of ½ inch. APA Overview and Workshop Welcome to the OWL Workshop on APA Style! This workshop introduces important aspects of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style used to format research papers. The introductory material describes what APA Style is, why it is used, and who should use it. Following this, the resource provides links to some of the OWL's most helpful APA ... APA Style 6th Edition Blog: Research The first webinar addressed how to find and use psychological tests and measures. Watch it below: The second webinar was about statistics—specifically, how to choose statistical tests on the basis of your research question and design and how to present statistics in APA Style in text, tables, and figures. Articles Research Guides; APA Style Examples; Articles; ... Napoli, P. M., & Napoli, A. B. (2019). What social media platforms can learn from audience measurement: Lessons in the self-regulation of "black boxes". First Monday, 24(12 ... APA citation examples, APA style, Citing in APA, how to cite APA, Publication Manual of the American Psychological ... Psych./Neuro. 201 How to Write an APA Style Research Paper An APA-style paper includes the following sections: title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Your paper may also include one or more tables and/or figures. Different types of information about your study are addressed in each of the sections, as described below. General formatting rules are as follows: Types of APA Papers APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the ... In-Text Citations In the world of APA Style, group authors are not several individuals who write and publish together; instead a group authors are organizations - such as corporations, governments, the armed forces, charities, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and more. Below are some examples of organizations. How to write for a non-academic audience Be honest, but don't over-caveat. Another difference between academic and popular writing is how each handles uncertainty. In academic writing, it's important to center caveats and limitations of any research study. This is also important when writing for a general audience, but caveats should be handled with care. essay homework paper phd project resume review speech study