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QUICK GUIDE
APA Style
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition
What is APA and why use it?
APA stands for American Psychological
Association, and is a writing style to ensure a professional
standard of writing by its members, primarily coming
from fields in the social sciences, healthcare, and
education. APA is the style used in these fields across
universities in the U.S.
For an explanation of usage of APA Style, refer to the South
University APA style guide available within your online class. To
access it, launch your online course. In the orange navigation
panel, on the left hand side, click the “South University Policies
and Guidelines” link. Then click the “Using APA Standards in
your Coursework” link. Under “Using APA Standards in your
Coursework,” click the “click here” link.
Here are some of the most commonly used elements of APA
Style (please note that all citations on your reference page
should be double spaced with a hanging indent on the second
line) :
Citing SUO Lectures:
APA style is the required citation style used in all
South University courses.
Part of being good students and researchers is to
give credit to those whose ideas and work help to inform
our own. As writers of academic work, we draw from and
build on the work of previous scholars and professionals. When we present our writing, we want to show our
readers that we are knowledgeable about our topics and
that we have informed ourselves by seeking out opinions
written by experts on these topics. When we document
our sources, we share with our readers the research we
have done to develop our balanced and reasoned positions that we present in our own writing.
To demonstrate our credibility as writers and
professionals, we use APA style—an agreed upon set of
rules—to lead our readers to the original source material that we have used in preparing our work. These
rules comprise the formal conventions for writing that are
respected in our professional fields and help us to communicate professionally with colleagues and peers.
APA has also been inferred as the “Author/date”
system because there is a focus on both the author and
the date the article or study was published. This focus on
the date is important since things change rapidly in our
fields of study.
FORMAT:
South University Online. (2012). Course ID: Title of course in sentence
casing: Week X: Specific lecture not capitalized. Retrieved from
myeclassonline.com
EXAMPLE:
South University Online. (2012). ENG 1002: Composition II: Week 2:
Feminist ways of reading. Retrieved from myeclassonline.com
SAMPLE QUOTE:
“Feminism begins by emphasizing that gender and sex are different”
(South University Online, 2010, para. 2).
Citing your Online Digital Textbook:
FORMAT:
Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of book: Not capitalized [Vital
Source digital version]. City, State: Publisher.
EXAMPLE:
Kelly, M. & McGowen, J. (2010). BUSN 3[Vital Source digital version].
Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
SAMPLE QUOTE:
“Not only do businesses provide the products and services that people
enjoy, they also provide the jobs that people need” (Kelly & McGowen,
2010, p. 4).
Note: Depending on your publication, page numbers may not be
available; therefore, include paragraph numbers instead.
Citing Online Scholarly Journal Article without DOI:
FORMAT:
Author, A. A. (year, month and day). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
Volume (issue number if available), xx-xx.Analyze, manage and share
information in more ways than ever.
EXAMPLE:
Feinberg, J. M. (2009). College students’ perceptions of athletes who
cheat: The role of performance and history. Journal of Sport Behavior,
32(4), 460-475.
SAMPLE QUOTE:
Whitley and Kost (1999) uncovered “. . . evidence that under certain
conditions participants may be more inclined to make harsher judgments
about cheaters” (as cited in Feinberg, 2009, p. 464).
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Last update: Jan. 6, 2014 by M. LoMan, M.L.S., Online Reference Librarian
South Universit y Online Librar y
QUICK GUIDE
APA Style
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition
Formatting your Manuscript
Citing Online Scholarly Journal Article with a DOI:
FORMAT:
• Multiple authors
Author, A.A. (year, month and day). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, Volume (issue number if available). doi: xx.xxxx/x.xxxxxxx.xxxx.xxx.x
EXAMPLE:
• Running head
• Each name should appear on
a separate line
• Page number
• Institutional affiliation
SAMPLE QUOTE:
The following are included on
the title page:
• Course title and number
followed by date the paper is
submitted
• Title
• Author’s name
• First name, middle initial, last
name
Scholars recently argued, “Clean air, water, and food as well as
safer workplaces profoundly improved quantity and quality of life”
(Jackson & Malloy, 2011, p. 34).
Web Article, with No Author
This section is important because you may be asked to research
articles related to current events, using a general web search (nonlibrary based). To understand how to cite articles without authors
listed, consider both examples:
Citing an Entity
If an author is not listed, cite the organization or entity that
authored the article. For example, organizations can include the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer
Society, American Heart Association, etc.
FORMAT:
All margins around the page must be 1”.
Running head: UNDERSTANDING PLASMIDS
Entity or Organization. (Year, Date). Title of article. Retrieved from
URL
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EXAMPLE:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Motor vehicle
safety. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/
index.html
the top margin.
Understanding Plasmids
Student Sample
South University Online
Course title
Date
The title should be capitalized,
centered, and double spaced.
All margins around the page must be 1”.
The title is inserted 2” from
All margins around the page must be 1”.
Jackson, R. J., & Malloy, T. F. (2011). Environmental public health
law: Three pillars. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 39, pp. 34-36.
doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.2011.00562.x
SAMPLE QUOTE:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(2011), “We focus on improving car and booster seat and seat belt
use and reducing impaired driving, and helping groups at risk: child
passengers, teen drivers, and older adult drivers” (para. 2).
Citing All Other Unauthored Articles
In some cases, the author and entity cannot be determined,
therefore, place the title of the article within the author’s slot:
FORMAT:
Title of article. (Year). Retrieved from URL
EXAMPLE:
NZ measles outbreak spreads. (2011). Retrieved from http://news.
ninemsn.com.au/health/8283331/australian-girl-dies-in-us-carcrash
SAMPLE QUOTE:
“The child, who was recovering at home, may have contracted
the virus while visiting Auckland, where the virus originated” (“NZ
measles outbreak spreads,” 2011, para. 2).
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Last update: Jan. 6, 2014 by M. LoMan, M.L.S., Online Reference Librarian
RESOURCES FOR UNDERSTANDING APA STYLE
The Basics of APA Style® (an online tutorial)
This tutorial is designed for those who have no previous knowledge of APA Style®. It shows users
how to structure and format their work, recommends ways to reduce bias in language, identifies how
to avoid charges of plagiarism, shows how to cite references in text, and provides selected reference
examples.
What’s New in the Sixth Edition
This tutorial provides an overview of key changes in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual,
beginning with three goals that guided the revision and ending with a detailed chapter-by-chapter list of
new and expanded content.
APA Style Quick Reference
This guide is based on the 6th edition (2009) of the APA Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association. It is an excellent visual tool.
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Last update: Jan. 6, 2014 by M. LoMan, M.L.S., Online Reference Librarian