APA CITATIONS
Workshop C Crane/SLSC/Writing Specialist
What is APA?
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APA stands for The
American
Psychological
Association
APA is a common
format used
frequently in the
Behavioral, & Social
Sciences
APA Manual, 6th
edition, 2nd printing
Why do we use APA?
It is used in graduate school
All papers are the same so easier to read
Stops plagiarism (citations)
People will believe what you write and listen
to your argument (authority)
Formatting in general – p. 2
The Psychology of Western Military Codes
Title before intro
Throughout world history, military codes have been used by nearly all civilizations. Several
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historians concur that the allies’ ability to decipher the enemy’s code gave them the upper hand
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in WWII, eventually resulting in their victory.
Double space throughout
no extra spaces
American historian Powers (2001) wrote the following:
The American ability to read Japanese cables, codenamed “Magic,” was one of the small
In text citations
advantages that helped the Allies win time and then the war. Another advantage was the
Margins 1inch or 2 ½ cm
British ability to read the German military communications enciphered with the Enigma
Indent paragraphs 5 spaces
machine, code-named “Ultra.” (p. 2)
If it had not been for “this secret coding, perhaps the outcome of the second world War would
Block quotes addl. ½ cm
Headers (no intro header)
have been different” (Asay et al., 1978, p. 345). Since the information unveiled was so critical,
the cryptanalysts literally saved the day.
Victorian England
Some historians believe that Western dominance in military codes evolved out of courtship
How do I cite?
There are two parts:
In- text Citation
Reference page
In- text Citation
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APA uses the Author-Date System. Dates are included because in
scientific research it is assumed that the more recent the
research, the more up-to-date and accurate it will be.
Page numbers are used with direct quotations and when
paraphrasing a specific idea. When referring to a study in
general, pages are not needed.
In each sentence you use a source, you will want to cite it in-text
or in parenthesis- it helps the reader locate the source in your
references.
Always cite your sources as you write -waiting to add sources
when the paper is complete is a bad idea.
The two types of in-text citations
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As part of the sentence:
According to Hamad (2007), potatoes are an
important part of an individuals nutritional needs
(p. 75).
In parenthesis after the sentence. The period is always
after the citation so the reader knows what
information the citation is giving:
Potatoes are an important part of an individuals
nutritional needs (Hamad, 2007, p. 75).
In-text Citation
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Each time you mention a source, you must also list the
year of publication in parenthesis.
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Use the author’s last name, followed by the year:
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For two authors, always list both:
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Hamad (2011) or (Hamad, 2011, p. 25).
Hamad and Alvarez (2011) or (Hamad & Alvarez, 2011, p. 25).
For three to five authors, list all the first time, then use et
al. for subsequent citations:
Hamad, Alvarez, Almarri, Grady, and Rashid (2011)
 Hamad et al. (2011) or (Hamad et al., 2011, p. 25).
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For six or more authors, use et al. every time.
In-text Signal Words/Phrases
Signal Phrases are the short verbal phrases like
“according to” that introduce a source.
 Introduces source material and where it comes from
 Guides reader through the argument/paragraph
 Signal phrases shows readers how a source contributes
to your point –Smith (2011) claims that...
 Introducing your sources emphasizes that you have
qualified and authoritative evidence to support your
thesis so people should listen to your ideas. In other
words you will have experts backing your ideas.
In-text Signal Phrases
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Some examples of signal phrases:
 According
to Ali (2012) …
 Ali (2012) argues that …
 This is illustrated by Ali (2012) where she states …
 In a study by Ali (2012) it shows that …
 Ali (2012) asserts that …
 This idea is important because in the words of Ali
(2012) “…..”
 In research conducted by Ali (2012) she warns that …
In text – secondary sources
Secondary Sources: When citing information that
your source has taken from another source, put the
original author of the information in the sentence
and write “as cited in” in the parenthesis in-text
citation followed by the author, date and page
number. In the reference page list only the source
where you read the information:
Hamad (2011) believes that Qatar should increase its
naval presence in the Gulf (as cited in Al Jazzi, 2013,
p. 213).
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In-text Citation
Interviews and emails are only cited in text.
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(M. Rashid, personal communication, November 6,
2012).
APA lists the page number after a “p.” or “pp.” for multiple
pages.
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Hamad and Alvarez (2011) state, “Increased consumption of potatoes
led to an average weight gain of 3.4 pounds per person over a fouryear period” (pp. 423-24). [direct quote]
Hamad and Alvarez (2011) demonstrate that eating potatoes can lead
patients to gain as much as 3.4 pounds over four years (pp. 423-24).
Missing Information?
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No publication date: use (n.d.)
No author: begin the citation with the title. Use the first few
words of the title in quotation marks for your in-text citation.
 (“In defense,” 2011)
No page number: use paragraph numbers if they are listed;
otherwise, cite the heading. If really short, as in many web
pages, leave blank.
 (Hamad, 2011, para. 4)
 (Hamad, 2011, “Potatoes and Weight”)
 (Hamad, 2011)
In-text tables
Table 1
Fast food choices for Qatar University students
____________________________________________
Gender
McDonalds
Subway
M
27
18
F
31
15
Note: Adapted from “Student Food Choices” by C. Crane
2013, Business Weekly, 45,p. 17, copyright 2013 by Business
Weekly.
Table must be cited in Reference page.
If table is one you created using your own research results then “Note” would
only contain clarifying info and no Reference page citing necessary.
Reference Page (refer to handout for
visual)
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The Reference page begins on a new page.
It should be titled References. The title should be centered
but not bolded or italicized.
List your references in alphabetical order, double spaced
with hanging indent.
For specific types of citations, refer to the APA handout or
the manual.
Generally, references will adhere to the following format:
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Author. (Date). Title of work/article. Title of larger work.
Location: Publisher. Doi or website.
Reference Page
Journal Article with or without DOI from a Database
Author, A. A., & Last Name, B. B. (Date). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
volume#(issue#), pp.-pp. Retrieved from http://url.of.journal.homepage
Hanberry, B., Yang, J., & Kabrick, J. (2012). Adjusting forest density estimates
for surveyor bias in historical tree surveys. American Midland Naturalist, 167(2),
285-306. Retrieved from http://www.nd.edu/~ammidnat/
Omit “retrieved from” when there is a doi. Use the words “retrieved from”when
there is no doi then google “title of periodical” to find its URL. If this can’t be
found, google for URL of database (such as Academic Search Complete (Ebsco)
Article or Document from a Website (www.apastyle.org)
Author, A.A. (date). Title. Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxxx
Gagnon, S. (2012). The element sulfur. Retrieved from
http://education.jlab.org/itselemental
Reference Page
Book/Textbook (p. 204)
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title (ed. or vol.). Location: Publisher.
Greene, S., & Lindinsky, A. (2011). From inquiry to academic writing (2nd ed.).
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins.
Giancoli, D. (Ed.). (2012). Beginning physics (6th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Blog post, video, podcast, and other materials found online (p.
215)
Author, A. (date). Title [Format description]. Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxxx
Yglesias, M. (2012, June 25). America’s fiscal union in action [weblog post].
Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox
Whedon, J. (2008). Dr. Horrible’s sing along blog, part 1 [youtube video].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com
Formatting the Paper (refer to handout
for visual)
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Title Page
 Header:
 Running
head: Shortened version of title (the words
“Running head:” appear only on the title page)
 Page number
 Centered information:
 Title
 Your
name
 University
 Your instructor may also want the date, class, or other
information
Formatting the Paper
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Abstract
Second page of paper
 Should have running head and page number
 Title Abstract should be centered but not italicized or
bolded
 Abstract body should be one paragraph that contains your
main arguments and conclusions between 150 and 250
words.
 List keywords that would help someone else find your paper
in a database at the end of the abstract
 Abstract is NOT an introduction, it is a summary
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Formatting the Paper
Headings can provide simple easy to do organization
 Level
1: Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and
Lowercase
 Level 2: Flush left, Boldface, Uppercase and
Lowercase
 Level 3: Indented, boldface, lowercase, period.
 Level 4: Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase, period.
 Level 5: Indented, italicized, lowercase, period.
Tense
APA should be written in past tense:
He wrote his book about pollution.
Or present perfect:
He has written a book about pollution.
End
Complete worksheet