Cite Your Sources in
APA Style:
A Review
Shana Gass, MSLS
sgass@towson.edu
Reference Librarian
Subject Specialist
in Business & Economics
Style Manuals
• Different disciplines use different
style manuals
– Social Sciences = American
Psychological Association (APA)
– Humanities = MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers (MLA)
Citing Correctly in APA:
Exact Quote from a Source
1.
“ x”
2. In-text citation
(Burrows, 2009, para. 5)
OR
(Burrows, 2009, p. 26)
Every in-text
citation
should have
a match in
the
bibliography
3. An entry in the References list
(the bibliography) at the end of
the paper
Citing Correctly in APA:
Citing an Idea or Fact
1. Legitimate paraphrase
2. In-text citation
(Burrows, 2009)
3. An entry in the References list at
the end of the paper
Again, every in-text citation should have a
match in the bibliography!
Library Resources for APA
Examples for
print & electronic
sources;
in-text citations;
link to Diana
Hacker Guide
In-text Citation for an Article (HTML)
from a Database (Business Source Complete)
APA Style
In-text:
Mobile devices increase access to sensitive corporate
data (Swartz, 2006).
In-text with signal phrase:
Swartz (2006) points out that mobile devices increase
access to sensitive corporate data.
References List Entry for an Article (HTML)
from a Database (Business Source Complete)
APA Style
Swartz, N. (2006). Safeguarding corporate
secrets. Information Management Journal,
40(5), 24-30. Retrieved from Business
Source Complete database.
How to Cite Graphics
APA Style:
Caption the graphic in a “sufficiently descriptive” manner
and add an explanatory footnote.
Photograph of Matt from Survivor.[1]
_______________________________
[1] From History of reality TV by Beth Rowen, 2000 July 21,
retrieved September 21, 2004, from
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/realitytv1.html
Powerpoint: Sample Slides
Distance Education
• Majority of colleges had at least some
online classes in 2001 (Virtual school initiatives, 2005)
• Teaching online classes time-consuming,
requires special techniques (Bender, 2003)
• Students taking online courses must be
self-starters (Thomas, 2007)
Powerpoint: Sample Slides
References
Bender, T. (2003). Discussion-based online teaching to enhance
student learning: Theory, practice, and assessment. Sterling, Va:
Stylus Pub
Thomas, C. (2007). Are you a candidate for distance learning?
Petersons.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009, from
http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/code/articles/
distancelearncandidate2.asp
Virtual school initiatives increase as study details distance
learning. (2005). Electronic Education Report, 12(6), 3-5. Retrieved
from Academic Search Premier database.
Research or Citation Style
Questions?
…feel free to contact me!
Shana Gass
(410) 704-2395
sgass@towson.edu
Or any reference librarian:
Visit – Call – IM – TXT
Library web site > Ask a Librarian