The Open Learning

APA Quick Reference Handbook

• PREFACE
  
  
• FORMATTING
  
  
• QUOTATIONS
  
  
• REFERENCE CITATIONS IN TEXT
  
  
• REFERENCE FORMAT

PREFACE

This APA Quick Reference Handbook 5th edition (2003) is an updated modification of the Quick Reference Guidelines 4th edition, compiled by Azra Naseem and Sarah Zafar (2000), which was revised in 2002 by the present English Language Support team that also included Mirat al Fatima Ahsan. Its facilitative purpose and its applicability parameters remain the same as before; that is, this is a handbook, which focuses only on certain aspects of the APA Manual: it is not a summary and cannot be regarded as its substitute.

This booklet is especially useful for the M.Ed. CPs whose assignments and dissertations are required to be APA consistent. Hence, it has been adapted according to their needs, which is why it covers and presents condensed forms of selected areas: the selection criteria being the areas’ relevance to the AKU-IED’s writing needs¹. For example, the APA Manual (5th edition) gives 95 examples of references whereas 42 examples have been included in this handbook. A point to note here is that these reference examples include a revised “Online Reference section” which is substantially different in format from that given in the 4th edition APA Manual. This handbook has been divided into various sections. Examples have been included to illustrate points in every segment. In addition, an effort has been made to format this handbook in the APA style so as to make it self-illustrative.

Since this is a guideline, it does not offer the kind of extensive and comprehensive coverage provided by the Manual itself. Therefore, it is advised, for those who are in need of more comprehensive information that they consult the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (APA), 5th edition, which is available in the library.

Every effort has been made to make this handbook as user-friendly as possible. It can be used by the CPs of the M.Ed. programmes, the faculty related to the AKU-IED M.Ed. programme, and others involved in academic writing. It is hoped that the effort proves useful.

The ELSP Team
Azra Ahmed
Faiza Saleem
Fatima Shahabuddin

FORMATTING

Font

• Times New Roman typeface should be used.
  
  
• Title should be set in upper case, bold, 14-font size.
  
  
• Block quotations and footnotes should be set in 10-font size.
  
  
• The abstract, acknowledgements, and the main body of the essay should be set in 12-font size.
  
  
• If there is a dedication, it should be in upper case, bold, 12-font size.
  

· The first line of all paragraphs should be indented one tab key from the left-hand margin.

· The main body text should be left aligned.

· In the main body, use 1.5-line spacing.²

· Leave one line space before a heading.³

· Do not leave a line after the heading.

· Do not leave a line between paragraphs.

Page Numbers

• Page numbers should be placed on the right side at the bottom of the page.
  
  
• Each page in the dissertation, from the body onward, should be numbered in consecutive order. This includes the text, references, and appendices.
  
  
• Preliminary pages carry lowercase Roman numerals.
  

Spellings

• British or American spellings may be used; as long as they are used consistently throughout the paper.
  

Bullets

• Bullets should be aligned with the paragraph i.e. they should be indented one tab key from the margin.

References

• The word ‘references’ should be left aligned, bold, uppercase, 12- font size.
  
  
• There should be one line space between the heading and the first reference, and between subsequent references.

Example:

Brown, J. D. (1998). Understanding research in second language learning.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• If the paper has only one appendix, it is labelled as APPENDIX (Uppercase, bold, centred, 12-font size).
  
  
• If it has more than one appendix, each is labelled with a capital letter such as APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B etc.
  
  
• Font size for the title and the text should be 12.
  
  
• Text should be justified.
  
  
• If, for example, there is more than one appendix for APPENDIX A, then it will be titled APPENDIX A1, APPENDIX A2, etc.
  
  
• Sub-title: Uppercase and Lowercase, bold, centred

Example:

• Footnotes should be numbered with superscript, smaller font (size 10) Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 etc.).

Example:

• For the purpose of binding, a left margin of 1.5 inches is required.
  
  
• Other margins should be one inch.
  
  
• These margin regulations should be met on all pages.

LEVELS OF HEADINGS⁵

Title (on the title page)
Centre, bold, upper case, font 14.
Example:

EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM TEACHER AS A LEADER

Name (on the title page)
Centre, bold, upper case, font 12.
Example:

SAIRA NASEEM

Chapter Heading
Centre, bold, upper case, font 12.
Example:

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Note: No heading should be given to the initial part of the chapters.

Main Heading
Flushed le ft, bold, upper case, font 12.
Example:
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Sub Heading
Flushed left, bold, upper and lower case, font 12.
Example:
Role of an Effective Leader

Sub Sub-Heading
Flushed left, bold, upper lower case, italicized, font 12.
Example:
Leader as a Facilitator

• Title: Uppercase, centred, bold, font size 10.
  
  
• Sub-title: Upper and lowercase, centred, bold, font size 10.
  
  
• Text: Justified, not bold, single spaced, font size 10.
  
  
• Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 etc.) to number the figure or table.
  
  
• For explanation of any term, use small alphabets (a, b, c etc.) and provide explanation right below the table or figure.

Example 1:

TABLE 1

Language Minority Student Enrolment in Indiana, 1987-1991

Note: From Indiana Department of Education (1995, p. ii). LM = Language minority: LEP = limited English proficient.

FIGURE 1

The Differing Perspectives of National Policy on Languages and the Australian Language and Literacy Policy

^aIncludes the interpretation of the minister of education as expected in Dawkins (1991). Terms in quotation marks are from Dawkins (1991).

RELATION OF TABLES/ FIGURES AND TEXT

An informative table/ figure supplements - not duplicates - the text. In the text, refer to every table/ figure and tell the reader what to look for. Discuss only the table’s/ figure’ highlights; if you discuss every item of the table/ figure in the text, the table/ figure becomes redundant.

• While citing tables/ figures in the text, refer to tables/ figures by their numbers:

Example:

As shown in Table 8, the responses were …
Children with pre-training (see Table 5) …

as shown in Figure 2, the relationships are
data are related (see Figure 5)

• Do not write “the table/ figure below” (or above) or “the table/ figure on page 32,” because the position and page number of a table/ figure gets changed quite often, due to additions and deletions.
  
  
• Table/ Figure notes, which are placed below the bottom rule of a table/ figure, explain the table/ figure data or provide additional information. They also acknowledge the source of a table/ figure, if the table/ figure is reprinted.

The general rule governing APA style on the use of numbers is to use figures to
express numbers 10 and above, and words to express numbers below 10.

Example:

Figures:

13 lists, 105 stimulus words

Words:

One child, nine schools

QUOTATIONS

1. When quoting, always mention the author’s name, year of publication and specific page citation in the text.

2. Short quotations (fewer than 40 words) should be incorporated in the text and enclosed within double quotation marks.

3. In quotations less than 40 words the full stop is placed after the page number (refer to Example 1).

Example 1:

4. Longer quotations (40 words or more), referred to as block quotations, should be displayed in a freestanding block. Quotation marks should be omitted.

5. The block quotation should begin on a new line, and should be indented one tab key from the left margin.

6. All subsequent lines should be aligned with the indent.

7. The font size in a block quotation should be changed to size 10, and it should be single-spaced (1.5 for AKU-IED).

8. A line should be left after the block quote.

9. In block quotations the full stop comes after the quote, and before the page number (refer to Example 2).

Example 2:

10. Material that was in double quotation marks in the original source should be placed within double quotation marks in a block quotation.

11. To start a new paragraph within the quotation, indent the first line of the new paragraph, one tab key from the margin of the quotation.

12. To emphasize a word or words in a quotation italicize the word(s). Immediately after the italicized word(s) insert within brackets the words [italics added].

Example 3:

13. Use three ellipses points (…) within a sentence to indicate that you have omitted material from the original source. Use four ellipses points (….) to indicate omission between sentences. The first point indicates the period at the end of the first sentence quoted, and the three ellipsis points follow.

14. Material in the original source that was in double quotation marks should be placed within single quotation marks in the (short) quotation.

Example 4:

15. Use brackets [ ], not parentheses ( ), to enclose any additions or explanations inserted in a quotation by some person other than the original author.

Example 5:

16. Direct quotations must mention the exact spelling, punctuation, and wordings of the original source even if the source is incorrect. If any incorrect spelling, punctuation or grammar in the source might confuse the reader, insert the word sic italicized and within brackets [sic], immediately after the error in the quotation.

Example 6:

17. The evidence/ reference to field notes/ interviews and the date for a dialogue should be placed on the next line (not the last line) of the dialogue.

18. The first letter of the first word in a quota tion may be changed to an uppercase or a lower case letter to suit the requirements of the sentence structure.

19. When quoting from speech which may have numerous errors, it would be advisable to write the following as a footnote instead of writing [sic] after every second word / phrase / or sentence: The language of all interview quotes has been recorded verbatim to retain the authenticity/ originality/ spontaneity of the text.

20. Do not omit citations embedded within the original material you are quoting. The works cited will not be included in the list of references (unless they are cited elsewhere in your paper).

21. The use of a comma or colon to signal a block quote should be based on the construction of the sentence preceding the quote.

REFERENCE CITATIONS IN TEXT

1. One work by one author

Example

2. One Work by Multiple Authors

• When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text.
  
  
• When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs: in subsequent citations include only the surname of the irst author followed by “et al.” and the year if it is the first citation of the reference within a paragraph.

Example

• When a work has six or more authors, cite only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”, and the year for the first and subsequent citations.⁶
  
  
• If there are two references with six or more authors shorten to the same form, cite the surnames of the first author and of as many of the subsequent authors as are necessary to distinguish the two references, followed by a comma and “et al”.

Example

3. Groups as Authors

The names of groups that serve as authors (e.g. corporations, associations, and study groups), are usually spelled out each time they appear in a text citation. The names of some group authors, especially those that may be long and cumbersome, may be abbreviated in the second and subsequent citations.

Example

• Citing a group author in full

Example

4. Work With No Author or With an Anonymous Author

• Cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report.

Example

Anonymous Author

• Cite in text the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date.

Example

5. Authors With the Same Surname

1. If the reference list includes publications by two or more primary authors with the same surname, include the first author’s initials in all text citations, even if the year of publication differs.
   
   
2. Example

6. Two or More Works Within the Same Parentheses

• Order the citations of two or more works within the same parentheses in the same order in which they appear in the reference list.
  
  
• Arrange two or more works by the same author(s) in the same order in which they appear in the reference list by the year of publication. Place in-press citations last.

Example

• Identify works by the same author (or by the same two or more authors in the same order) with the same publication date by the suffixes a, b, c, and so forth after the year; repeat the year.

Example

• List two or more works by different authors who are cited within the same parentheses in alphabetical order by the first author’s surname. Separate the citations by semicolons.

Example

7. Classical Works

• When a work has no date of publication, cite in text the author’s name, followed by a comma and n.d. for “no date”.

Example

• When a date of publication is inapplicable, such as for some very old works, cite the year of the translation you used, preceded by the abbreviation: trans.

Example

8. Personal Communication

• Personal Communication may be letters, memos, some electronic communications (e.g., e-mail or messages from non-archived discussion groups, messages from electronic bulletin boards), telephone conversations, and the like. Because they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the ommunicator, and provide as exact a date as possible.

Example

9. Specific Parts of a Source

• To cite a specific part of a source, indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in text. Always give page numbers for quotations. Note that the words page and chapter are abbreviated in such text citations.

Example

• For electronic sources tha t do not provide page numbers, use the paragraph number, if available, preceded by the paragraph symbol ¶ or the abbreviation “para”. If neither paragraph nor page numbers are visible, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it to direct the reader to the location of the material.

Example

10. Citations in Parenthetical Material

• In citations that appear in parenthetical texts, use commas (not parentheses) to set off the date:

Example

REFERENCE FORMAT

1. Entire book (one author)

Brown, J. D. (1998). Understanding research in second language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

2. Book, third edition. Jr. in name

Mitchelle, T. R., & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1987). People in organizations: An introduction to organizational behavior (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

3. Book, group author (government agency) as publisher

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1991). Estimated resident population by age and sex, in statistical local areas, New South Wales, June 1990 (No. 3209.1). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Author.

4. Book, no author or editor

Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

5. Edited book

Gibbs, J. T., & Huang, L. N. (Eds.). (1991). Children of color: Psychological interventions with minority youth . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

6. Book, revised edition

Rosenthal, R. (1987). Meta-analytic procedures for social research (Rev. ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

7. Article or chapter in an edited book, two editors

Bjork, R.A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory. In H.L. Roediger III & F.I.M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of memory &
consciousness (pp.309-330). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

8. Several volumes in a multivolume edited work, publication over a period of more than 1 year

Koch, S. (Ed.). (1959-1963). Psycholog y: A study of science (Vols. 1-6). New York: McGraw-Hill.

9. English translation of a book

Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities (F. W. Truscott & F. L. Emory, Trans.). New York: Dover. (Original work published 1814)

10. Encyclopedia or dictionary

Sadie, S. (Ed.). (1980). The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians (6th ed., Vols. 1-20). London: Macmillan.

11. Non-English book

Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1951). La genèse de l’ idée de hasard chez l’enfant [The origin of the idea of chance in the child]. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

12. Entry in an encyclopedia

Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica.

13. Book, Brochure, corporate author

Research and Training C enter on Independent Living. (1993). Guidelines for reporting and writing about people with disabilities (4th ed.) [Brochure]. Lawrence, KS: Author.

14. Journal article, one author

Mellers, B. A. (2000). Choice and the relative pleasure of consequences. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 910-924.

15. Journal article, two authors, journal paginated by issue

Klimoski, R., & Palmer, S. (1993). The ADA and the hiring process in organizations. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 45 (2), 10-36.

16. Journal article, three to six authors

Saywitz, K. J., Mannarino, A. P., Berliner, L., & Cohen, J. A. (2000). Treatment for sexually abused children and adolescents. American Psychologist, 55, 1040-1049.

17. Journal article, more than six authors

Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I.N., Tein, J., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L., et al. (2000). An experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and mother-child programs for children of divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 843-856.

18. Entire issue or special section of a journal

Barlow, D. H. (Ed.). (1991). Diagnoses, dimensions, and DSM-IV: The science of classification [Special issue]. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100 (3).

19. Journal article in press

Zuckerman, M., & Kieffer, S. C. (in press). Race differences in face-ism: Does facial prominence imply dominance? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

20. Magazine article

Kandel, E.R., & Squire, L. R. (2000, November 10). Neuroscience: Breaking down scientific barriers to the study of brain and mind. Science, 290, 1113-1120.

21. Newsletter article

Brown, L. S. (1993, Spring). Antidomination training as a central component of diversity in clinical psychology education. The Clinical Psychologist, 46, 83-87.

22. Daily newspaper article, no author

New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart failure. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, p. A12.

23. Daily newspaper article (discontinuous pages)

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.

24. Technical and Research Reports

Mazzeo, J., Druesne, B., Raffeld, P.C., Checkettes, K. T., & Muhlstein, A. (1991). Comparability of computer and paper-and-pencil scores for two CLEP general examinations (College Board Rep. No. 91-5). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service

25. Report from a private organization

Employee Benefit Research Institute. (1992, February). Sources of health insurance and characteristics of the uninsured (Issue Brief No. 123). Washington, DC: Author.

26. Report available from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

Mead, J. V. (1992). Looking at old photographs: Investigating the teacher tales that novice teachers bring with them (Report No. NCRTL- RR-92-4). East Lansing, MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED346082)

27. Unpublished doctoral dissertation

Wilfley, D.E. (1990). Interpersonal analyses of bulimia: Normal weight and obese. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia.

28. Unpublished master’s thesis, university outside the United States

Almeida, D. M. (1990). Fathers’ participation in family work: Consequences for fathers’ stress and father-child relations. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

29. Unpublished paper presented at meeting

Lanktree, C., & Briere, J. (1991, January). Early data on the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C). Paper presented at the meeting of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, San Diego, CA.

30. Unpublished manuscript not submitted for publication

Stinson, C., Milbrath, C., Reidbord, S., & Bucci, W. (1992). Thematic segmentation of psychotherapy transcripts for convergent analyses. Unpublished manuscript.

31. Review of a book

Schatz, B. R. (2000). Learning by text or context? [Review of the book The social life of information]. Science, 290, 1304.

32. Review of a motion picture

Kraus, S. J. (1992). Visions of psychology: A videotext of classic studies [Review of the motion picture Discovering Psychology]. Contemporary Psychology, 37, 1146-1147.

33. Television broadcast

Crystal, L. (Executive Producer). (1993, October 11). The MacNeil / Lehrer news hour. [Television Broadcast]. New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.

34. Computer programme, software, or programming language

Bender report [Computer software]. (1993). Melbourne, FL: Psychometric Software.

Elements of references to on-line information

General Form for Electronic References

35. Online periodical

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2000). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, xxxxxx. Retrieved month day, year, from source.
VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the selection of resources by psychology undergraduates. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, 17-123. Retrieved October 13, 2001, from http:// journals.apa.org/prvention/volume3/pre0030001a.html

36. Online document

Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work. Retrieved month day, year, from source Hermann, W.A. (1989). Teaching Writing with Peer Response Group: Encouraging Revision ERIC Digest. Retrieved February 10, 2001, from http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digest/ed307616.html

Online Periodicals

37. Article in an Internet-only journal

Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved
November 20, 2000, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html

38. Article in an Internet-only newsletter

Glueckauf, R. L., Whitton, J., Baxter, J., Kain, J., Vogelgesang, S., Hudson, M., et al. (1998, July). Videocounseling for families of rural teens with epilepsy - Project update. Telehealth News, 2(2). Retrieved October 7, 2002, from http://www.telehealth.net/subscribe/newslettr-4a.html#1

• Use the complete publication date given on the article.
  
  
• Note that there are no page numbers.
  
  
• In an Internet periodical, volume and issue numbers often are not relevant.
  
  If they are not used, the name of the periodical is all that can be provided in the reference.
  
  
• Whenever possible, the URL should link directly to the article.
  
  
• Break a URL that goes to another line after a slash or before a period. Do not insert (or allow your word-processing program to insert) a hyphen at the break.

39. Stand-alone document, no author identified, no date

If the author of a document is not identified, begin the reference with the title of the document.

GVU's 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.) Retrieved August 8, 2000, from http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user-surveys/survey1997-10/

40. Document available on university program or department Web site

Chou, L., McClintock, R., Moretti, F., & Nix, D. H. (1993). Technology and education: New wine in new bottles: Choosing pasts and imagining educational futures. Retrieved August 24, 2000, from Columbia University, Institute for Learning

Technologies Web site: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/papers/newwine1.html

• If a document is contained within a large and complex Web site (such as that for a university or a government agency), identify the host organization and the relevant program or department before giving the URL for the document itself. Precede the URL with a colon.

Technical and Research Reports

41. Report from a private organization, available on organization Web site

Canarie, Inc. (1997, September 27). Towards a Canadian health IWAY: Vision, opportunities and future steps. Retrieved November 8, 2000, from http://www.canarie.ca/press/publications/pdf/health/healthvision.doc

Other Electronic Sources

42. Electronic copy of a journal article, three to five authors, retrieved from database Borman, W. C., Hanson, M. A., Oppler, S. H., Pulakos, E. D., & White, L. A. (1993).

Role of early supervisory experience in supervisor performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 443-449. Retrieved October 23, 2000, from PsycARTICLES database.

1. ^ APA permits the writers of theses and dissertations to “satisfy the graduate school’s specific requirements, even if these requirements depart from the style outlined in the Publication Manual” (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 2001, p.322).

2. ^ AKU-IED requires all student assignments / dissertations to have 1.5 line spacing.

3. ^ ‘one’ line or ‘a’ line for AKU-IED p urposes means 1.5 line spacing.

4. ^ This is in accordance with AKU-IED’s A Guide to the M.Ed. Dissertation.

5. ^ The levels of headings are not consistent with the APA Manual 5th edition as they have been simplified and adapted to suit AKU-IED’s needs.

6. ^ However, provide initials and surnames of the first six authors, and shorten any remaining authors to et al. in the reference list.

7. ^ Field notes could refer to notes taken during/ after discussions, observations, running notes in the field, etc.