Introduction
APA PUBLICATION & STYLE MANUAL INTRODUCTION
The APA Publication Manual is the official manual of style of the American Psychological Association. Developed to provide guidance and information for those writing and publishing, it is currently in its sixth edition.
The APA Publication Manual is used extensively by students, faculty, researchers, and professionals who write and publish in the fields of Psychology, Education, Business, Law and Justice, Journalism, Linguistics, Nursing, Medicine, although other styles are also used.
Which style guide should you use? The one your professor requires, so be sure to ask. If you plan to submit a paper for publication, be sure to confirm the correct style. Nearly all publications will identify and give some direction about how manuscripts should be submitted for publication. If not in the publication, guidance will be offered on publishers' websites, or the websites of the organization for whom the journal title is published, if relevant.
Consult a librarian
If you would like in-person help, you can make an appointment for a consultation with a librarian who specializes in your subject area. Please visit the Subject Librarians page for a list of librarians and their contact information.
If you would prefer, use this form to request a consultation.
Links to Useful Resources
Items in the Library and Available Online
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Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Call Number: BF76.7 .P83 2010ISBN: 9781433805615Publication Date: 2010-01-01In addition to providing guidance on grammar, the mechanics of writing, and APA style, this manual offers an authoritative reference and citation system. It also covers the treatment of numbers, statistical and mathematical data, tables and figures.
A copy of the APA Publication manual is also kept on Reserve. Ask at the Circulation Desk.
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An EasyGuide to APA Style by Call Number: BF76.7 .S39 2017ISBN: 9781483383231Publication Date: 2016-03-10Written by experienced psychology instructors Beth M. Schwartz, R. Eric Landrum, and Regan A. R. Gurung, all active and respected members of the American Psychological Association (APA) Society for the Teaching of Psychology, the updated Third Edition of An EasyGuide to APA Style provides a reader-friendly guide for mastering APA style and covers all sections of an APA-style paper. Clear, conversational, and humorous, the book presents easy-to-understand explanations of how to write research papers, term papers, and lab reports, and cite references following APA style and format. The authors focus on the most essential elements of APA style and format, offering useful advice, tips, and visual representations.
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Mastering APA Style by Call Number: Ref. BF76.8 .G452 2010ISBN: 9781433805578Publication Date: 2009-07-15This user-friendly training guide includes groups of instructional exercises and practice tests on various aspects and features of the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, including electronic references and citations, grammar, headings, seriation, statistical and mathematical copy, italics and capitalization, numbers style, and table formatting. The exercises and tests require students to apply APA Style to prove that they can use it accurately in term papers and research reports. This workbook is a self-pacing, self-teaching workbook that can be used to learn APA Style quickly and effectively. Intended for students of psychology or related disciplines as well as other professions that use APA Style, Mastering APA Style: Student's Workbook and Training Guide is an effective learning tool for the classroom or independent study.
Links to Helpful Resources
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APA Academic Writerl New & Recommended!
The official resource on APA style. Includes style guides, tutorials, research guides, and templates. NOTICE: Database will not work on Internet Explorer or Edge. -
RefWorks
The Legacy version will soon disappear so we recommend you use the new Refworks. RefWorks is a Citation and Bibliographic Management tools, which the library provides to students and faculty at no cost. Complete the short easy registration once and access. To take full advantage of the range of tools available, we recommend you open YouTube, search for RefWorks and watch the tutorials. You'll be an expert in no time. A few minute to set up and learn to use RefWorks will save you hours of frustration and make you look brilliant.
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Purdue OWL - Online Writing Lab
"The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction." (source: website)
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EasyBib Blog
While Rowan provides access to RefWorks, at no cost to students, EasyBib is another well know citation management tool. The EasyBib blog, linked here, provides great examples for structuring citations.
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Bibme.org/APA
Search a web-based resource, whether a journal, website, ebook, etc. Bibme.org will display the information you need to cite the source.
Tips & Templates
Note
Note that while the following links offer great citation examples, based on the APA Publication Manual, inaccuracies and issues can arise. You will benefit immensely if you take the time to familiarize yourself with the APA manual so you can adjust or correct as needed.
Government Sources
Government Sources come in a vast array of types, so citing them can be confusing.
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Naval Postgraduate School guide to citing government sourcesProvides examples for about 30 types of documents.
Two versions of a citation builder from Chegg Study
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Bibme.org/APA
Search a web-based resource, whether a journal, website, ebook, etc. Bibme.org will display the information you need to cite the source. -
Citation Machine for APA
On the citation machine website click on the icon of the type of item you are citing.
Purdue Online Writing Lab
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Purdue OWL - Online Writing Lab
"The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction." (source: website)
The Purdue OWL site is nearly everyone's favorite Go-To website for help with writing and examples of the APA style are very clear.
American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide from OWL
The Purdue Online Writing Lab website offers two tutorials on APA style.
Sample Paper in APA Style from OWL
EasyBib
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EasyBib
While Rowan provides access to RefWorks, at no cost to students, EasyBib is another well known citation management tool. The EasyBib blog, linked here, provides great examples for structuring citations.