Frequently Asked Questions about APA Style
If you don’t find an answer in our APA Style FAQs you can get more help with APA style here.
- What is APA style?
- Why do I have to use APA style?
- I’m having a hard time finding articles on my topic. Where can I get help with my research?
- How do I cite a whole Web site (not just a document from that site)?
- Do I have to provide a retrieval date for an online source?
- Do you know of any place to get help with APA style?
- When you reference periodicals, do you use “p.” or “pp.” for page numbers?
- Should I say “subjects” or “participants?” Which is correct?
- What’s the format for an APA style bibliography?
- How do I cite a source that has no author?
- How do I cite someone that I interviewed?
- Do I have to cite the year of publication every time I refer to an author?
- How should I format the reference list entry of a source that has several authors?
- What is a digital object identifier, or DOI, and when should it be used in a reference citation?
- How do I format a reference citation for an online source that has no DOI?
- When should I include the entire URL of an online source in a reference citation?
- How do I format headings using the 6th edition?
- How many spaces should go after a period?
Q: What is APA style?
A: The sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association tells you what you need to know (and more) about APA style. The Manual provides rules about formatting headings, references, statistics, figures, and tables, and has rules of usage, punctuation, and grammar. The Manual has been updated with new guidelines for referencing electronic sources and offers expanded reference examples for a variety of online sources. You can buy the Manual from the American Psychological Association [http://www.apa.org]. You can also look for the Manual in bookstores.
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Q: Why do I have to use APA style?
A: In any formal document, it’s important to have a consistent style because unnecessary variations in the text can distract or confuse your reader, and this can make it seem as though you don’t know what you’re doing–not the best thing to do! If you are writing for a publication, the publisher sets a “house style” to avoid inconsistencies among journal articles or book chapters that it publishes; often, this is APA style. If you are a student, your school or department may have decided that APA style will apply to writing theses and dissertations. No matter where you turn, there will be a style requirement. If it isn’t APA style, it may be Modern Language Association (MLA), Harvard, Vancouver, Chicago, or Turabian. Accredited Writers can handle them all.
A consistent style is even more important–and even harder to achieve–when presenting complex material, such as tables or statistics.
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Q: I’m having a hard time finding articles on my topic. Where can I get help with my research?
A: We can help you come up with search terms and even do a literature search for you. Click here for more information.
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Q: How do I cite a whole Web site (not just a document from that site)?
A: To cite a whole Web site, just give the address of the site in the text. For example:
Accredited Writers is a wonderful web site for people looking for APA style
help (http://www.accreditedwriters.com).
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Q: Do I have to provide a retrieval date for an online source?
A: Although the retrieval date was required in the 5th edition, the new 6th edition no longer requires that a retrieval date be included in the reference citation.
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Q: Do you know of any place to get help with APA style?
A: We can help you. Click here for more information.
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Q: When you reference periodicals, do you use “p.” or “pp.” for page numbers?
A: It depends….Does the periodical use a volume number? If yes, italicize it and then give the page range in regular type without “p.” or “pp.” In this example, 8 is the volume number (the issue number is in parentheses right after it) and 597-607 refers to the first and last page numbers of the article.
Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative
research. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597-607.
If the periodical does not use volume numbers, include “pp.” before the page numbers so the reader will know that the numbers refer to the page numbers. Use “p.” if the source is a page or less long, like this:
Zgoda, K. (2008, Fall). Back-to-school resolution: Avoid common
APA mistakes. New Social Worker, pp. 28-29.
If you are quoting an online source with no page numbers, cite the paragraph number, and use “para.” instead of the paragraph symbol.
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Q: Should I say “subjects” or “participants”? Which is correct?
A: Both are correct…it “depends.” The APA Manual suggests that you should acknowledge human participants and be specific. “Subjects” is a vague, passive term that makes the researcher sound like a monarch. Referring to people who take part in the research as participants, respondents, children, patients, clients, etc. indicates clearly that they’re people, and is more specific. However, “subjects” is OK to use when the person does not provide informed consent, as in archival research, in which the author has used existing data.
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Q: What’s the format for an APA style bibliography?
A: In APA style, it’s called a reference list. APA reference lists must contain all references cited in the text in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name. All items in the list must be cited in the text. Unless the style of the publication or school dictates otherwise, the Reference list is double-spaced, and the first line of an entry is typed flush left, with additional lines indented a half-inch to the right of the left margin (hanging indent), like this:
Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative
research. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597-607.
Helpful hint: DON’T use tabs or manual line breaks to get this format. Instead, use the paragraph formatting menu in your word-processing software to create a “reference” format that you can apply to all your references.
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Q: How do I cite a source that has no author?
A: Just cite a few words from the title to direct the reader to the right place in your reference list and use double quotation marks around the title, like this:
An outline is helpful in organizing a document (“Writing strategies,” 1998).
In the reference list, the title occupies the place of the author’s name in the reference entry:
Writing strategies for first time writers (6th ed.). (1998). Springfield, IL:
Writers Association.
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Q: How do I cite someone that I interviewed?
A: Since there’s no “place” where the reader can go to retrieve or read interviews or conversations, they are not recoverable references. Therefore, don’t list them in the Reference list. You should cite the interview or conversation in the text as a personal communication, and give the date, like this:
(J. Jones, personal communication, July 15, 2002)
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Q: Do I have to cite the year of publication every time I refer to an author?
A: The year should always appear inside parenthetical citations, and the first time the author is used outside the parenthetical in a given paragraph (even if it has already been mentioned inside parentheses). The year may be omitted when the author appears later in that paragraph only if the source can’t be confused with another.
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Q: How should I format the reference list entry of a source that has several authors?
A: If the source has seven authors or fewer, list them all. For a source that has more than seven authors, use ellipsis points after first six authors, then list the last author, like this:
Smith, A., Brown, S., Jones, M., White, R., Black, C., Gray, G., Purple, A.,
… Fluffalufalous, B. F. (2004).
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Q: What is a digital object identifier, or DOI, and when should it be used in a reference citation?
A: A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string that provides a persistent link to an article’s location on the Internet. Always include the DOI in reference citations when one is available. When you use the DOI, the database (e.g., EBSCO) is not needed. Here’s an example:
Clay, R., Knibbs, J., & Joseph, S. (2009). Measurement of posttraumatic
growth in young people: A review. Child Psychology & Psychiatry,
14(3), 411-422. doi: 10.1177/1359104509104049
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Q: How do I format a reference citation for an online source that has no DOI?
A: Provide the home page URL of the journal, book, or report publisher, like this:
DeAngelis, T. (2009). Understanding terrorism. Monitor on Psychology,
40(10). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/
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Q: When should I include the entire URL of an online source in a reference citation?
A: Include the entire URL if the source is of limited circulation and for sources that may change over time, like this:
Perry, B. D. (2002). Stress, trauma and post-traumatic stress
disorders in children. Retrieved from
http://www.childtrauma.org/CTAMATERIALS/PTSDfn_03_v2.pdf
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Q: How do I format headings using the 6th edition?
A: The main difference between the 5th and 6th editions is the use of boldface. There are five possible levels in the 6th edition, formatted like this:
Boldface and Centered with Upper and
Lowercase Words
Text follows on the next line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, and
wraps back to the left margin.
Flush left, Boldface with Upper and Lowercase Words
Text follows on the next line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, and
wraps back to the left margin.
Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period. The paragraph text starts immediately after the heading.
Indented, boldface, lowercase, and italicized paragraph heading
ending with a period. The paragraph text starts immediately after the heading.
Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period. The paragraph text starts immediately after the heading.
The headings should be used in the order shown.
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Q: How many spaces should go after a period?
A: Use two spaces after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence. Use one space between commas, colons, and semicolons, and within references.
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