Introduction to The Publication Manual of the APA, 6th ed

Publication Manual of the American Psychological

Association, 6th ed.

Why I Love It (and you will, too)

Dr. Tom Wolsey

California State University, East Bay

7/16/2017 1

Wolsey’s Postulate

The laws of style guides are determined by organizations with governing authority.

First corollary to Wolsey’s PostulateBecause humans comprise the policymakers in any governing authority, the only constant in applying the rules is variability.

Second Corollary to Wolsey’s PostulateAll editors and professors consider themselves to be governing authorities.

APA is the Law…

• The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Style) was written solely for use in that organization’s publications.

Corollary

• Many other organizations adopted APA Style as if it were their own, anyway.

–However, each has its own unique needs and style requirements.

Read more: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2009/07/why-isnt-apa-style-applied-to-the-book-describing-it.html & https://literacyworldwide.org/style-guide

The “House” Theorem

• The [publishing or academic] house always wins.

Why A Style Guide?

• Communication

• Ethics

• Compliance

• Recognition

Ethics & Compliance

• Intellectual Property

• Copyright laws and Fair Use principles

• Conflicts of Interest

• Giving credit where it is due

• Avoiding plagiarism

Recognition

Image Source: http://www.csueastbay.edu/universitycommunications/brand/index.html

Branding Color Scheme Logos

Communication

• Italics

• Bold

• Periods.

• CAPITALIZATION

• Order of elements

• Match citations with reference entries

• Guide the reader (it’s about the headings)

For Example

Berninger, V. W., & Richards, T. L. (2002). Brain literacy for educators and psychologists. Boston, MA: Academic Press.

And

Van Passel, S. (2013). Food miles to assess sustainability: A revision. Sustainable Development, 21(1), 1-17. doi:10.1002/sd.485

Headings

Source: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2009/07/five-essential-tips-for-apa-style-headings.html

Wait, when?

• And don’t forget to APA party like it’s 2009,

• Remember, there were other parties before 2009,

– And you are going to find them on the interwebsand older publications.

More APA

• Tutorial (but be careful…) – http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/tutorials/apatutorial/quiz.

php?type=pre

• Citation game– http://www.citationgame.org/ Choose APA

• The OWL (remember who the authority is…) – https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

• The Citation Machine (cuidado…) – http://www.citationmachine.net/

• And the original: The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association – http://amzn.to/2tsOjo5

Images

Slide 3 • Bluebook • American Psychological Association – Publication Manual of• AP Stylebook 2016 • AMA Manual of Style• Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses,

and Dissertations• MLA Handbook, 8th ed. Slide 6 (winning hand) • Winning hand http://taxrebate.org.uk/ retrieved fromSlide 9 • CSU East Bay Logo

References

• APA (American Psychological Association). (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.