APSA Style Guide - Oklahoma City Community College Guide Revised.pdfUse only the first author’s name and “et al.” in all citations including the first. Example (Brooks et al

L. Rucker/ Communications Lab 2011 1 | P a g e

Guide to APSA American Political Science Association

APSA style generally follows Chicago Manual of Style’s author-date citation

practice. It requires parenthetical references within the text of the paper and a list

of references at the end.

Table of Contents______________________________________________________________

Parenthetical Citations 2-3

Books 3-4

Electronic Sources 4-6

Interviews 7

Government Documents 7-8

Legal Proceedings, Statute, Hearings 8-9

Headings /Examples 10-15

_APSA Format Guidelines___________________________________________________

1. The reference list is located on a page by itself at the end of the paper. Type the word

“References” centered at the top of the page.

2. Use hanging indent form. First line of each reference is set flush left and subsequent lines

are indented. References are double spaced on all lines.

3. Arranged alphabetically, not by format of publication (book, journal, etc.).

4. The author should be first element. If no author is present, use the editor’s name. If no

editor is present, start with the book title or article title.

5. List author’s last name, followed by a comma then the author’s first and/or middle

name. Spell out authors’ names. Do not use initials unless they are used by the author.

6. Book and periodical titles should be in italics.

7. Chapter and article titles should be contained in quotation marks.

8. The date is always the second element in a citation.

9. Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc… This rule does not apply to

indefinite or definite articles (a, an, the).


Parenthetical Citations: Citations are brief notes on sources that appear in the text as citations, providing immediate

source information without interrupting the flow of the sentence.

The Basic Form

Insert the name of the author(s) and the year of publication in parentheses following the quote or

idea. If using a direct quote, a page number might be needed. The parentheses come immediately

after the quotation and before the final period that closes the sentence; there is no comma

separating the author and the year from the pages. Please note that p and pp are not used.

Example

“…the transmogrifying of mayoral power” (Bailey 1987, 85).

Citing an Entire Article or Book

Omit the page numbers if you are referring to the entire article or book.

Example

In the presidential election of 2004, the Electoral College results varied little from those

of 2000, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on campaign ads in

battleground states (Azima 2005).

Author’s Name in Sentence

If you use the author's name in your sentence, place only the date in parentheses.

Example

Harper (2009) was strongly dissatisfied with the arrangement.

Citing Multiple Authors and Works

Multiple Authors

Two or Three Authors:

Include all of their names in each citation: Example (Kelly, Colter, and Lane 1980)

Four or More Authors:

Use only the first author’s name and “et al.” in all citations including the first. Example

(Brooks et al. 2004)


Multiple Works Different Authors with Different Years Arrange the citations in alphabetical order-not chronological order, and separate items with

semi-colons. Example

(Confucius 1951; Gurdjieff 1950; Wanisaburo 1926)

Same Author in Same Year

Assign a lowercase letter to the year of publication (in alphabetical order by title), and use the

same letters in the reference list. Example

(Frankly 1957a, 1957b)

Citing Government Documents Government Document

Use the standard author-date format. If the name of the government agency that authored a

document is long, you may use a short form or acronym in subsequent references. Example

(U.S. International Trade Commission 1978, 12; hereafter USITC)

Court Case

Give the name of the case and the year.

Example

(Baker v. Carr 1962)

**Note that the name of the case, except for the "v.," is in italics or underlined. Statute

Give the name of the statute and the year.

Example

(Budget and Improvement Act 1987)

Reference List

Reference List Entry: Book Book (Single author):

Kessel, John H. 1968. The Goldwater Coalition: Republican Strategies in 1964. Indianapolis:

Bobbs-Merrill.


Book (Two authors, later edition):

Sorauf, Frank J., and Paul Allen Beck. 1988. Party Politics in America. 6th ed. Glenview, IL:

Scott, Foresman.

Edited collection

Ball, Terence, James Farr, and Russell L. Hanson, eds. 1988. Political Innovation and

Conceptual Change. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Corporate author

American Political Science Association. 1993. Style Manual for Political Science. Rev ed.

Washington: American Political Science Association.

Reference List Entry: Articles Journal Article

Aldrich, John H. 1980. "A Dynamic Model of Presidential Nomination Campaigns." American

Political Science Review **74:651-69.

**The "74" is the volume number; what follows are the inclusive page numbers for the article.

Magazine Article

Prufer, Olaf. 1964. "The Hopewell Cult." Scientific American, December.

Chapter in a Multi-Author Collection

Hermann, Margaret G. 1984. "Personality and Foreign Policy Decision Making: A Study of

Fifty-Three Heads of Government." In Foreign Policy Decision Making, ed. Donald A.

Sylvan and Steve Chan. New York: Praeger.

Reference List Entry: Electronic Sources Citation of references from Internet sites is formatted to be as similar to normal article or book

references as possible, with the addition of their Internet addresses and the date of the last

access. The latter is used because these materials may not be permanently available. To avoid

citation of materials that are no longer available in this form, or incorrect internet addresses. Be

sure to print a copy or verify your links are working before submitting a paper.

*URLs that are too long for one line should be continued on the net line without using a hyphen.


Electronic Book

Ashiral, Sretas. 2004. Aviation and the Far East. http://www.flight_eastist.org (January 3,

2005).

Journal Article (Library Database)

1 Author: Spencer Weart

2 Publication year: 2011

3 Title of article: Global Warming: How Skepticism Became Denial

4 Name of journal: Bulletin of Atomic Science

5 Exact publication date: January

6 URL: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=112&sid=2e1...

7 Date of Access: November 03, 2011

Document Example:

Reference Format:

Weart, Spencer. 2011. “Global Warming: How Skepticism Became Denial.”Bulletin of Atomi

c Science (January): 41-50 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid

=112&sid=2e1.../ (November 03, 2011).

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid


Material from a World Wide Web (WWW) Site

Basic:

Squires, Lawrence. 2004. “A Virtual Tour of the White House, circa 1900.” National Landmarks

Then and Now.http://www.natlandmk.com/hist (August 21,2001).

Newspaper Article (Web Site)

1 Newspaper title: NewsOK.com

2 Publication year: 2011

3 Article title: Dozens Arrested in Occupy Appear in Court

4 Exact Publication date: November 03, 2011

5 URL: http://newsok.com/article/feed/313692

6 Date of access: November 05, 2011

Reference Format:

NewsOK. 2011. “Dozens Arrested in Occupy Appear in Court in NYC.” November 03, 2011.

http://newsok.com/article/feed/313692 (November 05, 2011).

http://newsok.com/article/feed/313692


E- Mail Material

The revised 2005 edition of the APSA Style Manual suggests that e-mail, bulletin board, and

electronic discussion group message be cited as personal communication in the text and left out

of the reference list.

Reference List Entry: Interviews

Published Interviews

Untitled Interview in a Book

Jorgenson, Mary. 2004. Interview by Alan McAskill. In Hospice Pioneers. Ed. Alan McAskill,

62-86. Richmond: Dynasty Press.

Titled Interview in a Periodical

Simon, John. 2004. “Picking the Patrons Apart: An Interview with John Simon.” By Selena Fox.

Media Wee, March 14, 40-46.

Interview on Television

Snopes, Edward. 2004. Interview by Klint Gordon. Oklahoma Politicians. WKY Television, 4

June.

Unpublished Interview

According to the revised 2005 edition of the APSA Style Manual, unpublished interviews should

be identified within the text of a sentence rather than in a parenthetical citation and left out

of the reference list. * Some instructors require a reference listing for personal interviews.

Please check professor guidelines.

Reference List Entry : Government Document

Congressional reports and documents

U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. 1956. The Mutual Security Act. 84th

Cong., 2d sess., S. Rept. 2273.

Congressional debate

Congressional Record. 1966. 89th Cong., 2d sess.,vol. 112, pt. 16.

Presidential proclamations and executive orders

Reagan, Ronald. 1984. Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, Proclamation 5142. Federal

Register, vol. 49, no. 2,** p. 341.

**The p. is used here to distinguish the page number from the volume and issue numbers.


Executive department document

U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. 1975. Statistical Abstract of the United

States. Washington: Department of Commerce.

Treaties

U.S. Department of State. 1963. Nuclear Weapons Test Ban, 5 August. **TIAS no. 5433. U.S.

Treaties and Other International Agreements, vol. 14, pt. 3.

**"TIAS" indicates the treaty series.

Reference List Entry: Legal Proceeding, Statute, or Hearing

Legal Reference

Baker v. Carr. 1962.369 U.S. 186.

Statutes:

Provide the name of the statute, source (U.S. Code or Statutes at Large), volume, section a, and

(if relevant) page.

Example:

Administrative Procedure Act. 1946. Statutes at Large. Vol. 62, sec. 10 p 243.

Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders

Provide the Presidents name, year, title or description, Federal Register, volume, number and

page.

Example:

Reagan, Ronald. 1984. Caribbean Basin Recovery Act, Proclamation 5142. Federal Register,

vol.49, no.2, p. 341.

Executive Department Documents

Provide corporate author, year, title, city, and publisher. If author and publisher are the same,

repeat the name or use and acronym

Example:


States. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce.


Senate Committee Hearing

Hearings

1 Government: United States 7 Number of Congress: 111th Congress

2&3 Legislature and House: Congress, Senate 8 Session of Congress: 2nd Session

4 Committee: Select Committee on Ethics 9 Exact date of hearing: January 31, 2011

5 Year: 2011 10 URL: http://www.ethics.senate.gov/public/

6. Hearing: Annual Report of Select 11 Access Date: November 05, 2011

Committee on Ethics

Document Example:

Reference Format:

U.S. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Ethics. 2011. Annual Report of Select Committee on

Ethics. 111th Congress, 2nd sess. 31 January. http://www.ethics.senate.gov/public/

(November 05, 2011).

* House of Representative Committee Hearings are referenced the same, simply replace

“Senate” with “House of Representatives.”

http://www.ethics.senate.gov/public/



Examples of APSA Headings

**Check with your instructor for heading requirements.

The examples below illustrate three levels of APSA headings you can use in your papers.

Example:

Primary headings

Primary headings are:

centered

uppercase and lowercase

The diagram below illustrates primary headings.

Example:

Secondary headings

Secondary headings are:

flush left

uppercase and lowercase

followed by text on next line


The diagram below illustrates secondary headings.

Example:

Tertiary headings

Tertiary headings are:

flush left

underlined

sentence case (only 1st letter capitalized)

followed by a period, and then immediately by text

The diagram below illustrates tertiary headings.

If you are following the style Manual for Political Science, (1993) published by the American Political Science

Association (APSA), use parenthetical citations within your text to indicate the source of borrowed ideas and

quotations. At the end of your paper you should provide a list of all of the references cited in your paper.

The sample citations and references on these pages are drawn from the Style Manual for Political Science, revised

edition, 1993, and from The Chicago Manual of style, 14th edition (1993).


Violating Ethics: The Tuskegee Experiment

Anae Student

American Federal Government 1113

December 07, 2011

Dr. Knows Heaps


References

Administrative Procedure Act. 1946. Statutes at Large. Vol. 62, sec. 10 p 243.

Ashiral, Sretas. 2004. Aviation and the Far East. http://www.flight_eastist.org (January 3,

2005).

Congressional Record. 1966. 89th Cong., 2d sess., vol. 112, pt. 16.

“Institutional Review Board Guidebook.” (n.d.). Hhs.gov. http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/irb/

irb_introduction.htm (August 27, 2011).

NewsOK.com. 2011. “Dozens Arrested in Occupy Appear in Court in NYC.” November

03, 2011. http://newsok.com/article/feed/313692 (November 05, 2011).

Reagan, Ronald. 1984. Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, Proclamation 5142. Federal

Register, vol. 49, no. 2, p. 341.

Squires, Lawrence. 2004. “A Virtual Tour of the White House, circa 1900.” National Landmarks

Then and Now. http://www.natlandmk.com/hist (August 21, 2001).

Weart, Spencer. 2011. “Global Warming: How Skepticism Became Denial.”Bulletin of Atomi

c Science (January): 41-50 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid

=112&sid=2e1.../ (November 03, 2011).

U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. 1956. The Mutual Security Act. 84th

Cong., 2d sess., S. Rept. 2273.

U.S. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Ethics. 2011. Annual Report of Select Committee on

Ethics. 111th Congress, 2nd sess. 31 January. http://www.ethics.senate.gov/public/



States. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce.

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/irb/

http://newsok.com/article/feed/313692

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid



Walker, C.A. 2009. “Lest we forget: the Tuskegee Experiment.” Journal of Theory

Construction & Testing, 13 (1), 5-6. http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url+http://search


http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url+http://search