Learning to use APA Style*

*Developed by Charles McLafferty, Ph.D., under contract to UA College of Education.

University of Alabama College of Education

Objectives

• After this exercise, you should be able to:– Understand the need for appropriate attribution in

scholarly work– Define plagiarism and identify the ways in which it

occurs– Discern between written passages that are direct quotes

and that are paraphrases/summaries– Identify passages that plagiarize– Know how and when to cite, using APA style, both

direct quotes and paraphrases– Know how to prepare a list of references

Objectives

• A pre-test will assess your current knowledge of citations and references

Foundation of every profession

• Every profession has some tenants or rules that are inviolable.

• Can you think of some of these rules for – Business?– Sports?– Academia?

• Why is it important for those in our profession to honor them?

• Academia is based on a foundation of trust– Trust that credit is given to the work and ideas

of others– Trust that your work and ideas are your own,

and that they are correct• What would happen if this foundation did

not exist?– Degrees, grades, research findings meaningless– Chaos

• Words are academics’ currency and bond (McLafferty & Foust, 2003)

Plagiarism at UA

Plagiarism is the act of representing words, data, works, ideas, computer programs or output, or other material not generated by the student as his or her own. Plagiarism may be inadvertent or purposeful; however, plagiarism is not a question of intent. …Plagiarism is a serious act of academic misconduct and may result in a student’s receiving an “F” in the course and being suspended from the University.

(UA Code of Academic Conduct)

Take a moment to put this in your own words

Plagiarism is the act of representing words, data, works, ideas, computer programs or output, or other material not generated by the student as his or her own. Plagiarism may be inadvertent or purposeful; however, plagiarism is not a question of intent. …Plagiarism is a serious act of academic misconduct and may result in a student’s receiving an “F” in the course and being suspended from the University.

Plagiarism

• Three main points from the UA definition:– Plagiarism is defined as taking someone else’s

work or ideas and representing them as yours– Intention is not a factor in determining

plagiarism– Plagiarism is serious and has dire

consequences at UA

How do I know when to use citations?

• If you paraphrase or summarize the ideas of others, you need to give them credit.

• If you use someone else’s words, quotations marks have to be around them. Then you must cite exactly the source of the words (includes page number, paragraph number for online material when appropriate).

Doing it right: Citations & references

• When writing a paper, keep track of your sources.

• Print out articles (photocopy important passages from books) and mark them up.

• Paraphrase and/or summarize important passages.

• Use direct quotes very sparingly, only when required.

Getting the cite right

• Every outside idea, work, result, finding… almost everything needs to be given credit.

• Two exceptions:– Common knowledge (e.g., Positive reinforcement is

part of behavioral approaches in special education.)– Your opinion (e.g., Homer Simpson would make a great

vice presidential candidate)• Of course, your evaluations, ideas, and analyses

do not need citing—lack of a citation tells the reader they are yours.

Two types of citations

• Paraphrases and summaries (ideas and meaning), for example:– Summers (2010) raises ethical concerns about

using behavioral techniques on the fetus.• Direct quotes (exact words), for example:

– As Summers (2010) has noted, “the use of positive and negative reinforcement in the uterus has profound ethical implications for both the mother and the researcher” (p. 23).

Paraphrasing and citations

• To paraphrase is to take an idea, (finding, result, etc.) and restate it in your own words.

• To summarize is to make a more general restatement of a finding, article, book, idea, etc.

• Three or more consecutive words may constitute plagiarism (check with your professor)

How to cite

• There are three basic ways to cite for paraphrasing:– Author and date are stated in the text

• In 2010, Summers noted ethical concerns…– Author only is stated in the text

• Summers (2010) raises ethical concerns…– Attribution is made at the end of the idea,

sentence, or paragraph.• Ethical concerns have been raised about behavioral

techniques practiced in utero (Summers, 2010).

Now it’s your turn

• With practice, paraphrasing gets easier.• Take a moment to summarize the text on the

next slide. Once you have finished, pair off and compare your responses.

Paraphrase thisThinking about design alternatives and methods choices leads directly to consideration of the relative strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative data. The approach here is pragmatic. Some questions lend themselves to numerical answers; some don’t. If you want to know how much people weigh, use a scale.…If you want to know what their weight means to them, how it affects them, how they think about it, and what they do about it, you need to ask them questions, find out about their experiences, and hear their stories. (Patton, 2002, p. 13)

Discussion of paraphrasing

• Examples of paraphrasing, summarizing• What did you find?

Paraphrasing

• Caution: it is not enough to simply move around some words in a sentence

• The restatement must be accurate. It cannot change the original meaning of the source.

Paraphrasing

• Paraphrasing is an art. With practice it becomes easier.

• Every time you read an article, put it down and think about what it means. Look at key passages and paraphrase or summarize them. Write in the margins or take notes.

• It is helpful to write some key thoughts at the top of an article, as well as pointers to pages that contain valuable ideas.

Citing direct quotes

• Two styles are used for direct quotes:– Short quotes (<40 words)

• Use double quotation marks “ ” to surround the text.• Text should be exactly as it is in original• Include author, date and page in the sentence.

– Long quotes (defined as 40+ words)• Use a “block quote”—start the quote on a new line,

indent the entire block of text five spaces (1/2”), double spaced.

Examples of direct quotes.

• As with paraphrases, short quotes use three methods of citing, with the addition of page #:– The eclectic approach was buttressed in 2002, when

Patton noted that “some questions lend themselves to numerical answers; some don’t” (p. 13).

– As Patton (2002) notes, “The approach here is pragmatic. Some questions lend themselves to numerical answers; some don’t” (p. 13).

– “Some questions lend themselves to numerical answers; some don’t” (Patton, 2002, p. 13).

Citing long quotes

• A long quote is indented, double-spaced, without quote marks, in its own block of text:

If you want to know what their weight means to them, how it affects them, how they think about it, and what they do about it, you need to ask them questions, find out about their experiences, and hear their stories. (Patton, 2002, p. 13)

References

• Every citation in a paper needs a corresponding reference at the end to fully identify the source (see handout).

• Basic format for a journal article is:Smith, J. J. (2008). Article title. Journal

name, 33(2), 12-25.• Basic format for a book is:Smith, J. J. (2007). Book title. Location:

Publisher

References with multiple authors

• Two to six authors:Smith, J. J., Jones, A. A., Johnson, V. E.,

Koenig, P. E., & Dibbles, B. B. (2000). Writing good essays. New York: Penguin.

• More than six authors:Give the first six authors’ names, followed by

“et al.” and continue with the date, etc.

Reference page

• Start references on a new page• The word References as a heading (not in

italics)• Use a hanging indent (second and

subsequent lines are indented right ½”)• Alphabetize by author• If same author has multiple references, sort

those by date (earliest publication first)

Don’t worry—help is available!

• Word 2007 can handle references and formatting for you– You still have to do some work– APA format is both an art and a mechanical

process

Don’t worry—help is available!

• If you don’t have Word2007 consider FormatEASE (available at Supply Store or Amazon.com: $22) or other style programs.

• If you are doing dissertation or thesis work, consider purchasing EndNote or Reference Manager.

• List of resources is at learnAPA.com.

Get the book

• The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) is a “must-have” as a reference text.

• There are shorter, “easier” books, and programs that format for you, but you will still need this book as a reference.

Summary

• The integrity of scholarly work is dependent on accurate attribution of ideas

• Plagiarism is taking someone else’s words or ideas and representing them as your own

• Written passages can be summarized/paraphrased or quoted word for word; both must be cited

• Paraphrasing is restating an idea in your own words; moving words around can cause plagiarism

Summary

• Whenever another person’s ideas or words are used, the source must be cited.– Two types of citations: summaries & quotes.– Include author name, date of publication– Citations can be made in 3 ways: (Sumners,

2010); Sumners (2010); “As early as 2010, Sumners…”

– Citations for direct quotes include page(s)– Long quotes (> 40 words) don’t use quotation

marks and appear in separate block

Summary

• References– Each citation must have reference; each

reference must be cited in your paper.– Start on new page, with hanging indent– Basic format is

Author, A. A. (Date). Title. Location.– Web resources helpful here; APA Publication

Manual is ultimate reference.– Go to learnAPA.com for web resources

Take home message

• If you use a source, you must cite it.• Using a source without giving credit, even if the

words are changed or it is summarized, is plagiarism.

• References must parallel citations; there must be a reference for each source cited, and vice versa.

• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) is the reference book.

• Numerous resources exist to help: learnAPA.com