APA STYLE WORKSHOP“THE BASICS”

Presented by the SSTC and Library

Outline For Workshop

1. Introduction to APA Style

2. First Page Formatting

3. In-Text Citations

4. Formatting Sources for your Reference

Page

5. Discussion of Plagiarism

6. How to use NoodleBib!

Introduction to APA Style

APA (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences.

Purposes: Consistent system for referencing sources

through in-text citations and References page

Provides avenue to allow for audience investigation of sources and their credibility

Avoids plagiarism

Title Page

The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation, all centered.

Page header/running head should look like this: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

In-Text Citations

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. Example: This means that the author's last name

and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998).

The purpose is to give credit to your source: so, you MUST make reference to the author and year of publication, include the page number if possible (if no page, paragraph number, or Title of the Section) in your in-text reference.

All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Quotations and In-Text Citations

Short Quotation When directly quoting from a source, you need to include

the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). If more than one page, list all pages (pp.).Example - According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using

APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.Example - She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Quotations and In-Text CitationsLong Quotations Place direct quotations longer than 40 words in a free-

standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Refer to APA Manual for additional specifics.

Example : Jones's (1998) study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using APA style,

especially when it was their first time citing sources.

This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many

students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask

their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Quotations and In-Text Citations

Summary & Paraphrase If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you

only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)

Examples:

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

The Reference List

Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper, including all sources used for the paper.

Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay Label this page "References" centered at the top

of the page (do NOT bold, underline, or use quotation marks for the title).

All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.

How to Format the References List

All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. Referred to as a Hanging Indent

Authors' names are inverted (last name first)

Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.

If you have more than one article by the same author, single-author references or multiple-author references with the exact same authors in the exact same order are listed in order by the year of publication, starting with the earliest.

How to Format the References List, cont’d.

Capitalize all major words in journal titles.

When referring to books, chapters, articles, or Web pages, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.

Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.

Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

Basic Format for Books

Last name, First Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. (Edition) [if other than the 1st]. City of Publication: Publisher.       One Author

Brader, T. (2006). Campaigning for hearts and minds: How emotional appeals in political ads work. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Two AuthorsElder, L. & Paul, R. (2006). The miniature guide to the art of asking essential questions. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Three AuthorsMiller, T. E., Bender, B. E., & Schuh, J. H. (2005). Promoting reasonable expectations: Aligning student and institutional views of the college experience. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Basic Format for an Online Database Article

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Magazine/Journal/Newspaper Title, Volume number(Issue number), Page numbers. Retrieved from URL of database home page.

Specific Example (from the Academic Search Premier database)

Denhart, H.  (2008). Deconstructing barriers: Perceptions of students labeled with learning disabilities in higher education. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41, 483- 497.  Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.

Basic Format for a Web Page

Author, Institution, Company, or Organization Responsible for the Website (if available).  (Year, Month Day website was last updated). Title or description of page. Retrieved Month Day, Year you visited the website, from: URL (address of website)

Author:  Sometimes the person or group responsible for the web page is hard to determine. A library staff person would be happy to help you discover who the author is.

Specific Example:LD Online.  (2006). Speech and language milestone chart. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/speech-language/lda_milestones.html.

Plagiarism: What is it and how do I avoid it?

Plagiarism is using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information.

To avoid plagiarizing, you must give credit whenever you use: another person’s idea, opinion, or theory any facts, statistics, graphs, or drawings information that is not common knowledge quotations or paraphrases of another

person’s spoken or written words

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

Terms you need to know: Common knowledge - facts that can be

found in many places and are likely to be known by most people.

Example: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

  This is generally known information. You

do not need to document this fact.

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

What is NOT common knowledge? Specific facts unknown, other’s ideas, interpretations, research findings, statistics, quotes, etc.

You must document facts that are not generally known and ideas that interpret facts.

Example: According to the American Family Leave Coalition’s book (2005), Family Issues and Congress, former President Bush’s relationship with Congress hindered family leave legislation (p. 6).

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

Terms you need to know: Quotation - using someone’s words. When you

quote, place the passage you are using in quotation marks, and document the source according to a standard documentation style.

The following example uses the APA style:

Example: According to Peter S. Pritchard in USA Today (2005), “Public schools need reform but they're irreplaceable in teaching the entire nation's young” (p. 14).

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

Terms you need to know: Paraphrase - using someone’s ideas,

but putting them in your own words.

Let’s take a look at how to paraphrase…

How do I paraphrase?

Remember, while paraphrasing, if you changed around a few words and phrases, or simply changed the order of the original’s sentences, that is still considered plagiarism.

Successful paraphrasing by students include the following: the student uses his or her own words the student maintains the original message of the

information the student puts quotation marks around any unique

phrases the student lets the reader know the source of the

original information

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

Put quotation marks around everything that comes directly from the text—especially when taking notes.

When paraphrasing, read over what you want to paraphrase carefully. Cover up or close the text so you can't see any of it to be tempted to use it as a guide. Write out a summary of the passage in your own words without peeking.

Check your paraphrase against the original text to be sure you have not accidentally used the same phrases or words, and that the information is accurate.

NoodleBib

NoodleBib by NoodleTools is an online citation generator provided by HGTC Library that will help you create perfectly formatted APA style citations.

Beware: You must have some understanding of how citations work to get a correct citation out of NoodleBib.

Note: To use NoodleBib from off-campus, you will need HGTC's school username and password:

Username: hgtclib Password: hgtc09

NoodleBib Access Instructions Go to www.hgtc.edu/library Click on the Citations tab Click on NoodleBib Full Version Make note of the username and password if off-campus Click on Current Users: Sign In If you are a new user, click on “Create a free Personal

ID” Returning users, enter your Personal ID and Password

Click on Bibliography in the upper part of the screen Follow the on screen prompts

Choose APA Style, then select Bibliography once again

NoodleBib Help

Assistance using NoodleBib is available through a variety of avenues: Click on the Help link shown on all NoodleBib

screens at any time.

View HGTC Library’s NoodleBib tutorial, available at http://libguides.hgtc.edu/librarytutorials

Pick up the NoodleBib Instructions guide available at any HGTC campus library.

Contact any HGTC campus library for assistance.

Thank you!

Credits: APA Manual APA Citation Style Guide. Landmark College

Library, updated for the 6th edition (© 2010). http://www.landmark.edu/m/uploads/APA-Citation-Guide-6th-ed.pdf.

Horry Georgetown Technical College Library Student Success and Technology Center