APA Style (7th edition) is a style from the American Psychological Association used to format research papers. It is generally used by the natural sciences, social sciences, Nursing, Business, and other related subjects. APA style includes in-text citations, a reference list, and, depending on the assignment, a title page and abstract.
The following examples for in-text citations are from Purdue OWL: APA In-Text Citations:
Quotation:
Example 1: According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Example 2: A meta-analysis of available literature (Jones, 1998) revealed inconsistency across large-scale studies of student learning (Table 3).
Summary or Paraphrase:
Example 1: According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
Example 2: APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).
The following examples for reference list citations are from Purdue OWL: APA Reference List. While these examples cover popular resources including journal articles, books, and websites, Purdue OWL provides examples on many other types of materials.
Journal Article:
Format: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Example: Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979
Book:
Format: Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name. DOI (if available)
Example: Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend. Yale University Press.
Website:
Format: Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL
Example: Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium. https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01
Note: APA style also requires that references be listed in chronological order and follow specific formatting, including indenting. Please consult the links below for more information.
Your professor may require your entire research paper to be formatted in APA format. This involves formatting a title page, abstract, main body, and reference list all according to APA format. Please consult Purdue OWL's resources on APA general formatting and headings, as well as a sample of a paper formatted in APA style. The worksheet to the right of this page can also assist you.
The following subjects may use APA Style:
Links:
Books:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by
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Students have many questions about citing sources, and FDU librarians are happy to provide guidance. We can assist by helping you to determine the type of source to be cited, providing a guide to the citation style, and indicating the most relevant section/example. Because citations are often graded, we cannot create or format the citation for you, nor can we correct a list of citations. Please contact the Academic Support Center or the Metro Writing Studio for help creating and formatting citations.
