Effective writing in psychology beins pdf

APA S TY L E CI T A T I O N GU I D E

American Psychological Association (APA) Style is commonly used for academic writing in the social sciences

and health and human services disciplines. This citation guide for the 7th edition is based on:

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (7th ed.) https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Each source used in a paper is cited in two parts: 1) as an in-text citation, in the body of the paper, and

2) as a corresponding reference list entry at the end of the paper. Sections of this guide include:

Books | Encyclopedias | Periodical Articles | Web Sites | Audiovisual Media

In-Text Citations

References

▪ Begin the reference list on a new page, after the text of your paper, with the section label “References” in bold at the top of the page, centered.

▪ Include these four elements in each reference:

o Author (Answering the question: Who is responsible?)

o Date (Answering the question: When was it published?)

o Title (Answering the question: What is it called?)

o Source (Answering the question: Where can I retrieve it?)

▪ List references in alphabetical order, double spaced (both within and between entries).

▪ Apply a hanging indent of 0.5 inches to each entry (see instructions at the end of this document).

▪ Use only the last name and first name initial for each author. Include up to 20 authors in a reference list entry before needing to omit others with an ellipsis.

▪ Follow each element of the citation with a period and one space.

▪ When DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) are available, include them for both print and electronic sources. DOIs are unique codes assigned to documents to help locate them. When a work has a DOI, it should be used instead of a URL. When a work has no DOI, it is not necessary to give the URL if you retrieved it from a library research database. In most cases, do not include database information for works obtained from academic research databases.

▪ There is much, much more information in the full APA Publication Manual! Refer to the latest edition of the manual in the library and/or the APA Style Web site at https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/index. Purdue Online Writing Lab also provides thorough and excellent APA help at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/ general_format.html.

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/index
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Books

Book citations must include as much of the following information as is available. Look at the title page and the back of the title page for this information. The general form is:

Examples of book references:

Hardcopy book with a DOI

Brown, L.S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000

Book from a library database, no DOI

Burgess, R. (2019). Rethinking global health: Frameworks of power. Routledge.

Authored book with editor credited on

the book cover

Meadows, D.H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer (D. Wright, Ed.) Chelsea Green

Publishing.

Two or more authors Beins, B. C., & Beins, A. M. (2008). Effective writing in psychology: Papers, posters, and

presentations. Blackwell.

Unknown author The Qu’ran (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, Trans.). (2004). Oxford University Press.

Collection produced by an editor

Gentile, B. F., & Miller, B. O. (Eds.) (2019). Foundations of psychological thought: A

history of psychology. Sage.

Article or chapter in an edited book

Tafoya, N., & Del Vecchio, A. (2005). Back to the future: An examination of the Native

American Holocaust experience. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-

Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 55-63). Guilford Press.

Government report with specific date

Ruiz, B. (Principal Consultant) & Morales, A. G. (Co-Principal Consultant). (2019, April

5). King County Public Health HCHN racial caucusing report 2019. Racing to

Equity Consulting Group. https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/racial-caucasing-

report-2019.ashx

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Examples of encyclopedia references:

Article in a print encyclopedia or from

a library database

Ting-Toomey, S. (2015). Mindfulness. In J. M. Bennett (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of

intercultural competence. (Vol. 2, pp. 620-626). SAGE Reference.

An entire reference online work that is

continuously updated

American Psychological Association. (n.d.) APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved June

14, 2019, from https://dictionary.apa.org/

Entry in an online reference work with

a stable date

Graham, G. (2019). Behaviorism. In E.N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of

philosophy (Summer 2019 ed.). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2019/

entries/behaviorism/

Encyclopedia article in a library

database, no author

Adult Children of Alcoholics. (2009). In P. Korsmeyer & H. R. Kranzler (Eds.),

Encyclopedia of drugs, alcohol & addictive behavior (3rd ed., Vol.1, pp. 36-38).

Macmillan Reference USA.

Periodical Articles

▪ Periodicals are generally published on a continuous basis and include journals, magazines, newspapers,

newsletters, blogs, and other online platforms that publish articles.

▪ Include author(s), date, title of article, title of periodical, volume, issue, and page range in your citation unless

that information is missing.

▪ Capitalize the title of the article using sentence case. Capitalize the title of the periodical using title case.

Italicize it and place a comma (not italicized) after it.

▪ Italicize the volume number. Include the issue number (for all periodicals that have issue numbers)

immediately after the volume number but not italicized. Enclose the issue number in parentheses. Follow the

issue number with a comma.

▪ Include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) if one is assigned. When a citation includes a DOI, no further

retrieval information is needed. If no DOI is assigned and you retrieved the article from a library

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research database such as EBSCOhost, or ScienceDirect, no further retrieval information is needed,

unless a URL is required by your instructor.

Examples of periodical article references:

Full text journal article found in a

library database with DOI

Ramakrishnan, J. L., Garside, R. B., Labella, M. H., & Klimes-Dougan, B. (2019). Parent

socialization of positive and negative emotions: Implications for emotional

functioning, life satisfaction, and distress. Journal of Child and Family

Studies, 28(12), 3455-3466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01528-z

Magazine article found in a library database, no DOI

Chamberlin, J., Novotney, A., Packard, E., & Price, M. (2008, May). Enhancing worker

well-being: Occupational health psychologists convene to share their research

on work, stress, and health. Monitor on Psychology, 39(5), 26-29.

Newspaper article, found in library

database, no DOI

Child placement guidance best for youths. (2019, July 28). Topeka Capital Journal, 4.

Anonymous article Keeping mental health promotion alive. (2010, January). Perspectives in Psychiatric

Care, pp. 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6163.2009.00241.x

Magazine article found online, not in library database, no

page or issue number

Eckel, S. (2019, November). The power of boundaries. Psychology Today,

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/magazine/archive/2019/11

Journal article found online, not in a

library database. If no DOI, use URL

Hirtle, P. B. (2008, July-August). Copyright renewal, copyright restoration, and the

difficulty of determining copyright status. D-Lib Magazine, 14(7/8).

https://doi.org/10.1045/july2008-hirtle

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Web Sites

See other sections of this document for non-print resources such as books or periodicals found online.

In general, list as much of the following information as possible:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. http://web address

▪ Include author (if known), title of the work, the date (month and day if possible) the document was created, organization sponsoring the site (if applicable), and a retrieval statement.

▪ Include URL when the reader can’t locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it.

▪ Provide the most specific date possible.

Examples of web site references:

Article from a web page

National Institute of Mental Health. (2018, July). Anxiety disorders. U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml

Webpage with no fixed date

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). U.S. and world population clock. U.S. Department of

Commerce. Retrieved July 3, 2019, from https://www.census.gov/popclock/

Audiovisual, Broadcast Media, and Other Non-Print Sources

Audiovisual media include objects such as maps or artwork as well as moving images or audio materials. For video

and music resources, list the first executive producer and the first director as the responsible parties. If credits for

director and producer are not available, provide the name of the individual or organization most responsible for

the work.

Examples of non-print media references:

Video Arledge, E. (Producer), & de Pencier, N. (Director). (2009). The incredible journey of

the butterflies [DVD]. PBS Video.

Online video TED. (2012, March 16). Brené Brown: Listening to shame [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psN1DORYYV0

Photograph with no title,

improvised title in brackets

Rinaldi, J. (2016). [Photograph series of a boy who finds his footing after abuse by

those he trusted]. The Pulitzer Prizes. https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/jessica-

rinaldi

Personal interview Note: Personal interviews are not included in the Reference list; simply use this

citation format in the text of the paper. Example: (K. Sawant, personal

communication, January 4, 2020).

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In-Text Citations

When paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to refer to the author and year of publication in

your in-text reference. APA guidelines encourage you to provide the page number or part of the source but it

is not necessary unless you are making a direct quote.

For the following reference:

Fincher-Kiefer, R. (2019). How the body shapes knowledge: Empirical support for embodied

cognition. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000136-000

Paraphrase Fincher-Kiefer (2019) compares the body to a ...

In a recent study of body language and cognition (Fincher-Kiefer, 2019), ...

Quote She stated, "our knowledge of the world is represented, or grounded, in the neural pathways that were used when we initially experienced those concepts” (Fincher-Kiefer, 2019, p. 10).

According to Fincher-Kiefer (2019), "Our knowledge of the world is represented, or grounded, in the neural pathways that were used when we initially experienced those concepts” (p. 10).

The following table shows the basic in-text citation styles:

Author type Parenthetical citation Narrative citation

One author (Luna, 2020) Luna (2020)

Two authors (Salas & D’Agostino, 2020) Salas and D’Agostino (2020)

Three or more authors (Martin et al., 2020) Martin et al. (2020)

Group author without abbreviation

(Stanford University, 2020) Stanford University (2020)

Group author with abbreviation

First appearance in the paper: (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020) Later appearances in the paper: (NIMH, 2020)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2020)

No author (Interpersonal Skills, 2019) Interpersonal Skills (2019)

No date (Mwenguo, n.d.) Mwenguo (n.d.)

Source: Adapted from Table 8.1 Basic In-Text Citation Styles (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020)

Last updated Winter 2020, Seattle Central Community College Library

Web: seattlecentral.edu/library | Phone: 206.934.5421

References
Books
Periodical Articles
Web Sites
Audiovisual, Broadcast Media, and Other Non-Print Sources
In-Text Citations