APA Style Guide

Title Page Example.

Click on the following link to open an example of a title page you can use for formal papers. Save the file to your disk drive and edit as needed.

title_page_master.doc

Why document publications and other sources?

1. Document publications and other sources to avoid violating copyrights and institutional and personal ethics concerning scientific research and publications.
2. Document publications and other sources to make it possible for others to find and review the same sources of information used by an author or authors.

Examples of APA Style in this Guide.

Examples of APA style in this guide will follow the use prescribed in the fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) published in July 2001.

APA Style in the Reference List

A Reference List is an organized list of all the information sources used to write an article, book, or other type of communication. The following information will give examples and review the reference elements for APA style most commonly used in periodicals and books. This guide is a condensation of some information in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, however it is not meant to replace the manual. When in doubt about any question concerning APA style, consult the manual. We strongly suggest you purchase a copy of the manual. For purchase information, check with the University Bookstore at http://www2.utmb.edu/bookstore/ or with the APA at http://www.apastyle.org/index.html. Currently, the soft cover edition lists for $23.95.

Periodicals: (i.e., journals, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, etc.).

Periodical Example:

Forman, R., & Hyde, S. (1999). A comparison of youths in South America and the southeastern United States: Mental health issues revisited. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 3-18.

Bernstein, J. M., Horwitz, M., Horwitz, C., Fein, L., Horwitz, S., Besser, J., et al. (1971). A comparison of the effects of laughter on students: Does laughter ease student stress? The Funny Pages: An Intergalactic Journal, 73, 10-22.

Reference elements for articles in periodicals:

Author Name(s):
Always:
· List all author names in the order given (1st author, 2nd author, etc. With more than six authors, only list the names of the first six authors with "et al." following. Note: et al. has a comma before it and is followed by a period. See the example above.).
· Place the last name first, then initials.
· Put a comma and space after each last name.
· Place a period after each initial.
· Put a space between initials.
· Place a comma after the period of the last initial except with the last author. With the last author put a period and space only.
· Use the ampersand "&" for "and" before the final last name with two or more authors.
· Place a comma before the &.
· Put a period at end of all of the names. (This will be the period after the last initial.)

Date
Always:
· Place dates in parentheses.
· Place the year first. (Most only have the year.)
· Put a comma after year, then the month or season if included: (1999, January). (1999, Winter).
· Accepted but unpublished works are designated as (in press).
· Place a period after the closed parentheses.

Title of Article
Always capitalize:
· The first word of the title.
· The first word after a colon.
· Any word that is normally capitalized such as proper nouns and proper adjectives (e.g., Great Britain, British, African American, Texas).
· Do not capitalize any other words in the title of an article.
· End titles with a period unless the title already has other ending punctuation (e.g., Who's really afraid of Virginia Woolf?).

Name of Periodical
Always:
· Capitalize the first and all other important words. Do not capitalize a, an, and, the, of, and similar words unless it is a first word.
· Italicize the entire name of the periodical including the volume number.

Volume Numbers and/or Issue Numbers
· Include the issue number immediately after the volume number if the volume uses non-consecutive pagination. Non-consecutive pagination means each issue starts at page one. Consecutive pagination means the next issue in a volume starts with the next page number after the last page number in the previous issue. For example, if Issue 1 ends on page 93, Issue 2 begins on page 94. A volume typically runs for one year.
· If issue numbers are used, place the issue number in parentheses with no space between the volume and issue numbers. (See the example above.)
· Do not italicize the issue number.
· Place a comma after the volume or issue number.

Page Numbers
· Use the entire number for page numbers.
· Use only a hyphen, no space between numbers.
· Place a period after numbers.
· Use the abbreviation p. or pp. for page or pages with newspaper articles (and book chapters).
· When referencing the entire issue of a periodical, do not include page numbers.

For further help with APA references in periodicals, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.), pp. 240-248.

Books

Book Example:

Zokoff, A. R., & Hudson, H. (Eds.). (1999). Nursing processes and procedures. London: Bagdorff.

Book Reference Elements:
· Author or Editor Name(s) (same order as with periodical). When appropriate, place editor(s) abbreviation after the name(s), (Ed.) or (Eds.) followed by a period outside the parentheses.
· Date
· Title of book (Capitalize the same as periodicals. Italicize the entire title.)
· Place of publication (Well known cities need no state or country designation, e.g. New York, London, Paris.)
· Publisher (Place a colon and space between the place of publication and publisher, e.g., Austin: University of Texas Press.)

For further help with APA references in books, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.), pp. 248-251.

Book Chapter

Example:

Adams, J., & Fremont, X. O. (1999). Physical examinations. In A. R. Zokoff & H. Hudson (Eds.), Nursing processes and procedures (pp. 27-54). London: Bagdorff.

Reference Elements in Book Chapters

· Chapter Author Name(s) (same as with periodical).
· Date
· Title of chapter (Capitalize the same as periodicals. Do not italicize.)
· Book Author(s) or Editor(s). (Same as with books, except put initials before last names).
· Title of Book (Italicize.)
· Page numbers for chapters go in parentheses with a period following (pp. 21-78).
· Place of publication (Well-known cities need no state or country designation, e.g., New York, London, Paris, or when a state is named when naming a university, e.g., Austin: University of Texas Press)
· Publisher (Place a colon and space between the city and publisher with a period after the publisher, e.g., Austin: University of Texas Press.)

For further help with APA references in book chapters, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.), pp. 251-255.

Secondary Source

Example

Pinciatti, D., & Burkhart, J. (2001).The cheese heads: A study of teenage fans of the Green Bay Packers. Mental Health Issues, 2, 14-19.

Reference only the Secondary Source in the Reference List. Do not list the work cited by the secondary. (See below, Citing a Secondary Source).

Electronic Media

World Wide Web sources

Reference Internet articles based on a printed source as follows:

Forman, R., & Hyde, S. (1999). A comparison of youths in South America and the southeastern United States: Mental health issues revisited [Electronic version]. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 3-18.

· Notice that the reference is similar to the typical periodical reference, however, place "[Electronic version]" between the article title and the name of the periodical. In some cases, the page numbers of electronic versions may not be indicated. In that case, either include the date of retrieval from the World Wide Web and the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the first page of the electronic version as in the next example below, or indicate the page numbers of the print version of the article as in the above example.

Reference Internet articles that have a printed source but are cited according to the electronic version as follows:

Forman, R., & Hyde, S. (1999). A comparison of youths in South America and the southeastern United States: Mental health issues revisited [Electronic version]. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 3-18. Retrieved September 17, 2003, from http://www.IJMHN.com/33/1/3.html

Do this reference the same as for the print version except add the retrieval date and URL at the end. Usually you would only need to do this if you were making an exact quotation from the electronic version. See Citations in Text below for how to cite this type of reference.

Referencing an article from an Internet-only journal:

Lehna, C., (2000). Evidence-based case: Refusal of triple-marker screening testing, The Internet Journal of Advanced Nursing Practice, 4(1). Retrieved August 5 , 2002, from http://www.ispub.com/ostia/index.php?xmlFilePath=journals/ijanp/vol4n1/evidence.xml

· In this case, you must list the reference as you would a journal article and include the URL for the first page of the article. Volume, issue, and page numbers may or may not be present. 

Note: Do not place periods after a URL. Readers may mistake the period as part of the URL.

Referencing a technical or research report from a public or private organization web site:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people 2010: Volume 1. Retrieved August 5, 2002, from http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/Document/tableofcontents.htm#volume1

· In the case that the author is a different organization from the web site on which the information is found, identify the web site in the retrieval statement.

Referencing a U.S. government report available via the World Wide Web with no publication date indicated:

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Demographic profiles: 1990 and 2000 comparison tables. Retrieved August 5, 2002, from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/dp_comptables.html

· In the case of no date of publication, place n.d. in parentheses, which stands for no date, and follow the parentheses with a period.

Referencing an electronic source that has no easily identified author:

APA style guide (2002). University of Texas Medical Branch, School of Nursing. Retrieved October 16, 2002, from  http://www.son.utmb.edu/Resources/APA/APAGuide.htm

· While a work of this sort may be on a public university web site, the university or school may not be given credit for such a work. In these cases, place the title from the web page in the author position and the name of the university and/or school before the retrieval statement. 

Referencing computer software:

Doenges, M., Moorhouse, M., & Geissler-Murr, A. (2003). Body image: Definition. Nurse's Pocket Guide: Diagnosis, Interventions, and Rationales (8th ed.). [PDA Software]. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Company.

· For many people, retrieving information from electronic sources such as PDAs and online software packages has increased significantly. Remember to identify the type of software in brackets after the name of the software program. 

Making the Reference List

Below is a sample Reference List for you to use as a guide. Notice that the references are listed alphabetically and double spaced.

APA style guide (2002). University of Texas Medical Branch, School of Nursing. Retrieved October 16, 2002, from  http://www.son.utmb.edu/Resources/APA/APAGuide.htm

Bernstein, J. M., Horwitz, M., Horwitz, C., Fein, L., Horwitz, S., Besser, J., et al. (1971). A comparison of the effects of laughter on students: Does laughter ease student stress? The Funny Pages: An Intergalactic Journal, 73, 10-22.

Forman, R., & Hyde, S. (1999). A comparison of youths in South America and the southeastern United States: Mental health issues revisited. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 3-18. 

Lehna, C., (2000). Evidence-based case: Refusal of triple-marker screening testing, The Internet Journal of Advanced Nursing Practice, 4(1). Retrieved August 5 , 2002, from http://www.ispub.com/ostia/index.php?xmlFilePath=journals/ijanp/vol4n1/evidence.xml

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Demographic profiles: 1990 and 2000 comparison tables. Retrieved August 5, 2002, from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/dp_comptables.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people 2010: Volume 1. Retrieved August 5, 2002, from http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/Document/tableofcontents.htm#volume1

For further help with APA references in electronic media, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.), pp. 271-281.  

Citations in Text

In general, APA style identifies sources cited in the text by the author's last name and the publication date.

Citations with one author.

In Bernstein's 1999 study of student reasoning skills. . . .

In Bernstein's study (1999) of student reasoning skills. . . .

In a study of student reasoning skills (Bernstein, 1999). . . .

. . . as shown in a recent study (Bernstein, 1999).

Within the same paragraph, you can omit the year from subsequent citations after the first mention.

Bernstein also found that students. . . .

Citations with two authors always mention both names

In a second study, Bernstein and Fein (2000) showed. . . .

A second study (Bernstein & Fein, 2000) showed. . . .

Note: In the text use "and" with two authors, but in parenthetical citations use an ampersand ("&") without a comma before it.

Citations with three, four, or five authors cite all names the first time a reference is used. For the remainder of the manuscript, use the first author's name and "et al." after it.

Earlier Bernstein, Horwitz, Horwitz, and Fein (1994) had developed. . . . 

In another study, Bernstein et al. (1994) illustrated. . . .

This example illustrates the first citation in a new paragraph after the first citation of the work in the manuscript. In subsequent citations in the same paragraph, omit the date if referring to the same work. 

Bernstein et al. studied. . . .

In one study, (Bernstein, Horwitz, Horwitz, & Fein, 1994). . . .

A 1994 study (Bernstein et al.) found. . . . 

Citations with six or more authors, cite only the first author's name with et al. If the second and subsequent authors names are the same, continue to list the names of authors until a distinction can be made between works. If more than one author's name is used with et al., place a comma before et al.

Bernstein, Horwitz, Da Vita, et al. (1993) studied. . . .

Bernstein, Horwitz, Fein, et al. (1993) stated. . . .

Citations with Group names that have acronyms

In one report, (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2000). . . .

A 2001 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). . . .

Works with No Author, use the first few words of the title in quotation marks, (or the entire title if it is short).

One source ("APA Style Guide," 2002) states that. . . .

Note: Sometimes this occurs with pamphlets, newsletters, Web sites, and with other sources that may be less consistent and organized than established book and journal publishers.

Works by Authors with the Same Surname

In two studies, M. Horwitz (1987) and C. Horwitz (1993) found. . . .

Two studies (M. Horwitz, 1987; C. Horwitz, 1993) found. . . .

Different Works by the Same Authors in the Same Year

Several studies, (Horwitz, 1988a, 1988b; Fein, 1991) found. . . .

In three studies, Horwitz (1981a, 1981b, 1981c) found. . . .

Direct quotations from an Internet source

Forman and Hyde (1999, ¶ 4) postulated. . . .

Researchers (Forman & Hyde, 1999, ¶ 4) have postulated. . . .

Citing a Secondary Source

These data are supported by evidence from a study by Forman and Hyde (cited in Pinciatti & Burkhart, 2001).

For further help with APA citations, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.), pp. 207-214.

Using Tables

Tables provide an efficient means for displaying information that might be cumbersome to read when presented as text. This is particularly true of statistical and other numerical data. The table below illustrates one of many ways a table can be used effectively in academic writing. It describes the responses to a survey question from practicing nurses about the time devoted to a particular activity in their formal education.  

Do not use a table to summarize or repeat information already mentioned in your text.  Use the data in tables to explain and expand upon information you introduce in your text. For instance, the following sentence might be used to introduce the data presented in Table 1:

Over half of the practicing nurses responding to the survey indicated that interpersonal violence education had been mentioned only briefly in courses during their formal training (see Table 1).  

Note the following about the table:

• Columns and Rows are clearly labeled.

• Information in each column relates only to that column's heading.

• Information in each row relates only to that row's label (also called a stub heading).

• All written parts of the table including the title, headings, and labels are as concise as possible.

• No vertical lines are used in the tables.

• The entire table is double-spaced.

In addition, use tables sparingly. Use them to present the crucial data that is most important to your topic. A manuscript with an abundance of tables can be as confusing and difficult to read as one with only dense text.

For further help with APA-style tables, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.), pp. 147-176.

Using Figures

Like tables, figures can provide an efficient means for displaying information that might be difficult to read when presented as text. Figures can be anything you insert into a manuscript such as a graph, chart, photograph, or drawing that make it easier for the reader to understand the concept you wish to convey. Figures best illustrate information that is not easily quantified or described in text. Again, as with tables, use figures to compliment rather than repeat information in your text.

The figure below illustrates the direct and indirect influences of caregiver burden on depression in caregivers. This figure can be used to introduce the complex relationships among the factors influencing depression in caregivers.

	Direct Influences of Caregiver Burden on Depression:
		1→5
	Indirect Influences of Caregiver Burden on Depression:
		(a) 1→2→5  (b) 1→3→5 (c) 1→4→5 (d) 1→2→4→5 (e) 1→3→4→5

Figure 1. Influences of Caregiver Burden on Depression. Note the legend for direct and indirect (a-e) influences of caregiver burden on depression.

For further help with APA-style figures, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.), pp. 176-201.

For Students Who Need More Help with APA Style or Writing?

As the editor in the School of Nursing's Office for Nursing Research and Scholarship (ONRS), I can assist you on a limited basis with problems you may have with APA style or with writing. However, please follow the guidelines listed below before contacting me.

1. Consult this guide, and if possible, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for solutions to your problem before you contact me.

2. Consult the instructor for your assignment about the problem before contacting me. If you are unable to resolve your problem after consulting the instructor, ask if you may contact me about the problem. You must have permission from the instructor to consult me about your problem. If you consult me for assistance with writing a paper, make sure your instructor knows the specific problem(s) for which you are seeking help.

3. Be able to state your problem briefly and concisely, particularly if you are contacting me by e-mail or telephone.

4. Have a digital copy of your work available that can be sent to me via e-mail if consulting me by telephone or e-mail. If contacting me in person, please have a digital copy of your work on a disk with you or send a digital copy to me beforehand.

5. Do not expect that I can immediately attend to your problem. In some cases, I will be able to help you immediately; in some cases, I will not. However, I cannot make your problem my highest priority simply because you have an eminent deadline. I am the only editor in the school.

Contact Information:

John Bernstein, MA
Editor II
SON ONRS
Room 3.637
(409) 772-1226
jmbernst@UTMB.edu

Note: This Style Guide will be available through several different links from various pages on the UTMB SON Web site. You will receive e-mail messages notifying you of specific links to the Style Guide.

Some Suggested Internet Links For Help With Writing And Documentation

Grammar and Usage sites

Great Books Online
http://www.bartleby.com/

Elements of Style
http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk1.html

11 Rules of Writing. Basic rules with examples. University of Colorado.
http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/

Guide to Grammar and Style. Basic rules with examples, Rutgers University.
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/

Common Errors in English. Basic rules and misunderstood rules with examples, Washington State University
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html

WebGrammar. Grammar Basic rules with examples from a private company.
http://www.webgrammar.com/grammar.html

Writing Links Sites

WebGrammar. Go to the "Writing Section." A megalist of grammar, writing, and usage sites. Most are college or university affiliated sites.
http://www.webgrammar.com/

Reference Style Guides

American College of Physicians--Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts. http://www.icmje.org/index.html.

AMA Style Guide
Note: The American Medical Association Manual of Style (9th ed.), is not available in is entirety online. To get the complete manual you must buy the hardcopy. The web address below takes you to JAMA's AMA reference citation examples: http://jama.ama-assn.org/ifora_current.dtl

APA Style Guides

Note: The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.), is not available in its entirety online. To get the complete manual you must purchase it. The two pages below offer help for citing electronic references and answer Frequently Asked Questions.

http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html

Online Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) (No longer available through the UTMB Moody Medical Library web site).
http://dictionary.oed.com/

Cambridge Dictionary
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary
http://www.m-w.com/

Thesaurus.com
http://www.thesaurus.com/

Mega Reference Lists

refdesk.com/

One of the best "find anything" reference sites. Much more than a search engine.
http://refdesk.com/

Search Engines These search engines are focused on science or research.

TEOMA    http://www.teoma.com/

SCIRUS   http://www.scirus.com/

This page last updated July 18, 2005