Unit 1: APA Basics Lecture

Question 1

Why cite your sources?

Answer 1

Gives credit where credit is due

Validates your work because the reader can see where you got your info
-ex: breast feeding vs bottle feeding study funded by formula company –> biased

Informs others who may want to look further into the topic

Informs the reader about the age of the material
-age may not be a bad thing (maybe it’s not an important article or it’s the only article)

Question 2

General formatting for every page

Answer 2

1 inch margins all around (right, left, top, bottom)

Double space

Left justified (left side aligned, right jagged)

12 point Times New Roman

Page number in upper right corner of every page

Indent paragraphs

Write in 3rd person in formal papers
-basically don’t use “I”

Question 3

Title or Face Page

Answer 3

Every formal (scholarly) paper should have one

Title should contain:

• running head: SHORT TITLE OF PAPER
• title of the paper in upper and lower case
• your name as author of the paper
• affiliation (employer or school)
• ->ex: class number and title of class

Question 4

More about titles

Answer 4

Title appears on the title page and at the top of the first page of text
-SAME TITLE

Title should be in:
Title Case: Centered, Boldface, Uppercase, and Lowercase

Question 5

Body: Between the Title page and References

Answer 5

Double space title page, main body, and references

Headings

• you decide on appropriate level of heading
• you decide on the number of headings
• you have 5 from which to select (p. 62 of APA Manual)
• ->typically the simpler the better (levels 1 & 2)

Question 6

T/F: Introductory paragraphs have a heading.

Answer 6

False

-introductory paragraphs have NO heading

Question 7

Are the conclusion and summary of the paper different things?

Answer 7

Yes

Question 8

Basic reference format for a book

Answer 8

Author, A. (year). Title of book*. Location: Publisher

*title of book is in italics, first word is uppercase

Question 9

Basic reference format for a journal article

Answer 9

Author, A. & Author, B. (year). Title of article*. Title of journal**, xx, page-page. doi:

*title of article: first word is uppercase

**title of journal (and ‘xx’) are in italics

Question 10

Author vs corporate author

Answer 10

Author is a person’s name
-e.g. Smith, J. W.

Corporate author is an entity name.

• e.g. MO Vital Records, CDC, Child Trends, University of Missouri
• use corporate author when no author is listed (ex: stuff that comes off of CDC/government website)

Question 11

Basic reference format for a brochure

Answer 11

Corporate Author (year). Title of brochure (# ed.)*. [Brochure]. Location: Publisher

*Title of brochure & edition number are in italics

The word “author” may appear at the end of a brochure citation
-ex:
Research and Training Center on Independent Living. (2016). Guidelines for reporting and writing about people with disabilities (6th ed.) [Brochure]. Lawrence, KS: Author

Question 12

Basic website format

Answer 12

Author or Corporate author (year). Title of work*. Retrieved from: URL

*Title of work in italics

If no date: (n.d.)

You do NOT need the date of retrieval anymore

Question 13

Open Access Format

Answer 13

Author, A. & Author, B. (year). Title of work. Title Open Access Journal*. doi:

*title open access journal is in italics

Question 14

Acronyms

Answer 14

Define before use

Author decision

Ex: American Psychological Association (APA), Sterile Vaginal Exam (SVE), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), etc.

Question 15

Citation at the beginning of a sentence

Answer 15

Author and Author (year)…

Write out the word “and” when citing at the beginning of a sentence

Question 16

Citation at the end of a sentence

Answer 16

Basic format: (Author & Author, year).

(Smith & Jones, 2014).

Use ampersand when citing at the end of sentences

Question 17

When reporting a study, do you use present tense or past tense?

Answer 17

Past tense

Question 18

Past Tense (definition)

Answer 18

Used to describe an action, study, behavior, or condition that happened in the past

A study conducted just 5 minutes ago still occurred in the past, so use past tense

Question 19

Numbers vs Words

Answer 19

Use numerals to express numbers 10 and above
-ex: the remaining 10%, the 15th element, she labored 22 hours

Use words to express numbers below 10
-ex: two-thirds of the sample, she was dilated seven centimeters, she labored two hours.

Use the word when a number begins a sentence
-ex: Twelve participants stopped smoking, and 12 participants continued to smoke.

Question 20

References

Answer 20

Start on the new page after last of text

The word ‘References’ is the heading on this page

• if you have 1 reference, write “Reference”
• if you have multiple references, write “References”

Alphabetized by the last name of first author

Hanging indent
-top line comes all the way to the left margin and then the following lines are indented

Contains only the literature used in the paper
-NOT a bibliography (which references articles you read to get ideas for your paper)

Question 21

What is plagiarism?

Answer 21

Intentionally or unintentionally claiming words or ideas from any source as your own

Question 22

How do you avoid plagiarism?

Answer 22

Citing your sources

Paraphrasing or summarizing

Quoting

Question 23

What do you always include when quoting?

Answer 23

Author or authors of article

Year of publication

Page number of publication

Question 24

How many types of quotes are there?

Answer 24

3

Question 25

What are the 3 types of quotes?

Answer 25

Mid-sentence

End of sentence

40 words or longer

Question 26

Cutting and Pasting

Answer 26

DO NOT DO IT

Do not cut and paste when you plan to summarize or paraphrase

Do not cut and paste when you plan to quote

Do not cut and paste references