Take the Plunge! Please take a seat in the front of the
auditorium
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Take the Plunge! APA Writing and Citing
2008
Disclaimer
sources. Nothing should be
considered the original thoughts
What is Style? • 2 a. mode of expressing
thought in oral or written language:
• b : the custom followed (as in a business, editorial, or printing
office) in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and typographic
arrangement and display
(Merriam-Webster, 2008)
Why APA? Predominant style for social sciences. Style rules guide
the reader & help with information processing
Establishes common usage and form
The great thing about APA is that there’s a rule for
everything!
The bad thing about APA is that there’s a rule for
everything!
Why Cite?
Cite: to refer to for illustration or proof; to point to the
evidence.
Citing the evidence supports the claim you are making in your
paper. Shows you’ve done your research, and that you’ve established
a foundation for your work.
Why Cite? To give credit for the work, words, thoughts of
others.
Omitting a citation violates copyright law and is plagiarism.
All works are automatically covered by copyright laws.
To let the reader know the original source of the information (the
evidence) that you have used.
To allow the reader to identify and retrieve the original source
materials.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
All works are automatically covered by copyright laws. The creator
of a work does not have to register their work with the U.S.
Copyright Office.
Plagiarism
“From the Latin, plagiarius, meaning
kidnapper.” Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is a
serious violation of the UNC Honor Code, to which both students and
faculty are bound to uphold.
(Reitz, 2004)
Presentation Notes
Please take plagiarism seriously. Students and faculty are bound by
the honor code – which means that faculty can’t “cut you slack” or
“give a second chance” when it comes to suspected plagiarism.
Faculty must report all cases of suspected plagiarism.
TurnItIn®
• The School of Social Work subscribes to the “Turn it In” software
service that searches
for originality of content in research papers. The degree to which
it is used is
determined by each professor.
Avoid Unintentional Plagiarism with Better Note Taking
Record citation info for every source Author(s) Date Full Title
Publication information
City, Publisher, Journal name, vol. & issue no., Page
range)
Include “quote marks” in your notes for any words you copy from the
source.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Best way to avoid is to develop a good note taking system and stick
to it. Make it a habit. Better to over cite than face charge of
plagiarism.
APA Citation Style Parenthetical author-date in-text format
Usually placed at end of sentence Basic format: (Last name,
Publication Year)
A recent study examined stress levels among graduate students
(Slacker, 2004).
The recent work of Slacker (2004) examined stress levels among
graduate students.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
At the heart of APA citation is the use of parenthetical
author-date in-text citation… In-text citations don’t indicate
source type (book, journal, Web site) Note that the period for the
sentence comes after the citation, which indicates that citation
goes with the preceding information. The second example shows the
author’s name used within the text or a SIGNAL PHRASE. The year is
always kept with the author’s name.
Multiple Citations in 1 Sentence
Although a recent study reported a negative association between
stress and academic achievement among graduate students (Slacker,
2004), other research has shown a positive association with
professional development (Mao & Plant, 2003; Summer, 2001,
2002).
2 Author FormatMultiple citations are
alphabetized by 1st author within parentheses
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Multiple citations in one sentence? − Keep the citation with the
evidence. This example shows citations linked to the evidence. If
all the citations were included in the end parentheses, the reader
wouldn’t be able to tell which of the studies had reported the
negative association. Let’s talk about punctuation in this
sentence. The comma following (Slacker, 2004) has nothing to do
with the citation. The comma would be used naturally to separate
the clauses. With 2 or more authors use the AMPERSAND & instead
of the word “and” when the citation is enclosed within parentheses.
If you use the authors names in a signal phrase WRITE OUT “and.”
Note a semicolon separates different sources within one
parentheses. When citing 2 works by the same author or group of
authors, use a comma to separate the different publication
years.
2 Author Citations
Give names of both authors in each use.
– Use & (ampersand) to join authors’ names within parentheses
and in the reference section
– In a signal phrase, replace & with “and”
– As seen in the first investigation of social toads (Slater &
Sogburn, 1996), warts…
– Slater and Sogburn’s (1996) seminal work on social toads brought
focus to
3 to 5 Authors
On first use, include all authors. (Glenn, Wilcox, Strum, Ginger,
& Boyd, 2000).
Thereafter, use only 1st author and et al. (Glenn et al.,
2000)
et al. comes from Latin, et alia, meaning “and others” et is not an
abbreviation but al. is and ALWAYS uses a period.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Additional rules regarding multiple authors… when citing 3-5
authors, include last names of all authors on first use. After
that, only cite first author and then et. Al. Et al is not an
abbreviation but al. is and always takes a period. Notice, too,
that et al. is NOT italicized
6 or More Authors Use 1st author + et al. for all citations
Day, Richman, Galinsky, Fraser, Guo, & Kupper, 2006
1st use: (Day et al., 2006) Signal phrase: Day et al. (2006)
showed…
or Day and her colleagues (2006) showed…
Presenter
Presentation Notes
When using 6 or more authors, just because it can be cumbersome,
cite first author’s last name and use et al. for all text
citations. In the reference list, however, provide the initials and
last names of the first 6 authors and shorten any remaining authors
to et al. Again, we don’t expect you memorize this stuff. But
another reason to make sure you have a style book handy.
But what if I have 2 et al. citations for the same 1st author and
same year?
Beck, Worth, Frazier, Kung, Wilkins, & Sage, 2001 Beck, Haj,
Worth, Kung, Frazier, & Sage, 2001
Add 2nd, 3rd, 4th author as needed to distinguish the
sources:
(Beck, Worth, et al., 2001) (Beck, Haj, et al., 2001)
What if it’s the same author(s) & same year?
Hack, Cho, & Mann, 2002 – Effects of Stress Hack, Cho, &
Mann, 2002 – Influence of Anxiety
Add lowercase letter after year:
Hack, Cho, & Mann, 2002a, 2002b
(Hack et al., 2002a) (Hack et al., 2000b)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Letter a is assigned to the reference that is used first. Seems
obvious, but people get confused on that all the time.
Citing a Quote
Citations for direct quotations must include the page number for
the quoted material.
Quotes 39 words or fewer are run in-line with the text and use
double quote marks.
Quotes of 40 words or more are placed in a block quote (indented 5
spaces) and do not use quote marks.
Warning: Use quotes sparingly!
Presentation Notes
Direct quotations must also include the page number of the quoted
material. And if life wasn’t already complicated – if the quote
uses 39 or fewer words, simply include the quote within the text
using double quote marks. Quotes of 40 or more words are placed in
a block quote (indented 5 spaces) and DO NOT use quote marks. A
good rule of thumb – use quotes sparingly.
Simple, In-line Quote
One research team argued that “professor stress is the worse kind
of academic stress” (Holmes & Rahe, 1999, p. 33).
Holmes and Rahe (1999) argued that “professor stress is the worse
kind of academic stress” (p. 33).
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Note that the punctuation for the sentence comes after the
parentheses. Remember year always stays with the author.
Block Quote (40 words or more)
Holmes and Rahe (1999) contributed the following observation on
academic stress:
So-called professor stress is the worse kind of academic stress
because it is so unnecessary. When professors fail to stipulate the
criteria for achieving classroom success, students are left to
founder for weeks trying to gain footing in a new academic arena.
However, this is unnecessary. In such a case, it is the student’s
responsibility to seek out the professor and ask for information.
(pp. 33-34)
5 space indent
Presentation Notes
In your paper, the block quote would be double-spaced. Note in this
case, at the end of the quote, the punctuation precedes the
parentheses for the page number.
Which brings us to … APA Reference
Style
The Reference Section….
Purpose: to provide reader with all the information needed to
retrieve your sources
Heading: Level 1 (centered), References (not Bibliography!)
Section format: starts on separate page, double-spaced, hanging
indent (5 spaces)
Entry format: differs based on type of source (e.g., book, journal,
Web site)
The APA Family Motto:
“Every in-text citation shall have a reference entry* &
every reference entry shall have an in-text citation.”
* 2 exceptions: secondary sources and personal communications are
not included in the Reference section.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
For example, you've read an article by Sauk (1999) in which the
author quoted Berlin (1998), "APA sucks." You want the Berlin quote
in your paper. To only cite Berlin would be dishonest because you
didn't read that source. To only cite Berlin is also sketchy
because Sauk may have misquoted Berlin or used the quote in a very
different context. Therefore, you -- to cover your butt -- you have
to use the secondary source format. The in-text citation would be
(Berlin, 1998 as cited by Sauk, 1999). Because Sauk is your source,
the reference section must have an entry for Sauk. But, because you
didn't use the original Berlin source, it is not listed in the
references. Secondary sources are extremely weak
sources and should be used only when there's no access to the
original source (e.g., no English translation available, in press
or in production and not yet available).
APA Reference Formats There is logic behind APA formats!
– Think of the reference as being composed of different
elements:
1. Authors.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The APA Manual of Style contains more than 100 examples of
different formats for reference entries. Many are obscure and
rarely used. It doesn’t make any sense to try to memorize all the
different formats. LOOK IT UP! However, you’ll use 3 or 4 formats
most frequently and you’ll get to know these by heart just through
sheer repetition: -- most common formats ---book ---journal article
-----chapter in an edited book -------Web page
Reference formats : Journal Last name, I. I. (Pub Date). Article
title with
sentence style caps. Journal Name Upper & Lower Italics,
vol(issue), page-range.
Page numbers separated with a hyphen - No p. or pp.
Don’t include the issue number for journals with continuous
pagination:
Macy, R., & Nurius, P. (in press). Domestic violence: Are we
making progress? Violence Studies, 2(Spring), 17-19.
Weiss, M., Kupper, M., & Page-Scanlon, D. (2007). Influence of
asset-building programs on future orientation. Journal of Economic
Development & Social Advancement, 24, 2-3.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Journal entry: for example, this is what a reference citation would
look like for a journal entry. You have last name, then first name
initials, followed by the publication date in parenthesis. If the
article has not been published but is getting ready to be, you
state, (in press). Then the article’s title with general sentence
style capitalization, following grammar rules and proper nouns. The
name of the Journal in italics and the vol. no. in italics; the
issue in parenthesis, and page range with no p. or pp. Don’t
include the issue number for journals with continuous pagination.
When issues of a volume are numbered continuously. So vol. 1 may
include pg. 1-200. And then volume 2 of that same issue, picks up
with 200-300.
Book Format: AuthorSurname, I. (Year). Book title in italics:
Sentence style caps. City, ST: Publisher.
DuBois, W.E.B., & Stout, R. H. (1992). A writer’s desk
reference (5th ed.). Washington DC: Bedford/St. Martin.
Fraser, M., Guo, S., Little, M., Cart, G., Kaffe, K., Sales, T., et
al. (2005). Community practice in emerging nations: A skill book
for world workers. New York: Avatar Press.
List first 6 authors + et al.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Book format: Notice no spaces b/t 3 initials and one space b/t 2
initials. (Again, just another reason to keep your APA stylebook
handy.) Publication city and state – no periods with the state,
followed by a colon and the publisher’s name. Note – there are some
cities that do not require state names. Minneapolis, New York Pay
attention to punctuation
Chapter In An Edited Book:
Author, 1., & Author, 2. (Year). Chapter title. In I. M. Word
& M. T. Nerd (Eds.), Book title (pp. 3- 15). Altoona:
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Richman, J., & Bowen, G. L. (1997). School failure: An
ecological-interactional developmental perspective.
An ecological perspective (pp. 95-116). Washington,
DC: NASW Press.
Presentation Notes
Another example: a chapter in an edited book. Author’s names are
inverted Note that Editor’s names are NOT inverted
Citing Web Sources
To cite a Web source you must give at least the following
information: – Title of page or description – Date you retrieved
the information
(Note: not “accessed,” not “available on-line at”) – The specific
URL for the page (i.e., not the
home page of site)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
More information is better than less – remember the goal for your
reader to be able to retrieve your source. Requires specific URL
address not just the home page of the site.
Example: Citing the NASW Code of Ethics listed on the NASW Web
site
In-Text: Social work professionals are held to a
“constellation
of core values” (National Association of Social Workers [NASW],
2008, preamble).
Reference entry: National Association of Social Workers.
(2008).
Preamble to the code of ethics. Retrieved May 4, 2008, from
http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/ Code/code.asp No period after
the URL
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Again, an example of a Web based citation: Notice that if you’re
going to use NASW later one, to put the acronym in brackets. And
again, notice that you include the entire URL address and not just
the homepage in the reference entry.
But Citations and References are just a drop in the bucket….
The APA Manual Contains a Flood of Information…
Anatomy of a Long Paper Title Page Abstract Body of paper –
Background – [Note APA does not use heading
“Introduction”] – Literature Review – Methods – Results –
Discussion
Conclusion References
Presentation Notes
Typically, the body of an academic paper follows the IMRAD model
Introduction Method Results And Discussion HOWEVER, APA does not
use the heading “Introduction.” But your paper will still have an
introduction. Sometimes this is called the Background section.
Think of this section as a way to bring your reader up to speed on
the issue. The background section states the current state of the
issue or problem and gives the importance of investigating the
issue. The literature review is a detailed analysis of the current
state of knowledge on this specific topic. A very important point –
Your paper IS NOT meant to be an annotated bibliography or a book
report. This is your chance to offer a critical review, analysis,
comparison, and synthesis of the literature. Your goal is to learn
and to advance the knowledge. Method and Results are
straightforward reporting sections. Discussion evaluates the
importance and implications of the results and shows how the
findings relate to the existing evidence discussed in the
literature review. The discussion section includes your analysis of
the implications of the findings for practice or policy, and
addresses the limitations of the study. The conclusion summarizes
the key points of evidence. Typically, the body of an academic
paper follows the IMRAD model Introduction Method Results And
Discussion HOWEVER, APA does not use the heading Introduction. But
your paper will still have an introduction. Sometimes this is
called the Background section. Think of this section as a way to
bring your reader up to speed on the issue. The background section
states the current state of the issue or problem and gives the
importance of investigating the issue. The literature review is a
detailed analysis of the current state of knowledge on this
specific topic. It is not an annotated bibliography nor a book
report. It is your critical review, analysis, comparison, and
synthesis of the literature. Method and Results are straightforward
reporting sections. Discussion evaluates the importance and
implications of the results and shows how the findings relate to
the existing evidence discussed in the literature review. The
discussion section includes your analysis of the implications of
the findings for practice or policy, and addresses the limitations
of the study. The conclusion summarizes the key points of
evidence.
Anatomy of a Short Paper
Title page Body of Paper – Background – state the problem – Your
approach to the problem – Your analysis of problem and research –
Implications for practice or policy
Conclusion References
Presentation Notes
Shorter papers may not include all the sections of a long paper,
but a short paper still has a formal structure. The background may
be a few concise sentences instead of several paragraphs. Those few
sentences conclude with your thesis statement = your claim or
assertion for which you build your argument in the remainder of the
paper. Again, your analysis of the research is critical. Don’t do
book reports and just give notes on what you read. Your paper
should demonstrate your critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis
of your research sources. Don’t be afraid to challenge what’s out
there! The conclusion summarizes the evidence and restates your
thesis statement.
APA Format Rules Margins - 1” top, bottom, sides (minimum)
Double-spaced – including references Font: Times New Roman for text
(serif)
Courier for tables and figures (sans serif)
Paragraphs: Indent 5 spaces – avoid one sentence paragraphs One
space after any punctuation mark References: Start on separate page
& use hanging indent (5 spaces).
Presenter
Presentation Notes
I won’t go into great detail on the formatting rules. Again, you
can find this information in your APA stylebook as well as in the
summary handout.
Format of Title Page
Centered on page
Presentation Notes
Running Header is usually reserved for manuscripts that are being
sent to a publisher Notice, no bold type, no italics or
illustrations on your title page.
Heads Up! APA uses 5 levels of headings Important roadmaps for the
reader – reveals your organization (outline)
– helps reader process the information
– But incorrect headings confuse your reader and muddle your
information
Heads up!
Centered Upper and Lower Case (Level 1)
Centered Upper and Lower Italics (Level 2)
Flush with Left Margin, Upper and Lower Italics (Level 3)
Indented 5 spaces, italics, sentence style caps, paragraph heading
with period. (Level 4)
*Note that all levels use the same size font or print height.
But you won’t use all levels
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Note that all levels use the same size font or type size but you
won’t use all levels.
You’ll use Level 1 & 3… maybe 4
CENTERED ALL CAPS (Level 5)
Centered Upper and Lower Case (Level 1)
Centered Upper and Lower Italics (Level 2)
Flush Left, Upper and Lower Italics (Level 3)
Indented, italics, sentence style caps, paragraph heading with
period. (Level 4)
*Note that all levels use the same size font or print height.
Title, Major sections
Presentation Notes
Levels 3 and 4 headlines detail subsections or drill down into your
work.
No Intro heading
Level 1 heading
Title of Paper
Measures
Procedures
Presenter
Shows layout – title, method, study sample, measures, procedures
followed and results
No Intro heading
Level 1 heading
Title of Paper
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Again, turn to your APA manual or summary handout for examples or
more information.
Come on in, the water’s great!
Exercise 1
Holmes and Raye (Holmes & Raye, 1999) argued that change,
(use commas) — especially major change — causes stress. Boyce
et
al., Jensen, Cassel, Collier, Smith, and Ramey (1977) found
that
stress mediated by life events reduced individual’s
individuals’
resistance to respiratory infections. More recently, other
researchers,
(Belarus & Blake, 2006; Lake, 2007; Lazarus, 2008), have
focused on
the more mundane life stressors, the so-called “daily hassles,”,
that
appear to be predictors of illness and depression.
However, research has also suggested that it is one’s a
person’s
evaluation of the event as much as the nature of the event in and
of
itself that effects affects the degree extent to which an event
is
experienced as stressful (Lazarus, 1968, 1995, 2008; Lazarus
&
Launier, 1988; Lazarus, Speisman, Davison, & Mordkiff, 1996).
T
Techniques for Managing Stress (Level 3, flush left, italics)
Innumerable Numerous techniques have been developed to help
one people cope with stress. Progressive relaxation techniques
(e.g.,
those developed by Jacob, Kramer, and & Agras, 1973) in the
1970s
as well as biofeedback methods (e.g., Yates, 1980) (add
comma)
have been used to
biofeedback methods (e.g., Yates, 1980) have been used to
teach
arousal control. In fact, Jacob et al. , Kramer and Agras
demonstrated
that most people could successfully control their high blood
pressure
after only attending only a few sessions on progressive
relaxation.
The critical role of cognitive appraisal in stress underlies all
stress
management programs (Meichenbaum & Jaremko, 1993;
Meichenbaum & Turk, 1995). Meichenbaum et al. and Turk
(1995)
had each participant create a “life forecast” in order to plan
ahead
and to develop strategies for dealing with stressful situations
they
were she or he was likely to encounter within the coming
months.
Meeting APA Style dictates:
attention to detail.
Presentation Notes
Details, details, details – so important and why it’s still good to
get another pair of eyes on your work. Also good to read your work
out loud – you’d be surprised what you catch.
Precise Language = Clear Communication
APA has specific rules for signal words: While vs. Although,
Whereas Since vs. Because, Given that That vs. Which Between vs.
Among
See chapter 2 of APA Manual for – Capitalization – Verb tenses
(i.e., when to use present tense vs. past tense vs. past perfect
vs. subjunctive
Presenter
Presentation Notes
It’s important that you understand what words mean and how to
properly use them. These signal words clue the reader about how to
process the information – how one bit of information relates to
another piece of information. Misuse of the signal words,
literally, gives the reader the wrong signal. Also equally
important, knowing what words to capitalize and your verb
tenses.
According to APA ….
While and Since are strictly temporal terms While refers to
simultaneous events Since refers to a time span from one event to
another
Typical Cases of Misuse The effects of poverty on academic
achievement
have been studied extensively, while little research has
investigated the effect of wealth…
Since the effects of poverty are well documented, it is logical to
assume…
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Typical, but wrong: While misused to introduce contrast Since
misused to introduce the reason or status of an issue
Correct Use of Signal Words Although much is known about the
effects of poverty, further research is needed to …
The effects of childhood poverty on health issues have been well
documented, whereas few researchers have examined the effect…
The mothers participated in a focus group while the art therapist
worked with their children …
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Proper term use to introduce contrast is although… Final sentence
shows correct use of while….
Correct use of Since vs. Because
Because the effects of childhood poverty are well documented,
policy makers should …
The decline in participation rates was not surprising given that a
bus strike started during Week 2 of the program.
Since 1993, when Making Choices was introduced, more than 13,000
sixth graders have received the intervention.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Because properly offers status or reasoning Since again, refers to
time…
Check Your Plurals
Irregular plural nouns include data, phenomena, criteria,
curricula
–and require plural verbs –The data were analyzed … – All criteria
have been met .. – The criterion for inclusion was breathing. – The
aurora was a phenomenon – The phenomena of puberty include
acne,
mood swings, distancing from parents …
Learn A Little Latin
i.e. = abbreviation of id est = “that is” refers to specific
examples
e.g. = abbreviation of exempli gratia = for example, or such
as
refers to a few among many examples.
Both abbreviations are always followed by a comma and restricted to
use within
parentheses
Presenter
Abbreviations that you will use often… Id est – specific
examples.
Academic Tone Formal, objective tone - places emphasis on the
research and the findings
Most academic writing uses 3rd person – It’s okay to use 1st person
sparingly
Don’t use 2nd person – “You can see from the results....” – “One’s
judgement may be …”
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Setting the tone in your writing is also important… Academic
writing uses the 3rd person to preserve an objective stance. Use of
the 1st is acceptable when appropriate Not: The author of the
present study interviewed… (sounds clunky and detached and if
referring to someone else) Okay: I interviewed 27 first-year
students Use of informal 2nd person is not appropriate
Formal Language
Formal Submit Investigate Delay Encounter
Avoid the jargon pitfall !!
Presentation Notes
Academic writing uses formal language. Compare these examples of
informal language with their more formal counterparts. BUT! Formal
language does not equate to obtuse or esoteric language. You can’t
be a better writer if you don’t understand what you’ve read first
and second, if you don’t know how to communicate that information
in a clear way. A good exercise is to talk it out as if you were
chatting with your mom or a friend about what you’ve read. Take
notes on the high points, which can assist with the overall
organization/outline of your paper and then write… Remember, it’s
all about presenting an objective, clear piece of communication to
the reader. And in many cases, when you are submitting an article
to a journal, for example, you need to carefully review the target
audience. The requirements will usually state if your submission
should include language that reaches a broad audience – indicating
a less formal writing style.
Language: Hedging and Strength of Claim
Social work research rarely produces incontrovertible results.
Therefore, an important feature of academic writing is conveying
the “strength of claim” of your findings or your stance on a topic.
This use of cautious language is called “hedging.”
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Though your language should be precise, there is room for hedging
or cautious language. Although there’s a big push in social work
for empirical-based research, social work isn’t an empirical
science like chemistry. Social work research doesn’t produce
absolute results or conclusive proof. So, social work writing uses
hedging --or cautious language--to indicate this aspect. Hedging
isn’t putting a “spin” on the information -- leave that for
politicians Hedging isn’t unnecessarily vague.
Introductory verbs
seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, believe, doubt, be
sure, indicate, suggest, feel
Certain lexical verbs
Adverbs of frequency
Presenter
Modal adjectives
certain, definite, clear, probable, possible
Modal nouns assumption, possibility, probability
That clauses It could be the case that … It might be suggested that
… There is every hope that …
To-clause + adjective
It may be possible to obtain … It is important to develop … It is
useful to study …
Hedge Words Retrieved from
http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/hedge.htm
Numbers – one easy rule
Numbers less than 10 are written out (i.e. one through nine).
Numbers 10 and greater are expressed in Arabic numerals (10, 1,100,
99,999).
With a few exceptions….
Use Arabic numerals for all numbers …
that refer to a specific unit or measure – The BIQ questionnaire
consists of seven
items that are measured on a 7-point Likert scale.
that refer to time (minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years). –
Each of the nine attempts to engage the child
lasted approximately 3 minutes.
Use Arabic numerals for all numbers … less than 10 that are used in
proportions
– Study eligibility was set at 3 times the federal poverty level.
Participants completed the questionnaire two times …
less than 10 that are used in conjunction with numbers greater than
10.
– Results showed that 7 of the 15 participants had smoked
cigarettes more than 8 years.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Anytime I’m dealing with numbers, I usually look it up. There are
lots of exceptions so again, just another reason to have your
stylebook handy.
BUT… Never use numerals to start a sentence
– spell out the number — better yet, rephrase the sentence so it
doesn’t start with a number.
WRONG: 32% of participants were from single- parent
households.
Okay: Thirty-two percent of participants were from single-parent
households.
Better: The majority of participants lived with both parents, with
only 32% of participants residing in a single-parent
household.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
It’s better to rephrase or recast the sentence so it doesn’t start
with a number because it’s easier to comprehend numbers and
percentages that are presented in numerals.
APA Uses the Serial Comma
Serial Comma: – in a list of items, the serial comma
precedes the conjunction that joins the last item of the
list.
– …such as books, journals , and films.
– Important signal to the reader Without it reader can get list
whiplash
– Serial comma carries over to citation and reference formats
Acronyms & Abbreviations
First use: Spell out & put abbreviation in parentheses – the
Child Welfare Services (CSW)
Only 7 acronyms accepted as words: – IQ, AIDS, HIV, ESP, REM, NADP,
ACTH
No flip- flopping! Once defined, you must use the acronym
Use sparingly! Overuse turns your paper into alphabet soup.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Abbreviations used as a word to avoid lengthy, repetitious use of
institutional names, theories, labels. APA recognizes only 7
acronyms as words that don’t require definition (i.e.. Spelling out
on first use). Only the first three are likely to be used in social
work writing. The last two are mainly used in biochemistry. ACTH
refers to a hormone and NADP is a phosphate.
Don’t hyper-hyphenate Which hyphenated forms are correct?
anti-social post-treatment meta-index
Presentation Notes
APA is very stingy with hyphens – don’t lose points on your papers
by sticking in unneeded hyphens – look it up. See pages 92 in
manual for a table of words that don’t require hyphens Hint: Ignore
Microsoft Word’s suggestions for hyphens
Only three!
Ignore Word’s hyphenation
antisocial posttreatment metaindex sociodemographic counterbalance
self-image prowar nonprofit well-being non-Latino midterm subgroup
reevaluate preexperimental multiphase overeager semidarkness
nonsignificant
SEE Table 3.2 on page 92 of APA Manual of Style
Presenter
Presentation Notes
In case you haven’t learned by now, the “APA Motto is: ‘Because We
Can!’”
Avoid Bias in Language: Don’t label by diagnosis
- persons with schizophrenia, not schizophrenics; - women with
mental illness, not mentally ill
women - children with disabilities, not disabled children -
typically developing children rather than normal
children
People in social work studies are participants; Lab rats are
subjects.
Racial and Ethnic Groups There are no hyphenated people
African American, not African-American Mexican American, not
Mexican-American
Capitalize all racial or ethnic groups – Black, Whites, Latinos,
non-Hispanic
Note: Hispanic, Latino, Chicano are not inclusive – Try to be
specific: Cuban American, Central
American, Mexican, Brazilian
Native American is broader designation and includes Hawaiians and
Samoans
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Also must pay attention to how you present racial and ethnic
groups…
Come on in, the water’s great!
Exercise 2
We reviewed and performed a meta-analysis of the sixty 60
studies
published over the last twenty 20 years (1988 to 2008) that
reported
evaluations of interventions designed to address people’s
extreme
anxiety and fear reactions to fictional characters from a book,
TV
television, (add serial comma) or film.
The study subjects participants across the different studies
included
males and females that who ranged in age from three 3 to 96-
years-
old (no hyphens) who had reported a phobic reaction to at least 1
one
fictional character. The majority of the sample participants were
was
White (65% percent), 15% percent African-American, 10%
percent
Asian, and 10% percent native Native American.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This exercise test what we’ve gone over on language use, numbers,
commas…
None of the studies involved populations with
household-incomes
(no hyphen) at or below the FPL federal poverty level (FPL).
As
assessed by self-report (add hyphen) (in 40 of the studies), the
mean
duration of exposure to the fictional character was four 4 minutes
for
subjects participants who were under younger than 12 years of
age, while whereas, for those over 25 older than 25 years,
the
mean duration doubled to eight 8 minutes of exposure. Since
Because only two studies looked at examined phobic reactions
to
more than 5 five characters, only the three most frequently
cited
mentioned characters were used for the comparison among
studies.
There were six characters reported as eliciting a severe fear
response
from 10 or more clients participants in each of the studies.
These
characters included: (no colon) the Wicked Witch of the East,
the
Phantom of the Opera, Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster, Jaws, the Big
Bad
Wolf, and Cookie Monster. 28 Twenty-eight of the studies (including
a
total of 1,823 study subjects) reported additional phobia data,
with those
participants reporting a mean of 1.6 additional phobias. No data
was
were available on the origin of these additional fears.
Adapted from (Add hanging indent format)
Gelfand, H., Walker, C. J., & the American Psychological
Association. (2002). Mastering APA style: Student’s workbook and
training guide. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
No periods in state abbreviations
A final tip to help you get the best grades possible on your
papers…
PRUfREED Ur Werk
Presentation Notes
PROOFREAD - don’t rely on SpellCheck - check for easily confused
words - at the bare minimum use the tools that are built in to Word
Proof from a hard copy and read aloud if you can find a quiet spot
to do so. Use a cover sheet Proofreading shows that you care!
Hold the Presses!
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Endnote helps you automatically create and manage bibliographies
but you still must enter the information in correctly!
Welcome!
Why APA?
Why Cite?
Why Cite?
APA Citation Style
2 Author Citations
3 to 5 Authors
6 or More Authors
But what if I have 2 et al. citations for the same 1st author and
same year?
What if it’s the same author(s) & same year?
Citing a Quote
Simple, In-line Quote
Which brings us to …
Citing Web Sources
Example: Citing the NASW Code of Ethicslisted on the NASW Web
site
Slide Number 31
Anatomy of a Long Paper
Anatomy of a Short Paper
APA Format Rules
Slide Number 40
Slide Number 41
Slide Number 43
Slide Number 44
Slide Number 45
Slide Number 46
Correct use of Since vs. Because
Check Your Plurals
Slide Number 57
Slide Number 58
BUT…
Acronyms & Abbreviations
Slide Number 70
Slide Number 71
Slide Number 72
Slide Number 73
PRUfREED Ur Werk
Hold the Presses!