APA for Psychology

Setting up your document in MSWord Spacing after: 0 pts throughout entire document – This means the entire document will be double spaced without extra spaces between paragraphs. 1” margins on all four sides 12pt Times New Roman throughout

Title Page There are two sections: Running header and Title section Running Head – The Running head is in the header section – The title page Running head will look different than the following pages – For the title page: Starts with “Running head:” – Followed by less than 50 charters summarizing your paper’s topic. This second portion will be in ALL CAPS – Add in page number 1 in upper right corner of header on the same line as your Running head Title Section – The title section is double spaced, centered horizontally and vertically – First Line: Use your own title- not your authors’ – Second line: your First & Last name or S# – Third line: Front Range Community College

How to set up your running head to have a different title page than the following pages: In MSWord: – Double click in the header section – A new tab will appear – Put a check in “different first page” – Click add page number Top of page, plain number, LEFT justified – Move cursor to LEFT of page number – Type in “Running head:” FOLLOWED BY ALL CAPS HEADER – Use tab button until page number is to the far right – Go to page two, do the same but change the running head to fit the criteria for the following pages Click this!

Setting up Page 2 Running head: Ensure the words “Running head” do not accompany your running head on page 2 and following. Ensure you include your page numbers in the upper right corner Ensure it is double spaced Some instructors will ask for an abstract while others prefer an introduction. Please read your paper directions or ask your instructor for which they prefer.

Abstract Abstract for a Literature Review Start with an “Abstract” header Concisely address: The problem or relation(s) under investigation Study eligibility criteria Type(s) of participants included in primary studies Main results and any important moderators of these effect sizes Conclusions and limitations Implications for theory, policy and/or practice The abstract paragraph will be on its own page. Ensure the abstract is double spaced The paragraph is not indented

Introduction The Introduction heading will be the same as the title you gave your paper and on the first line of the page Include: Why the research is important The purpose of the research Briefly connect previous work with current work (use citations) Your authors’ hypotheses or specific question To transition, let the reader know what they will read in the paper. The introduction is factual. Creative writing is not an element in formal papers.

In-Text Citations: “How to” Citations are giving credit to your author(s) for using their ideas or facts but putting them in your own words. Overview When using a citation, only the last name and year of publication will be used. – You will not include: first name, journal title, article title, Dr, Ph.D., etc. If you start a paragraph with a citation, it is assumed that the information in the rest of the paragraph belongs to the same citation. – If you switch sources in that paragraph, you need to use a new citation to let the reader know.

In-Text Citations: “How to” Citations are giving credit to your author(s) for using their ideas or facts but putting them in your own words. One author only First time citing – …end of sentence (Lastname, year). …at the school (Backes, 2010). Following citations – end of sentence (names not spoken aloud): …end of sentence (Lastname, year). …by time of completion (Backes, 2010). – Within sentence (names spoken aloud): Lastname (year) Results from Backes (2010) show that…

In-Text Citations: “How to” Citations are giving credit to your author(s) for using their ideas or facts but putting them in your own words. Two Authors First time citing – …end of sentence (Lastname& Lastname, year). …at the school (Bartley & Bacon, 2010). Following citations – end of sentence (names not spoken aloud): …end of sentence (Lastname & Lastname, year). …by time of completion (Bartley & Bacon, 2010). – Within sentence (names spoken aloud): …Lastname and lastname (year)… Results from Bartley and Bacon (2010) show that…

In-Text Citations: “How to” Citations are giving credit to your author(s) for using their ideas or facts but putting them in your own words. Three or more authors First time citing, – … end of sentence (Lastname, Lastname, Lastname & Lastname, year). …at the school (Mahoney, Smith, Scheele & Nodlinski, 2010). Following citations – end of sentence (names not spoken aloud): …end of sentence (Lastname et al., year). …by time of completion (Mahoney et al., 2010). – Within sentence (names spoken aloud): Lastname et al. (year) Results from Mahoney et al. (2010) show that…

Secondary Source Citing someone that your author(s) cite Journal articles often contain citations that your author(s) use to build credibility and point to previous research. If you use an idea from an article that you did not read, the formatting for that citation will look different. State the information that you are citing. Follow this with a citation for the previous author(s), “as cited in” then your author(s)’ citation. – …unreliable witness testimony (Backes & Bacon, 2010 as cited in Bartley et. al., 2015). – For this example, your article by Bartely et. al., 2015 mentioned information from Backes & Bacon, 2010 that you added in your paper.

Direct Quote: “How to” Direct quotes are giving credit to your author(s) for using their exact words. When using your author(s) exact words, put quotation marks around them. Do not change the author(s)’ wording within the quotation marks. Add a citation either before or after the quote, but also include the page number that the quote was found on by using “p.” followed by the page number that the words are found in the article. For example: – For two authors cited after the quote: “Quoted phrase that is great” (Bartley & Bacon, 2012, p.99). – Two authors cited before the quote: Bartley and Bacon (2012) stated, “quoted phrase that is great” (p.99). Note that if the citation comes before the quote, the page number will follow after the quote. Please check with your instructor to see how many direct quotes are allowed for your assignment. If a page number is not available, use “para.” in place of the “p.” and include the paragraph number where the quote is found.

Block Quote: “How to” Block quotes are giving credit to your author(s) for using their exact words when their exact words add up to 40 or more words. – A block quote is a quotation using 40 words or more. – Quotation marks will not be used for a block quote, but instead, the quote will be indented for the entire quote: Bartley and Bacon (2012) found the following: Quoted phrase that is great and goes on and on for 40 words or more. It is so great that you can not possibly reword it and still have the same meaning. This example is not 40 words or more, but let’s just pretend it is (p.99). – The quote will be single spaced. – Note that many instructors do not accept block quotes in their assignment. Please ask your instructor.

Main Body For a Literature Review Check your assignment for details of what to include in your main body. General rules: Cite previous research by using secondary source citations Headings are not used to separate the sections Use citations throughout the main body to give credit to your author(s)’ ideas and discoveries

Discussion Heading (bold, centered) Check your assignment to see what to include in your discussion General rules: Avoid emotion words (interesting, surprising) Avoid rhetorical questions Use citations throughout when referring to the author(s), their ideas or discoveries Does not need to end with anything fancy (Ex: A lot was learned through this paper)

Reference page: Structure The heading is centered, not bold, on the first line of a new page References will be double spaced with no additional spacing between references. Only include the works that you read and cited in your paper. Secondary source citations do not appear on the reference page. If you have more than one reference, you will put them in alphabetical order The structure for journal and book references will differ. Never change the order of the authors. Write them in the same order as they appear in your source. No additional space between references. Everything is double spaced. If you have more than one reference: they are placed in alphabetical order according to the first author’s last name for each reference.

Reference page: Journal Article Structure for a journal article: LastName, FirstInitial., LastName, FirstInitial.,… (year of publication). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, VolumeNumber(EditionNumber), page numbers where the article can be found in the journal. DOI number, if the database gives one. Check formatting for little details: Italic use Hanging indent LastName, FirstInitial., LastName, FirstInitial., for as many authors as listed. List them in the order they appear in your article. Not Italic “&” between DOI number if the database includes it.

Reference page: Book Structure for a book, including textbook: LastName, FirstInitial., LastName, FirstInitial.,… (year of publication). Title of the book. (Edition) Location: Publisher. Check formatting for little details: Italic use Hanging indent LastName, FirstInitial., LastName, FirstInitial., for as many authors as listed. List them in the order they appear. Not Italic

Reference page: Website Structure for a website: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from address Check formatting for little details: Hanging indent LastName, FirstInitial., LastName, FirstInitial., for as many authors as listed. List them in the order they appear.

Reference page: Organization Structure for an organization: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. City, State: Organization Name. Retrieved from address. Check formatting for little details: Hanging indent LastName, FirstInitial., LastName, FirstInitial., for as many authors as listed. List them in the order they appear. The organization may be listed as the author if no specific author appears.

Reference page: DSM Structure for citing the DSM: American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association. Check formatting for little details: Hanging indent