Senior Thesis Ms. Hamby/Mr. Guthrie Created by Ms. Smith Research APA Formatting

Where do I find resources?  My #1 recommendation = MTSU Library. Click here for more info. VISIT the library to search their databases. They offer much more information than Gale/TEL and it is worth your while to spend time there because you will find lots of relevant information.here  Visit the Reference room (to the right when you enter) and the librarians there will be happy to help you find the most appropriate resources for your topic.  You can also search their catalog from anywhere and place holds on books relevant to your topic.catalog

Where do I find resources? (cont).  CMS Library webpage Research Resources by Class—click on CTE/Engineering. CMS Library GVRL  Click on the search box to browse or type in any search term.  All results are full text and contain MLA/APA citations. Click on Citation Tools.  Limit results by looking on the left at “document type,” “publication type,” and “subjects.”  Refine your results by searching within the results.  Save articles to revisit later (or to self).

Where do I find resources? (cont).  CMS Library webpage Research Resources by Class—click on CTE/Engineering. CMS Library Science in Context  Browse Math, Engineering, Technology or the databases that are most relevant to your topic OR type in specific search terms.  All results are full text and contain MLA/APA citations. Click on Citation Tools. Note the disclaimer!  Explore the various publication types and use Related Topics to find additional results.  Bookmark or articles to self to revisit later.

Where do I find resources? (cont).  Other helpful databases for engineering available on from CMS Library: CMS Library Student Resources in Context Opposing Viewpoints in Context Computer Database Insurance and Liability Collection Vocations and Careers Collection Science, medical topics: Health Reference Center, Health and Wellness Center History topics: Global Issues in Context Education topics: Educators Reference Complete Literature topics: Literature Criticism Online, Literature Resource Center, Scribner Writers Online, Twayne Authors Online

The Five W’s of Website Evaluation  Who? Who wrote the pages?  What? What type of site is it and is the purpose of the site? What information is on the site?  When? When was the site created? How long since it has been updated? How old is the information?  Where? Where does the information come from?  Why? Why is this information useful for my purpose? Why is this page better than another?  Use these criteria to find reliable online resources.

APA Formatting  Click here for a comparison between APA and MLA and examples for every kind of source you will likely use.here  Refer to this presentation for tips on formatting your title page, abstract, and references page.presentation  Also visit the citation help section on our library page or Purdue OWL.citation help section Purdue OWL.

APA Formatting Basics  Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.  Include a page header (also known as the "running head") at the top of every page. To create a page header/running head, insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.  The References page should also be double spaced and each citation has a hanging indent.  All information used in the paper must be in the reference page.  Any information that is not your own needs to be cited.  Works cited is last name, first initial Ex. Doe, J.  Citations are listed alphabetically on the References page.

APA Formatting Basics  When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.  If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference. All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.  If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses. According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?  If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation. She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Citation generators  Remember that one advantage of using the school or MTSU databases is that the citations are done for you. However, when you find online articles that do not provide a citation, use a citation generator.  BibMe (best option): BibMe Free citation generator for all styles that allows you to copy and paste a URL and generate an instant citation. Also allows you to manually enter information into a wizard to create a citation. Automatically builds a works cited that is downloadable once you sign up for a free account.  EasyBib: EasyBib Free MLA citation generator. Paid subscription for additional styles and resources. Allows you/your students to copy and paste a URL and generate an instant citation. Also allows you to manually enter information into a wizard to create a citation. Can be temperamental!  Remember that these citation generators are not foolproof. Fill in missing info and double check the accuracy of your citations before adding them to your References page.

Examples of papers in APA Format Diana Hacker’s Research site (MLA example is under Humanities and APA example is under Social Sciences). Diana Hacker’s Research site Purdue Owl (APA example with comments/corrections). Purdue Owl  Please see or the librarians if you need help finding relevant resources, have questions about APA formatting, need help with revising/editing, or any part of the thesis process. We are happy to help you!