1. By Kelley Moody BSN, RN Graduate Student
APA Basics
By Kelley Moody BSN, RN
Graduate Student

2. Why do we use APA format? Prevents plagiarism Promotes organization
Establishes credibility
Allows others to see and use your sources

3. Can you identify a credible source?
Who is the author?
When was the material published?
What is the purpose of the source?
How is the source proved?
Is the website from an organization or author I can trust?

4. Credible vs. Non-Credible Sources
Journals by authors respected and well known in their fields
Websites from credible institutions
Websites with regularly updated info and a specified author
Materials published within the last 10 years or groundbreaking studies that are older than 10 years
Blogs, Facebook posts
Research articles without citations
Materials published over 10 years ago that are outdated
Websites with minimal information or those persuasive in nature

5. Setting Up Your Paper

6. Title Page Listed as page 1
Contains title, author’s name, and affiliated institution
1 in. margins on all sides
Preferred typeface is Times New Roman, 12-point font size
Double-spaced

7. Title Page Cont. Running Head Top, flush left on every page
No more than 50 characters (including punctuation and spaces)
All upper case letters
Will appear on page 1 following the words “Running head:”
All pages that follow will have the abbreviated title WITHOUT the words “Running head:”

8. Abstract Summary of key points About 150-250 words
Begins on second page
The word “Abstract” is centered on the first line
Begin your summary on the following line
DO NOT indent
Main body will then start on page 3

9. Parenthetical/In-Text Citations: The Basics
Use when quoting, paraphrasing or summarizing
Follows author-date citation system (Miner, 2017)
Cite throughout your work, not at the end of the paragraph
Each reference cited must appear in the reference list and vice versa
Only use page numbers for a direct quote

10. Quote with author’s name in text Quote with author’s name in reference Paraphrasing with author’s name in text Paraphrasing author’s name in reference Source has more than one author in text Source has more than one author in reference
Smith (2006) states that, “…” (p. 112). This is quoted as, “...” (Smith, 2006, pp ). Smith (2006) stated ... This fact has been stated (Smith, 2006). Smith and Lee (2006) agree that ... This is agreed upon (Smith & Long, 2006).

11. Multiple Authors Three to Five Authors:
First In-Text Citation Smith, Long, and Carlson (2004)
Subsequent In-Text Citations Smith et al. (2004)
First Parenthetical Citation (Smith, Long, & Carlson, 2004)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (Smith et al., 2004)

12. Multiple Authors Six or More Authors
First In-Text Citation Carlson et al. (2004)
Subsequent In-Text Citations Carlson et al. (2004)
First Parenthetical Citation (Carlson, et al., 2004)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (Carlson, et al., 2004)

13. Reference Page Appears at end of paper, on separate page
Provides information needed to located your sources
Double-spaced
Hanging indentations
The word “References” should appear at top of page
Alphabetized by author’s last name

14. Writing References – Authors *Rules for All Reference Types*
1 Author - Last name followed by author initials
Moody, K. D.
2 Authors - Last name and initials with “&” in between
Moody, K. D., & Miner, M.
3-7 Authors - Last name and initials, commas to separate names, “&” before last author name
Moody, K. D., Stewart, J. A., & Miner, M.
More than 7 Authors- Last name and initials, commas to separate, after 6th name use ellipses then add last author’s name (no more than 7 names total)
Moody, K. D., Stewart, J. A., Miner, M., Miller, F. H., Thomas, S. T., Smith, J. S., … Kessel, P.H.

15. Citing a Periodical Basic Format:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C., (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.
List author by last name and initials
Publication year in parentheses, followed by period
Title of article in sentence-case (only first word and proper nouns capitalized)
Periodical title italicized in title-case (capitalized like a title), followed by volume number, also italicized
DOI comes last, if no DOI use URL of website where periodical was found
If each issue of your selected periodical begins on a page 1, give the issue number in parentheses right after the volume number

16. Citing a Book
Basic Format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the work: Capital letter also for subtitles (6th ed.). Location: Publisher
List author by last name and initials
Publication year in parentheses, followed by period
Title of book italicized, in sentence-case, followed by edition
Location includes city and state’s postal abbreviation (St. Louis, MO)

17. Citing a Book Cont.
If each book chapter is written by a different author, specifically cite the author that wrote the chapter you are referencing
Basic Format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (6th ed., pp. xx-xx). Location: Publisher
List author by last name and initials
Publication year in parentheses, followed by period
Title of chapter in sentence-case, followed by period
Include “In” followed by editors initials, last name, and “(Ed.)”, skip if there is no editor
Title of the book italicized in sentence-case
Edition if given and pages the chapter covers
Location and publisher

18. Online Sources Basic Format:
Author, A. A. (date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from
Author can be person or group
If no author, use title
If no publication date use n.d. for no date
Include retrieval date if source may change over time
Do not italicize the title unless the document stands alone (books, reports, etc.)

19. Miscellaneous Secondary Sources (A Source within a Source):
Try to find the original (primary) source and cite that
If unavailable, give the secondary source in the reference list; in the text, name the original work and give a citation for the secondary source
Example: Miner describes theories (as cited in Moody, 2017)

20. Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and
Miscellaneous
Headings:
Used to separate parts within the body of your paper
Five possible levels
Ask your professor if they wish you to have headings 1 2 3 4 5
Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and
Lowercase Heading
Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase, and Lowercase Heading
Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph
heading ending with a period.
Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.
Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

21. Helpful Resources
APA Publication Manual – provides detailed specifics on all aspects of writing
Purdue Owl - details important APA rules and provides clear and accurate examples
PSU University Libraries - provides common citation formats and other helpful resources
Missing Pieces – provides info on how to complete references when you don’t have all the information

22. Thank You!
Please reference this information as you continue throughout your education.