APA.pdf

APA STYLE AND RESEARCH
REPORT WRITING
Mohammad Ali Salmani-Nodoushan, PhD
University of Zanjan, Iran
Seyyed Mohammad Alavi, PhD
University of Tehran, Iran
ZABANKADEH PUBLICATIONS (info@zabankadeh.net)
No. 8, Bazarcheh Ketaab, Enghelab Avenue, Tehran, Iran
Phone: + 98 21 66402367
Fax: + 98 21 66492961

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copyright owner.
APA Style and Research Report Writing
Authors: Mohammad Ali Salmani-Nodoushan, PhD
Seyyed Mohammad Alavi, PhD
Printed in Iran
Salmani-Nodoushan, Mohammad Ali ‫ُﺪوﺷﻦ‬‫ﻧ‬ ‫ﺳﻠﻤﺎﻧﻲ‬
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ISBN: 964 – 6117 – 53 – 8

CONTENTS
PREFACE VII
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS VIII
SECTION ONE: APA STYLE
CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL PRESENTATION
1. Introduction 3
2. Paper size and quality 3
3. Page margins 6
4. Paragraph indentation 10
5. Line and paragraph spacing 15
6. Line alignment 19
7. Page header and numbering 22
8. Font type and size 26
CHAPTER TWO: TABLES AND FIGURES
1. Introduction 29
2. Tables 29
3. Figures 38
CHAPTER THREE: FOOTNOTES AND QUOTATIONS
1. Introduction 41
2. Footnotes and citations 41
3. Parenthetical citations 42
4. Quotations 45
III

CHAPTER FOUR: REFERENCES
1. Introduction 49
2. References 49
2.1. Books 50
2.2. Secondary sources 51
2.3. Journals and periodicals 52
2.4. Non-print media 53
2.5. Personal communication 53
2.6. Government documents 54
2.7. Electronic sources 54
2.8. Abstracts 56
2.9. Pamphlets and Brochures 56
2.10. Unpublished materials 57
3. Bibliographies 57
4. Annotated bibliographies 58
5. Final remarks 58
CHAPTER FIVE: APA INTRICACIES
1. Introduction 59
2. Headings 59
3. Abbreviations and punctuation 60
4. Punctuation spacing 61
5. Final remarks 62
SECTION TWO: LIBRARY RESEARCH
CHAPTER SIX: THE LIBRARY
1. Introduction 69
2. Library sources 69
2.1. Standard references 71
2.1.1. Encyclopedias 71
2.1.2. Dictionaries 71
2.1.3. Thesauri 72
2.1.4. Almanacs and yearbooks 72
2.1.5. Biography indexes and bibliographies 72
2.2. Books 73
2.3. Legal sources 74
IV

2.3.1. Law dictionaries 75
2.3.2. Codes 75
2.3.3. Administrative regulations 75
2.3.4. Court decisions 75
2.4. Periodicals and journals 76
2.5. Government documents 76
2.6. Pamphlets and directories 77
2.7. Unpublished materials 78
2.7.1. Masters' theses 78
2.7.2. Doctoral dissertations 78
2.7.3. Other unpublished sources 79
2.8. The Internet 79
3. Library search methods 80
3.1. Note keeping 80
3.2. Standard search methods 81
3.2.1. Determination of topics 81
3.2.2. Finding sources 81
3.3. Other search methods 82
3.3.1. Course work in other disciplines 82
3.3.2. Readers 83
3.3.3. The interdisciplinary team 83
3.3.4. Browsing 83
4. Importance of library research 83
4.1. Know the original source 84
4.2. Be more informed 84
4.3. Be critical 85
5. Final remarks 86
CHAPTER SEVEN: NOTE KEEPING
1. Introduction 89
2. Note keeping 89
2.1. Subject notes 90
2.2. Bibliographical notes 105
3. Plagiarism 111
3.1. Word-for-word plagiarizing 112
3.2. The patch job 112
3.3. The paraphrase 112
4. Final remarks 112
V

SECTION THREE: REPORTS AND THESES
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE RESEARCH REPORT
1. Introduction 115
2. Main sections of the report 116
2.1. The title page 116
2.2. Abstract 118
2.3. Introduction 121
2.4. Method 121
2.5. Results 124
2.6. Discussion 126
2.7. List of references 127
2.8. Appendix 130
3. Sections of a journal article 130
CHAPTER NINE: THE THESIS
1. Introduction 137
2. The proposal 137
3. Structure of a thesis/dissertation 140
REFERENCES 151
VI

PREFACE
APA Style and Research Report Writing is designed to foster in
undergraduate students the skills they need for success in their research
courses. The book consists of three distinct sections: APA style, Library
Research, and Reports and Theses.
Section one presents the basic concepts of APA style in five chapters:
general presentation, tables and figures, footnotes and quotations,
references, and APA intricacies. Since the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association published by the American
Psychological Association (5th ed.). is a large and very detailed book,
many undergraduate students find it a bit intimidating to use. Therefore,
the five chapters of this section have been prepared in such a way as to
make the task of complying with APA style easier for undergraduate
students. A step-by-step, user-friendly, and interactive guide to the major
aspects of Microsoft Word XP that students need to know is also
incorporated to this section so that they can use the software for typing
their final research report.
Section two is composed of two chapters: The Library, and Note
Keeping. Chapter six discusses the rudiments and the basic concepts of
library research. It covers such topics as the sources available in the
library, different library search methods, the importance of library
research, and a few important hints for the library researchers. The focus
of chapter seven is on the most popular library search method, note
keeping. Two types of notes are discussed: bibliographical notes, and
subject notes. Examples of each type are provided. In addition, the
intricacies of note taking for each type are elaborated on. Plagiarism is
discussed as the major pitfall in library research. Finally, a few hints are
provided for the library research worker as to how they should approach
the task of paraphrasing.
VII

Section three, too, is composed of two chapters: The Research Report,
and The Thesis. Chapter eight focuses on the detailed format that a
modest research report should have. The different sections of the
research report are discussed, along with visual illustrations to foster in
undergraduate students the skills they need for writing their research
reports. The final few pages of the chapter elaborate on the differences
between student research reports and journal papers. Chapter nine is
most useful for graduate students. A brief synopsis of the differences
that exist between short research reports and masters' theses or PhD
dissertations is presented. The discussions of the chapter are enriched
with visual illustrations that are helpful to the graduate student in the
process of writing his thesis or dissertation.
AUTHORS' NOTE
Dr Mohammad Ali Salmani-Nodoushan (born in 1969/1348) is an
assistant professor of TEFL at the University of Zanjan, Iran.
Richard W. Sorfleet (born in 1951/1329) is a member of the professional
teachers' association in Ontario, Canada (Ontario College of Teachers).
The Ontario College of Teachers is the professional organization to
which registered teachers in Ontario must belong—a sort of professional
"guild" or association.
Correspondence concerning this book should be addressed to the authors
through the following e.mail addresses:
Mohammad Ali Salmani-Nodoushan Seyyed Mohammad Alavi
nodushan@ut.ac.ir smalavi@ut.ac.ir
November, 2004
VIII

SECTION ONE
APA STYLE
This section presents the basic concepts of APA style in
five chapters: General Presentation, Tables and
Figures, Footnotes and Quotations, References, and
APA Intricacies. Notice that the information presented in
this section is only an updated synopsis for the
information presented in the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association published by the
American Psychological Association (5th ed.). That
source is a large and very detailed book which many
undergraduate students find a bit intimidating to use.
Therefore, the five chapters of this section have been
prepared in such a way as to make the task of
complying with APA style easier for undergraduate
students. A user-friendly and interactive guide to the
major aspects of Microsoft Word XP that students need
to know is also incorporated to this section so that they
can use the software for typing their final research
report.
APA STYLE 1

CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL PRESENTATION
1. INTRODUCTION
General presentation refers to the overall appearance or look of your
research report, thesis, or dissertation. The term "format" is sometimes
used to signify the same point. On the whole, format includes the
following considerations:
paper size and quality line alignment
page margins page numbering
paragraph indentation page ordering
line and paragraph spacing
APA style requires that you stick to a fixed format. This format should
not change when you submit a paper to a journal for publication.
However, when you wish to submit your PhD dissertation or masters'
thesis to the university, you should go by the guidelines that your
university or supervisor sets. Iranian universities usually require that you
go by APA style although there may be some modifications.
2. PAPER SIZE AND QUALITY
APA style recommends that you type the manuscript of your research
report on only one side of standard-sized heavy white bond paper, (A4-
size, 20-pound bond). Some universities and supervisors may tell you
that computer paper ("tractor-fed") is also acceptable. APA style does
not recommend this. If your supervisor accepts computer paper, be sure
that the pin hole borders must be removed. (Razor-edge is preferable.)
Erasable bond and onion skin are not acceptable. If you must prepare
your paper on erasable bond, prepare a good copy of your paper on a
copying machine and submit the copy instead of the original.
GENERAL PRESENTATION 3

As you have already noticed, there are different kinds of paper. Papers
used in notebooks, filler papers, A4-size, legal-size, letter-size, etc. are
only a few examples. Students usually use standard filler papers.
However, it is highly recommended that you use A4-size paper for your
research reports.
An A4-size sheet of paper is 21×29.7 centimeters. Remember that you
should write or print your report on only one side of each sheet. Also
notice that you should not fold your papers, and that you should keep
them clean. Some teachers do not like folded and dirty papers, and this
may put your scores in danger.
Some supervisors do not recommend stapling the pages of your report
together. Making punch holes on the left gutter and placing the report in
a modest file may be preferred by some other supervisors. So make sure
to ask them which method they prefer.
If you type your report using Microsoft Word, make sure that the correct
paper size has been selected by default. If the default paper size is not
A4, you can change it very easily. There are two steps to this:
On the File menu, select "page setup" (as shown in figure 1).
Figure 1. Page setup selection in Microsoft Word
This will open the "page setup" window (as shown in figure 2). Now you
should click the "paper" tab. This will change the appearance of the
4

"page setup" window. Now you can click to choose a paper size. Be sure
to use A4 size (as shown in figure2).
Figure 2. Page setup window in Microsoft Word (Paper Tab)
After selecting the A4 size, you can either click the "ok" or the "default"
button. Clicking the ok button will change the paper size for this
document (the one you are working with) only, but clicking the default
button will change the paper size for this and every other documents you
work with hereafter. It is recommended that you click the ok button,
especially if the computer is not your own personal computer. For
masters' theses and PhD dissertations, however, it is better to click the
"default" button because you will be typing more than one document—
one for each chapter, and one for each section of the front and back

matters. This helps you make sure that you do not change the paper size
unwittingly across different documents.
3. PAGE MARGINS
Page margins are the blank spaces around the edges of the page. In
general, you insert text in the printable area inside the margins.
However, you can position some items in the margins. For example,
headers, footers, and page numbers normally appear in the margins.
Figure 3. Page setup window in Microsoft Word (Margin Tab)
When you prepare your research reports, you should leave some empty
space all around the sheet of paper on which you write. If you pay
attention to this page (that you are reading now), you see that there is
6

some distance between the text and the edge of the page on each side.
This distance is called margin. Technically, there are four margins on
each sheet of paper: top, bottom, left, and right. The generally-accepted
size of a margin in APA style is 2.54 cm (or 1 inch). So, you should
allow a distance of 2.54 cm on each side of the sheet of paper on which
you write.
If you type your report using Microsoft Word, make sure that the correct
margin sizes have been set by default. On the File menu, select "page
setup" (as shown in figure 1 above). This will open the page setup
window. If the margin tab (as shown in figure 3 above) is not the default
tab, click it to see the margin window (as shown in figure 3 above). Now
you should be able to use the margin setting boxes (labeled "margin
setting" in figure 3 above) to set the desired margin sizes (i.e., 2.54 in
APA style). Then you can click the "ok" or the "default" button.
Figure 4 is the schematic representation of what is meant by page
margins and gutter.
Top Margin
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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Figure 4. Schematic representation of page margins and gutter
You may want to punch (make holes in) your sheets of paper and file
them. If so, you need to add an extra 1 cm space to the left edge of the
Printable Area
Right Margin
Bottom Margin
Gutter
Left Margin

page. This extra 1 cm is called the gutter. In Persian, the gutter should be
added to the right edge of the page because Persian writing is right-to-
left. In your dissertation or thesis, this consideration is vital since your
work needs binding, and binding requires at least this 1 cm extra space at
the edge of the page.
To set the gutter size and position in Microsoft Word, on the File menu,
select "page setup" (as shown in figure 1 above). This will open the page
setup window. If the margin tab (as shown in figure 3 above) is not the
default tab, click it to see the margin window (as shown in figure 3
above). Now you should be able to use the boxes labeled "gutter setting"
and "Arabic/English gutter" to set the size and position (i.e., left or right)
of the gutter. Then you can click the "ok" or the "default" button.
Figure 5. Page setup window in Microsoft Word (Layout Tab)
8

When working with Microsoft Word, knowing how to set page layout or
orientation is very important. In fact, some versions of Microsoft Word
(like version 2000, and version 2002—also known as XP) are bilingual.
They provide the left-to-right and right-to-left cursor movements or text
direction. To avoid running into difficulties, it is better to set the page
layout before starting to type your project.
To set the page layout in Microsoft Word, on the File menu, select "page
setup" (as shown in figure 1 above). This will open the page setup
window. If the layout tab (as shown in figure 5 above) is not the default
tab, click it to see the layout window (as shown in figure 5 above). Now
you should be able to use the box labeled "page orientation" to set the
layout (i.e., left-to-right or right-to-left) of the page.
Also use the boxes labeled "header position setting" and "footer position
setting" of the layout window (as shown in figure 5 above) to set the
position of the header and footer of the pages of your report. By default,
Microsoft Word sets both the header and the footer at a distance of 1.25
cm from the very edge of the page. When you are done, you can click
the "ok" or the "default" button. But before clicking either of these
buttons, take a look at the preview (as shown in figure 5 by the label
"previewing") to see if the look of the page resembles that of English
pages or not. If so, click the "ok" or the "default" button. If not, click the
"ok" or the "default" button to return back to the typing window and then
click the left-to-right button shown in figure 6.
Figure 6. Left-to-right button for text direction
You will read more about "header" and "footer" in the following sections
of this chapter. For the time being, it is important to know what the
terms "header" and "footer" mean. A header, which can consist of text or
graphics, appears at the top of every page. A footer appears at the

bottom of every page. Headers and footers often contain page numbers,
chapter titles, dates, and author names. In APA style, short titles are used
as the header on each and every page (more on this in the following
sections).
4. PARAGRAPH INDENTATION
You have already learnt that margins determine the overall width of the
main text area (i.e., the space between the text and the edge of the page).
Indentation, on the other hand, determines the distance of the paragraph
from either the margins. Within margins, you can increase or decrease
the indentation of a paragraph or a group of paragraphs. You can also
create a negative indent (also called outdent), which pulls the paragraph
out toward the left margin in left-to-right languages like English. First-
line indent (also known as regular indent) pushes the first line of a
paragraph away from the left/right margin. You can also create a
hanging or dangling indent, in which the first line of the paragraph is not
indented, but other lines are.
Figure 7. Schematic representation of indented and block styles
There are two different styles for writing the paragraphs of your research
report: (a) first-line-indent mode and (b) block mode. In the first-line-
indent mode, the first line of the paragraph is usually pushed a little
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Indented style
Block style
10

away from the margin. In other words, the first letter of the first line of
the paragraph does not appear over the first letter of the other lines of the
same paragraph. That is, the first line of the paragraph starts from a
different column than the other lines. All the other lines, however, start
from the same column. This distance is called first-line indent. The
length of this indent varies from 5 mm to 1.5 cm. It is a matter of your
own choice. The generally-accepted length is 5 mm.
In APA style, however, the start of each paragraph is indented 5-7
spaces (roughly 5 to 7 millimeters). Do not indent the abstract. If the
abstract consists of more than one paragraph (e.g., in masters' theses and
PhD dissertations), APA style recommends that all of the paragraphs be
indented except for the first one. When the abstract is only one
paragraph long, APA style prohibits indenting it in your papers or
reports. There are two ways for setting paragraph indentations: (a) using
the ruler tabs, and (b) using the paragraph format feature. The easiest
way is to use the tabs on the ruler in your Microsoft Word to set the
paragraph indentation (See figure 8). Be sure not to use the space or tab
keys on your keyboard for this purpose since this can cause problems
when you want to print the document on another computer—as is
usually the case.
Figure 8. Ruler tabs and their functions
In the block mode, on the other hand, the first letter of the first line of
the paragraph appears exactly over the first letter of each of the other
lines of the same paragraph. That is, all lines start from the same
column. Compare figures 9, 10, and 11 to see how the ruler tabs should
be set for block, first-line indented, and other-line indented (i.e., first-
line hanging or dangling) styles, respectively.

Figure 9. Block style ruler tabs (No indentation)
Figure 10. First-line indent style ruler tabs (Regular indentation)
Figure 11. Other-line indent style ruler tabs (Dangling indentation)
As you can see in figures 10 and 11, first-line indentation is of two
types: (1) regular and (2) dangling or hanging (also called other-line
indentation). In the regular type, the first line of the paragraph is pushed
further in. In the hanging type, on the other hand, all lines except the
first line are pushed in. Hanging indentation is normally used for listing
references (or the bibliography) at the end of books, articles, research
reports, and the like. Beware that APA style discourages the use of
dangling indentation. Figure 12 shows the difference between hanging
and regular indentation.
12

Regular 1st line indentation
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Hanging 1st line indentation
Figure 12. Schematic representation of first-line indent types
A second way in which you can set paragraph indentations in Microsoft
Word is by using the paragraph format feature available from the format
menu on the menu bar. Select paragraph from the format menu as shown
in figure 13.
Figure 13. Selecting paragraph from format menu in Microsoft Word
This selection will open the "paragraph" window as shown in figure 14.
Once the window is open, make sure that the "indents and spacing" tab

is selected. Click the "indents and spacing" tab to select it if necessary.
Then you should be able to see the following window (without the
appended labels, of course). Now you can use the available features of
this window to set the line alignment, text direction, line indentation,
left- and right-side indentation, paragraph spacing (or the vertical
distance between paragraphs), and line spacing (or the vertical distance
between lines within paragraphs). You can see the changes for your
settings in the preview window labeled "previewing changes" in figure
14. Once you are done, click the ok button so that your changes will take
effect.
Figure 14. Paragraph window in Microsoft Word
In writing the paragraphs of your research report, the use of either the
block mode or the indented mode is not a matter of choice. APA style
requires that you use the regular first line indentation set at 5 to 7
millimeters for the paragraphs, and even for your reference items on the
14

reference list. Your supervisor may want you to use hanging or dangling
indentation set at 5 to 7 millimeters for the reference list of your report.
Therefore, be sure to check this with your supervisor or university
authorities.
Where you use quotations, if the quotation is longer than 40 words, you
should set it off from the foregoing and forthcoming sections of your
report. Here you need to use the block style for the quotation. Notice that
where APA style is not required, like in books, the American writer
usually prefers the block mode whereas the British writer, on the
contrary, seems to prefer the indented mode.
5. LINE AND PARAGRAPH SPACING
In APA style, and in Microsoft Word, the term "spacing" is used in two
different senses: (1) the vertical distance between the lines of a
paragraph (called line spacing), and (2) the vertical distance between
paragraphs within a text (called paragraph spacing).
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Line and paragraph spacing in 1st line indented style
Figure 15. Schematic representation of indented style
In indented mode, as figure 15 shows, the vertical distance between the
lines of a paragraph is the same as the vertical distance between two or
more successive paragraphs. That is, line spacing and paragraph spacing

are the same. This is the format that APA style requires you to follow in
your research reports. In the reference section of your research report,
APA style requires that you use single spacing for the lines of each
source and double spacing between different sources. Here, you may
sometimes use hanging or dangling indentation.
In block mode (see figures 16 and 17), in contrast, the vertical distance
between two successive paragraphs is twice as much as the vertical
distance between the lines within each paragraph. That is, paragraph
spacing is two times bigger than line spacing. APA style requires the
block mode in two situations: (a) in quotations larger than 40 words, and
(b) in the first paragraph of abstracts. Notice that in most cases abstracts
are only one paragraph long. Figure 16 shows how a block quotation
will look in a research report.
Figure 16. Example of block quotation in research report
In an attempt to make sense of the various models of communicative
competence and communicative language ability, Henning and Cascallar (1992)
turn to the field of cartography for a metaphor:
Various kinds of two-dimensional maps have been devised as aids to
navigation. Some maps are useful geographical models for ocean
navigation, others for automobile navigation, and still others for wilderness
trekking . . . none of these two-dimensional maps provides a completely
accurate representation of three-dimensional reality, nor does any one kind
of two-dimensional map serve every navigational purpose equally well.
(Henning and Cascallar, 1992, p. 4)
So it is with models of language ability. The framework Douglas develops is
not offered in opposition to any others. He tries to design a map to help . . . .
In block quotations, line spacing usually comes one step down from that
of the main text. In other words, if lines of the main text are double-
spaced, lines of the block quotation are one-and-a-half spaced. If, on
16

the other hand, the lines of the main text are one-and-a-half spaced, lines
of the block quotation are single-spaced.
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Line and paragraph spacing in 1st line block style
Figure 17. Schematic representation of block style
To set paragraph spacing, you can use the features of Microsoft Word
available from the menu bar. Move your mouse pointer to the "format"
menu and left-click to choose "paragraph" as shown in figure 13 above.
This will open the "paragraph" window as shown in figure 14 above.
Now you can set the vertical distance between successive paragraphs by
identifying the number of points you wish to include before and/or after
each paragraph. To do this, you need to use the boxes "before" and/or
"after" provided under the heading "spacing" in the "paragraph" window.
This feature has been labeled "vertical paragraph spacing in figure 14
above so that you can easily locate it. Using your mouse pointer, you can
add the required spacing between successive paragraphs. Be sure not to
use the "enter key" on your keyboard to double the vertical space
between paragraphs—as you would do on an ordinary typewriter—since
this will create problems when you want to print your document using
another computer, as is often the case. To make it easier for you to
understand, part of the "paragraph" window (figure 14) is reproduced for
you here in figure 18.

Figure 18. Setting vertical paragraph spacing in Microsoft Word
There are three standard types of vertical line spacing: (a) single spacing,
(b) one-and-a-half spacing, and (c) double spacing. There are also as
many non-standard types of line spacing as you can imagine. Compare
the sections of figure19.
Figure 19. Schematic representation of line spacing methods
In single spacing, the distance between two given lines of a paragraph is
roughly about 1 cm. In one-and-a-half spacing, as the name says, this
distance is about 1.5 cm. In double spacing, the distance is about 2 cm.
APA style suggests that authors use double-spacing in their research
reports or papers. Your supervisor may want you to use one-and-a-half
spacing or even single spacing in your masters' thesis or PhD
dissertation. However, you may prefer to single space your paragraphs.
It is safer to ask your supervisor or university about the proper spacing
that you are required to use.
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Single line spacing 1.5 line spacing Double line spacing
18

To set line spacing, you can use the features of Microsoft Word
available from the menu bar. Move your mouse pointer to the "format"
menu and left-click to choose "paragraph" as shown in figure 13 above.
This will open the "paragraph" window as shown in figure 14 above. To
make it easier for you to understand how to set line spacing, part of the
"paragraph" window (figure 14) was reproduced for you in figure 18
above. Use the "line spacing" feature of the "paragraph" window (see
figures 14 and 18) to set line spacing. Shortcut buttons of the main
window of Microsoft Word provide another method of setting "line
spacing." Click the appropriate shortcut button and you are there (See
figure 20).
Figure 20. Setting vertical line spacing in Microsoft Word
6. LINE ALIGNMENT
You have already learnt that many factors tell you how text is
positioned. Margins control the distance from the edge for all the text on
a page. Spacing controls the space needed between lines, and before and
after paragraphs. Paragraph indentation and alignment tell you how
paragraphs fit between the margins.
Alignment refers to the appearance of the edges of the paragraph. On the
whole, there are four types of horizontal paragraph alignment: (a) left-
aligned, (b) right-aligned, (c) centered, and (d) justified. The most
common type of paragraph alignment is left alignment. In a left-aligned
paragraph, the left edge of the paragraph is flush with the left margin. In
a right-aligned paragraph, on the other hand, the right edge of the
paragraph is flush with the right margin. A justified paragraph is one

which has been aligned on both sides. That is, the left edge of the
paragraph is flush with the left margin, and the right edge with the right
margin.
Center alignment is somewhat different. Here you can imagine a mid-
line that passes across the length of the printable area of the page. The
center of each line of the paragraph should be flush with this imaginary
line. As such, the appearance of your paragraph will become
symmetrical. Center alignment is used for specific purposes like in the
title page of books.
Figure 21. Schematic representation of alignment types
Another common type of alignment is called vertical alignment
(sometimes called vertical indent). It controls the paragraph's position
relative to the top and bottom margins. This is useful, for example, when
you’re creating a title page, because you can position text precisely at
Xxx xx xxx xxx xxx xxx
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Left alignment Right alignment
Center alignment Justified alignment
20

the top or center of the page, or justify the paragraphs so that they are
spaced evenly down the page. To this end, you can use the "paragraph
spacing" feature of Microsoft Word discussed above, and illustrated by
figures 14, and 18. Shortcut buttons of the main window of Microsoft
Word provide another method of setting "line alignment." Click the
appropriate shortcut button and you are there (See figure 22).
Figure 22. Setting line alignment in Microsoft Word
APA style employs two types of alignments: (a) left alignment, and (b)
center alignment. The information presented on the title page of your
project needs to be presented with the center-alignment format. The rest
of the report will be left-aligned. However, your supervisor may want
you to use other forms of alignment. Thus, it is recommended that you
consult your supervisor to make sure which form of alignment you
should use in your research reports.
Please understand that it is very difficult and almost impossible to justify
paragraphs when you are not using a word processor installed in the hard
disk of your personal computer that runs under graphic mode—one like
Microsoft Word. Therefore, hand-written or mechanically typed
reports—by means of regular typewriters—should be left-aligned. You
are not allowed to write in the right margin. When you approach the end
of each line, you should decide whether the next word is small enough to
go within the remaining space. If not, you can do one of the two things:
(a) syllabify the word, or (b) move it to the next line.
Notice that syllabification should not be haphazard. You cannot break a
word at any place you like. There are rules for it. Many dictionaries, like
the American Heritage Dictionary, tell you where to break words. They

indicate separate syllables, usually by a heavy black dot in the first entry.
For example, the word English may look like En• glish
, the word
dictionary like dic• tion• ar• y
, etc. The dots tell you where to break the
word. If you need to break the word English, you can only do this after
the letter n. Similarly, you can break the word dictionary at one of the
three places (that is, after the letters c, n, r). The first part is written at
the end of the line and is followed by a hyphen (-). No hyphen is needed
at the beginning of the next line. The rest of the word goes to the
beginning of the next line. Take the following example:
Jack really loves Mary. He knew that Mary loved convert-
ible cars. He went to the . . . .
As the example shows, the word convertible has been broken into two
parts: convert and ible.
7. PAGE HEADER AND NUMBERING
On the top right-hand side of every page of the paper (or research report)
a few words of the title (usually the running head) will appear. In APA
style this is called the "short title." It is an "abbreviated title" which will
appear on each page of the report if it is published. It should be
capitalized and no more than 50 characters (letters, spaces, punctuation
included) in length. Five spaces along (i.e., roughly about 5 millimeters)
is the page number (See figure 23).
Figure 23. Page header and number at upper right corner of page
You don't need to type these on every page yourself: use the 'header and
footer' function of your Microsoft Word, and they will appear
automatically on each page.
more successive paragraphs. That is, line spacing and paragraph spacing are the
same. This is the format that APA style requires that you to follow when . . . .
36
Research Reports
page number
distance (5-7 mm)
running text
short title
22

Figure 24. Selecting "page numbers" from insert menu
As shown in figure 24, from the insert menu on the menu bar, select
"page numbers." This should open the following dialogue box:
Figure 25. Page number window in Microsoft Word
Now, use the features of this dialog box to set the page numbers. Select
the "Top of page (Header)" as the position, and "Right" as the alignment.
Then click ok. The page numbers will automatically appear on each
page. To format the page number (i.e., to decide on Arabic/Roman/other
numerals as well as to select the starting page number—for chapters

within books, theses, and dissertations), you can click the format button.
The following dialog box (figure 26) will appear and you can adjust the
settings you want:
Figure 26. Formatting page numbers in Microsoft Word
Figure 27. Selecting header and footer in Microsoft Word
To place the "short title" next to the page numbers, from the menu bar,
select the "view" menu and then "Header and Footer" as shown in figure
24

27 above. Once you have selected the header and footer option, the
following dialog box will appear on the screen:
Figure 28. Customizing header/footer in Microsoft Word
You will be able to locate the blinking cursor. Now you should decide
whether you want to put the short title as the footer or the header (APA
style says that it should be placed as the header on the upper right-hand
side of the page at a distance of 5 millimeters from the page number).
You should use the left mouse button to click the appropriate place—
header of footer (the mouse pointers in figure 28 above identify the
header and footer boxes). The blinking cursor is moved to that position.
Now, you can type the short title and adjust its position relative to the
page number by means of the tabs on the ruler, line alignment buttons,
and text direction (language selection) buttons identified in figure 28
above. You can also set the font and type face of the page header and
page the number as shown in figures 29 and 30 below.
Once you are done, click the close button to return to the typing window.
Now you will see the header and the page number on the pages of your
report as an embedded opaque image.
In masters' theses and PhD dissertations, like in books, chapter titles may
replace the short title. In addition, footers may be used instead of

headers. This is, however, determined by your supervisor or university.
So, before deciding to use footers, or chapter titles, ask your supervisor
or university authorities which one they prefer.
8. FONT TYPE AND SIZE
Normally the font used in APA style is Times New Roman, set in 12
points (the font you are reading right now). The term "font" refers to the
appearance of the typed letters. Compare the appearances of the fonts in
table 1:
FONT NAME FONT SIZE FONT APPEARANCE
Times New Roman 12 pt AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJj …
BordeauxLight 12 pt AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJj …
Comic Sans MS 12 pt AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJj …
HandelGothic BT 12 pt AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJj …
Table 1. Examples of font name, size, and look
It is very easy to set the font and its size for your research project. Take
a look at the following figure:
Figure 29. Font name and size selection in Microsoft Word
26

You can move the mouse pointer to the fields labeled "name of selected
font" and "size of selected font" in figure 29 to select the appropriate
font and set its size. Notice that most fonts can have four different
appearances (called type face): regular, bold, italic, and bold-italic. Take
a look at table 2:
Times New Roman Courier New Arial
Regular America America America
Bold America America America
Italic America America America
Bold-italic America America America
Table 2. Examples of different type faces
In addition to the selection of appropriate type face, APA style
sometimes requires that some parts of the text of your research report be
underlined. These adjustments can easily be achieved by the shortcut
buttons of the main window of Microsoft Word (See figure 30).
Figure 30. Type face shortcut buttons in Microsoft Word
To set the appropriate type face, move the mouse pointer to the
appropriate button and left-click. To use the bold-italic type face, you
need to left-click both the bold and the italic shortcut buttons. Also
notice that these adjustments take effect only after you have selected the
text to be modified. To do this, you need to click, and hold the left

mouse button down and drag your mouse over the text you want to
modify. This will highlight the text (as shown in figure 31 below). Then
you can release the mouse button, move its pointer to the appropriate
type-face button, and click the left mouse button. Now, you should be
able to see the change. Notice that text buttons show the direction in
which the blinking cursor moves as you type your report.
Figure 31. Selecting text and changing its type face in Microsoft Word
28

CHAPTER TWO
TABLES AND FIGURES
1. INTRODUCTION
If you are using tables and figures (graphs) to present the results of your
study, you should consult the APA publication manual for the
requirements (see pp. 120-158 of the manual). A brief synopsis is
provided in this chapter for quick reference.
2. TABLES
In APA style, tables and their captions should follow a very strict
format. Take the following example:
Table 1
Correlation between Perceived Control and Well-being for
Males and Females
Figure 1 shows how tables appear in a research report in accordance
with APA style:
Table 16
Specification of Devices Used by US Army
Code Type Utility Cost
GDPN 117 code 23 USAF $ 120000
GNCT 123 code 67 USMF $ 217000
UPOV 325 code 89 USSF $ 670000
Figure 1. Appearance of a typical table in APA style
TABLES AND FIGURES 29

This is the recommendation of APA style for papers and research
reports. However, in books, theses, and dissertations, the writers or their
supervisors may prefer some variations. Therefore, you should consult
your supervisor to make sure if you can deviate from APA style or not.
It is very easy to draw tables in Microsoft Word once you know how
many columns and rows you need for your table. There are a few
methods for this. Two of the methods of inserting tables into your
documents in Microsoft Word are easier than the others: (a) The shortcut
table button, and (b) the table menu.
To insert a table using the shortcut button, click that part of the
document where you want to create a table. This will move the blinking
cursor to that place. Then, click the table shortcut button (see figure 2
below) on the standard shortcut bar and drag to select the number of
rows and columns you want as shown in figure 2. Once the correct
number of rows and columns has been selected, click the left mouse
button once more. This will place the table in the document.
Figure 2. Inserting table using shortcut key in Microsoft Word
The second method of inserting tables in word documents is through the
use of the table menu from the menu bar. To insert a table using this
method, click where you want to create a table to move the blinking
cursor to that position. Then, on the Table menu, point to Insert, and
then click Table as shown in figure 3 below.
TABLES AND FIGURES
30

Figure 3. Inserting table using table menu in Microsoft Word
This will open the table dialogue box as shown in figure 4.
Figure 4. Inserting table using table menu in Microsoft Word
Now, under Table size, select the number of columns and rows. Under
AutoFit behavior, choose options to adjust table size. To use a built-in
table format, click AutoFormat. This will open the table autoformat
dialogue box as shown in figure 5 below. Now, you should be able to

select the options you want. For APA style, select Table List 3 under
Table style. Then click ok. You will return to insert table dialogue box
(figure 4). Click ok to return to the main window of word. The selected
table is now inserted in the place you chose for it.
Figure 5. Auto-formatting table in Microsoft Word
You can use the font size, font name, type face, and line alignment
windows and shortcut buttons to change the appearance of your tables.
Another good technique is to click and drag those cells, rows, columns
and even the whole of the table that you want to modify so that they will
be selected or highlighted. Then, you should move your mouse pointer
TABLES AND FIGURES
32

to the highlighted area and click its right button to open the table
customization menu as shown in figure 6 below. Now you can customize
your table as you like.
Figure 6. Built-in table customization menu in Microsoft Word
In order to highlight the whole of the table at once, you need to move the
mouse pointer to the upper left edge of the table (in Persian to the upper
right edge) to see the "anchor" as shown in figure 7.
Figure 7. Table anchor in Microsoft Word
By left-clicking the anchor, you will see that the whole of the table will
be highlighted (or blocked). Now, move your mouse pointer to the
highlighted area and right click to open the built-in table customization
menu as shown in figure 6 above. Use the available options of this menu
to customize your table as you wish. One of the most important skills
you need to master to be able to comply with APA style is to know how

to change the appearance and weight (or thickness) of the table grids
(i.e., vertical and horizontal lines that keep table cells apart) and the
table box (that is, the very external table grids). To customize the table
grids, from the built-in customization menu select "borders and shading"
(see figure 6). This will open the table "border and shading" dialogue
box as shown in figure 8.
Figure 8. Table border and shading dialogue box in Microsoft Word
The options of this dialogue box are identified by black mouse pointers
in figure 8. You can use these click points to customize your table.
Notice that the preview represents the highlighted area of the table that
you have already selected. If you have highlighted the whole table, the
preview represents the whole table. If you have selected only one cell
you will see only one box in the preview which represents that one cell.
Clicking any of the vertical or horizontal lines in the preview area will
cause a change in the corresponding area of the table. Before clicking
the preview-area lines, you need to select the kind of style, color, and
width that you want to apply to the highlighted area of the table. After
setting your desired changes, click ok to return to the main window of
TABLES AND FIGURES
34

Microsoft Word where you can see the changes in your table. To comply
with APA style, after highlighting the whole of the table (click the
anchor (see figure 7)), right click it and select the "borders and shading"
option (see figure 6) to open the "borders and shading." In the preview
area of the "borders and shading" dialogue box (as shown in figure 8),
click the vertical lines to remove them and then click ok.
Figure 9. Comparing table highlighted area 1 and the preview area
If you select two or more cells vertically (or even a complete column),
the preview window will look like the one shown in figure 9. Here, all
the internal grid lines of the selected area will be represented by the mid
line in the preview area of the "borders and shading" dialogue box.

If, on the other hand, you select two or more cells horizontally (or even a
complete row), the preview window will look like the one shown in
figure 10. Here, all the internal grid lines of the selected area will be
represented by the mid line in the preview area of the "borders and
shading" dialogue box.
In addition, if you select a few cells both vertically and horizontally (or
even the whole table), the preview window will look like the one shown
in figure 11.
TABLES AND FIGURES
36

Here, all the internal vertical grid lines of the selected area will be
represented by the vertical mid line, and all the internal horizontal grid
lines of the selected area will be represented by the horizontal mid line
of the preview area of the "borders and shading" dialogue box.
To set the shading of the table, or cells of the table, follow the steps as
shown by figures 6 and 8 above. Make sure that the shading tab (labeled
"shading tab" in figure 8 above) is selected. If not click to select it. This
will open the dialogue box shown in figure 12. Now you can use the
features of this dialogue box to customize the shading as you wish.

Figure 12. Table shading dialogue box in Microsoft Word
The shading feature is excellent when you want to show contrast
between different cells of a table. In APA style no shading is required. In
dissertations, theses, and books you may use this feature.
3. FIGURES
Figures are also numbered consecutively (Figure 1, Figure 2) but
separately from tables. The figure caption is presented below the figure
that it refers to. In the figure caption, the word 'Figure' and the number
of the figure is underlined, however the title is not underlined (see the
example below). Unlike tables, the main words in the caption are not
capitalized (only the first word is). The figure caption finishes with a
period.
For example:
Figure 1. Comparison of mean perceived control scores for males
and females.
TABLES AND FIGURES
38

The following figure shows how a figure will appear in a paper or
research report in accordance with APA style:
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Proficient Fairly-Proficient Semi-Proficient Non-Proficient
Subjects' proficiency level
Mean
score
IELTS
TBRT-GM
TBRT-AM
TBRT-EM
Figure 3. Mean plot for subjects’ sentence-completion task performance.

CHAPTER THREE
FOOTNOTES AND QUOTATIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
Traditionally, a footnote was normally defined as a note at the bottom of
a page, giving further information about something mentioned in the text
above. A reference number or symbol would usually be printed after the
relevant word in the text and before the corresponding footnote at the
foot of the page. More recently, the term "footnote" has been extended to
mean 'an extra comment or information added to what has just been said
within the text' (usually within parentheses). APA style uses the label
"parenthetical citation" to refer to this kind of footnoting.
2. FOOTNOTES AND CITATIONS
In APA style, footnotes take one of the two forms: (a) traditional
footnoting style, and (b) parenthetical citations. The former is sparingly
used when you want to draw the readers' attention to important
information. Here, you will place a superscribed number after the text
that requires the footnote. In the past, the footnote would be presented at
the foot of the page—being set off from the main text by a line, and
carrying the same numeral code (See figure 1).
Spacapan (1991). There are two aims of this study: (a) to explore the
relationship between perceived control of internal states as measured
by the PCOISS1
and psychological wellbeing as . . . .
1 Perceived Control of Internal States Scale Elements of footnote
Figure 1. Traditional footnoting method
FOOTNOTES AND QUOTATIONS 41

Recently, however, footnotes are presented at the end of the paper or
research report on a separate page that carries the heading "Footnotes."
3. PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS
"Parenthetical citation" is the technical term used in APA style to refer
to a popular form of footnoting. Your readers should be able to
discover—without undue fuss—the source of any language or ideas you
have used in writing your paper/project that are not your own. This is an
important part of being a responsible member of the academic
community. When you use the ideas or language of someone else, you
can refer your readers easily to that resource by using something called a
parenthetical citation. Within parentheses, at the end of the "quoted
language" or "borrowed idea," key words should be used that refer your
readers to your page of references, where the readers can then find out
whatever bibliographic information is necessary to track down that
resource. The APA system of citing sources indicates the author's last
name and the date, in parentheses, within the text of your paper or
project (i.e., inline with the main text of your report or paper. Figure 2
shows how a parenthetical citation will look within the running text:
(Wesche, 1992). In this context, performance testing borrowed from the field of
vocational testing in which a test taker needs to carry out realistic tasks applying
language skills in actual or simulated settings (Carroll and Hall, 1985). The criteria
used for . . . .
Figure 2. Example of parenthetical citation
The commonest form of parenthetical citation of an entire work or
source consists of the author's last name followed by a comma and the
year of publication.
Example: (Jason,1994) (Bachman, 1990)
Use the last name only in both first and subsequent citations, except
when there is more than one author with the same last name. In that case,
use the last name and the first initial.
Example: (Jason, K.,1994) (Bachman, L., 1990)
If the author is named in the text, only the year is cited.
42

Example: According to Irene Taylor (1990), the personalities . . . .
If both the name of the author and the date are used in the text,
parenthetical reference is not necessary.
Example: In a 1989 article, Gould explains Darwin's . . . .
Parenthetical citations are needed when you quote the language of other
people. In this case, the page number(s) should follow the year. Specific
citations of pages or chapters follow the year.
Example: Emily Bronte "expressed increasing hostility for the world
of human relationships, whether sexual or social" (Taylor,
1988, p. 11).
As you see, in the above example, the language of Taylor (1988) has
been quoted from page 11 of his work. In this case, the following
formula has been used:
(Author's last name + comma + year + comma + p. + page number)
If the quotation is made from two or more pages, the system needs some
variations. For consecutive pages—pages that follow each other—a
hyphen (-) is used; for non-consecutive pages, on the other hand, the
page numbers are set off by means of commas. The hyphen means "to"
and the comma means "and" in parenthetical citations of this type. Take
the following examples:
Example
Consecutive pages: (Jason, 1994, pp. 23-37)
Non-consecutive pages: (Jason, 1994, pp. 23, 27, 36)
Some universities (or even your supervisor) may want you to use a colon
(:) between the year and the page numbers instead of using the
abbreviations p. or pp. This is part of Modern Language Association
(MLA) style. Therefore, you need to ask your supervisor about the
preferred style. Take the following examples:
APA MLA
Single page: (Jason, 1994, p. 23) (Jason, 1994: 23)
Consecutive pages: (Jason, 1994, pp. 23-37) (Jason, 1994: 23-37)
Non-consecutive pages: (Jason, 1994, pp. 23, 27) (Jason, 1994: 23, 27)

When the reference is to a work by two authors, cite both names each
time the reference appears.
Example: Sexual-selection theory often has been used to explore
patterns of various insect mating (Alcock & Thornhill,
1983) . . . Alcock and Thornhill (1983) also show . . . .
When the reference is to a work by three to five authors, cite all the
authors the first time the reference appears. In a subsequent reference,
use the first author's last name followed by "et al." (meaning "and
others").
Example: Patterns of Byzantine intrigue have long plagued the
internal politics of community college administration in
Texas (Douglas, et al., 1997)
When the reference is to a work by six or more authors, use only the first
author's name followed by "et al." in the first and all subsequent
reference. The only exceptions to this rule are when some confusion
might result because of similar names or the same author being cited. In
that case, cite enough authors—usually three of them—so that the
distinction is clear.
When the reference is to a work by a corporate author, use the name of
the organization as the author.
Example: Retired officers retain access to all of the university's
facilities (Columbia University, 1987, p. 54).
Personal letters, telephone calls, e-mail correspondence (note that APA's
preferred spelling is e-mail), and other material that cannot be retrieved
are not listed in References (at the end of your research report) but are
cited in the text.
Example: Jesse Moore (telephone conversation, April 17, 1989)
confirmed that the ideas . . . .
Parenthetical references may mention more than one work, particularly
when ideas have been summarized after drawing from several sources.
Multiple citations should be arranged as follows.
Examples: List two or more works by the same author in order of the
date of publication: e.g., (Chomsky, 1987, 1989)
44

Differentiate works by the same author and with the same
publication date by adding an identifying letter to each
date: e.g., (Bloom, 1987a, 1987b)
List works by different authors in alphabetical order by
last name, and use semicolons to separate the references:
e.g., (Finch, 1989; Smith, 1983; Tutwiler, 1989).
4. QUOTATIONS
APA style instructs writers to document quotations, paraphrases,
summaries, and other information from sources as follows: "Document
your study throughout the text by citing by author and date the works
you used in your research. This style of citation briefly identifies the
source for readers and enables them to locate the source of information
in the alphabetical reference list at the end of the article" (Publication
Manual, p. 207). When using APA style, you should consult the
Publication Manual for general style requirements (e.g., style for metric
units) and for advice on preparing manuscripts and electronic texts.
You can remember from the preceding section that language quoted
directly from other people should be identified by the use of
parenthetical citations that show, the author's name, year of publication,
and page number(s). Short quotations (fewer than 40 words) are
incorporated into the text, enclosed by double quotations marks ("), and
followed by parenthetical citations. Line spacing for short quotations is
the same as line spacing for the main text of the report. Take a look at
figure 3:
the following claim: "We are rarely concerned just with the particular
performance per se but also with the knowledge, skill, and other attributes
that enable both the given performance and a range of other performances
engaging the same knowledge and skills" (Messick, 1994, p. 16). This
suggests that constructs like relevant knowledge and skills, rather . . . .
Figure 3. Example of in-line quotation

Long quotations of 40 or more words are displayed in a double-spaced
block of typewritten lines with no quotation marks. APA style suggests
that you do not single space; however, some instructors will require that
indented quotations be single-spaced, especially when quoting poetry,
which loses some of its formal characteristics when double-spaced.
Check with your instructor before single-spacing quotations. Indent five
spaces from the left margin and type the entire quotation on the indented
margin without the usual opening paragraph indentation. If the quotation
is more than one paragraph, indent the first line of the second and
additional paragraphs five spaces from the already indented margin—
that is, ten spaces from the left margin. Take a look at figure 4:
Figure 4. Example of block quotation
(Bachman, 1990, p. 312). Skehan hypothesizes a similar problem in another
domain that of a waiter in a restaurant:
Although at first sight 'waiter behavior' might seem to be a
straightforward affair, we soon need to ask questions like: what range of
customers needs to be dealt with? What range of food is to be served?
Once one probes a little, the well-defined and restricted language
associated with any role is revealed to be variable, and requiring a range
of language skills. (Skehan, 1984, p. 216)
Tests developed in the real-life mold, which equate language ability with a
specific language performance, are analogs to the training courses . . . .
If you have a quotation within a block quotation, enclose it in double (")
quotation marks. If you have a quotation within a short quote (one
incorporated within the text), enclose it within single quotation marks (').
Ellipsis points ( . . . ) are used to indicate omitted material. Type three
periods with a space before and after each period to indicate omission
within a sentence ( . . . ). To indicate an omission between sentences,
type a punctuation mark for the sentence followed by three spaced
periods ( . . . . ) (? . . . ) (! . . . ). When a period or comma occurs with
46

closing quotation marks, place the period or comma within the closing
quotation mark. Put any other punctuation mark outside the quotation
marks unless that mark is part of the quoted material (See figures 5 and
6).
Douglas claims "A specific purpose language test . . . . allows us to make
inferences a bout a test taker's capacity to use language in the specific purpose
domain." (2000, p. 19)
Figure 5. Ellipsis points in in-line quotations
Figure 6. Ellipsis points in block quotations
Douglas (2000) proposes a more precise definition of specific purpose
language tests:
A specific purpose language test is one in which test content and
methods are derived from an analysis of a specific purpose target
language use situation . . . allowing for an interaction between the test
takers' language ability and specific purpose content knowledge, on
the one hand, and the test tasks on the other. Such a test allows us to
make inferences about a test taker's capacity to use language in the
specific purpose domain. (Douglas, 2000, p. 19)
Douglas discusses reasons for wishing to develop 'specific purpose
language' tests, and notes that language performance . . . .
Copy quoted passages exactly as they appear in the original. Permit
errors to stand, but call attention to them by adding the notation [sic]

immediately after their occurrence in a passage. If you insert a word or
phrase to clarify a quotation, enclose the addition in brackets.
Example:
"A former department head [James Damber] wrote . . . ."
In this example, "James Damber" has been added to the quotation. If you
change the type face (i.e., italicize, underline, …) of some parts of the
quoted material, indicate the change in parentheses. Take the following
example:
Douglas claims "A specific purpose language test . . . . allows us to make
inferences a bout a test taker's capacity to use language in the specific purpose
domain." (2000, p. 19) (italics mine)
Figure 7. Indicating your additions in quotations
48

CHAPTER FOUR
REFERENCES
1. INTRODUCTION
Throughout your paper or research report, you must acknowledge the
sources of all the information that you provide (quotations or
references). You have already learnt how to do this by means of
parenthetical citations. In addition to parenthetical citations, APA style
requires that you provide an alphabetical list of references at the end of
your report—after its conclusion section.
2. REFERENCES
According to APA style, the sources in a paper or research report should
be listed alphabetically on a separate page headed References. It follows
the final page of the text and is numbered. Entries appear in alphabetical
order according to the last name of the author; two or more works by the
same author appear in chronological order by date of publication. When
there are two or more books or articles by the same author, repeat the
name of the author in each entry. Two or more works by the same author
with the same publication date are identified by lower-case letters of the
alphabet. Do not double space the distance between different sources.
Do not use first-line hanging or dangling indentation in your reference
list either.
In listing the references of your report or paper, notice that the title of
books and journals must be italicized unless your are using regular
typewriters that lack this feature. Here you need to use underlining
instead of italicizing the book/journal title.
To give you an insight as to how different types of sources should be
listed in your References section, a few examples are provided here.
REFERENCES 49

When using these examples, it is important to follow the suggested
pattern closely, even to the spacing of periods, commas, etc.
2.1. BOOKS
Books fall into a few categories. Each kind requires referencing of its
own. There are seven major kinds of books: (a) single-author books, (b)
multi-author books, (c) editions other than first, (d) edited volumes, (e)
books without author or editor listed, (f) multi-volume works, and (g)
multi-author articles in a multi-author volume. Examples of reference for
each kind have been presented here.
Notice that the abbreviation et al. (for "and others") is not used in the
reference list, regardless of the number of authors, although it can be
used in the parenthetical citation of material with three to five authors
(after the initial citation, when all are listed) and in all parenthetical
citations of material with six or more authors..
Single-author books
Alverez, A. (1970). The savage god: A study of suicide. New York:
Random House.
Multi-author books
Natarajan, R., & Chaturvedi, R. (1983). Geology of the Indian Ocean.
Hartford, CT: University of Hartford Press.
Hesen, J., Carpenter, K., Moriber, H., & Milsop, A. (1983). Computers
in the business world. Hartford, CT: Capital Press.
Editions other than first
Creech, P. J. (1975). Radiology and technology of the absurd (3rd ed.).
Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
Edited volumes
Stanton, D. C. (Ed.). (1987). The female autograph: Theory and practice
of autobiography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
If you are referring to an article or signed chapter in an edited volume,
your reference would look like this:
REFERENCES
50

Pepin, R. E. (1998). Uses of time in the political novels of Joseph
Conrad. In C. W. Darling, Jr., J. Shields, & V. B. Villa (Eds.),
Chronological looping in political novels (pp. 99-135). Hartford:
Capital Press.
Books without author or editor listed
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. (1961). Springfield, MA: G. & C.
Merriam.
Multi-volume works
To refer to a single volume, include only the relevant date and volume
number; to refer to another volume in the work, create another entry.
Nadeau, B. M. (Ed.). (1994). Studies in the history of cutlery. (Vol. 4).
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Multi-author articles in a multi-author volume
Pepin, R.E., Darling, C.W., & Villa, V. (1997). Poe and the French
symbolistes. In P. Wursthorn, Jr., J. Darling, & J. Brother (Eds.),
The era of decadence (pp. 110-145). Hartford, CT: Woodland
Press.
2.2. SECONDARY SOURCES
A secondary source is one in which material has been quoted from
another source. To cite from a secondary source is to use material that is
quoted or paraphrased elsewhere when you do not use the original
resource. Here, your reference should include the source of your
language (or idea):
Affleck, M., Allen, R., & DeLoatch, K. (Eds.). (1997). Whatever
happened to the humanities? Studies in Byzantine Intrigue, 77,
235-278.
Note that in the above example, the italicized 77 is a volume number,
not a page number. In your text—the body or main content of the paper
or report, you would quote or paraphrase the idea that Affleck has
quoted or used, as follows:
REFERENCES 51

As Villa trenchantly points out, "Perhaps the conflict seems so strong
because the stakes are so low." (as cited in Affleck, Allen, &
DeLoatch, 1997, p. 21).
2.3. JOURNALS AND PERIODICALS
In reference to journals or periodicals, use inclusive page numbers. Do
not use the abbreviations "p." or "pp." unlike what you did in the main
text of the paper or report. Take the following examples:
Heyman, K. (1997). Talk radio, talk net. Yahoo!, 3, 62-83.
Maddux, K. (1997, March). True stories of the internet patrol. NetGuide
Magazine, 88-92.
Periodicals without volume numbers
Include month and day (if any) as well as the year. Months are not
abbreviated. Military style is not used for dates (not 2 April; instead, use
April 2). Page numbers are not condensed (not 178-88; instead, use 178-
188). Discontinuous pages are cited in full (1A, 9A; not 1A+). Take the
following example:
Grover, R. (1988, September 19). A megawatt power play. Business
Week, 34-35.
Newspaper articles
If the article is "signed" (that is, you know the author's name), begin
with that author's name. (Notice the discontinuous pages.)
Poirot, C. (1998, March 17). HIV prevention pill goes beyond 'morning
after'. The Hartford Courant, pp. F1, F6.
If the author's name is not available, begin the reference with the
headline or title in the author position.
New exam for doctor of future. (1989, March 15). The New York Times,
B-10.
REFERENCES
52

2.4. NON-PRINT MEDIA
Non-print media includes films, cassettes, musical recordings, and so on.
Reference to these materials has its own specific style. The following
examples show how you can write references of this kind.
Films
Redford, R. (Director). (1980). Ordinary people [Film]. Paramount.
Films of limited circulation
Holdt, D. (Producer), & Ehlers, E. (Director). (1997). River at High
Summer: The St. Lawrence [Film]. (Available from Merganser
Films, Inc., 61 Woodland Street, Room 134, Hartford, CT 06105)
Cassettes
Lake, F. L. (Author and speaker). (1989). Bias and organizational
decision making [Cassette]. Gainesville: Edwards.
Musical recording
Barber, S. (1995). Cello Sonata. On Barber [CD]. New York: EMI
Records Ltd.
2.5. PERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Personal communication refers to letters, telegrams, e-mails, phone
conversations, and so on. Because this kind of material is often not
recoverable (i.e., it is not possible for someone else to see or hear it), it
should not be listed in the list of References. It can, however, be listed
parenthetically within the text. It is extremely important that what is
cited in this way be legitimate and have scholarly integrity. The
parenthetical citation for interviews may look like this:
Example: (R. Wilbur, personal communication, March 28, 1968).
The parenthetical citation for phone conversations may look like this:
REFERENCES 53

Example: According to Connie May Fowler, the sources for her novel
Sugar Cane were largely autobiographical (personal
communication, July 22, 1997).
2.6. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
Government documents are often used in research, especially when the
topic has to do with politics, economics, legislation, and so on. In this
case, the reference list shows which documents were used in the study.
1) The reference to a report from the Government Printing Office,
corporate author, may look like this:
National Institute of Mental Health. (1982). Television and behavior:
Ten years of scientific progress (DHHS Publication No. A 82-
1195). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
2) Reports from a Document and Deposit Service (e.g., NTIS, ERIC,
etc.) other than U.S. government may take the following form:
Tandy, S. (1980). Development of behavioral techniques to control
hyperaggressiveness in young children (CYC Report No. 80-
3562). Washington, DC: Council on Young Children. (NTIS No.
P880-14322).
Gottfredson, L. S. (1980). How valid are occupational reinforcer pattern
scores? (Report No. CSOS-R-292). Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins University. Center for Social Organization of Schools.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 182 465)
2.7. ELECTRONIC SOURCES
Electronic correspondences, such as e-mail or discussions on bulletin
boards or discussion groups, is regarded by APA style as personal
communication (like phone conversations or memos), because it is not
recoverable by others. Such instances of personal communication are
cited only within the text and not on the reference page. For citing
personal communications in the text, give the initials and surname of the
author and provide as exact a date as possible. Take this example:
REFERENCES
54

Example 1: R.W. Runyon (personal communication, April 18, 1993)
Example 2: (M. Kohel, personal communication, June 28, 1993)
However, if the information is, in fact, retrievable, the following
elements are necessary for the reference page:
Author, I. (date). Title of article. Name of periodical : (On-line),
xx.available: specify path
The date should be the year of publication or the most recent update. If
the date of the source cannot be determined, provide the exact date of
your search. Take the following example:
Sosteric, M. (1996). Electronic journals: The grand information future?
Electronic Journal of Sociology: (On-line), 4 (1). Available:
http://www.sociology.org/content/vol004.001/sosteric.html
The path information should be sufficient for someone else to retrieve
the material. For example, specify the method used to find the material:
the protocol (Telnet, FTP, Internet, etc.), the directory, and the file name.
Do not end the path statement with a period.
In the following sections, examples of different types of sources, and
how they should appear in the reference list, are provided. Please
understand that commas, periods, underlined and italicized words, etc.
are vital in listing references. So, follow them closely.
Online journals, FTP
Funder, D.C.(1994, March). Judgmental process and content:
Commentary on Koehler on base-rate [9 paragraphs] Pscyoloquy
[Online serial]. 5(17). Available FTP: Hostname:princeton.edu
Directory: pub/harnad/Psycholoquy.94.5.17.base-rate.12.funder
Online articles (WWW)
Klein, Donald F. (1997). Control group in Pharmacoptherapy
and psychotherapy evaluations. Treatment, I. Retrieved
November 16, 1997 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.apa.org/treatment/vol1/97_a1.html
REFERENCES 55

On-line journals, subscriber-based
Central Vein Occlusion Study Group. (1993. October 2). Central vein
occlusion study of photocoagulation: Manual of operations [675
paragraphs]. Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials [On-line
serial]. Availabe: Doc No. 92
2.8. ABSTRACTS
Abstracts are the short synopses of long research reports that appear in
one-paragraph or one-page formats. Very often they can be retrieved
from online sources. Some libraries provide CD-ROMs or Microfilms
that contain abstracts. Within brackets, identify the source: (e.g., [CD-
ROM] or [Microfilm]). Citing reference to abstracts requires specific
skills. The following examples will help.
On-line abstract
Meyer, A.S., & Bock, K.. (1992). The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon:
Blocking or partial activation? [On-line]. Memory & Cognition, 20.
715-726. Abstract from: DIALOG File: PsychINFO Item: 80-16351
Abstract on CD-ROMs
Bower, DL. (1993). Employee assistant programs supervisory referrals:
Characteristics of referring and nonreferring supervisors [CD-
ROM]. Abstract from: Proquest File: Dissertation Abstracts Item:
9315947
2.9. PAMPHLETS AND BROCHURES
In reference to pamphlets and brochures, treat pamphlets created by
corporate authors in the same way you would treat an entire book written
by a corporate author. Do not forget to identify your resource as
[Brochure] or [Pamphlet] within brackets. The following example will
help you write your references to pamphlets and brochures.
The Writing Center of Capital Community-Technical College. (1997).
Writing: the goal is variety (4th ed.) [Brochure]. Hartford, CT:
Author.
REFERENCES
56

2.10. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS
Unpublished materials are usually housed by college and university
libraries. The often-referred-to materials of this kind are masters' theses
and PhD dissertations.
Dissertations
When you have used the actual dissertation (usually from the shelves of
the University where it was written, sometimes obtained through
interlibrary loan), the reference will look like:
Darling, C. W. (1976). Giver of due regard: the poetry of Richard
Wilbur. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of
Connecticut, Storrs.
Dissertation abstracts
When you have used an abstract of the dissertation found on microfilm
in Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI), your reference may take
the following form:
Darling, C. W. (1976). Giver of due regard: the poetry of Richard
Wilbur. Dissertation Abstracts International, 44(02), 221A.
(University Microfilms No. AAD44-8794)
For masters' theses, do the same thing. This time, you will use the phrase
"Unpublished masters' thesis" in the reference instead of the phrase
"Unpublished doctoral dissertation."
3. BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Bibliographies are alphabetical lists of books and articles dealing with
specific subjects or general areas of study; for example, the Cambridge
Bibliography of English Literature. Although they contain no facts
themselves, bibliographies are the most complete references of where to
find the facts. Most are annotated with notes about each item to indicate
special qualities or usefulness.
You are seldom asked to write bibliographies because the reference list
of your research report should normally include only reference to the
REFERENCES 57

items you actually used in your study. However, your supervisor or
university may require that you prepare a bibliography in addition to the
list of references of your report. If so, notice that the points discussed in
sections 2 through 2.10 above must be observed.
4. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES
An annotated bibliography will have the same basic layout as a
Reference page. However, There are three major differences. First, you
can include in your bibliography works that you think would be useful to
your reader that you might not have used in the writing of this particular
paper or article. Second, you can break down the references into useful
categories and arrange those categories in ways that you think would be
helpful to your reader. Third, you can add commentary to the references,
telling your reader the particular virtues (or, if necessary, the
shortcomings) of that resource. Commentaries should be concise,
economical summaries, written in sentence fragments; if related,
fragments should be connected with semicolons. The commentary
should begin on a new line, indented slightly from the preceding line.
Example:
National Institute of Mental Health. (1982). Television and behavior:
Ten years of scientific progress (DHHS Publication No. A 82-
1195). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Documents connections between children's lack of attention in
school and hours of television watching; provides scientific
evidence of changed viewing habits over ten years.
5. FINAL REMARKS
On the World Wide Web, the author's name is not always available. If
you have determined that the material nonetheless has scholarly integrity
(because, say, it was published on the web-site of a responsible scholar
or prestigious university), you would list that resource in your Reference
page the same way you would treat a book without an author: begin your
reference with the title. Parenthetically, within your text, use the title of
the document so that your reader can find the list on your References
page and discover, then, how to find that document.
REFERENCES
58

CHAPTER FIVE
APA INTRICACIES
1. INTRODUCTION
Chapters one through four presented the main elements of APA style.
There are a few other aspects of APA style that require your attention.
These aspects include:
1. Headings and heading levels
2. Abbreviations and punctuation
3. Punctuation spacing
This chapter will provide a brief overview of these less-often-noticed,
though very important, aspects of APA style.
2. HEADINGS
The APA publication manual gives clear guidelines concerning the
format to be used for the different levels of headings. The term
"heading" refers to the phrases that label the different sections of a
paper, research report, book, masters' thesis, or PhD dissertation. The
four major levels of heading identified by the APA publication manual
are illustrated below:
Level 1 CENTERED UPPER-CASE
Level 2 Centered Upper-case and Lower-case
Level 3 Flush left, Underlined, Upper-case and Lower-case Side Heading
Level 4 Indented, underlined, lower-case paragraph heading ending with a
period
For many research reports only two levels of headings are required. In
this case, the publication manual suggests using heading level 2 and
heading level 3, as illustrated below.
APA INTRICACIES 59

Abstract
Title (Using Capital Letters for Main Words)
Method
Participants
Materials
Procedure
Results
Discussion
References
The other levels of headings will need to be used (a) if additional
headings are used throughout the introduction, or (b) if you need to
divide your results or discussion sections into subsections. If additional
heading levels are required consult the APA publication manual (pp. 90-
93, 242-243). In PhD dissertations, masters' theses, and books, the writer
may introduce variations on this basic formula. He may use numbers to
organize the headings and subheadings as has been done in this book.
3. ABBREVIATIONS AND PUNCTUATION
The APA publication manual provides very clear guidelines concerning
the abbreviations and punctuation to be used throughout your report.
You should check these carefully. Some commonly used abbreviations
are listed here:
e.g. for example n number of subjects in each
group or subset of the
sample
etc. and so forth M mean
i.e., that is SD standard deviation
vs. versus ns not significant
et al. used when you have
multiple authors and you
have already provided the
full citation
p probability
N number of subjects in the
total sample
df degrees of freedom
APA INTRICACIES
60

4. PUNCTUATION SPACING
Punctuation includes commas, colons, end-of-sentence punctuation (or
periods/full stops), punctuation in quotations, spaces between words, and
semicolons should be closely observed in your research reports. APA
style makes some suggestions for the correct use of punctuation in your
reports.
Place one space after punctuation (: ; . , ? ! etc.) because the APA now
calls for one space to appear after all punctuation marks. If you are using
a mono-space font (such as Courier), you may consider using two spaces
after end-periods and colons, but consult your supervisor first to make
sure about his/her preferences.
EXCEPTIONS:
1) No space is needed after internal periods in abbreviations.
Example:
a.m. but not a. m. i.e., but not i. e. , U.S. but not U. S.
2) No space is needed after the colon in ratios.
Example:
6:1 but not 6: 1 5:2 but not 5: 2 7:6 but not 7: 6
Hyphens need no space before or after them.
Example:
trial-by-trial analysis step-by-step completion
Dashes are typed as two hyphens with no space before, between or after
them.
Example:
Studies--published and unpublished--are . . . .
APA INTRICACIES 61

Note that Microsoft Word will automatically change the appearance of
the dash. The above example, when typed in Microsoft Word will look
like this:
Example:
Studies—published and unpublished—are . . . .
The negative symbol of mathematics or the Minus symbol (-) looks very
much like the hyphen. Type the "minus symbol" as a hyphen with space
on both sides
Example:
x – 3 but not x-3 y – 26 but not y-26
Here, again, Microsoft Word will automatically pull the hyphen to make
it longer so that it will resemble the "minus" sign more closely.
Also notice that opening punctuation marks like ( { [ " ' are preceded but
not followed by a space. Take the following examples:
CORRECT WRONG
It (the Moon) has . . . . It( the Moon )has . . . .
Jack said, "I will . . . ." Jack said , " I will . . . . "
etc.
Table 1. Examples of right and wrong punctuation use
The hints provided in the next section help you minimize the possibility
of punctuation and spelling errors in your research reports.
5. FINAL REMARKS
In Microsoft Word the enter key on the keyboard should only be used at the
end of each paragraph or block.
To minimize the possibility of error in your research reports. You can
use the features of Microsoft Word available from the tools menu on the
APA INTRICACIES
62

menu bar to set the writing and grammar options for your documents
before you start typing them. To access these options, you need to open
the "options" dialogue box. See figure 1:
Figure 1. Selecting "options" in Microsoft Word
This should open the Options dialogue box as shown in figure 2. When
the dialogue box opens, make sure that the "Spelling & Grammar" tab
should be selected for setting the required options. If this is not done by
Microsoft Word default settings, click the tab to select it. Then you will
be able to set the options as you like.
Also notice that if you are setting options for text written in a language
other than your language version of Word, the options may differ in the
dialog box. For example, if you are typing Spanish text in an English
document, the grammar and style options for Spanish will be different
from the ones for English.
APA INTRICACIES 63

Figure 2. Setting spelling and grammar options in Microsoft Word
The following are grammar and writing style options you can set in the
Grammar Settings dialog box (Tools menu, Options command, Spelling
& Grammar tab—as shown in figures 1 and 2):
Capitalization problems, such as proper nouns ("Mr. jones" should
be "Mr. Jones") or titles that precede proper nouns ("aunt Helen"
should be "Aunt Helen");
Numerals that should be spelled out (use nine instead of 9), and vice
versa (use 12 instead of twelve). The option also detects incorrect
usage of "%" in place of "percentage;"
APA INTRICACIES
64

Use of contractions that should be spelled out or that are considered
too informal for a specific writing style—for example, "We won't
leave 'til tomorrow" instead of "We will not leave until tomorrow;"
Gender-specific language, such as "councilman" and
"councilwomen" which should be replaced by non-gender-specific
(or non-sexist) language;
Questionable but not strictly incorrect possessive usages such as
"Her memory is like an elephant's" or "I stopped by John's;"
Pronouns "I" and "me," which shouldn’t be used in scientific or
technical writing;
Wordy relative clauses or vague modifiers (such as "fairly" or
"pretty"), redundant adverbs, too many negatives, the unnecessary
use of "or not" in the phrase "whether or not," or the use of "possible
… may" in place of "possible … will."
After setting the options, click ok. This will return you to the main Word
window. You will see the effect of the set options when you type your
research report.
APA INTRICACIES 65

SECTION TWO
LIBRARY RESEARCH
This section is composed of two chapters:
Chapter Six: The Library
Chapter Seven: Note Keeping
Chapter six discusses the rudiments and the basic
concepts of library research. It covers such topics as
the sources available in the library, different library
search methods, the importance of library research, and
a few hints for the library researchers.
The focus of chapter seven is on the most popular
library search method—note keeping. Two types of
notes are discussed: bibliographical notes, and subject
notes. Examples of each type are provided. In addition,
the intricacies of note taking for each type are
elaborated on. Plagiarism is discussed as the major
pitfall in library research. Finally, a few hints are
provided for the library research worker as to how they
should approach the task of paraphrasing.
LIBRARY RESEARCH 67

CHAPTER SIX
THE LIBRARY
1. INTRODUCTION
One of the key capabilities that university students should be able to
develop in themselves is the ability to use research findings from their
own and related fields. A good place where they can assimilate an
increasing amount of knowledge to keep abreast of recent developments
in their field is the library. Literally thousands of books, periodicals,
documents, and pamphlets are placed on library shelves each year. Skill
is required in making a comprehensive search for information about a
specific topic. A failure to develop these skills will lead to much wasted
effort and frustration.
Although a knowledge of library methods is desirable for the consumer
of research, it is essential for the research worker. Too often graduate
and undergraduate students and other beginning research workers try to
solve a problem without attempting to determine whether others have
conducted investigations in the same area.
This chapter, designed to help the consumer and research worker gain
knowledge of library skills, emphasizes that library study is not a
meaningless activity but an essential ingredient of the systematic
approach to problem solving. The major sections of this chapter include
(1) a statement of the purpose of library study, (2) a description of
library resources, and (3) suggestions of methods which will aid in the
collection of data from library resources.
2. LIBRARY SOURCES
Many excellent libraries are available to graduate and undergraduate
students throughout the world. Because of the differences in
organization of materials, detailed instructions about the use of a library
THE LIBRARY 69

may not be helpful; therefore, attention has to be focused on library
sources and on methods which can serve in any library setting.
A useful method for learning about library sources is to visit the library
where the research is to be carried out. First, contact the head librarian
and arrange for a description of the sources and their location. A guided
tour of the various sections of the library should follow. The initial
orientation time can be spent browsing to become familiar with the
location of various sections and departments.
Library source are either general sources (called generalities) or specific
sources (called specifics). General sources talk about more than one
topic assigning a few pages or one single chapter to each topic.
Encyclopedias are the best example of general sources. Specifics, on the
other hand, are totally devoted to one single topic. For example,
Chomsky's Studies on semantics in generative grammar (Chomsky,
1972) discusses only one topic—namely semantics in generative
grammar.
Undergraduate students are asked to use generalities because their
research reports are supposed to be relatively short (not more than 20
pages). Furthermore, only a small section of this short report will be
dedicated to literature review—no more than a few pages, say, 2 or 3 at
best. PhD and masters' students, on the other hand, will find specifics
more promising for their research projects. This is because of the fact
that a full chapter is dedicated to the review of the related literature in
PhD dissertations and masters' theses.
On the whole, major library sources of use to research workers fall into
the following seven categories:
(1) standard references
(2) books
(3) legal sources
(4) periodicals or journals
(5) government documents
(6) pamphlets and directories
(7) unpublished materials
Each of these source types is explained in a separate section below.
THE LIBRARY
70

2.1. STANDARD REFERENCES
Certain references are consulted first whenever there is a systematic
library search. The librarian can provide information about the
availability of these sources although the best way to become familiar
with the basic references is to study the organization of their contents
carefully.
2.1.1. ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Encyclopedias are the most important example of standard references.
They contain summaries of research studies arranged by topics. The
content of each topic has been prepared by a specialist who volunteered
to summarize research findings for his specific area of interest. These
summaries cannot be considered as substitutes for the original research
reports but can be used for screening purposes to limit the scope of the
library search. If a study appears relevant, a reference to the original
source is provided at the end of each section. Because of the time
required to prepare a comprehensive encyclopedia, studies in print less
than one year before the publication date of a given encyclopedia will
probably not be described in that source.
Recently, the major encyclopedias of the world have been marketed in
the form of CD-ROM volumes that can be viewed on personal
computers. Updates of these electronic encyclopedias are available on
the Internet. The major volumes that are available in electronic format
are Encyclopedia Americana, Encyclopedia Africana, Encyclopedia
Encarta, and Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Encarta is perhaps
the best in this rich aristocracy of electronic encyclopedias.
2.1.2. DICTIONARIES
Dictionaries are the constant companions of a researcher. Because a
researcher must define terms with precision, a knowledge of which
dictionaries to use is an inevitable part of successful library research.
Among the better-known general dictionaries are the Oxford English
Dictionary (12 volumes), Dictionary of American English on Historical
Principles (4 volumes), Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary,
and Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language.
More specialized dictionaries are also needed at times. Longman
THE LIBRARY 71

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