Updated version of intro to APA style presentation. By Elaine M. Patton | LSC-University Park Student Learning Resource Center

1. RESEARCH,
APA STYLE,
AND YOU
S U MM E R 2 0 1 6
E L A I N E M . P A T T O N , M L S
Digital Resource Professional aka Librarian
LSC-University Park Library

2. TODAY • FINDING YOUR SOURCES
• EVALUATING SOURCES
• FORMATTING YOUR PAPER
• CITATIONS
• References
• In-text

3. FORMATTING: PAGE LAYOUT
• 12 point font
• 1” margins on all sides
• Times New Roman or other serifed font like
Courier
Sans-serif
Serif
• Double-spaced

4. THE MAJOR PAPER COMPONENTS
1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. The paper itself
4. References list
1 APA
assignment
4 pages

5. THE TITLE (COVER) PAGE
Image from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Page number:
Title page is
page 1
Running
head
(title of
paper)
Paper title &
Your
information

6. TITLE PAGE ELEMENTS
RUNNING HEAD page #
Title of Paper
Your M. Name
Institution Name

7. RUNNING HEAD
• On every other page:
TITLE TITLE TITLE #
• On the TITLE page:
Running head: TITLE TITLE TITLE 1

8. ABSTRACT
• After the title page, before your paper
• Titled Abstract, centered on page
• Concise 150-250 word summary of your
paper

9. LANGUAGE
• Be concise and clear: don’t fluff your
writing with unnecessary description or
information nor complex language
• Use the active voice whenever possible
–Passive: Participants were asked…
–Active: We asked participants…

10. LANGUAGE
• To have Word check
for passive voice:
• File
–Options
• Proofing
– Settings
Only valid in
pre-Office
2016
versions of
Word

11. CITATIONS
T H E R E F E R E N C E L I S T

12. CITATIONS…
give the exact location of an information source
give credit to this source for the ideas or
information within your work
(and this lends authority to your work)
are placed on the References page of your
paper as well as throughout the body

13. EXAMPLE CITATIONS FOR…
• Journal (online database)
• Online magazine or newspaper article
• Movie

14. ELEMENTS OF A CITATION FOR A JOURNAL
ARTICLE FOUND IN AN ONLINE DATABASE
• Author(s)
• Publication date
• Title of article
• Title of journal
• Volume
• Issue
• Page numbers
• Site retrieved from or DOI
• DOI = Digital Object Identifier
Like an ISBN.

15. Semiz, U. B., Basoglu, C., Ebrinc, S., & Cetin, M. (2008, February). Nightmare
disorder, dream anxiety, and subjective sleep quality in patients with
borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience,
62(1), 48-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2007.01789.x
Database journal article

16. ELEMENTS OF A CITATION
FOR AN ONLINE ARTICLE
• Author(s)
• Publication date
• Article title
• Magazine title
• URL retrieved from

17. Pincott, J. (2012, November 5). What’s in a face? Psychology Today.
Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com
Online article

18. ELEMENTS OF A CITATION
FOR A MOVIE
• Producer(s)
• Director
• Publication year
• Title
• Format
• Country of origin
• Studio or distributor
Variable!

19. Golin, S., Bregman, A. (Producers), & Gondry, M. (Director). (2004). Eternal
sunshine of the spotless mind [DVD]. United States: Universal Studios.
Movie:
DVD

20. Movie:
Streaming
Golin, S., Bregman, A. (Producers), & Gondry, M. (Director). (2004). Eternal
sunshine of the spotless mind [Streaming video]. Retrieved from
http://www.Netflix.com

21. WHICH CITATION IS CORRECT?
A.) O’Neil, J. (2013, January 14).
Equation of time solves
mystery of gray mornings.
New York Times. Retrieved
from
B.) O’Neil, John. (2013 Jan 14).
“Equation of time solves
mystery of gray mornings”.
New York Times. Retrieved
from

22. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS CITATION?
Norman, Donald A. (2004). Emotional
design: Why we love or hate
everyday things. New York: Basic
Books.

23. WHAT WOULD THE CITATION FOR THIS
JOURNAL ARTICLE LOOK LIKE?

24. IN-TEXT
CITATIONS
T H E O T H E R H A L F

25. IN-TEXT CITATIONS
When do you use in-text citations?
If you didn’t originally think it or say it, attribute
it!
Exception: commonly-known facts don’t need
citations.

26. IN-TEXT CITATIONS
• Include author(s), year, and page number(s)
• E.g.
(Author, 2012, p. 12)
(Author, Author, & Author, 2012)
(Author & Author, 2012, p. 12-13)

27. IN-TEXT CITATIONS
• If you don’t have a piece of info, skip it!
• Your in-text citation will be whatever the
start of the citation on your References page
is.

28. IN-TEXT CITATIONS
So long as you have all 3 elements, you can
mix up how your in-text citations are
introduced:
– According to X (2004), … (p. 19-20).
– This is a statement (X, 2004, p. 50).
– This has been accepted by X (2004), Y & Z
(2009), and A (2008).

29. IN-TEXT CITATIONS
• Paraphrase
–Do not just swap out a few words with
synonyms!
• Direct quote
–Uses “quotation marks” around the source
content
–If it’s longer than 40 words, no quotes:
make it a block quote with ½” margins

30. IS THIS CORRECT?
: “These and related findings suggest the role of aesthetics
in product design: attractive things make people feel
good, which in turn makes them think more creatively.” –
Donald Norman’s Emotional Design (2004)
In your paper: Aesthetics aren’t purely superficial in object
design. Attractive objects make people feel good, which
in turn makes them more creative in their thinking. When
they’re being creative, people are better able to solve
problems.

31. IS THIS CORRECT?
: “These and related findings suggest the role of aesthetics
in product design: attractive things make people feel
good, which in turn makes them think more creatively.” –
Donald Norman’s Emotional Design (2004)
In your paper: Citing a study by psychologist Alice Isen,
Norman (2004) suggests that aesthetic design, by
improving people’s moods and therefore making them
more creative, can ultimately make them better problem-
solvers (p. 19).

32. IS THIS CORRECT?
“These and related findings suggest the role of aesthetics in
product design: attractive things make people feel good,
which in turn makes them think more creatively.” –
Donald Norman’s Emotional Design (2004)
In your paper: Citing a study by psychologist Alice Isen,
Norman suggests that aesthetic design, by improving
people’s moods and therefore making them more
creative, can ultimately make them better problem-
solvers.

33. FINDING YOUR SOURCE
 LoneStar.edu/library/article-databases
 Social Sciences
 Recommended database: Psychology &
Behavioral Science Collection
You’ll want papers which are:
 Peer-reviewed
 Full-text

34. EVALUATING SOURCES
Check for…
• Evidence
• Does the information appear well-researched?
• Credibility
• Is the author reliable?
• Expertise
• Does the author have a valid background in the
subject?
• Relevance
• Is the information about your topic? Is it timely?
• Bias
• Is the information opinionated? If so,
acknowledge in your own paper.

35. KEY PARTS OF RESEARCH-BASED PAPERS
Article will have sections discussing the
•methodology,
•results,
•discussion, and
•conclusion
in addition to the abstract, author information,
and references.

41. OTHER RESOURCES
• UPresearch.LoneStar.edu/APA
• APAstyle.org
• OWL.english.purdue.edu
Each database will have a citation help tool, but
these aren’t guaranteed to be accurate!

42. CONTACT THE LIBRARIANS
•UPLibrary-ref@LoneStar.edu
•Elaine.M.Patton@LoneStar.edu
•In-person during normal library hours
•Call: 281-401-5390
•Text: 281-946-9879
•Look for the Chat With A Librarian button on
the website: