Dr. Abel Scribe's Guides to APA Style and Documentation

Guides to APA Style Research Papers

APA Style is followed by over a thousand research journals, in psychology and in many other fields. The style is documented in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.; 2001). The APA Publication Manual is focused on just that, preparing papers for publication. If you are writing a college research paper , the rules change a bit, and the APA Manual has special instructions (see chapter 6). The guides at www.docstyles.com all follow the APA guidelines for preparing college papers , what the APA Manual calls final manuscripts (link to APA Manual at amazon.com).

Light Reading? The APA Manual is 467 pages long (read Doc's review). Where do you start? APA101 is an introductory course in APA style. If you must master the style this is a great place to start (it's basic, and free, but not easy).

APA Warning! "The Publication Manual is not intended to cover scientific writing at an undergraduate level. . . . Instructions to students to 'use the Publication Manual' should be accompanied by specific guidelines for its use" (APA, 2001, sec. 6.01).

Curmudgeon Warning! The APA Manual has specific instructions for preparing college research papers, but many instructors don't know this. Read this warning and how to avoid being a victim of an ignorant instructor.

AMERICAN SCIENTIST

The Science of Scientific Writing by George Gopen and Judith Swan. This article was first published in the pages of the American Scientist in 1990. It was originally developed in a faculty writing workshop at the Duke Medical School. It has worn well the test of time. For many years it was embargoed on the American Scientist website. The embargo has lapsed and Doc has made it available in PDF format: The Science of Scientific Writing (90 KB).

APA Style Guides for Final Manuscripts

APA Style Guides for Research Papers. The current edition of the APA Publication Manual (2001) is the first to give instructions for preparing research papers for classes, seminars, and conferences, as distinct from papers intended for copy editing and publication. These are featured in chapter 6 of APA Manual, appropriately titled "Material Other Than Journal Articles," and are the instructions followed in preparing these guides. The differences are largely a matter of form (explanation, PDF).

	APA Quick Reference. How hard can it be? How hard should it be? The APA Style Quick Reference seeks to answer that question by placing the essential features of APA style a click away (free).
	The APA Crib Sheet dates to 1996, the work of a college professor who wanted a basic guide for students. Doc Scribe began updating the Crib Sheet in 2003, and added a PDF version (14 pages) soon after (APA Crib Sheet Story).
	New! APA (Style) Lite for College Papers is the Crib Sheet on steroids. There are expanded graphics to illustrate APA style features, and a new format that follows the progression of a research paper (APA Lite PDF, 24 pages).

Windows Vista? The APA Quick Reference and Writer's Guide require the Windows Help reader (winhlp32). Microsoft chose not to include it with Windows Vista. Google "winhlp32" to find the Microsoft Knowledge Base article (KB917607) explaining how to download and install the reader.

APA Advanced Study: APA101 Online Course, APA Hit List, Writer's Guide

The APA Publication Manual (2001) is over 450 pages long; the style has aged 80 years. Where do you start? APA Lite was developed as the essential guide for college papers, but it does not exhaust the nuances of the style. For those who want more, an introductory course is available online. If you are too impatient for the work required (it's not an easy course), the APA Quick Study gives an overview. This stuff is for those who really need to master the style (and the anal-compulsive).

	APA Quick Study. Explore the basic features of APA style, its core characteristics. Understanding these essential features can make it easier to apply the style to research papers (PDF version).
	APA101. Open Enrollment! There are basic rules to using APA style. Once learned, the details tend to fall into place. APA101 is an extensive free course in mastering APA style (APA101 Syllabus).
	The APA Hit List enumerates many of the style features and nuances that are difficult to ferret out of the APA Manual. The Hit List answers questions you might not think to ask.
	APA Web Sheet PDF. The most important change from the old fourth edition of the APA Manual is the style for referencing electronic sources. This reference sheet shows how (4 pages).
	Writer's Guide to APA Style. An expanded version of the APA Quick Reference with 25 pages of added notes (TOContents \| Hit List \| page format \| references \| text rules). Download Writer's Guide to APA Style (zip file 775 kb).

Amazon.com

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Links to Amazon.com: (Spiral Bound $33.95)
(Paperback $26.95 ). Free shipping, no taxes. Read Doc's review.

Fifth Edition! The APA Publication Manual is the commanding guide in psychology, and found in other fields ranging from education to literature. The new edition shows how to format papers (40 pp., 15 with diagrams), expands coverage of tables and figures (50 pp.), adds Web sources to the 95 references sources covered (75 pp.), and refines the best section on avoiding bias found anywhere (15 pp.). The spiral bound edition lies open to the page you select, not a trivial convenience!

Warning! If you are interested in a used copy at amazon.com be sure it is the 5th edition.

Amazon.com

Houghton, P. M., Houghton, T. J., & Peters, M. F. (2005). APA: The Easy Way!. Port Huron, MI:

Baker College. Link to Amazon.com: (Paperback $10.95).

APA Easy? This handbook is a quick and simplified guide to the APA writing style. It was developed as a condensed version of the official APA Publication Manual and designed to be utilized as a supplement to the actual guide. One reviewer at Amazon.com writes: "APA The Easy Way is a godsend. It takes the pain of dealing with the APA Manual, cuts through the BS and tells you the 'meat' of what you really need to know to conform to this style of writing. All-in-all a very simple and easy-to-use guide that helps take the sting out of writing APA style" (Fronckowiak, 2005).

Taylor, B. N. (1995). Guide for the use of the International System of Units (SI) (Special Publication 811).

Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Link to NIST: (http://physics.nist.gov/Document/sp811.pdf). Free, PDF.

The Metric System (SI) is required in APA Style. The NIST is the official representative of the United States before the Convention du Metre which in turn is the body that defines the International System of Units (SI) for the world scientific community. This is also known as the metric system. A free 80 page style guide is available from their website. The link is directly to the document which is in Adobe PDF format. To download rather than display the document click the right mouse button on the link and select "Save Target As" (400 KB - Free).

amazon.com

Endnote (Bibliographies Made Easy?). Version XI. 2007. ISI Research Soft. Windows and Mac.

Amazon Student Versions $95: [Windows] [Mac].

Endnote automatically formats references for you--in standard AMA, APA, CBE, Chicago, ICMJE, and MLA styles, as well as a vast number of journal styles (over 1000). It is the standard of bibliographic software, required at many top universities. Surf for sources online; download bibliographic material from any online database or library catalog. The program comes with templates (for MSWord) that will set up your word processor for you! Endnote is your personal research assistant.

Warning! Reviews of recent versions are poor! Older editions, versions 6 or 7, may be a better buy. These may be available at amazon, used.

A free 30-day trial version is available at the Endnote website.

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