Notes on APA: Major manuscript changes in the 6th Edition

Major Manuscript Changes in the 6thEdition

•Page header now includes Running head (p. 230)

•Electronic journal references include DOI (digital object identifier) (p. 198)

•Heading levels changed, including using boldface type for many (p. 62)

•Two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence (p. 88)

General Instructions for Preparing a Paper Manuscript (Section 8.03, p. 228)

•Typeface 12pt Times New Roman

•Double spaced

•Margins are 1 inch on all sides

•Page numbers in upper right-hand corner, starting on title page

•Two spaces at the end of a sentence recommended.

•Remember, title of paper is repeated on first line of text (page two, generally)

Header changes

· The header now includes the Running head: IN UPPER CASE (max of 50 characters, including spaces).

Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN BIMODAL PROCESSES               1

· But on subsequent pages the words ―Running head are not there.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN BIMODAL PROCESSES                                       2

· In Word 2007, once you are in header, use ―different first page‖ tool to create this.

· Title Page

–Title

–Name

–Institutional Affiliation

· Running Head

–(less than 50 characters, including spaces)

–Fully justified as a header with page number

(example of cover page)

Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN BIMODAL PROCESSES                 1

Individual Differences in

Bimodal Processing and Text Recall

Bruce R. Dunn and Maria L. Garcia

University of Texas at San Antonio

Headings (p. 62)

· There are five levels of headings which follow a top-down progression.

Centered, Boldface, and Upper and Lowercase Heading

Flush Left, Boldface, and Upper and Lowercase Heading

Indented, boldface, lowercase heading ending with a period.

Indented, bold face, italicized, lowercase heading ending with a period.

Indented, italicized, lowercase heading ending with a period.

Common grammar mistakes in APA papers

Commas (p. 88)

•Use in series of three or more items

–The height, width, or depth

•Use to set off nonessential clauses

–Switch A, which was on a panel…

•DO NOT USE before an essential clause

–The switch that stops the recording device also controls the light.

Semicolon (p. 89)

•Use to separate two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction

–The participants in the first study were paid; those in the second study were unpaid.

•Use to separate elements in a series that already contain commas

–The color order was red, yellow, blue; blue, yellow, red; or yellow, red, blue.

Colon (p. 90)

•Use between a complete introductory clause and a final phrase. (If the clause following the colon is a complete sentence, it begins with a capital letter.)

–Freud (1930/1961) wrote of two urges: an urge toward union with others and …

•DO NOT USE after an introduction that is not a complete sentence.

–The formula is r = e + a. (correct)

–The formula is: r = e + a. (incorrect)

Dash (p. 90)

•Use to indicate a sudden interruption in the continuity of a sentence

–These two participants—one from the first group, one from the second—were tested separately.

•However, overuse weakens the flow of material.

Quotation Marks (p. 91)

•Use to introduce a word or phrase used as an ironic comment or coined expression only the first time it is used.

–Considered “normal” behavior

•This is an ironic use of “normal”, therefore it is put in quotation marks.

–The “good-outcome” variable

•This is a term coined by the student writer, therefore it is put in quotation marks.

•To set off the title of an article or chapter in a book when used in text (NOT in the reference list).

Quotation Marks, cont.

•DO NOT USE to cite a letter, word, phrase, or sentence as a linguistic example. (Instead, italicize them.)

–He clarified the difference between farther and further.

•DO NOT USE to introduce a technical or key term. (Instead, italicize them.)

–The term zero-base budgeting appeared…

Parentheses (p. 93)

•Use to introduce an abbreviation

–Effect on the galvanic skin response (GSR)

•Use to set off structurally independent elements.

–The patterns were significant (see Figure 5).

•To enclose statistical values

–Was significant (p < .05)

•DO NOT USE to enclose material within other parentheses; use brackets.

–(the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI])

•DO NOT USE back to back.

Brackets (p. 94)

•Use to enclose parenthetical material that is already within parentheses

•To enclose material inserted in a quotation by some person other than the original writer

–“when [his own and others‘] behaviors were studied” (Hanisch, 1992, p. 24)

•DO NOT USE to set off statistics that already include parentheses.

Slash (p. 95)

•Use to clarify a relationship in which a hyphenated compound is used

–Hits/false-alarm comparisons

•DO NOT USE when a phrase would be clearer

–Mother or guardian (rather than mother/guardian)

•DO NOT USE for simple comparisons

–Test-retest reliability (rather than test/retest)

Capitalization (p. 101)

•Capitalize major words in titles and headings within body of paper (notin references).

•Capitalize the first word after a colon or dash in a title.

•Capitalize proper nouns and trade names.

•DO NOT CAPITALIZE names of laws, theories, models, or hypotheses. (But retain capitalization of personal names.)

–We saw significant evidence of Rogerian theory or person-centered theory in the…

•Capitalize nouns followed by numerals or letters that denote a specific place in a numbered series (unless it is a common part of a book or table.)

–On Day 2 of Experiment 4

–chapter 4

•DO NOT CAPITALIZE nouns that precede a variable.

–trial n (variable); Trial 3 (number)

.

•Capitalize exact, complete titles of tests.

•DO NOT CAPITALIZE names of conditions or groups in an experiment

–experimental and control groups

•Capitalize names of derived factors within a factor analysis

–Mealtime Behavior (Factor 4)

Italics (p. 104)

•Use for titles of books, periodicals, and microfilm publications

•Use to introduce a new, technical, or key term or label (only the first time)

•Use for letters, words, or phrases cited as a linguistic example

–Words such as big and little

•Use for titles of books, periodicals, and microfilm publications

•Use to introduce a new, technical, or key term or label (only the first time)

•Use for letters, words, or phrases cited as a linguistic example

–Words such as big and little

Italics, cont. (p. 107)

•Use for words that could be misread

–The small group [meaning a designation, not a group size]

•Use for letters used as statistical symbols

–t test

•Use for anchors of a scale

–Ranged from 1 (poor )to 5 (excellent)

Abbreviations (p. 106)

•Use sparingly

•Use standard Latin abbreviations onlyin parenthetical material (e.g., i.e., vs., etc.) and outside use (for example, that is, versus, and so forth) (pg. 108)

Seriation(Lists) p. 63

•Within a paragraph or sentence, identify elements in a series by lowercase letters in parentheses.

–The participant‘s three choices were (a) working with another participant, (b) working with a team, and (c) working alone.

•Separate paragraphs in a series are identified by an Arabic numeral followed by a period.

1.Individuals who…

2.Depressed persons exposed to…

–You can use bullets for this, if you feel it gives an ordinal weight to the first item, but the manual explains that once you turn it into a journal they will most likely change this back for publication purposes-so might as well stick to the old way Numbers (p. 111)

Numbers (p.  111)

•Use figures/numerals to express:

–All numbers 10 and above

–All numbers below 10 that are grouped for comparison with numbers 10 and above (i.e. 2, 6, and 15--not two, six, and 15)

•This is now optional in the 6thEdition.

–Numbers that immediately precede a unit of measurement (i.e. 3 lbs.--not three lbs.)

–Numbers that denote a specific place in a numbered series (Trials 1, 2, and 3–not Trial one)

–Numbers that represent statistical or mathematical functions (more than 5% of the sample–not five percent of the sample)

–Numbers that represent time, dates, ages, etc.

Numbers, cont.

•Use words to express:

–Numbers below 10

–Any number that begins a sentence or title (i.e. Three blind mice were all talking…)

–Common fractions (i.e. one-fourth, one-third)

–Universally accepted usage (the Ten Commandments)

Numbers, cont.

•Use a combination of figures and words to express:

–Rounded large numbers (starting with millions)

•3 million people (not three million people)

–Back-to-back modifiers

•Twenty 6-year-olds (not 20 6-year olds)

•Use a zero before decimal point when numbers are less than 1

–0.23 cm, 0.48 s

•DO NOT USE a zero before a decimal fraction when the number cannot be greater than one (e.g. correlations, proportions, and levels of statistical significance)

–r(24) = -.43, p < .05

Reference Citations in Text

•One Author:

–Smith (2002) found…

–(Smith, 2002).

•Two Authors:

–Smith and Jones (2003) found…

–(Smith & Jones, 2003).

•Three, Four, or Five Authors:

–1sttime:

•Smith, Jones, and Black (2001) found…

–After the 1sttime:

•Smith et al. (2001) found…

–After 2ndtime, but inside the same paragraph:

•Smith et al. found…

•

Six or More Authors:

–Smith et al. (2002) found…

•Groups as Authors:

–1stCitation:

•(American Psychological Association [APA], 2000).

–Subsequent Citations:

•(APA, 2000).

•Anonymous or No Author

–Use first few words of reference list entry (usually title):

•(―Study Finds,‖ 1995)

•(TEA, 2007)

•Authors with Same Surname

–Include initials

•S. T. Smith (2000) and J. D. Smith (1999)

•Anonymous or No Author

–Use first few words of reference list entry (usually title):

•(―Study Finds,‖ 1995)

•(TEA, 2007)

•Authors with Same Surname

–Include initials

•S. T. Smith (2000) and J. D. Smith (1999)

Reference Citations in Text, cont.

•Two of more works within the same parentheses

–In order alphabetically, as they would appear in references, separated by semi-colons

•(Jones, 2003; Thomas, 2010)

–If by same author, then by date

•(Jones, 2003, 2007)

Third topic…

•How to do Quotations in text…

•Display quotation of fewer than 40 words in double quotation marks. Include page number in parentheses (pinpoint citation).

–Black (1993) stated, “The ‗placebo effect‘ … disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner” (p. 276).

•Display quotation of 40 or more words in block quotation (double spaced) without quotation marks.

–Black (1993) found the following:

The ―placebo effect‖ had been verified in previous studies. This effect was found to be indicative of a patient‘s belief that they were suffering from x diagnosis and were receiving  y medication which was helping them to reduce z psychosomatic side effects. (p. 276)

•Omitting material (insert …)

–If you decide … to delete something

•Inserting material (use brackets)

–Yadayada[more the same] and so forth

•Adding emphasis (use brackets to explain emphasis)

–[emphasis added]

•Citations for quotations must include author, year, and page number!!

References

•Remember reference page is titled References and they are:

–Double spaced

–In alphabetical order

–And formatted with a ―hanging indention‖

–Easiest way is to type references like your normally would, select/highlight them all, and then in Word, under FORMAT-Paragraph-select hanging indention!

–Also, Word 2007 has a sort function, so it can alphabetize your references if you highlight them and select that function.

•Journal Article accessed in print

Carlson, L. A. (2003). Existential theory: Helping school counselors attend to youth at risk for violence. Professional School Counseling, 6(5), 10-15.

•Journal Article (accessed electronically) with DOI

Herbst-Damm, K.L., & Kulik, J.A. (2005).

Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients.

Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

•Journal Article (accessed electronically) without DOI

•Give URL: Retrieved from http://www.xx (prefer the journal website and not the link directly through the database, for access reasons)

Silick, T.J., & Schutte, N.S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate between

perceived early parental love and adult happiness. E-Journal of Applied Psychology,

2(2), 38-48. Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap

•Entire Book:

Beck, C. A. J., & Sales, B. D. (2001). Family mediation: Facts, myths, and future prospects.

Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

•For electronic versions use

–doiif provided and no publishing location or

–Retrieved from http://www.websitename.org

–No retrieval date necessary

Chapter in an edited book:

Johnson, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory. In

H. L. RoedigerIII & F. I. M. Craik(Eds.), Varieties of memory & consciousness (pp.

309-330). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

•Journal with more than seven authors

•Gilbert, D. G., McCleron, J. F., Rabinovich, N. E., Sugai, C., Plath, L. C., Asgaard, G., …

Botros, N. (2004). Effects of quitting smoking on EEG activation and attendtionlast for

more than 31 days and are more severe with stress. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 6,

249-267.

•English translation of a book:

Lang, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities (F. W. Truscott & F. L.

Emory, Trans.). New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published 1814)

*In text, cite original date and translation date: (Lang, 1814/1951).

•Online resource from group/government

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2003). Managing asthma: A guide for

schools. Retrieved from http://www.nhibi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/asth_sch.pdf

•Secondary Source

–Text citation:

•Seidenberg and McClelland‘s study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993)

–Reference List Entry:

•Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100,589-608.

•Electronic Media

•Worse case scenario: Stand-alone document, no author identified, no date:

GVU‘s 8thWWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cc.gatech.

edu/gvu/user_surveys/survey-1997-10/Remember to print your sources and file away…

And that you no longer need to include the date you retrieved the item.

•Personal Interview

•Cite ONLY within the text –

–DO NOT include in reference list!

•This includes: lectures, interviews, emails, letters, and other person-to-person communication.

•Examples:

–T.K. Lutes claims…. (personal communication, April 18, 2005).

–(V.-G. Brown, personal communication, September 10, 2005).

Bias in Language: Gender

•Avoid ambiguity by choosing nouns, pronouns, and adjectives that specifically describe participants.

•Avoid using ―he‖ when referring to both sexes.

•When referring to someone who is transsexual or transgendered, use pronouns appropriate to how the individual identifies.

Bias in Language: Sexual Orientation

•Sexual orientation

is the preferred term over sexual preference, which implies an intentional choice.

•The terms lesbians, gay men, andbisexual individualsare preferable to homosexual.

Bias in Language: Racial and Ethnic Identity, cont.

•Guideline 1: Precision: be specific, not general.

–It is best to specify names of regions or subgroups (e.g., Cuban, Vietnamese, Pakistani)

•Guideline 2: Use commonly accepted designations.

Bias in Language: Racial and Ethnic Identity

•Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized (e.g., Black, White).

•Preferred designations:

–Black or African American

–Latina/o, Chicana/o, or Hispanic

–American Indian or Native American

–Asian or Asian American

Bias in Language: Disabilities

•Use Person-first language:

–Avoid language that equates persons with their condition (e.g., neurotics, the disabled)

–Preferred description: person with ____, people diagnosed with _____

•Use disabilityto refer to an attribute of a person and handicapto refer to the source of limitations

Bias in Language: Age

• Be specific in providing age ranges (avoid ―”under 18” or ―”over 65”)

• Use the term older person rather than elderly.

Girl/Boy – under 12

Young woman/man or female/male adolescent – 13-17 yrs

Women/men – 18 and older

Word Tools to Help You

•Readability statistics

–Passive voice-want lowest number possible (p. 77)

–Flesch reading ease-aim for 70-80

–Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level-aim for 9-12thgrade

•Realize that just because you use big words doesn‘t make you an ―academic‖–this will not increase your ability to get published, but having an easy to read, interesting article will!

•To show these stats--Open Word

–Click on Tools→Options→Spelling & Grammar

–Check the box next to ―show readability statistics‖

–The stats will show once you run a spell check.