Description
Your scholarly voice is also your professional voice and it may change depending on your audience. As a health professional you will engage in issues and topics of interest with various colleagues. How you communicate with these colleagues will differ depending upon the nature and purpose of the interaction.
For this Assignment, envision yourself as a future leader in the health field. Consider how you would introduce to different audiences the issue you selected in Week 1.
The Assignment (2–3 pages)
Select one scenario from the list below.
Note: You will introduce the same issue you selected in Week 1 to complete the assignment.
- An introduction to an academic journal article
- A written memo to the employees at work
- Letter to community agency, organization, or key stakeholder in the issue (this is the one scenario I chose to be write on for this assignment after review my week 1 discussion for the topic I chose to write on for you to tackle this assignment).
Using your scholarly voice, introduce an issue or topic in your health field and write what you would say.
Note: Expand on your insights utilizing the Learning Resources.
Include proper APA citations and references where appropriate or needed (see Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for assistance).
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
- Chapter 3, “Writing Clearly and Concisely” (pp. 61–86)
Walden University Writing Center. (n.d.). Writing at the graduate level. Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/s…
Walden University Online Writing Center. (n.d.). Scholarly voice. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/sc…
Sixth Edition
Publication.
Manual
of the Amerkan Psythological Assudalion
Sixth Edition
Publication
I
American Psychological Association • Washington, DC
Copyright © 2010 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. Except as permitreproduced
ted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be
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process
of
scanning
form
or
by
any
means,
including,
but
not
or distributed in any
and digitization, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of
the publisher.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. — 6th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-b: 1-4338-0561-8 (softcover)
ISBN-10: 1-4338-0559-6 (hardcover)
ISBN-lU: 1-4338-0562-6 (spiral bound)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4338-0S61-5 (softcover)
[etc.]
i. Psychology—Authorship—Style manuals. 2. Social sciences—Authorship—
Style manuals. 3. Psychological literature_Publishing—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
4. Social science literature_Publishing—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. American
Psychological Association.
BF76.7.P83 2010
808′ .06615—dc22
2009010391
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A CIP record is available from the British Library.
Printed in the United States of America
Sixth Edition, First Printing
Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Foreword xiii
xi
xv
Editorial Staff xvii
Introduction 3
Organization of the Sixth Edition 4
Specific Changes in the Sixth Edition 4
How to Use the Publication Manual 6
Preface
1.
Writing for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
Types of Articles 9
1.01 Empirical Studies 10
1.02 Literature Reviews 10
1.03 Theoretical Articles 10
1.04 Methodological Articles 10
1.05 Case Studies 11
1.06 Other Types of Articles 11
Ethical and Legal Standards in Publishing 11
Ensuring the Accuracy of Scientific Knowledge 12
1.01 Ethical Reporting of Research Results 12
1.08 Data Retention and Sharing 12
1.09 Duplicate and Piecemeal Publication of Data 13
1.10 Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism 15
Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Research Participants 16
1.11 Rights and Confidentiality of Research Participants
16
1.12 Conflict of Interest 17
9
CONTENTS
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
1.13
1.14
1.15
1.16
Publication Credit
Reviewers
18
18
19
Author’s Copyright on an Unpublished Manuscript
Planning for Ethical Compliance 20
19
2. Manuscript Structure and Content 21
Journal Article Reporting Standards 21
Manuscript Elements 23
2.01 Title 23
2.02 Author’s Name (Byline) and Institutional Affiliation
2.03 Author Note 24
2.04 Abstract 25
23
205 Introduction 27
2.06 Method 29
2.07 Results 32
2.08 Discussion 35
2.09 Multiple Experiments 36
2.10 Meta-Analyses 36
2.11 References 37
2.12 Footnotes 37
2.13 Appendices and Supplemental Materials
Sample Papers 40
3. Writing Clearly and Concisely
61
Organization 61
3.01 Length 61
3.02 Organizing a Manuscript With Headings
3.03 Levels of Heading 62
3.04 Seriation 63
Writing Style 65
3.05 Continuity in Presentation of Ideas
3.06 Smoothness of Expression 65
3.07 Tone 66
38
62
65
3.08 Economy of Expression 67
3.09 Precision and Clarity 68
3.10 Linguistic Devices 70
3.11 Strategies to Improve Writing Style
Reducing Bias in Language
70
70
General Guidelines for Reducing Bias 71
Guideline 1: Describe at the Appropriate Level of Specificity
Guideline 2: Be Sensitive to Labels 72
Guideline 3: Acknowledge Participation 73
Reducing Bias by Topic 73
3.12 Gender 73
3.13 Sexual Orientation
74
3.14 Racial and Ethnic Identity
75
71
C0N
3.15
Disabilities
76
3.16 Age 76
3.17 Historical and Interpretive Inaccuracies
Grammar and Usage 77
3.18 Verbs 77
3.19 Agreement of Subject and Verb
76
78
3.20 Pronouns
3.21
3.22
3.23
79
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers and Use of Adverbs
Relative Pronouns and Subordinate Conjunctions 83
Parallel Construction 84
4. The Mechanics of Style
87
Punctuation 87
4.01 Spacing After Punctuation Marks
4.02 Period 88
87
4.03 Comma 88
Semicolon 89
Colon 90
4.06 Dash 90
4.07 Quotation Marks 91
4.08 Double or Single Quotation Marks
4.04
4.05
4.09
4.10
92
Parentheses 93
Brackets 94
Slash 95
4.11
Spelling 96
4.12 Preferred Spelling 96
4.13 Hyphenation 97
Capitalization 101
4.14 Words Beginning a Sentence 101
4.15 Major Words in Titles and Headings 101
4.16 Proper Nouns and Trade Names 102
4.17 Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters 103
4.18 Titles of Tests 103
4.19 Names of Conditions or Groups in an Experiment
4.20 Names of Factors, Variables, and Effects 104
Italics 104
4.21 Use of Italics
104
Abbreviations 106
4.22 Use of Abbreviations 106
4.23 Explanation of Abbreviations 107
4.24 Abbreviations Accepted as Words 107
4.25 Abbreviations Used Often in APA Journals 108
4.26 Latin Abbreviations 108
4.27 Scientific Abbreviations 108
4.28 Other Abbreviations 110
4.29 Plurals of Abbreviations 110
4.30 Abbreviations Beginning a Sentence 111
104
81
CONTENTS
Numbers
4.31
4.32
4.33
4.34
4.35
4.36
4.37
4.38
111
Numbers Expressed in Numerals 111
Numbers Expressed in Words 112
Combining Numerals and Words to Express Numbers
Ordinal Numbers 113
Decimal Fractions 113
Roman Numerals 114
Commas in Numbers 114
Plurals of Numbers 114
112
Metrication 114
4.39 Policy on Metrication 114
4.40 Style for Metric Units 115
Statistical and Mathematical Copy 116
Selecting Effective Presentation 116
116
4.42 References for Statistics
Formulas
116
4.43
4.44 Statistics in Text 116
4.45 Statistical Symbols 117
4.46 Spacing, Alignment, and Punctuation 118
Equations 123
4.47 Equations in Text 123
4.48 Displayed Equations 123
4.49 Preparing Statistical and Mathematical Copy
4.41
5. Displaying Results
124
125
General Guidance on Tables and Figures 125
5.01 Purposes of Data Displays 125
5.02 Design and Preparation of a Data Display 126
5.03 Graphical Versus Textual Presentation 126
5.04 Formatting Tables and Figures 127
5.05 Table and Figure Numbers 127
5.06 Permission to Reproduce Data Displays 128
Tables 128
5.07 Conciseness in Tables 128
5.08 Table Layout 128
5.09 Standard Forms 129
5.10 Relation of Tables and Text 130
130
5.11 Relation Between Tables
133
Table
Titles
5.12
5.13 Table Headings 133
5.14 Table Body 137
5.15 Confidence Intervals in Tables 138
5.16 Table Notes 138
141
5.17 Ruling of Tables
Presenting
Data
in
Specific
Types of Tables 141
5.18
5.19 Table Checklist 150
Figures
150
5.20 Principles of Figure Use and Construction
150
I
____
CONTENTS
5.21
Types of Figures 151
Standards for Figures 152
Figure Legends and Captions
Planning Figures 161
Preparation of Figures 161
5.22
158
5.23
5.24
5.25
Presenting Electrophysiological, Radiological, and Other Biological Data
5.26 Electrophysiological Data 162
5.27 Radiological (Imaging) Data 162
5.28 Genetic Data 165
5.29 Photographs 165
5.30 Figure Checklist 167
6. Crediting Sources
161
169
When to Cite 169
6.01 Plagiarism 170
6.02 Self-Plagiarism 170
Quoting and Paraphrasing
170
6.03 Direct Quotation of Sources 170
6.04 Paraphrasing Material 171
6.05 Direct Quotations of Online Material Without Pagination 171
172
6.06 Accuracy of Quotations
6.07 Changes From the Source Requiring No Explanation 172
6.08 Changes From the Source Requiring Explanation 172
6.09 Citations Within Quotations 173
6.10 Permission to Quote, Reprint, or Adapt 173
Citing References in Text
6.11
6.12
6.13
6.14
6.15
6.16
6.17
6.18
6.19
6.20
6.21
174
One Work by One Author 174
One Work by Multiple Authors 175
Groups as Authors 176
Authors With the Same Surname 176
Works With No Identified Author or With an
Anonymous Author 176
Two or More Works Within the Same Parentheses
Secondary Sources 178
Classical Works 178
Citing Specific Parts of a Source 179
Personal Communications 179
Citations in Parenthetical Material 179
177
Reference List 180
6.22 Construction of an Accurate and Complete Reference List
6.23 Consistency 181
6.24 Using the Archival Copy or Version of Record 181
6.25 Order of References in the Reference List 181
6.26 References Included in a Meta-Analysis 183
Reference Components
183
6.27 Author and Editor Information
6.28 Publication Date 185
–
184
180
CONTENTS
6.29
Title
185
6.30 Publication Information 186
6.31 Electronic Sources and Locator Information 187
6.32 Providing Publication Data for Electronic Sources
7. Reference Examples
Types and Variations
Examples
7.01
7.02
7.03
by Type
189
193
193
198
Periodicals 198
Books, Reference Books, and Book Chapters 202
Technical and Research Reports 205
7.04 Meetings and Symposia 206
7.05 Doctoral Dissertations and Master’s Theses 207
7.06 Reviews and Peer Commentary 208
7.07 Audiovisual Media 209
7.08 Data Sets, Software, Measurement Instruments, and Apparatus 210
7.09 Unpublished and Informally Published Works 211
7.10 Archival Documents and Collections 212
7.11 Internet Message Boards, Electronic Mailing Lists, and Other Online
Communities 214
Appendix 7.1: References to Legal Materials
A7.01 General Forms 216
216
A7.02 Text Citations of Legal Materials 217
Court Decisions (Bluebook Rule 10) 217
Statutes (Bluebook Rule 12) 219
Legislative Materials (Bluebook Rule 13) 221
Administrative and Executive Materials (Bluebook Rule 14)
Patents 224
A7.03
A7.04
A7.05
P.7.06
A7.07
223
8. The Publication Process 225
Editorial Process
225
Peer Review 225
8.02 Manuscript Acceptance or Rejection 226
Author Responsibilities 228
8.03 Preparing the Manuscript for Submission 228
8.04 Complying With Ethical, Legal, and Policy Requirements
8.05 Publisher Policy Requirements 236
8.01
231
8.06 Working With the Publisher When the Manuscript
8.07
Has Been Accepted 239
Checklist for Manuscript Submission
240
Appendix: Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS), Meta-Analysis Reporting
Standards (MARS), and Flow of Participants Through Each Stage of
an Experiment or Quasi-Experiment 245
References
Index
259
255
List of Tables and Figures
Tables
Table 2.1
Table 3.1
Table 4.1
Table 4.2
Table 4.3
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Table 5.1
Table 5.2
Table 5.3
Table 5.4
Author Bylines 24
Format for Five Levels of Heading in APA Journals 62
Guide to Hyphenating Terms 98
Prefixes and Suffixes That Do Not Require Hyphens 99
Prefixed Words That Require Hyphens 100
Common Abbreviations for Units of Measurement 109
Statistical Abbreviations and Symbols 119
Basic Components of a Table 129
Sample of Effective Table Layout 130
Sample Factor Loadings Table (With Rotation
Method Specified) 131
Sample Table With Detailed Specifications of Complex Experimental
Designs
Table 5.5
Table 5.6
Table 5.1
Table 5.8
Table 5.9
Table 5.10
Table 5.11
Table 5.12
134
Sample Table Display of a Sample’s Characteristics 135
Sample Table of Correlations in Which the Values for Two Samples
Are Presented 136
Sample Table of Results of Fitting Mathematical Models 137
Sample Table Including Confidence Intervals With Brackets 139
Sample Table Including Confidence Intervals With Upper
and Lower Limits 140
Sample Table Display of Psychometric Properties of Key Outcome
Variables 142
Sample Table of One-Degree-of-Freedom Statistical Contrasts 143
Sample Regression Table 144
____
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 5.13
Table 5.14
Table 5.15
Table 5.16
Table 6.1
Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table
Sample Model Comparison Table
146
Sample Multilevel Model Table 147
149
Sample Word Table
Basic Citation Styles
177
Sample
145
Figures
Figure 2.1
Sample One-Experiment Paper
41
Figure 2.2
Figure 2.3
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2
Figure 5.3
Sample Two-Experiment Paper
54
Sample Meta-Analysis 57
Complex Theoretical Formulations 152
Theory Through a Set of Path Models 153
Sampling and Flow of Subjects Through a Randomized Clinical Trial
or Other Experiment
154
Flow of Participants in a Survey Study 155
5.5 Results of One-Way Design Using Error Bars to Represent Precision
of the Resulting Estimates 156
Figure 5.6 Empirical Results From a Complex Multivariate Model 157
Figure 5.1 Kinds of Responses Being Gathered and Scoring Methods 158
Figure 5.8 Details of an Experimental Laboratory Set-Up
159
Figure 5.9 Details of Experimental Procedure 160
Figure 5.10 Event-Related Brain Potential Data
163
Figure 5.11 Neuroimaging Data With Details of Processing Information 164
Figure 5.12 Display of Genetic Material—Physical Map 166
Figure 6.1 Example of Appropriate Citation Level
170
Figure 6.2 Location of Digital Object Identifier (DOl) in Journal Article 189
Figure 6.3 Location of Digital Object Identifier for Article on Database Landing
Figure
Figure
5.4
Page
Figure 6.4
Figure 6.5
Figure 8.1
Figure 8.2
Figure
8.3
Figure 8.4
190
Example of Reference in Electronic Document With Digital Object
Identifier Hidden Behind a Button 191
Digital Object Identifier Resolver 191
Sample Cover Letter 232
APA Compliance With Ethical Principles Form 233
APA Disclosure of Interests Form 235
APA Copyright Permission Request Form 237
I
Foreword
F
rom its inception as a brief journal article in 1929, the Publication Manual of
the American Psychological Association has been designed to advance scholarship by setting sound and rigorous standards for scientific communication. The
creators of the 1929 manuscript included psychologists, anthropologists, and business
managers who convened under the sponsorship of the National Research Council.
They sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style rules, that would codify
the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension. This goal was subsequently embraced not only by psychologists but also by scholars in other social and behavioral sciences who wished to enhance the dissemination
of knowledge in their respective fields.
Uniform style helps us to cull articles quickly for key points and findings. Rules of
style in scientific writing encourage full disclosure of essential information and allow
us to dispense with minor distractions. Style helps us express the key elements of quantitative results, choose the graphic form that will best suit our analyses, report critical
details of our research protocol, and describe individuals with accuracy and respect. It
removes the distraction of puzzling over the correct punctuation for a reference or the
proper form for numbers in text. Those elements are codified in the rules we follow
for clear communication, allowing us to focus our intellectual energy on the substance
of our research.
Style sets a standard that is realized in APA journals, books, and electronToday,
ic databases. In my tenure as APA publisher, the APA Journals program has grown from
one that publishes 17,700 pages a year to one that publishes 37,000 pages a year. The APA
Books program has grown from 12 books to over 1,214 books as well as 160 psychotherapy training videos. APA electronic products have grown from one database to five databases that offer users immediate connection to abstracts, books, journals, reviews, and
quality gray literature. This profusion of scholarship has been supported and defined by
the guidance provided in the Publication Manual. Together with the APA Dictionary of
FOREWORD
4
Psychology and Encyclopedia of Psychology, it establishes a sound foundation for the
advancement of the field.
The Publication Manual is consulted not only by psychologists but also by students and researchers in education, social work, nursing, business, and many other
behavioral and social sciences. Its standards are available in English as well as Spanish,
Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, and many other languages. A central focus of deliberation for this edition has been the way in which web-based technological innovations
have altered the way we conceptualize, conduct, and consume scientific research. The
sixth edition of the Publication Manual is devoted in large part to interpreting these
advances and incorporating them into the style lexicon, It is my hope that, in concert
with our other reference products, it will serve as a solid base for all of your scientific
communications.
Gary R. VandenBos, PhD
Publisher, American Psychological Association
j
Preface
better understand the complex changes in scientific publishing and address
them in this edition, many experts and professional groups were consulted. We
began the revision process in 2006 by looking closely at the fifth edition, analyzing more than five years of accumulated user feedback; evaluating published criticism; and commissioning reviews from senior editors in psychology, education, nursing, history, and business. After deliberation of and debate about these comments, the
APA Publications and Communications Board set broad parameters for the revision
and appointed a panel of experienced editors and scientists from diverse specialty areas
to collaborate with dedicated staff on the revision.
The six-member Publication Manual Revision Task Force met for the first time in
February 2007. They determined that revisions were needed in seven key areas: ethics,
journal article reporting standards, reducing bias in language, graphics, writing style,
references, and statistics. Working groups of experts were established to support the
work of the task force in each area.
As the revision progressed, APA staff continued to solicit recommendations for
rfo
revision from the APA Council of Editors, from Publication Manual users at the
www.apastyle.org website, from APA members at professional meetings, and from
APA boards and committees. Those recommendations were passed along to working
group and task force members for consideration.
Thus, this edition of the Publication Manual is the result of creative collaboration
with many groups and individuals. We must first thank the members of the Publication
Manual Revision Task Force. They devoted many hours to analyzing reviews, considering the scholarly publishing climate, identifying topics in need of greater coverage,
meeting with working group members to generate and revise text, critiquing and discussing new drafts, and poring over the final draft with a persistent commitment to
getting it right. We are fortunate to have benefited so thoroughly from their enthusiastic and generous support of this project.
PREFACE
We are also grateful for the contributions that came from the working groups of
experts who helped shape this edition. They dialed in faithfully to join Webex confer-
ence calls, collaborating to ensure accurate and comprehensive coverage for their
respective areas. We benefited from the welcome blend of tact, humor, and insight that
they brought to this project.
Early in the revision process, we solicited critiques from selected core users, that is,
from senior editors and writers in the areas of psychology, nursing, education, and
business. The overall recommendations gained from those individuals greatly influenced the approach taken in planning this edition of the Publication Manual. For sharing their insights and suggestions, we thank Barney Beins, Geoff Cumming, Janet
Shibley Hyde, Judy Nemes, Kathryn Riley, Henry Roediger III, Peter W. Schroth,
Martha Storandt, and Sandra P. Thomas. On a related note, we are indebted to Linda
Beebe and the PsycINFO staff for their invaluable guidance on how evolving technologies continue to affect the reading, storage, and retrieval of scholarly work.
To guide us in our commitment to provide sound and timely instruction on scientific reporting, we solicited comments from several APA boards and committees. We are
grateful for recommendations received from the APA Committee on Ethnic Minority
Affairs; the APA Board of Scientific Affairs; the APA History Oversight Committee; the
APA Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology; the American Psychological
Association of Graduate Students; the APA Task Force on Gender Identity, Gender
Variance, and Intersex Conditions; and the APA Committee on Socioeconomic Status.
Several writing instructors and coaches contacted us with suggestions for making
APA Style more accessible for students. For taking the time to share their recommendations, we are most grateful to Dee Seligman, Wendy Packman, Scott Hines, Geeta
Patangay, Mylea Charvat, and Jeff Zuckerman.
Last, we thank the APA Office of Publications and Databases staff for their many
contributions to this edition, including Paige Jackson, Susan Herman, Annie Hill,
Harriet Kaplan, Edward Porter, Shenyun Wu, Amy Pearson, Ron Teeter, Hal Warren,
Beverly Jamison, Susan Harris, and Julia Frank-McNeil. Nora Kisch, Julianne Rovesti,
Peter Gaviorno, and the entire sales and marketing team have worked tirelessly to
inform the broad social science community about the new edition. We are particularly grateful to Jennifer Macomber for her skilled and meticulous care in shepherding the
manuscript through production. Finally, we thank Anne Woodworth Gasque, who managed the process with ingenuity and grace, for her superb stewardship of this project.
Mary Lynn Skutley
Editorial Director, APA Books
Gary R. VandenBos, PhD
Publisher, American Psychological Association
Publication Manual of the
American Psychological
Association, Sixth Edition
Editorial Staff
Editor in Chief
Gary R. VandenBos, PhD
Project Director
Mary Lynn Skutley
Senior Editors
Anne Woodworth Gasque
Paige Jackson
Publication Manual Revision Task Force
Mark Appelbaum, Chair
Lillian Comas-Diaz
Harris Cooper
Leah Light
Peter Ornstein
Lois Tetrick
EDITORIAL STAFF
Publication Manual Revision Working Groups
Bias-Free Language
Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS)
Lillian Comas-Din, Co-Chair
Peter Ornstein, Co-Chair
Norman Abeles
Kevin Cokley
Sari H. Dworkjn
Alba A. Ortiz
Denise Sekaquaptewa
Nathan Grant Smith
Glen W. White
Mark Appelbaum, Co-Chair
Harris Cooper, Co-Chair
Scott E. Maxwell
Ethics
Leah L. Light, Co-Chair
Lois Tetrick, Co-Chair
Celia B. Fisher
Lenore W. Harmon
Mieke Verfaellie
Graphics
Mark Appelbaum, Co-Chair
Lois Tetrick, Co-Chair
John Jonides
Penny Pexman
David Thissen
Howard Wainer
Valerie F. Reyna
Kenneth J. Sher
Arthur Stone
References
Mark Appelbaum, Co-Chair
Peter Ornstein, Co-Chair
Susan Herman
Annie Hill
Statistics
Mark Appelbauin, Co-Chair
Harris Cooper, Co-Chair
Geoff Cumming
Michael Edwards
Joel Levin
Abigail Panter
Writing Style
Leah L. Light, Co-Chair
Peter Ornstein, Co-Chair
David F. Bjorklund
Catherine Haden
Annie Hill
Publication
‘:
I
;sociation
t
Introduction
T
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was first
published in 1929 as a seven-page “standard of procedure, to which exceptions
he
would doubtless be necessary, but to which reference might be made in cases of
doubt” (Bentley et a!., 1929, p. 57). Eighty years later, we launch the sixth edition of
the Publication Manual in the same spirit. Over the years, the Publication Manual has
grown by necessity from a simple set of style rules to an authoritative source on all
aspects of scholarly writing, from the ethics of duplicate publication to the word choice
that best reduces bias in language.
The rules of APA Style are drawn from an extensive body of psychological literature, from editors and authors experienced in scholarly writing, and from recognized
authorities on publication practices. This edition of the Publication Manual has been
extensively revised to reflect new standards in publishing and new practices in information dissemination. Since the last edition of the manual was published, we have
gone from a population that reads articles to one that “consumes content.” New technologies have made increasingly sophisticated analyses possible, just as they have
accelerated the dissemination of those analyses in multiple forms, from blogs to personal Web postings to articles published in online databases.
To provide readers with guidance on how these and other developments have
affected scholarly publishing, we have reordered and condensed the manual significantly. Our first goal was to simplify the reader’s job by compiling all information on
a topic in a single place. We have ordered information in accordance with the publication process, beginning with the idea stage and ending with the publication stage. We
have retained and strengthened the basic rules of APA writing style and the guidelines
on avoiding bias in language that were first published by APA more than 30 years ago.
Most important, we have significantly expanded guidance on ethics, statistics, journal
article reporting standards, electronic reference formats, and the construction of tables
and figures.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SIXTH EDITION
Key to this revision is an updated and expanded web presence, which exponential-
ly increases the information we are able to provide. At www.apastyle.org, readers will
find a full range of resources for learning APA Style as well as additional guidance on
writing and publishing, which will evolve with changing standards and practices.
Organization of the Sixth Edition
In Chapter 1, we acquaint readers with the types of articles common in scholarly pub-
lications. We also describe the role of ethics in publishing and offer guidance in following best practices for compliance.
In Chapter 2, we define all parts of a scholarly manuscript, from title to appendix,
emphasizing both function and form. We also summarize current reporting standards
for journal articles. The chapter ends with sample papers that illustrate the rules of
APA Style.
In Chapter 3, we offer basic guidance on planning and writing the article. We
advise readers on how to organize their thoughts, choose effective words, and describe
individuals with accuracy and sensitivity.
In Chapter 4, we instruct readers on the nuts and bolts of style: punctuation,
spelling, capitalization, abbreviations, numbers, and statistics in text. Consistency in
the use of these basic aspects of style is key to clear scientific communication.
In Chapter 5, we describe the effective use of graphic elements in text and provide
readers with illustrations of graphic elements that are useful for the presentation of
data in tables and figures.
In Chapter 6, we provide guidance on citing sources. We discuss ground rules for
acknowledging contributions of others and for formatting quotations. We instruct
readers on when and how to cite references in text and on how to construct a reference list that contains everything readers need to locate each source.
In Chapter 7, we provide a comprehensive selection of reference examples in APA
Style. The examples cover a range of categories, from periodicals to podcasts, with an
emphasis on references to electronic formats.
In Chapter 8, we provide an overview of the journal publishing process. We
emphasize the author’s responsibilities in manuscript preparation and at each subsequent stage of publication.
Specific Changes in the Sixth Edition
General Approach
We
considered two broad issues in planning this revision. First, given the wide use of
the Publication Manual by readers outside the field of psychology, to what extent
should this edition focus specifically on the APA journals program? Detailed information on APA journals is available on the web (see http://www.apa.org/journals/);
each journal has its own web page, which includes specific instructions to authors. We
decided to remove from the Publication Manual much of the APA-specific information
that is readily accessible on the web, where guidelines are kept current. In this edition
of the Publication Manual, we emphasize general principles that researchers need to
know as well as principles of clear textual and visual communication.
INTRODUCTION
Second, to what extent should the Publication Manual be prescriptive rather than
descriptive of current practices in the field? A section in the foreword to the fourth edition is reJevant:
The Publication Manual presents explicit style requirements but ackndWledges
that alternatives are sometimes necessary; authors should balance the rules of
the Publication Manual with good judgment. Because the written language of
psychology changes more slowly than psychology itself, the Publication Manual
does not offer solutions for all stylistic problems. In that sense, it is a transitional document: Its style requirements are based on the existing scientific literature
rather than imposed on the literature. (American Psychological Association,
1994, p. xxiii)
of the diversity of practices in the social and behavioral sciénèes, we anticipated that the Publication Manual would likely prescribe new direction for some
subdisciplines and merely describe the current state of scientific reporting for other
Because
subdisciplines.
New and Expanded Content
Chapter 1. Because of the importance of ethical issues that affect the conduct of scientific inquiry, we have placed ethics discussions in this opening chapter and have significantly expanded coverage of several topics. New guidance is included on determining
authorship and terms of collaboration, duplicate publication, plagiarism and selfplagiarism, disguising of participants, validity of instrumentation, and making data
available to others for verification.
Chapter 2. In Chapter 2, we provide comprehensive information on specific manuscript
parts, which were located in several chapters in the last edition. For each manuscript
part, we describe purpose and core content as well as how it should appear in text.
This chapter has been significantly expanded with the addition of journal article
reporting standards to help readers report empirical research with clarity and precision. We also provide an expanded discussion of statistical methods, including guidance on reporting effect sizes. In addition, we provide a new section on the use and
preparation of supplemental materials for the web. We close the chapter with a new
selection of sample papers that instantiate elements of APA Style.
Chapter 3. In this chapter, we offer two areas with significantly changed content. First,
we have simplified APA heading style to make it more conducive to electronic publication. Second, we have updated guidelines for reducing bias in language to reflect current practices and preferences. A new section on presenting historical language that is
inappropriate by present standards has been added, and examples of good and bad
language choices have been expanded and moved to the web, where they are more
accessible to all and can be easily updated.
Chapter
New content in Chapter 4 includes guidelines for reporting inferential
statistics and a significantly revised table of statistical abbreviations. A new discusslon of using supplemental files containing lengthy data sets and other media is also
4.
included.
HOW TO USE THE PUBLICATION MANUAL
ChapterS. Procedures for developing graphic material have changed dramatically since
the last edition of the Publication Manual was published. This chapter contains significantly expanded content on the electronic presentation of data. It will help readers
understand the purpose of each kind of display and choose the best match for communicating the results of the investigation. We provide new examples for a variety of displays, including electrophysiological, imaging, and other biological data.
Chapter 6. In this chapter, we have consolidated information on all aspects of citations,
beginning with guidance on how much to cite, how to format quotations, and how
to navigate the permission process. Basic in-text citation styles and reference components are covered in detail. The discussion of electronic sources has been greatly
expanded, emphasizing the role of the digital object identifier as a reliable way to
locate information.
Chapter 7. Chapter 7 contains a significantly expanded set of reference examples, with
an emphasis on electronic formats, for readers to use in mastering the changes described
in Chapter 6. New examples have been added for a number of online sources, from data
sets and measurement instruments to software and online discussion forums.
Chapter 8. Chapter 8 has been revised to focus more on the publication process and less
on specific APA policies and procedures. It includes an expanded discussion of the func-
tion and process of peer review; a discussion of ethical, legal, and policy
Publication.
Manual
of the Amerkan Psythological Assudalion
Sixth Edition
Publication
I
American Psychological Association • Washington, DC
Copyright © 2010 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. Except as permitreproduced
ted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be
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of
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but
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and digitization, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of
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Published by
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Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. — 6th ed.
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Includes bibliographical references and index.
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i. Psychology—Authorship—Style manuals. 2. Social sciences—Authorship—
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A CIP record is available from the British Library.
Printed in the United States of America
Sixth Edition, First Printing
Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Foreword xiii
xi
xv
Editorial Staff xvii
Introduction 3
Organization of the Sixth Edition 4
Specific Changes in the Sixth Edition 4
How to Use the Publication Manual 6
Preface
1.
Writing for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
Types of Articles 9
1.01 Empirical Studies 10
1.02 Literature Reviews 10
1.03 Theoretical Articles 10
1.04 Methodological Articles 10
1.05 Case Studies 11
1.06 Other Types of Articles 11
Ethical and Legal Standards in Publishing 11
Ensuring the Accuracy of Scientific Knowledge 12
1.01 Ethical Reporting of Research Results 12
1.08 Data Retention and Sharing 12
1.09 Duplicate and Piecemeal Publication of Data 13
1.10 Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism 15
Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Research Participants 16
1.11 Rights and Confidentiality of Research Participants
16
1.12 Conflict of Interest 17
9
CONTENTS
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
1.13
1.14
1.15
1.16
Publication Credit
Reviewers
18
18
19
Author’s Copyright on an Unpublished Manuscript
Planning for Ethical Compliance 20
19
2. Manuscript Structure and Content 21
Journal Article Reporting Standards 21
Manuscript Elements 23
2.01 Title 23
2.02 Author’s Name (Byline) and Institutional Affiliation
2.03 Author Note 24
2.04 Abstract 25
23
205 Introduction 27
2.06 Method 29
2.07 Results 32
2.08 Discussion 35
2.09 Multiple Experiments 36
2.10 Meta-Analyses 36
2.11 References 37
2.12 Footnotes 37
2.13 Appendices and Supplemental Materials
Sample Papers 40
3. Writing Clearly and Concisely
61
Organization 61
3.01 Length 61
3.02 Organizing a Manuscript With Headings
3.03 Levels of Heading 62
3.04 Seriation 63
Writing Style 65
3.05 Continuity in Presentation of Ideas
3.06 Smoothness of Expression 65
3.07 Tone 66
38
62
65
3.08 Economy of Expression 67
3.09 Precision and Clarity 68
3.10 Linguistic Devices 70
3.11 Strategies to Improve Writing Style
Reducing Bias in Language
70
70
General Guidelines for Reducing Bias 71
Guideline 1: Describe at the Appropriate Level of Specificity
Guideline 2: Be Sensitive to Labels 72
Guideline 3: Acknowledge Participation 73
Reducing Bias by Topic 73
3.12 Gender 73
3.13 Sexual Orientation
74
3.14 Racial and Ethnic Identity
75
71
C0N
3.15
Disabilities
76
3.16 Age 76
3.17 Historical and Interpretive Inaccuracies
Grammar and Usage 77
3.18 Verbs 77
3.19 Agreement of Subject and Verb
76
78
3.20 Pronouns
3.21
3.22
3.23
79
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers and Use of Adverbs
Relative Pronouns and Subordinate Conjunctions 83
Parallel Construction 84
4. The Mechanics of Style
87
Punctuation 87
4.01 Spacing After Punctuation Marks
4.02 Period 88
87
4.03 Comma 88
Semicolon 89
Colon 90
4.06 Dash 90
4.07 Quotation Marks 91
4.08 Double or Single Quotation Marks
4.04
4.05
4.09
4.10
92
Parentheses 93
Brackets 94
Slash 95
4.11
Spelling 96
4.12 Preferred Spelling 96
4.13 Hyphenation 97
Capitalization 101
4.14 Words Beginning a Sentence 101
4.15 Major Words in Titles and Headings 101
4.16 Proper Nouns and Trade Names 102
4.17 Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters 103
4.18 Titles of Tests 103
4.19 Names of Conditions or Groups in an Experiment
4.20 Names of Factors, Variables, and Effects 104
Italics 104
4.21 Use of Italics
104
Abbreviations 106
4.22 Use of Abbreviations 106
4.23 Explanation of Abbreviations 107
4.24 Abbreviations Accepted as Words 107
4.25 Abbreviations Used Often in APA Journals 108
4.26 Latin Abbreviations 108
4.27 Scientific Abbreviations 108
4.28 Other Abbreviations 110
4.29 Plurals of Abbreviations 110
4.30 Abbreviations Beginning a Sentence 111
104
81
CONTENTS
Numbers
4.31
4.32
4.33
4.34
4.35
4.36
4.37
4.38
111
Numbers Expressed in Numerals 111
Numbers Expressed in Words 112
Combining Numerals and Words to Express Numbers
Ordinal Numbers 113
Decimal Fractions 113
Roman Numerals 114
Commas in Numbers 114
Plurals of Numbers 114
112
Metrication 114
4.39 Policy on Metrication 114
4.40 Style for Metric Units 115
Statistical and Mathematical Copy 116
Selecting Effective Presentation 116
116
4.42 References for Statistics
Formulas
116
4.43
4.44 Statistics in Text 116
4.45 Statistical Symbols 117
4.46 Spacing, Alignment, and Punctuation 118
Equations 123
4.47 Equations in Text 123
4.48 Displayed Equations 123
4.49 Preparing Statistical and Mathematical Copy
4.41
5. Displaying Results
124
125
General Guidance on Tables and Figures 125
5.01 Purposes of Data Displays 125
5.02 Design and Preparation of a Data Display 126
5.03 Graphical Versus Textual Presentation 126
5.04 Formatting Tables and Figures 127
5.05 Table and Figure Numbers 127
5.06 Permission to Reproduce Data Displays 128
Tables 128
5.07 Conciseness in Tables 128
5.08 Table Layout 128
5.09 Standard Forms 129
5.10 Relation of Tables and Text 130
130
5.11 Relation Between Tables
133
Table
Titles
5.12
5.13 Table Headings 133
5.14 Table Body 137
5.15 Confidence Intervals in Tables 138
5.16 Table Notes 138
141
5.17 Ruling of Tables
Presenting
Data
in
Specific
Types of Tables 141
5.18
5.19 Table Checklist 150
Figures
150
5.20 Principles of Figure Use and Construction
150
I
____
CONTENTS
5.21
Types of Figures 151
Standards for Figures 152
Figure Legends and Captions
Planning Figures 161
Preparation of Figures 161
5.22
158
5.23
5.24
5.25
Presenting Electrophysiological, Radiological, and Other Biological Data
5.26 Electrophysiological Data 162
5.27 Radiological (Imaging) Data 162
5.28 Genetic Data 165
5.29 Photographs 165
5.30 Figure Checklist 167
6. Crediting Sources
161
169
When to Cite 169
6.01 Plagiarism 170
6.02 Self-Plagiarism 170
Quoting and Paraphrasing
170
6.03 Direct Quotation of Sources 170
6.04 Paraphrasing Material 171
6.05 Direct Quotations of Online Material Without Pagination 171
172
6.06 Accuracy of Quotations
6.07 Changes From the Source Requiring No Explanation 172
6.08 Changes From the Source Requiring Explanation 172
6.09 Citations Within Quotations 173
6.10 Permission to Quote, Reprint, or Adapt 173
Citing References in Text
6.11
6.12
6.13
6.14
6.15
6.16
6.17
6.18
6.19
6.20
6.21
174
One Work by One Author 174
One Work by Multiple Authors 175
Groups as Authors 176
Authors With the Same Surname 176
Works With No Identified Author or With an
Anonymous Author 176
Two or More Works Within the Same Parentheses
Secondary Sources 178
Classical Works 178
Citing Specific Parts of a Source 179
Personal Communications 179
Citations in Parenthetical Material 179
177
Reference List 180
6.22 Construction of an Accurate and Complete Reference List
6.23 Consistency 181
6.24 Using the Archival Copy or Version of Record 181
6.25 Order of References in the Reference List 181
6.26 References Included in a Meta-Analysis 183
Reference Components
183
6.27 Author and Editor Information
6.28 Publication Date 185
–
184
180
CONTENTS
6.29
Title
185
6.30 Publication Information 186
6.31 Electronic Sources and Locator Information 187
6.32 Providing Publication Data for Electronic Sources
7. Reference Examples
Types and Variations
Examples
7.01
7.02
7.03
by Type
189
193
193
198
Periodicals 198
Books, Reference Books, and Book Chapters 202
Technical and Research Reports 205
7.04 Meetings and Symposia 206
7.05 Doctoral Dissertations and Master’s Theses 207
7.06 Reviews and Peer Commentary 208
7.07 Audiovisual Media 209
7.08 Data Sets, Software, Measurement Instruments, and Apparatus 210
7.09 Unpublished and Informally Published Works 211
7.10 Archival Documents and Collections 212
7.11 Internet Message Boards, Electronic Mailing Lists, and Other Online
Communities 214
Appendix 7.1: References to Legal Materials
A7.01 General Forms 216
216
A7.02 Text Citations of Legal Materials 217
Court Decisions (Bluebook Rule 10) 217
Statutes (Bluebook Rule 12) 219
Legislative Materials (Bluebook Rule 13) 221
Administrative and Executive Materials (Bluebook Rule 14)
Patents 224
A7.03
A7.04
A7.05
P.7.06
A7.07
223
8. The Publication Process 225
Editorial Process
225
Peer Review 225
8.02 Manuscript Acceptance or Rejection 226
Author Responsibilities 228
8.03 Preparing the Manuscript for Submission 228
8.04 Complying With Ethical, Legal, and Policy Requirements
8.05 Publisher Policy Requirements 236
8.01
231
8.06 Working With the Publisher When the Manuscript
8.07
Has Been Accepted 239
Checklist for Manuscript Submission
240
Appendix: Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS), Meta-Analysis Reporting
Standards (MARS), and Flow of Participants Through Each Stage of
an Experiment or Quasi-Experiment 245
References
Index
259
255
List of Tables and Figures
Tables
Table 2.1
Table 3.1
Table 4.1
Table 4.2
Table 4.3
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Table 5.1
Table 5.2
Table 5.3
Table 5.4
Author Bylines 24
Format for Five Levels of Heading in APA Journals 62
Guide to Hyphenating Terms 98
Prefixes and Suffixes That Do Not Require Hyphens 99
Prefixed Words That Require Hyphens 100
Common Abbreviations for Units of Measurement 109
Statistical Abbreviations and Symbols 119
Basic Components of a Table 129
Sample of Effective Table Layout 130
Sample Factor Loadings Table (With Rotation
Method Specified) 131
Sample Table With Detailed Specifications of Complex Experimental
Designs
Table 5.5
Table 5.6
Table 5.1
Table 5.8
Table 5.9
Table 5.10
Table 5.11
Table 5.12
134
Sample Table Display of a Sample’s Characteristics 135
Sample Table of Correlations in Which the Values for Two Samples
Are Presented 136
Sample Table of Results of Fitting Mathematical Models 137
Sample Table Including Confidence Intervals With Brackets 139
Sample Table Including Confidence Intervals With Upper
and Lower Limits 140
Sample Table Display of Psychometric Properties of Key Outcome
Variables 142
Sample Table of One-Degree-of-Freedom Statistical Contrasts 143
Sample Regression Table 144
____
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 5.13
Table 5.14
Table 5.15
Table 5.16
Table 6.1
Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table
Sample Model Comparison Table
146
Sample Multilevel Model Table 147
149
Sample Word Table
Basic Citation Styles
177
Sample
145
Figures
Figure 2.1
Sample One-Experiment Paper
41
Figure 2.2
Figure 2.3
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2
Figure 5.3
Sample Two-Experiment Paper
54
Sample Meta-Analysis 57
Complex Theoretical Formulations 152
Theory Through a Set of Path Models 153
Sampling and Flow of Subjects Through a Randomized Clinical Trial
or Other Experiment
154
Flow of Participants in a Survey Study 155
5.5 Results of One-Way Design Using Error Bars to Represent Precision
of the Resulting Estimates 156
Figure 5.6 Empirical Results From a Complex Multivariate Model 157
Figure 5.1 Kinds of Responses Being Gathered and Scoring Methods 158
Figure 5.8 Details of an Experimental Laboratory Set-Up
159
Figure 5.9 Details of Experimental Procedure 160
Figure 5.10 Event-Related Brain Potential Data
163
Figure 5.11 Neuroimaging Data With Details of Processing Information 164
Figure 5.12 Display of Genetic Material—Physical Map 166
Figure 6.1 Example of Appropriate Citation Level
170
Figure 6.2 Location of Digital Object Identifier (DOl) in Journal Article 189
Figure 6.3 Location of Digital Object Identifier for Article on Database Landing
Figure
Figure
5.4
Page
Figure 6.4
Figure 6.5
Figure 8.1
Figure 8.2
Figure
8.3
Figure 8.4
190
Example of Reference in Electronic Document With Digital Object
Identifier Hidden Behind a Button 191
Digital Object Identifier Resolver 191
Sample Cover Letter 232
APA Compliance With Ethical Principles Form 233
APA Disclosure of Interests Form 235
APA Copyright Permission Request Form 237
I
Foreword
F
rom its inception as a brief journal article in 1929, the Publication Manual of
the American Psychological Association has been designed to advance scholarship by setting sound and rigorous standards for scientific communication. The
creators of the 1929 manuscript included psychologists, anthropologists, and business
managers who convened under the sponsorship of the National Research Council.
They sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style rules, that would codify
the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension. This goal was subsequently embraced not only by psychologists but also by scholars in other social and behavioral sciences who wished to enhance the dissemination
of knowledge in their respective fields.
Uniform style helps us to cull articles quickly for key points and findings. Rules of
style in scientific writing encourage full disclosure of essential information and allow
us to dispense with minor distractions. Style helps us express the key elements of quantitative results, choose the graphic form that will best suit our analyses, report critical
details of our research protocol, and describe individuals with accuracy and respect. It
removes the distraction of puzzling over the correct punctuation for a reference or the
proper form for numbers in text. Those elements are codified in the rules we follow
for clear communication, allowing us to focus our intellectual energy on the substance
of our research.
Style sets a standard that is realized in APA journals, books, and electronToday,
ic databases. In my tenure as APA publisher, the APA Journals program has grown from
one that publishes 17,700 pages a year to one that publishes 37,000 pages a year. The APA
Books program has grown from 12 books to over 1,214 books as well as 160 psychotherapy training videos. APA electronic products have grown from one database to five databases that offer users immediate connection to abstracts, books, journals, reviews, and
quality gray literature. This profusion of scholarship has been supported and defined by
the guidance provided in the Publication Manual. Together with the APA Dictionary of
FOREWORD
4
Psychology and Encyclopedia of Psychology, it establishes a sound foundation for the
advancement of the field.
The Publication Manual is consulted not only by psychologists but also by students and researchers in education, social work, nursing, business, and many other
behavioral and social sciences. Its standards are available in English as well as Spanish,
Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, and many other languages. A central focus of deliberation for this edition has been the way in which web-based technological innovations
have altered the way we conceptualize, conduct, and consume scientific research. The
sixth edition of the Publication Manual is devoted in large part to interpreting these
advances and incorporating them into the style lexicon, It is my hope that, in concert
with our other reference products, it will serve as a solid base for all of your scientific
communications.
Gary R. VandenBos, PhD
Publisher, American Psychological Association
j
Preface
better understand the complex changes in scientific publishing and address
them in this edition, many experts and professional groups were consulted. We
began the revision process in 2006 by looking closely at the fifth edition, analyzing more than five years of accumulated user feedback; evaluating published criticism; and commissioning reviews from senior editors in psychology, education, nursing, history, and business. After deliberation of and debate about these comments, the
APA Publications and Communications Board set broad parameters for the revision
and appointed a panel of experienced editors and scientists from diverse specialty areas
to collaborate with dedicated staff on the revision.
The six-member Publication Manual Revision Task Force met for the first time in
February 2007. They determined that revisions were needed in seven key areas: ethics,
journal article reporting standards, reducing bias in language, graphics, writing style,
references, and statistics. Working groups of experts were established to support the
work of the task force in each area.
As the revision progressed, APA staff continued to solicit recommendations for
rfo
revision from the APA Council of Editors, from Publication Manual users at the
www.apastyle.org website, from APA members at professional meetings, and from
APA boards and committees. Those recommendations were passed along to working
group and task force members for consideration.
Thus, this edition of the Publication Manual is the result of creative collaboration
with many groups and individuals. We must first thank the members of the Publication
Manual Revision Task Force. They devoted many hours to analyzing reviews, considering the scholarly publishing climate, identifying topics in need of greater coverage,
meeting with working group members to generate and revise text, critiquing and discussing new drafts, and poring over the final draft with a persistent commitment to
getting it right. We are fortunate to have benefited so thoroughly from their enthusiastic and generous support of this project.
PREFACE
We are also grateful for the contributions that came from the working groups of
experts who helped shape this edition. They dialed in faithfully to join Webex confer-
ence calls, collaborating to ensure accurate and comprehensive coverage for their
respective areas. We benefited from the welcome blend of tact, humor, and insight that
they brought to this project.
Early in the revision process, we solicited critiques from selected core users, that is,
from senior editors and writers in the areas of psychology, nursing, education, and
business. The overall recommendations gained from those individuals greatly influenced the approach taken in planning this edition of the Publication Manual. For sharing their insights and suggestions, we thank Barney Beins, Geoff Cumming, Janet
Shibley Hyde, Judy Nemes, Kathryn Riley, Henry Roediger III, Peter W. Schroth,
Martha Storandt, and Sandra P. Thomas. On a related note, we are indebted to Linda
Beebe and the PsycINFO staff for their invaluable guidance on how evolving technologies continue to affect the reading, storage, and retrieval of scholarly work.
To guide us in our commitment to provide sound and timely instruction on scientific reporting, we solicited comments from several APA boards and committees. We are
grateful for recommendations received from the APA Committee on Ethnic Minority
Affairs; the APA Board of Scientific Affairs; the APA History Oversight Committee; the
APA Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology; the American Psychological
Association of Graduate Students; the APA Task Force on Gender Identity, Gender
Variance, and Intersex Conditions; and the APA Committee on Socioeconomic Status.
Several writing instructors and coaches contacted us with suggestions for making
APA Style more accessible for students. For taking the time to share their recommendations, we are most grateful to Dee Seligman, Wendy Packman, Scott Hines, Geeta
Patangay, Mylea Charvat, and Jeff Zuckerman.
Last, we thank the APA Office of Publications and Databases staff for their many
contributions to this edition, including Paige Jackson, Susan Herman, Annie Hill,
Harriet Kaplan, Edward Porter, Shenyun Wu, Amy Pearson, Ron Teeter, Hal Warren,
Beverly Jamison, Susan Harris, and Julia Frank-McNeil. Nora Kisch, Julianne Rovesti,
Peter Gaviorno, and the entire sales and marketing team have worked tirelessly to
inform the broad social science community about the new edition. We are particularly grateful to Jennifer Macomber for her skilled and meticulous care in shepherding the
manuscript through production. Finally, we thank Anne Woodworth Gasque, who managed the process with ingenuity and grace, for her superb stewardship of this project.
Mary Lynn Skutley
Editorial Director, APA Books
Gary R. VandenBos, PhD
Publisher, American Psychological Association
Publication Manual of the
American Psychological
Association, Sixth Edition
Editorial Staff
Editor in Chief
Gary R. VandenBos, PhD
Project Director
Mary Lynn Skutley
Senior Editors
Anne Woodworth Gasque
Paige Jackson
Publication Manual Revision Task Force
Mark Appelbaum, Chair
Lillian Comas-Diaz
Harris Cooper
Leah Light
Peter Ornstein
Lois Tetrick
EDITORIAL STAFF
Publication Manual Revision Working Groups
Bias-Free Language
Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS)
Lillian Comas-Din, Co-Chair
Peter Ornstein, Co-Chair
Norman Abeles
Kevin Cokley
Sari H. Dworkjn
Alba A. Ortiz
Denise Sekaquaptewa
Nathan Grant Smith
Glen W. White
Mark Appelbaum, Co-Chair
Harris Cooper, Co-Chair
Scott E. Maxwell
Ethics
Leah L. Light, Co-Chair
Lois Tetrick, Co-Chair
Celia B. Fisher
Lenore W. Harmon
Mieke Verfaellie
Graphics
Mark Appelbaum, Co-Chair
Lois Tetrick, Co-Chair
John Jonides
Penny Pexman
David Thissen
Howard Wainer
Valerie F. Reyna
Kenneth J. Sher
Arthur Stone
References
Mark Appelbaum, Co-Chair
Peter Ornstein, Co-Chair
Susan Herman
Annie Hill
Statistics
Mark Appelbauin, Co-Chair
Harris Cooper, Co-Chair
Geoff Cumming
Michael Edwards
Joel Levin
Abigail Panter
Writing Style
Leah L. Light, Co-Chair
Peter Ornstein, Co-Chair
David F. Bjorklund
Catherine Haden
Annie Hill
Publication
‘:
I
;sociation
t
Introduction
T
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was first
published in 1929 as a seven-page “standard of procedure, to which exceptions
he
would doubtless be necessary, but to which reference might be made in cases of
doubt” (Bentley et a!., 1929, p. 57). Eighty years later, we launch the sixth edition of
the Publication Manual in the same spirit. Over the years, the Publication Manual has
grown by necessity from a simple set of style rules to an authoritative source on all
aspects of scholarly writing, from the ethics of duplicate publication to the word choice
that best reduces bias in language.
The rules of APA Style are drawn from an extensive body of psychological literature, from editors and authors experienced in scholarly writing, and from recognized
authorities on publication practices. This edition of the Publication Manual has been
extensively revised to reflect new standards in publishing and new practices in information dissemination. Since the last edition of the manual was published, we have
gone from a population that reads articles to one that “consumes content.” New technologies have made increasingly sophisticated analyses possible, just as they have
accelerated the dissemination of those analyses in multiple forms, from blogs to personal Web postings to articles published in online databases.
To provide readers with guidance on how these and other developments have
affected scholarly publishing, we have reordered and condensed the manual significantly. Our first goal was to simplify the reader’s job by compiling all information on
a topic in a single place. We have ordered information in accordance with the publication process, beginning with the idea stage and ending with the publication stage. We
have retained and strengthened the basic rules of APA writing style and the guidelines
on avoiding bias in language that were first published by APA more than 30 years ago.
Most important, we have significantly expanded guidance on ethics, statistics, journal
article reporting standards, electronic reference formats, and the construction of tables
and figures.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SIXTH EDITION
Key to this revision is an updated and expanded web presence, which exponential-
ly increases the information we are able to provide. At www.apastyle.org, readers will
find a full range of resources for learning APA Style as well as additional guidance on
writing and publishing, which will evolve with changing standards and practices.
Organization of the Sixth Edition
In Chapter 1, we acquaint readers with the types of articles common in scholarly pub-
lications. We also describe the role of ethics in publishing and offer guidance in following best practices for compliance.
In Chapter 2, we define all parts of a scholarly manuscript, from title to appendix,
emphasizing both function and form. We also summarize current reporting standards
for journal articles. The chapter ends with sample papers that illustrate the rules of
APA Style.
In Chapter 3, we offer basic guidance on planning and writing the article. We
advise readers on how to organize their thoughts, choose effective words, and describe
individuals with accuracy and sensitivity.
In Chapter 4, we instruct readers on the nuts and bolts of style: punctuation,
spelling, capitalization, abbreviations, numbers, and statistics in text. Consistency in
the use of these basic aspects of style is key to clear scientific communication.
In Chapter 5, we describe the effective use of graphic elements in text and provide
readers with illustrations of graphic elements that are useful for the presentation of
data in tables and figures.
In Chapter 6, we provide guidance on citing sources. We discuss ground rules for
acknowledging contributions of others and for formatting quotations. We instruct
readers on when and how to cite references in text and on how to construct a reference list that contains everything readers need to locate each source.
In Chapter 7, we provide a comprehensive selection of reference examples in APA
Style. The examples cover a range of categories, from periodicals to podcasts, with an
emphasis on references to electronic formats.
In Chapter 8, we provide an overview of the journal publishing process. We
emphasize the author’s responsibilities in manuscript preparation and at each subsequent stage of publication.
Specific Changes in the Sixth Edition
General Approach
We
considered two broad issues in planning this revision. First, given the wide use of
the Publication Manual by readers outside the field of psychology, to what extent
should this edition focus specifically on the APA journals program? Detailed information on APA journals is available on the web (see http://www.apa.org/journals/);
each journal has its own web page, which includes specific instructions to authors. We
decided to remove from the Publication Manual much of the APA-specific information
that is readily accessible on the web, where guidelines are kept current. In this edition
of the Publication Manual, we emphasize general principles that researchers need to
know as well as principles of clear textual and visual communication.
INTRODUCTION
Second, to what extent should the Publication Manual be prescriptive rather than
descriptive of current practices in the field? A section in the foreword to the fourth edition is reJevant:
The Publication Manual presents explicit style requirements but ackndWledges
that alternatives are sometimes necessary; authors should balance the rules of
the Publication Manual with good judgment. Because the written language of
psychology changes more slowly than psychology itself, the Publication Manual
does not offer solutions for all stylistic problems. In that sense, it is a transitional document: Its style requirements are based on the existing scientific literature
rather than imposed on the literature. (American Psychological Association,
1994, p. xxiii)
of the diversity of practices in the social and behavioral sciénèes, we anticipated that the Publication Manual would likely prescribe new direction for some
subdisciplines and merely describe the current state of scientific reporting for other
Because
subdisciplines.
New and Expanded Content
Chapter 1. Because of the importance of ethical issues that affect the conduct of scientific inquiry, we have placed ethics discussions in this opening chapter and have significantly expanded coverage of several topics. New guidance is included on determining
authorship and terms of collaboration, duplicate publication, plagiarism and selfplagiarism, disguising of participants, validity of instrumentation, and making data
available to others for verification.
Chapter 2. In Chapter 2, we provide comprehensive information on specific manuscript
parts, which were located in several chapters in the last edition. For each manuscript
part, we describe purpose and core content as well as how it should appear in text.
This chapter has been significantly expanded with the addition of journal article
reporting standards to help readers report empirical research with clarity and precision. We also provide an expanded discussion of statistical methods, including guidance on reporting effect sizes. In addition, we provide a new section on the use and
preparation of supplemental materials for the web. We close the chapter with a new
selection of sample papers that instantiate elements of APA Style.
Chapter 3. In this chapter, we offer two areas with significantly changed content. First,
we have simplified APA heading style to make it more conducive to electronic publication. Second, we have updated guidelines for reducing bias in language to reflect current practices and preferences. A new section on presenting historical language that is
inappropriate by present standards has been added, and examples of good and bad
language choices have been expanded and moved to the web, where they are more
accessible to all and can be easily updated.
Chapter
New content in Chapter 4 includes guidelines for reporting inferential
statistics and a significantly revised table of statistical abbreviations. A new discusslon of using supplemental files containing lengthy data sets and other media is also
4.
included.
HOW TO USE THE PUBLICATION MANUAL
ChapterS. Procedures for developing graphic material have changed dramatically since
the last edition of the Publication Manual was published. This chapter contains significantly expanded content on the electronic presentation of data. It will help readers
understand the purpose of each kind of display and choose the best match for communicating the results of the investigation. We provide new examples for a variety of displays, including electrophysiological, imaging, and other biological data.
Chapter 6. In this chapter, we have consolidated information on all aspects of citations,
beginning with guidance on how much to cite, how to format quotations, and how
to navigate the permission process. Basic in-text citation styles and reference components are covered in detail. The discussion of electronic sources has been greatly
expanded, emphasizing the role of the digital object identifier as a reliable way to
locate information.
Chapter 7. Chapter 7 contains a significantly expanded set of reference examples, with
an emphasis on electronic formats, for readers to use in mastering the changes described
in Chapter 6. New examples have been added for a number of online sources, from data
sets and measurement instruments to software and online discussion forums.
Chapter 8. Chapter 8 has been revised to focus more on the publication process and less
on specific APA policies and procedures. It includes an expanded discussion of the func-
tion and process of peer review; a discussion of ethical, legal, and policy
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