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SOC 4723 Social Research & Evaluation

Study & experience in current methods of social research.

Cite It

Giving Credit

Be sure to cite your sources correctly in order to give credit to the researchers whose work you use. For this class, you will use the style of the American Psychological Association (APA).

See the list of resources to learn how to use this style.

APA Style

The APA Style, created by the American Psychological Association, is common in the social sciences.

Find the handbook at the library or explore the linked websites to learn how to use this style.

Style Guide

Legal Citations

For legal references such as dockets or court cases, the APA Publication Manual defers to The Bluebook, a standard legal format. See chapter 11 of the Publication Manual for an overview of legal citations.

APA Template

Keep the requirements of APA Style at your fingertips with this complete, ready-made template.

To Use this Document

  1. Download and open the file in Microsoft Word.

  2. Select File ⇒ Save As ⇒ This PC.

  3. Select any location to save the file.

  4. In the Save As dialog box, select Word Template (*.dotx) from the Save as type: dropdown menu.

  5. Give the file any name you wish (e.g., “APA Format”) and select Save.

The template will now be available whenever you open Word.

Bibliography Cheat Sheet

This document contains examples of the most common types of bibliographic entries, with explanations.

Example APA Citations

The diagrams below show how to create APA citations for an article (Figure 1) and a website (Figure 2).

Figure 1
Example APA Article Citation
APA article citation with a diagram showing its various parts.

Note. The citation begins with the author’s name followed by the date and title. Titles are written in sentence case and are never designated with quotation marks. Notice that the volume number, like the journal title, is in italics. If a DOI or URL appears at the end of the citation, no period follows.

Figure 2
Example APA Website Citation
APA website citation with diagram showing its various parts.

Note. The citation begins with the author’s name if available, or the organization otherwise. Titles are written in sentence case and italics. Give the date if available; if unavailable, use the designator “n.d.” The name of the organization follows unless it is the same as the author, in which case it can be omitted. Finally, include the URL.

Citation Websites

Quick Links

Find Numbers and Identifiers

Legal and Government Publications

Figure 1
Am I Plagiarizing?
Infographic explaining that all information from another source must be cited.

Note. From “Am I Plagiarizing: An Advanced Infographic,” by M. Kirschenbaum, , EasyBib Blog (https://www.easybib.com/guides/am-i-plagiarizing-advanced-infographic). Copyright by EasyBib. Used with permission.

Research Librarian