Methods of Social Research

The APA Style Guide

American Psychological Assoc (APA)

  * Put forth the name-date system of documentation for disciplines in the Social
              Sciences

  * Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science and Economics

  * Development Communication

  * Strongly emphasizes listing of author names

  (1) CONVENTIONS FOR IN- TEXT CITATIONS

  * Single work by one or more authors

  * Two or more works by the same author published in the same year

  * Unknown author

  * Corporate or organizational author

  * Authors of the same last name

  *   Quote from indirect source

  * More than one work in a citation

  * Long quote

  * Electronic source


  A. Single work by an author

  * Exotoxins make some bacteria dangerous to humans (Thomas, 1974).

  * According to Thomas (1974), “Some bacteria are only harmful to us if they make exotoxins” (p. 76).

  * We need fear some bacteria only “if they make exotoxins” (Thomas 1974, p. 76).

  B. Single work by two authors

  * Smith and Hawkins (1990) agree that all bacteria producing exotoxins are harmful to humans.

  * All known exotoxin-producing bacteria are harmful to humans (Smith & Hawkins, 1990).

  C. Single work by three to five authors

  * The most recent study supports the belief that alcohol abuse is on the rise (Dinkins, Dominic, Smith, Rogers, & White, 1989)…..

  * When homeless people were excluded from the study, the results were the same (Dinkins, et al., 1989).

  D. Two or more works by the same author published in the same year

  * (Smith, 1992a, 1992b)

  E. Unknown author

  * Many researchers now believe that treatment should not begin until other factors have been dealt with (“New Evidence Suggests,” 1987)

  * Statistical Abstracts (1991) reports the literacy rate for Mexico at 75% for 1990, up 4% from census figures 10 years ago.

F. Corporate or organized author

  * (American... [continues]

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