APA American Psychological originated in 1929. 31 original members were present at that moment to explain the rules of this style. Those members have a vast knowledge of academic disciplines, including psychology, economics, physiology, political science, and biochemistry. This organization is known as the world’s largest psychologist organization having 5000 members at least. APA usually deals in behavioral and social science. Behavioral science includes means to study human and animal behavior. They can consist of:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
Social science is more specific and can explain the social and cultural environment. They majorly describe human relations in society according to their culture and surroundings. Social science includes:
- Sociology
- Anthropology
- Economics
- Political Science
- Human Geography
- Archaeology
- Linguistics
APA referencing style overview and examples
APA style mostly has similarity with Harvard style, but there are some differences which need to be discussed here:
- Books
- Articles
- Online Sources
- Images/Visual Mediums
- Other Source Types
An Important point to remember in APA
- Citation needs to start from the second line.
- Sources need to writer alphabetically.
- If there are multiple citations with the same author, then they need to list with the history of publication.
- You can source directly or indirectly. For example:
Direct: ‘Toffees has multiple varieties of uses (David, 2018, p.9).’
Indirect: ‘As David (2018) notes, toffees can be used in many other ways.’
There are two types of referencing in APA citation: In-text citation that will be mention in the main body of work with full bibliographical information. Another one is a reference list, which was found at the end of the main task. There will be comprehensive information of sources mention within the work. In APA in-text citation should present as same as Harvard references.
1. Books (With Single or More Authors)
Last name, first initial. (Year). Title. Edition (if not the first edition of the book). Publication city: Publisher.
Example: David, R. (2014). A History of Coffee. Birmingham: Delightful Publications.
2. Articles
If there are three or more authors, the first author name should be listed first in-text citation. Remaining with first author name should be present in the list of references.
Example: Renkins, O. (1996). Adventure taste. Tourism Research, Volume 6 (10), pp. 55-62.
3. Online Sources
For website citation, the most crucial factor is the authorship of the site. If there is an article on the website, then there will be a name of the author, if not then the organization or website name with the year.
Example: BeautyTips (2016). Supertips and where to find them. Retrieved from: www.beautytipsarticles.com/supertipsandwheretofindthem
4. Images/Visual Mediums
Director’s last name, first initial (Director). (Year). video / Film /DVD title [format]. Country of origin: Film studio or maker.
Example: Bertz, J. (Director). (2014). The World’s Best coffee [film]. U.K.: Woodie Studios
5. Other Source Types
author /Organisation. (Year). A full title of the report. Publication place: Publisher.
author /Organisation. (Year). A full title of the report. Retrieved from: URL.
Example: George and Spencers. (2015). A report on the decline of Ɖ Dine for £30′. Italy: G&S Publications.