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APA Workshop for Dental Students
APA Style Workshop
Laura Henning
Writing Specialist
DSC-UCF Writing Center
What Is APA Style?
American Psychological Association (APA) Style is an editorial style that was developed in 1929 by a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers who, according to apastyle.org (2017), "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."
What Is APA Style?
Most commonly used for the social sciences, e.g. education, psychology, nursing, etc.
Sixth Edition
The current iteration of the APA Style Manual is the 6th ed., 2nd printing. It's important to keep up-to-date on the latest changes to APA in order to make sure you're formatting and citing your work correctly!
Why Is APA Important?
Consistency
Why Is APA Important?
Clarity
Conversation
Professionalism
Research in APA
"Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose." --Zora Neale Hurston
Conducting Research in APA
Building Ethos
Ethos is a rhetorical appeal to an audience's ethics or ethical responsibilities. As writers, we build and use ethos to convince our audience (readers) of our credibility or character, thereby strengthening our argument(s) and overall writing. Establishing crediblity is important, not only because it makes your argument(s) more persuasive, but also because it impresses upon your audience the importance of what you have to say.
Building Ethos
How Do I Establish Ethos?
Ways to Establish Ethos
- Be thorough in your research.
- Select articles from credible sources only (e.g., peer-reviewed journals hosted by academic databases).
- Cite everything! Remember: it's always better to over-cite than under-cite.
- Choose your words carefully.
- Proofread, proofread, proofread!
Finding Sources
Where to look:
- DSC Library databases
- Google Scholar
Finding Sources
- Reference/help desk (Daytona and DeLand campuses)
What to look for:
- Peer-reviewed journals and articles
- Citations by other professionals
- Who, when, and where of publication
Examining Abstracts
Finding--and understanding--articles for your research papers can be a difficult task, especially when said articles are rife with discipline-specific jargon. Here are some tips for making the most of articles' abstracts:
Examining Abstracts
- Read thoroughly
- Search for key terms
- If you really don't understand it, don't use it!
General Formatting
Use a legible, 12 pt. font (like Times New Roman).
All work should be double spaced.
General Formatting
Must have a header (a.k.a. "running head") at the top of every page.
Major paper sections include the title page, abstract, body of your paper, and references page.
Examples
Formatting Examples
In-text Citations
In-text Citations
- Use author, date format:
- If there is no author, use the title of the work (i.e. whatever is the first bit of information for the entry on the References page)
- If there is no date, use the abbreviation "n.d."
- If you are directly quoting from a work and it has page numbers, use the abbreviation "p.", followed by the page number(s), for further reference
What Are Signal Phrases?
Signal phrases introduce quotations by providing context (author, date) to situate your reader and prepare he or she for the information to follow. Never begin a sentence with a quotation! Always lead with a signal phrase.
Signal Phrases
Examples:
According to Kelly (1997), "In the 1960s, dental ceramics were formulated for routine fusion onto metal substructures, greatly broadening the use of ceramics" (p. 444).
The use of ceramics increased "in the 1960s, [when] dental ceramics were formulated for routine fusion onto metal substructures" (Kelly, 1997, p. 444).
Direct Quotations vs. Paraphrasing
Direct quotations, whether short or long, must be in quotation marks.
Direct Quotations vs. Paraphrasing
For long direct quotations (>40 words), use block formatting. Begin the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch, and maintain double spacing throughout.
Paraphrasing, or summary, is when you put others' material into your own words. (This means more than just changing a few words here and there!) Provide the author and year in the citation. Page numbers are optional but recommended.
References
General formatting applies.
Alphabetize entries.
References
Start with the first bit of information you have about the source.
Do not add an extra space between entries.
Use a hanging indent (0.5").
Citing Different Types of Sources
Author Rules (Print & Electronic)
General Formatting: One Author (Article in a Print Journal)
Author's last name, first initial(s). (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue number), pages.
Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 7-10.
General Formatting: Two Authors (Article in a Print Journal)
Erikson, P.R., & Thomas, H.F. (1997). A survey of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry membership: Infant oral health care. Pediatric Dentistry, 19(1), 17-21.
Author Rules (Print & Electronic) cont'd
General Formatting: Three to Seven Authors (Article from a Database)
Author's last name, first initial(s). (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue number), pages. DOI (or URL for periodical's home if here is no DOI)
Bansal, R., Jain, A., Mittal, S., Kumar, T., & Kaur, D. (2014). Regenerative endodontics: A road less travelled. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research, 8(10), 20-24. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2014/8257.5034
General Formatting: More than Seven Authors (Article from a Database)
Mattheos, N., Bruyn, H., Hultin, M., Jepsen, S., Klinge, B., Koole, S.,…Lang, N.P. (2014). Developing implant dentistry education in Europe: The continuum from undergraduate to postgraduate education and continuing professional development. European Journal of Dental Education, 18(1), 3-10. doi:10.1111/eje.12075
Author Rules (Print & Electronic) cont'd
General Formatting: Organization as Author (Print)
Author (organization name). (Year). Title of book (edition number). Place of publication: publisher.
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
General Formatting: Nonperiodical Web Document or Report
Always include URL (or DOI for scholarly sources) when citing electronic sources!
Additional Resources
Purdue OWL
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/
APA Style website
http://www.apastyle.org/
DSC-UCF Writing Center site
https://www.daytonastate.edu/cwc/