Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020)

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Table of Contents | Supplemental Resources | Introduction (PDF)

Official Source for APA Style
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style.

Widely Adopted
With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields.

Authoritative and Easy to Use
Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication.

Scholarly Writing
It guides users through the scholarly writing process—from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication.

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It is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work.

7 Reasons Why Everyone Needs the 7th Edition of APA’s Bestselling Publication Manual

Full color with first-ever tabbed version

Guidelines for ethical writing and guidance on the publication process

Expanded student-specific resources; includes a sample paper

100+ new reference examples, 40+ sample tables and figures

New chapter on journal article reporting standards

Updated bias-free language guidelines; includes usage of singular “they”

One space after end punctuation!

What’s New in the 7th Edition?

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Full Color
All formats are in full color, including the new tabbed spiral-bound version.

Easy to Navigate
Improved ease of navigation, with many additional numbered sections to help users quickly locate answers to their questions.

Best Practices
The Publication Manual (7th ed.) has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing.

New Student Resources
Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials.

Accessibility Guidelines
Guidelines that support accessibility for all users, including simplified reference, in-text citation, and heading formats as well as additional font options.

New-User Content
Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers.

Journal Article Reporting Standards
New chapter on journal article reporting standards that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style.

Bias-Free Language Guidelines
New chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality.

100+ Reference Examples
More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, and legal resources.

40+ New Sample Tables and Figures
More than 40 new sample tables and figures, including student-friendly examples such as a correlation table and a bar chart as well as examples that show how to reproduce a table or figure from another source.

Ethics Expanded
Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process.

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7th Edition Table of Contents

Front Matter

List of Tables and Figures

Editorial Staff and Contributors

Acknowledgments

Introduction (PDF, 94KB)

Why Use APA Style?

APA Style for Students

Utility and Accessibility

What’s New in the Seventh Edition?

APA Style Online

Notes to Users

1. Scholarly Writing and Publishing Principles

Types of Articles and Papers

1.1 Quantitative Articles

1.2 Qualitative Articles

1.3 Mixed Methods Articles

1.4 Replication Articles

1.5 Quantitative and Qualitative Meta-Analyses

1.6 Literature Review Articles

1.7 Theoretical Articles

1.8 Methodological Articles

1.9 Other Types of Articles

1.10 Student Papers, Dissertations, and Theses

ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN PUBLISHING

Ensuring the Accuracy of Scientific Findings

1.11 Planning for Ethical Compliance

1.12 Ethical and Accurate Reporting of Research Results

1.13 Errors, Corrections, and Retractions After Publication

1.14 Data Retention and Sharing

1.15 Additional Data-Sharing Considerations for Qualitative Research

1.16 Duplicate and Piecemeal Publication of Data

1.17 Implications of Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism

Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Research Participants and Subjects

1.18 Rights and Welfare of Research Participants and Subjects

1.19 Protecting Confidentiality

1.20 Conflict of Interest

Protecting Intellectual Property Rights

1.21 Publication Credit

1.22 Order of Authors

1.23 Authors’ Intellectual Property Rights During Manuscript Review

1.24 Authors’ Copyright on Unpublished Manuscripts

1.25 Ethical Compliance Checklist

2. Paper Elements and Format

Required Elements

2.1 Professional Paper Required Elements

2.2 Student Paper Required Elements

Paper Elements

2.3 Title Page

2.4 Title

2.5 Author Name (Byline)

2.6 Author Affiliation

2.7 Author Note

2.8 Running Head

2.9 Abstract

2.10 Keywords

2.11 Text (Body)

2.12 Reference List

2.13 Footnotes

2.14 Appendices

2.15 Supplemental Materials

Format

2.16 Importance of Format

2.17 Order of Pages

2.18 Page Header

2.19 Font

2.20 Special Characters

2.21 Line Spacing

2.22 Margins

2.23 Paragraph Alignment

2.24 Paragraph Indentation

2.25 Paper Length

Organization

2.26 Principles of Organization

2.27 Heading Levels

2.28 Section Labels

SAMPLE PAPERS

3. Journal Article Reporting Standards

Overview of Reporting Standards

3.1 Application of the Principles of JARS

3.2 Terminology Used in JARS

Common Reporting Standards Across Research Designs

3.3 Abstract Standards

3.4 Introduction Standards

Reporting Standards for Quantitative Research

3.5 Basic Expectations for Quantitative Research Reporting

3.6 Quantitative Method Standards

3.7 Quantitative Results Standards

3.8 Quantitative Discussion Standards

3.9 Additional Reporting Standards for Typical Experimental and Nonexperimental Studies

3.10 Reporting Standards for Special Designs

3.11 Standards for Analytic Approaches

3.12 Quantitative Meta-Analysis Standards

Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research

3.13 Basic Expectations for Qualitative Research Reporting

3.14 Qualitative Method Standards

3.15 Qualitative Findings or Results Standards

3.16 Qualitative Discussion Standards

3.17 Qualitative Meta-Analysis Standards

Reporting Standards for Mixed Methods Research

3.18 Basic Expectations for Mixed Methods Research Reporting

4. Writing Style and Grammar

EFFECTIVE SCHOLARLY WRITING

Continuity and Flow

4.1 Importance of Continuity and Flow

4.2 Transitions

4.3 Noun Strings

Conciseness and Clarity

4.4 Importance of Conciseness and Clarity

4.5 Wordiness and Redundancy

4.6 Sentence and Paragraph Length

4.7 Tone

4.8 Contractions and Colloquialisms

4.9 Jargon

4.10 Logical Comparisons

4.11 Anthropomorphism

GRAMMAR AND USAGE

Verbs

4.12 Verb Tense

4.13 Active and Passive Voice

4.14 Mood

4.15 Subject and Verb Agreement

Pronouns

4.16 First- Versus Third-Person Pronouns

4.17 Editorial “We”

4.18 Singular “They”

4.19 Pronouns for People and Animals (“Who” vs. “That”)

4.20 Pronouns as Subjects and Objects (“Who” vs. “Whom”)

4.21 Pronouns in Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses (“That” vs. “Which”)

Sentence Construction

4.22 Subordinate Conjunctions

4.23 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

4.24 Parallel Construction

Strategies to Improve Your Writing

4.25 Reading to Learn Through Example

4.26 Writing From an Outline

4.27 Rereading the Draft

4.28 Seeking Help From Colleagues

4.29 Working With Copyeditors and Writing Centers

4.30 Revising a Paper

5. Bias-Free Language Guidelines

General Guidelines for Reducing Bias

5.1 Describe at the Appropriate Level of Specificity

5.2 Be Sensitive to Labels

Reducing Bias by Topic

5.3 Age

5.4 Disability

5.5 Gender

5.6 Participation in Research

5.7 Racial and Ethnic Identity

5.8 Sexual Orientation

5.9 Socioeconomic Status

5.10 Intersectionality

6. Mechanics of Style

Punctuation

6.1 Spacing After Punctuation Marks

6.2 Period

6.3 Comma

6.4 Semicolon

6.5 Colon

6.6 Dash

6.7 Quotation Marks

6.8 Parentheses

6.9 Square Brackets

6.10 Slash

Spelling

6.11 Preferred Spelling

6.12 Hyphenation

Capitalization

6.13 Words Beginning a Sentence

6.14 Proper Nouns and Trade Names

6.15 Job Titles and Positions

6.16 Diseases, Disorders, Therapies, Theories, and Related Terms

6.17 Titles of Works and Headings Within Works

6.18 Titles of Tests and Measures

6.19 Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters

6.20 Names of Conditions or Groups in an Experiment

6.21 Names of Factors, Variables, and Effects

Italics

6.22 Use of Italics

6.23 Reverse Italics

Abbreviations

6.24 Use of Abbreviations

6.25 Definition of Abbreviations

6.26 Format of Abbreviations

6.27 Unit of Measurement Abbreviations

6.28 Time Abbreviations

6.29 Latin Abbreviations

6.30 Chemical Compound Abbreviations

6.31 Gene and Protein Name Abbreviations

Numbers

6.32 Numbers Expressed in Numerals

6.33 Numbers Expressed in Words

6.34 Combining Numerals and Words to Express Numbers

6.35 Ordinal Numbers

6.36 Decimal Fractions

6.37 Roman Numerals

6.38 Commas in Numbers

6.39 Plurals of Numbers

Statistical and Mathematical Copy

6.40 Selecting Effective Presentation

6.41 References for Statistics

6.42 Formulas

6.43 Statistics in Text

6.44 Statistical Symbols and Abbreviations

6.45 Spacing, Alignment, and Punctuation for Statistics

Presentation of Equations

6.46 Equations in Text

6.47 Displayed Equations

6.48 Preparing Statistical and Mathematical Copy for Publication

Lists

6.49 List Guidelines

6.50 Lettered Lists

6.51 Numbered Lists

6.52 Bulleted Lists

7. Tables and Figures

General Guidelines for Tables and Figures

7.1 Purpose of Tables and Figures

7.2 Design and Preparation of Tables and Figures

7.3 Graphical Versus Textual Presentation

7.4 Formatting Tables and Figures

7.5 Referring to Tables and Figures in the Text

7.6 Placement of Tables and Figures

7.7 Reprinting or Adapting Tables and Figures

Tables

7.8 Principles of Table Construction

7.9 Table Components

7.10 Table Numbers

7.11 Table Titles

7.12 Table Headings

7.13 Table Body

7.14 Table Notes

7.15 Standard Abbreviations in Tables and Figures

7.16 Confidence Intervals in Tables

7.17 Table Borders and Shading

7.18 Long or Wide Tables

7.19 Relation Between Tables

7.20 Table Checklist

7.21 Sample Tables

SAMPLE TABLES

Figures

7.22 Principles of Figure Construction

7.23 Figure Components

7.24 Figure Numbers

7.25 Figure Titles

7.26 Figure Images

7.27 Figure Legends

7.28 Figure Notes

7.29 Relation Between Figures

7.30 Photographs

7.31 Considerations for Electrophysiological, Radiological, Genetic, and Other Biological Data

7.32 Electrophysiological Data

7.33 Radiological (Imaging) Data

7.34 Genetic Data

7.35 Figure Checklist

7.36 Sample Figures

SAMPLE FIGURES

8. Works Credited in the Text

General Guidelines for Citation

8.1 Appropriate Level of Citation

8.2 Plagiarism

8.3 Self-Plagiarism

8.4 Correspondence Between Reference List and Text

8.5 Use of the Published Version or Archival Version

8.6 Primary and Secondary Sources

Works Requiring Special Approaches to Citation

8.7 Interviews

8.8 Classroom or Intranet Sources

8.9 Personal Communications

In-Text Citations

8.10 Author–Date Citation System

8.11 Parenthetical and Narrative Citations

8.12 Citing Multiple Works

8.13 Citing Specific Parts of a Source

8.14 Unknown or Anonymous Author

8.15 Translated, Reprinted, Republished, and Reissued Dates

8,16 Omitting the Year in Repeated Narrative Citations

8.17 Number of Authors to Include in In-Text Citations

8.18 Avoiding Ambiguity in In-Text Citations

8.19 Works With the Same Author and Same Date

8.20 Authors With the Same Surname

8.21 Abbreviating Group Authors

8.22 General Mentions of Websites, Periodicals, and Common Software and Apps

Paraphrases and Quotations

8.23 Principles of Paraphrasing

8.24 Long Paraphrases

8.25 Principles of Direct Quotation

8.26 Short Quotations (Fewer Than 40 Words)

8.27 Block Quotations (40 Words or More)

8.28 Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers

8.29 Accuracy of Quotations

8.30 Changes to a Quotation Requiring No Explanation

8.31 Changes to a Quotation Requiring Explanation

8.32 Quotations That Contain Citations to Other Works

8.33 Quotations That Contain Material Already in Quotation Marks

8.34 Permission to Reprint or Adapt Lengthy Quotations

8.35 Epigraphs

8.36 Quotations From Research Participants

9. Reference List

Reference Categories

9.1 Determining the Reference Category

9.2 Using the Webpages and Websites Reference Category

9.3 Online and Print References

Principles of Reference List Entries

9.4 Four Elements of a Reference

9.5 Punctuation Within Reference List Entries

9.6 Accuracy and Consistency in References

REFERENCE ELEMENTS

Author

9.7 Definition of Author

9.8 Format of the Author Element

9.9 Spelling and Capitalization of Author Names

9.10 Identification of Specialized Roles

9.11 Group Authors

9.12 No Author

Date

9.13 Definition of Date

9.14 Format of the Date Element

9.15 Updated or Reviewed Online Works

9.16 Retrieval Dates

9.17 No Date

Title

9.18 Definition of Title

9.19 Format of the Title Element

9.20 Series and Multivolume Works

9.21 Bracketed Descriptions

9.22 No Title

Source

9.23 Definition of Source

9.24 Format of the Source Element

9.25 Periodical Sources

9.26 Online Periodicals With Missing Information

9.27 Article Numbers

9.28 Edited Book Chapter and Reference Work Entry Sources

9.29 Publisher Sources

9.30 Database and Archive Sources

9.31 Works With Specific Locations

9.32 Social Media Sources

9.33 Website Sources

9.34 When to Include DOIs and URLs

9.35 Format of DOIs and URLs

9.36 DOI or URL Shorteners

9.37 No Source

Reference Variations

9.38 Works in Another Language

9.39 Translated Works

9.40 Reprinted Works

9.41 Republished or Reissued Works

9.42 Religious and Classical Works

Reference List Format and Order

9.43 Format of the Reference List

9.44 Order of Works in the Reference List

9.45 Order of Surname and Given Name

9.46 Order of Multiple Works by the Same First Author

9.47 Order of Works With the Same Author and Same Date

9.48 Order of Works by First Authors With the Same Surname

9.49 Order of Works With No Author or an Anonymous Author

9.50 Abbreviations in References

9.51 Annotated Bibliographies

9.52 References Included in a Meta-Analysis

10. Reference Examples

Author Variations

Date Variations

Title Variations

Source Variations

Textual Works

10.1 Periodicals

10.2 Books and Reference Works

10.3 Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works

10.4 Reports and Gray Literature

10.5 Conference Sessions and Presentations

10.6 Dissertations and Theses

10.7 Reviews

10.8 Unpublished Works and Informally Published Works

Data Sets, Software, and Tests

10.9 Data Sets

10.10 Computer Software, Mobile Apps, Apparatuses, and Equipment

10.11 Tests, Scales, and Inventories

Audiovisual Media

10.12 Audiovisual Works

10.13 Audio Works

10.14 Visual Works

Online Media

10.15 Social Media

10.16 Webpages and Websites

11. Legal References

General Guidelines for Legal References

11.1 APA Style References Versus Legal References

11.2 General Forms

11.3 In-Text Citations of Legal Materials

Legal Reference Examples

11.4 Cases or Court Decisions

11.5 Statutes (Laws and Acts)

11.6 Legislative Materials

11.7 Administrative and Executive Materials

11.8 Patents

11.9 Constitutions and Charters

11.10 Treaties and International Conventions

12. Publication Process

Preparing for Publication

12.1 Adapting a Dissertation or Thesis Into a Journal Article

12.2 Selecting a Journal for Publication

12.3 Prioritizing Potential Journals

12.4 Avoiding Predatory Journals

Understanding the Editorial Publication Process

12.5 Editorial Publication Process

12.6 Role of the Editors

12.7 Peer Review Process

12.8 Manuscript Decisions

Manuscript Preparation

12.9 Preparing the Manuscript for Submission

12.10 Using an Online Submission Portal

12.11 Writing a Cover Letter

12.12 Corresponding During Publication

12.13 Certifying Ethical Requirements

Copyright and Permission Guidelines

12.14 General Guidelines for Reprinting or Adapting Materials

12.15 Materials That Require Copyright Attribution

12.16 Copyright Status

12.17 Permission and Fair Use

12.18 Copyright Attribution Formats

During and After Publication

12.19 Article Proofs

12.20 Published Article Copyright Policies

12.21 Open Access Deposit Policies

12.22 Writing a Correction Notice

12.23 Sharing Your Article Online

12.24 Promoting Your Article

Back Matter

Credits for Adapted Tables, Figures, and Papers

References

Index