APA Citation Guide for Dissertation

The APA citation style (7th edition) is widely used in the social sciences. Here’s a quick guide to citing sources correctly in your dissertation using APA style:

1. In-Text Citations

Basic Format: (Author, Year)
- Example: (Smith, 2020)
Direct Quote: Include page numbers when quoting directly.
- Example: (Smith, 2020, p. 45)
Multiple Authors:
- Two authors: (Smith & Johnson, 2020)
- Three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2020)

2. Reference List Format

Books:
- Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the work. Publisher.
- Example: Smith, J. D. (2020). Research methods in social science. Academic Press.
Journal Articles:
- Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume(Issue), Page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxx
- Example: Johnson, M. (2020). The impact of social media on student engagement. Journal of Education Research, 12(3), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.1234/abcde.6789
Websites:
- Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the webpage. Website name. URL
- Example: Thompson, L. (2021, June 15). Understanding the impact of climate change. Environmental Research Online. https://www.enviroresearch.com/climate-change

3. Important APA Formatting Guidelines

Hanging Indent: Use a hanging indent for each reference (where the first line is flush left, and all subsequent lines are indented).
Italics: Use italics for book titles, journal names, volume numbers, and any other longer works.
No Italics for Article Titles: The title of an article should not be italicized, but should be in sentence case (capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns).

4. Online Sources

For websites, articles, or other online sources, always include the full URL and the retrieval date if the content is likely to change over time (e.g., wikis or databases).

APA Citation Guide for Dissertation

Published by oriaku