apa 6th edition research paper

APA Research Paper Formatting: APA 6th Edition Resources

• Home of APA 7th Edition Resources
• APA 6th Edition Resources

APA (American Psychological Association) style was developed by social and behavioral scientists to standardize scientific writing. It is used for term papers, research reports, empirical studies, literature reviews, theoretical articles, methodological articles, and case studies. (APA website)

Writers in the following disciplines usually use APA style:

• Social sciences- psychology, sociology, economics, criminology

*IMPORTANT NOTE: In October 2019 the American Psychological Association released the latest edition of the APA format - the 7th edition. For Spring term 2021 many instructors will have shifted to using APA 7th edition, while some may still request (or allow) students to choose APA 6th edition. It would be a good idea to verify which edition your professor will be requiring.  

As of January 2021, the APA citation generators in the Gale and Ebsco databases are formatting APA citations in 7th edition instead of 6th edition.

This Library Guide will also be updated throughout Spring 2021, to add additional resources for the 7th edition and links that should remain accessible for the 6th edition. 

ALL RESOURCES ON THIS PAGE ARE FOR APA 6TH EDITION.

FOR 7TH EDITION RESOURCES, SEE THE 7TH EDITION TAB AT THE TOP OF THIS GUIDE.

APA - Publication Manual

(In 2021 most instructors will be using the 7th edition instead.)

APA 6th ed. Template & Paper Sample

• APA 6th ed. Paper Sample (including headings)
• APA Template - 6th Edition You are going to love this! Save this template somewhere safe or e-mail it to yourself. Then resave it immediately with the name of your new document. This will keep your template safe and ready to reuse again for future assignments.

How to Use the APA Template

How Do I Write a Thesis Statement?

• Thesis Statement Help - Owl @ Purdue

Free Citation Creation Tools on the Web

• BibMe BibMe is a free automatic bibliography generator that supports MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian formatting.
• Citation Machine Select APA citation style. Then choose they type of resource to cite.
• CiteFast APA citation generator. Choose APA tab at top (if not already selected). Then select the source to be cited.
• KnightCite APA citation generator. Choose type of resource on the left.

How to Generate Citations Using CiteFast

Parenthetical References or In-text Citations

• APA Parenthetical (In-text) Citations - Purdue OWL
• APA Parenthetical (In-text) Citations - EasyBib

Everything APA - 6th Edition

• APA Style - Official 6th Edition Archive
• Purdue OWL - APA 6th ed.

APA Inclusive Language Guidelines

American Psychological Association's Inclusive Language Guidelines and related information can be found here:  https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines

• << Previous: Home of APA 7th Edition Resources
• Last Updated: Feb 21, 2024 12:13 PM
• URL: https://libguides.polk.edu/apa

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• Using Visual Media
• Organizing Your Literature Review

APA Paper Examples

Other guides, apa style blog, the apa manuals, library & research help.

• Sherrill Library: 617-349-8850
• Moriarty Library: 617-349-8070
• Text: 617-340-8008
• Research Help:  Ask Us!
• Email:  [email protected]
• Art & Design Research Email: [email protected]
• Sample APA Paper from Purdue OWL
• Microsoft Word APA Style Paper Template
• APAStyle.org The most up-to-date information from APA on all citation issues.
• APA Style Blog A searchable blog provided by the APA for guidelines on unique citation situations

For tricky APA citation problems use the APA Style Blog , which is written by the staff at APAstyle.org.

This includes information on how to cite...

• Capitalization
• Classical Works (Bible, Qur'an, Shakespeare)
• Course material
• Direct Quotations
• Facebook & Twitter, Pt. 1
• Facebook & Twitter, Part II: Reference List Entries and In-Text Citations
• Facebook: Fan Pages, Group Pages, and Profile Information
• Secondary sources
• Website material

• << Previous: Organizing Your Literature Review
• Last Updated: Mar 17, 2024 1:40 PM
• URL: https://research.lesley.edu/apa-6

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APA Style 6th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes
• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation
• Conference Presentations
• Course Documents
• Social Media
• Government Documents
• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• Additional Resources

Sample Reference Page

• Generic Example
• Identified Reference Types
• Formatting Rules

• References cited in text must appear in the reference list and vice versa (exception for personal communication which is not included in a Reference list).
• Make sure that all citation information (names of authors, titles, volume and issue numbers, edition number, page numbers, city and state name, publisher name and location information) is correct.
• When listing titles, the only words you should capitalize are the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle (if there is one), and proper nouns (Russia, Eleanor Roosevelt).  The only exception to this rule is when you list the titles of magazines, newspapers, or academic journals that contain the articles you’re quoting.  In these cases, use “headline” capitalization (meaning you capitalize all words except articles, conjunctions, and prepositions).  See examples below for clarification
• The following should be italicized:  Titles of books, ebooks, newspapers, journals, magazines, movies, dissertation/thesis, films, videos, television series, podcasts, YouTube videos, artwork, maps, music albums and unpublished manuscripts.  Additionally, volumes of journals are also italicized.
• Reference lists must be double-spaced , with a hanging indent:
• The following cities can be listed without a state because they are well known for publishing: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Jerusalem, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Tokyo, Vienna.

Order of References in Reference List

• Alphabetize letter by letter
• Alphabetize prefixes such as Mc and Mac literally
• Alphabetize surnames that contain articles and prepositions (de, la, du, von, etc.) according to the rules of the language of origin
• Alphabetize items with numerals as if the numerals were spelled out
• Alphabetize group authors such as associations or agencies by the first significant word of the name, and use the full official name, not an acronym
• If the author is designated as Anonymous, then the entry is alphabetized as if Anonymous were a true name
• If there is no author, the entry is alphabetized by the first significant word in the title
• << Previous: Additional Resources
• Last Updated: Sep 22, 2022 11:20 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/APA-citation-style

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

APA Changes 6th Edition

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APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (6 th ed., 2 nd printing).

Note:  This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here .

The American Psychological Association (APA) updated its style manual in the summer of 2009. This resource presents the changes made between the fifth and sixth editions. Please note that the first printing of the APA sixth edition contained misprints; if you are using the APA manual, make sure you are using at least the second printing of the sixth edition. Traditionally, psychologists were the main users of APA, but recently, students and writers in other fields began using APA style. Therefore, the sixth edition was written with a broader audience in mind. The changes made to the sixth edition reflect this broader audience. This resource was created following the APA manual’s “What’s New in APA,” is organized according to the APA manual chapters, and highlights updates to the sixth edition that most concern student writers instead of those interested in publishing manuscripts. For a more complete discussion of the changes, please visit this site .

Levels of Heading

Headings are used to help guide the reader through a document. The levels are organized by levels of subordination, and each section of the paper should start with the highest level of heading.

Fifth Edition (Section 3.31 in the APA manual)

Sixth edition (3.03).

For example, in a scientific report following APA style, a report contains three sections: Method, Results, and Discussion. Each of these sections start with level 1 headings:

Methods (Level 1)

Site of Study (Level 2)

Participant Population (Level 2)

Teachers. (Level 3)

Students. (Level 3)

Results (Level 1)

Spatial Ability (Level 2)

Test one. (Level 3)

Teachers with experience. (Level 4)

Teachers in training. (Level 4)

Test two. (Level 3)

Kinesthetic Ability (Level 2)

Reducing Bias in Language (3.11)

Using precise language is expected in scientific writing, and the sixth edition offers new ways in which to talk about research participants (note that “subjects” is still an acceptable term to use, but “participants” is more representative of the individuals’ roles in the research project).

Refer to participants at the appropriate level of specificity. The manual provides the example of using "women and men" to refer to all human beings instead of only using man. "Man" is appropriate to use when referring to one man, but not when referring to a population that includes men and women.  The APA Style Blog also includes a page that discusses the use a singular “they.” You can find it here .

Refer to participants how they wish to be called. Try to avoid labels if possible, but if this is not avoidable, be respectful. Focus on the people and not the label. For example, instead of labeling a group “the elderly" or "the arthritic," labels in which individuals are lost, try “older adults" or "a woman with arthritis."

Acknowledge participants’ participation while still following the rules in your field. For example, a cognitive psychology student might use the term “subjects” in her research report, but a nursing student might use the term “patients” to refer to those who participated in his research. Whatever term you choose to use, be sure you are consistent throughout your paper and with your field’s guidelines.

The Mechanics of Style

Spacing (4.01). Regarding punctuation in manuscript drafts, APA suggests using two spaces after periods ending sentences to aid readability.

One space: “Previous research shows that patients are interested in palliative care. This research project explores how to discuss palliative care with patients.

Two spaces: “Previous research shows that patients are interested in palliative care.  This research project explores how to discuss palliative care with patients.

Approximations (4.31-32). Use words to express approximations of days, months, and year.

I started spelunking about four years ago.

Reporting statistics (4.35, 44, and 10). Use a zero before the decimal point with numbers less than one when the statistic can be greater than one.

Do not use a zero before the decimal point when the number cannot be greater than one.

Include effect sizes and confidence intervals with statistics. This will allow the reader to more fully understand the conducted analyses.

Use brackets to group together confidence interval limits in both the body text and tables (5.15).

95% Cls [-7.2, 4.3], [9.2, 12.4], and [-1.2, -0.5]” (p. 94)

Displaying Results

The sixth edition includes a section (5.01) on the purpose of displaying data. This section can help you decide when and how to display your data. For example, your data might show that you are exploring data and information, or your data may serve a storage purpose for later retrieval. More than likely, though, your data will serve either a communication purpose to show you have discovered meaning in data and you want to show/communicate to others this meaning. Figures. Figures include graphs, charts, maps, drawings, and photographs. As a general rule, only include figures when they add to the value of the paper. If the figure merely repeats what is written in the paper, do not include it, as it does not add any new information to the paper. The sixth edition also emphasizes the importance of clearly labeling electrophysiological, radiological, and genetic data (sections 5.26 – 5.28 in the Publication Manual).

Direct Quotations (6.01-21)

The sixth edition provides explicit rules for direct quotations and states that you must credit the source when “paraphrasing, quoting an author directly, or describing an idea that influenced your work” (p. 170). If the quotation is less than 40 words, incorporate the quotation into the text and place quotation marks round the quotation. Cite the source immediately after the quotation and continue with the sentence.

Porter (1998) has stated that “The internetworked classroom has the potential (not yet realized) to empower students” (p. 5), and this research project examines this potential.

If the quotation you are using falls at the end of the sentence, enclose the quotation with quotation marks without including the quotation’s original punctuation. Here’s a sentence as it appears in the original text:

“Semantic frames/domains represent one of the two major organizing principles for conceptual structure” (Croft & Cruse, 2004, p. 32).

Here’s what the sentence looks like when quoted within a text:

In arguing for frame semantics, Croft and Cruse (2004) asserted, “Semantic frames/domains represent one of the two major organizing principles for conceptual structure” (p. 32).

If the quotation has more than 40 words, use a block quotation. Begin the quotation on a new line and indent a half-inch from the left margin. Double-space the entire quotation, and at the end of the quotation, provide citation information after the final punctuation mark.

John Nicholson (1820) anticipated this effect when discussing farming methods in the nineteenth century:

Perhaps it would be well, if some institution were devised, and supported at the expense of the State, which would be so organized as would tend most effectually to produce a due degree of emulation among Farmers, by rewards and honorary distinctions conferred by those who, by their successful experimental efforts and improvements, should render themselves duly entitled to them. (p. 92)

The Reference List

References that appear in the text must appear in the references list in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, with the exception of personal communication; only cite personal communication in the text, not in the reference list. Electronic sources (6.31). Because electronic publishing has become a standard in research, the sixth edition provides an overview of electronic sources and how to reference them, specifically with URLs and DOIs. URLs, more commonly known as a web address, locate information housed on the Internet. The fifth edition specified that references to electronic sources should refer to the article’s or document’s URL. However, they are prone to “breaking” or deleting, and to resolve issues associated with the unstable nature of URLs, publishers have started using DOIs with articles. For more details on how to cite electronic sources with following the sixth edition, consult your APA manual or the OWL’s resource on citing electronic sources . While citing from a webpage, you may not be able to find a page number to refer to, i.e., there is no pagination. Instead, refer to the paragraph number from which you are citing where you would usually insert a page number by using “para.” instead of “p.”. Be sure to include the author’s/s’ name/s and year, too, if applicable.

“The Purdue University Writing Lab and Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) assist clients in their development as writers—no matter what their skill level—with on-campus consultations, online participation, and community engagement” (Purdue OWL, 2010, “Mission,” para. 1).

“Mission” is used here to refer to the section in which this quote was found.

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