PROPER USE OF APA REFERENCING STYLE

There are two main parts when using APA referencing style: The in-text citations within the text of your paper and the reference list at the end of your paper.

1. In-text Citations
   
   • APA is an “author-date” style, the author(s) and the year of publication are given in round brackets, separated by a comma (Manje, 2021).
   • In-text citations, when used in a paper and on the references page, should always
   • In-text citations should be used anytime you use information from a
   • Put quotation marks around direct quotations and add the in-text citation and page
   • Include page, chapter or section numbers only when you need to be specific, such as when you are quoting, paraphrasing or For example: (Manje, 2021, pp. 11-13).

Citing Two Authors:

The surname of both authors is stated with either ‘and’ or an ampersand (&) between. For example:

Manje and Wamalwa (2021) state… or … (Manje & Wamalwa, 2021).

Citing Three, Four or Five Authors:

For the first cite, all authors’ surnames should be listed:

Manje, Otibine, and Simiyu (2021) state… or …

(Manje, Otibine, & Simiyu, 2021).

Further cites can be shortened to the first author’s name followed by et al:

Manje et al (2021) state… or … (Manje et al, 2021).

Six or More Authors:

Only the first author’s surname should be stated followed by et al, see the above example.

Citing a Work with No Author(s):

If the author is unknown, the first few words of the reference should be used. This is usually the title of the source. If no author is named, the title of the work should come first.

If this is the title of a book, periodical, brochure or report, is should be italicized. For example:

(A guide to citation, 2021).

If this is the title of an article, chapter or web page, it should be in quotation marks. For example:

(“APA Citation”, 2021).

Citing Authors with Multiple Works from One Year:

Should be cited with a, b, c etc. following the date. These letters are assigned within the reference list, which is sorted alphabetically by the surname of the first author. For example:

(Manje, 2017a) or (Manje, 2017b)

Citing Multiple Works in One Parentheses:

If these works are by the same author, the surname is stated once followed by the dates in order chronologically. For instance:

Manje (2007, 2013, 2017) or (Manje, 2007, 2013, 2017)

If these works are by multiple authors, then the references are ordered alphabetically by the first author separated by a semicolon as follows:

(Manje & Wamalwa 2017; Wayong’o, Siamba, & Kibanda, 2015).

Citing a Group or Organization or Corporate Body:

For the first cite, the full name of the group must be used. Subsequently this can be shortened. For example:

First cite: (International Citation Association, 2015) Further Cites: (Citation Association, 2015)

Citing a Secondary Source:

The original author and date should be stated first followed by ‘as cited in’ followed by the author and date of the secondary source. For example:

Lorde (1980) as cited in Manje (2017) or (Lorde, 1980, as cited in Manje, 20

Reference List

• Contains all the information required to follow up your source
• Be on a new page at the end of the document right after your conclusion
• The list should be titled “References”, in title case, centered and in bold
• Be arranged alphabetically (A – Z) by name of first author (or title if the author isn’t known, in this case “a, an and the” should be ignored).
• Should not be numbered
• If there are multiple works by the same author these are ordered by date, if the works are in the same year they are ordered alphabetically by the title and are allocated a letter (a, b, c etc.) after the date
• Contain full references for all in-text references used

How to Construct Reference Lists for Specific Resources

Different types of information resources may be consulted when one is writing an academic paper. These may include books, journal articles, assignments, audio- visual materials, book chapters, conference papers, e- books, e-journals, theses, newspaper articles, electronic or internet documents, images, works of art, music, social media posts, podcasts, study guides databases etc.

Here is how to construct reference lists for some of the most common reference sources:

Hardcopy: Manje, I. (2021). Proper use of APA referencing style. Bungoma: Kibabii University Press.

E-book: Manje, I. (2021). Proper use of APA referencing style.

Bungoma: Kibabii University Press.

1.  Citing a Journal Article (Hardcopy & Electronic)

 Hardcopy: Manje, I. W. (2017). Citation: Why is it so important? Mendeley Journal, 67(2), 81-95

E-journal: Manje, I. W. (2017). Citation: Why is it so important? Mendeley Journal, 67(2), 81-95. Retrieved from       https://www.mendeley.com/reference- management/reference-manager

2.  Citing a Newspaper Article (Hardcopy & Electronic)

Author surname, initial(s). (Year, Month Day). Title. Title of Newspaper, column/section, p. or pp.

Hardcopy: Manje, I. W. (2017). Changes to citation formats shake the research world. The Mendeley Telegraph, Research News, pp.9.

E-newspaper: Manje, I. W. (2017). Changes to citation formats shake the research world. The Mendeley Telegraph, Research News, pp.9.Retrieved from https://www.mendeley.com/reference- management/reference-manager

3.  Citing a Website

Author surname, initial(s). (Year, month day). Title. Retrieved from URL

Example:

Manje, I. W. (2017, May 21). How and when to reference.

Retrieved from https://www.howandwhentoreference.com

4.  Citing a Non-print Medium such an Image or Artwork

Millais, J. E. (1851-1852). Ophelia [painting]. Retrieved from www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia- n01506

5.  Citing a Thesis (Published and Unpublished)

Unpublished Thesis: Milnes, G. M. (1998). Adolescent depression: The use of generative instruction to increase rational beliefs  and  decrease  irrational  beliefs  and  depressed mood [Unpublished M.Appl.Psy. thesis]. Murdoch University.

Published Thesis: May, B. (2007). A survey of radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud. Canopus Publishing.

Tables in APA Format

• General format of a table should be:

1. Table number
2. Title
3. Table
4. Note if any
5. Source
   
   • Include the table number first and at the top. Table 1 is the first table discussed in the paper. Table 2 is the next table mentioned, and so on. This should be in bold.
   • Add a title under the number. Create a brief, descriptive title. Capitalize the first letter for each important Italicize the title and place it under the table number.
   • Only use horizontal
   • Limit use of cell
   • Keep the font at 12-point size and use single or double spacing. If you use single spacing in one table, make sure all of the others use single spaces as well. Keep it consistent.
   • All headings should be
   • In the first column (called the stub), center the heading, left-align the information underneath it (indent 0.15 inches if info is more than one line).
   • Information in other columns should be centered.