definition of terms in research apa format

APA Style Guide: Terms & Definitions

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Abstract:  a brief summary of an information source, such as a journal article or paper. An abstract appears at the beginning of the work, and it outlines the work's key points and arguments.

Citation :  a quotation from or a reference to a book, paper, author, etc.Citations are used in the body of your paper to tell your readers the source of the information that you are quoting and give credit to authors for their original ideas. 

Journal:  a type of perioda quote or a reference to a book, article, passage, or other text or author; in academic writing, citations are typically used in defense of an argument.ical which is usually considered more scholarly than a popular magazine. Journals contain scholarly articles, they are often published by academic associations, and their subject matter is specific to certain fields of study.

Magazine:  a type of periodical which is generally not scholarly in nature and which may or may not have an author.

Encyclopedia:  a general information resource that contains articles on many subjects. An encyclopedia can be generalized, and provide information on many subjects, or it may be subject specific, and provide detailed information on one subject.

Periodical:  a magazine, journal, newsletter, or other annual publication that is published at least 3 times a year.

Reference:  references are similar to citations, but they provide more complete information about the sources that you have cited so that your readers can more easily locate the sources if they need to. Think about a reference as pointing (or referring) to another source. References do not appear in the body of your writing, but are shown in a complete reference list at the end of your paper.

• A  reference list  is a list of the all the sources that you have cited in your paper.

Style Guide : a set of guidelines governing writing and formatting that is designed to provide uniformity in the style of writing, particularly academic or scholarly writing. A style guide makes it easier to read and understand academic writing.

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APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

Apa 7th edition, what is the purpose, quick links.

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APA Publications in the Library

This guide pertains to the 7th edition of the APA Manual.

This guide is designed to support the citation and reference needs of USC students, staff, and faculty.  The 7th edition of the manual does make distinctions between formatting certain components for academic use over publication.  This guide will distinguish student/academic formatting where applicable. 

This guide is designed as a "quick" reference to common APA citation, reference and formatting criteria.  When in doubt, we encourage users to consult with the APA publication manual or APA website for further clarification as the authority on formatting.

Attribution for guide: Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

What is the purpose of citations?

Citations help readers locate your sources. They help to continue the scholarly conversation. To learn more about how citations can help you avoid plagiarism, view this interactive tutorial: 

USC Library Lessons: Avoiding Plagiarism through Citations

When considering citations and references for your papers, you can ask yourself, "could someone find this information in the future?"

A client's personal file would not need a citation because your reader cannot go find that information again.  Census statistics would require a citation because your reader could go locate that information again.

APA requires FOUR ELEMENTS of every citation:

• Who- Author of content
• When- Date content was published
• What- Title of content
• Where- Publication information. This can be the website you got it from or the journal or book's publication information.

If any of the elements listed above are unavailable, check out "Missing Reference Information" from APA for more information.

• APA Style Website As part of our Style and Grammar Guidelines, we explain the basics of paper format, grammar, punctuation, in-text citations, references, bias-free language, and more. Much of what you used to find on the sixth edition blog, you can now find on the APA Style website.
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• Owl Purdue 7th Edition Style Guide and Formatting Writing guide from Owl Purdue covering the 7th edition of the APA Manual
• Quick Reference Guide Quick guide on how to identify components to configure a reference for Journal article, book, and chapter from an edited book.
• Annotated Sample Student Paper Sample student paper with formatting annotations.
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• Annotated Sample Professional Paper Sample professional paper with formatting annotations
• Sample professional paper
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APA Referencing: Glossary of Terms

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• Glossary of Terms

A   B   C    D    E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R    S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

A brief summary of a longer written work giving an overview of its purpose and content. An abstract is usually found at the start of scholarly papers or research.

alphabetical

In A to Z order. In APA, the Reference List places all works cited in the paper in one continuous alphabetical listing by the author's surname, and where no author is given, by the first main word of the title (skip over insignificant words in the title like "a" or "the").

A symbol (&) representing the word "and". In APA the ampersand is used between two or three authors' names in an in text citation if they are cited within closed parentheses. For example: (Curtis & Menzies, 2010) or (Duncan, Curtis & Menzies, 2010). If not enclosed in parentheses then use the full "and". For example: Curtis and Menzies (2005).

(go to top)

The American Psychological Association, a United States professional organisation for psychologists. APA publishes the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , which sets out APA Style, rules and conventions of a wide range of aspects of scholarly publishing, including how to cite sources.

bibliography

A structured list of relevant sources for background or for further reading on a topic. Unlike a Reference List, a Bibliography is not limited to resouces you have cited in your paper.

block quotation

A long (40 words or more) quotation which is not enclosed in quotation marks. Instead, the text is indented from the normal marginline by 1.25 cm. from start to finish to form a block. It should start on a new line and be double spaced, as is all the text in your paper. It should end with an appropriate in-text citation following the quotation's finishing punctuation.

A line in a newspaper or magazine article stating the writer's name and possibly their position/role. The byline usually is placed after the title and before the main body of the article.

The statement of a specific source (published or unpublished) used in research. In APA the citation is more commonly called and in-text citation and gives a brief or shorthand indication of the source, following certain rules. The full details of the source used are given in a reference at the end of the paper.

citation management software (reference management software, citation generators)

Citation management software is used to help construct reference lists and citations in various styles. There are simple tools which require data to be entered into various fields (author, title, etc.) along with the format and citation style name (APA, Harvard etc) and the software will generate a fomatted reference list (and sometmes in-text) citation. More sophisticated tools will allow you to maintain an account where you can gather, store, edit, retrieve, share and use citations as needed. Others allow addition of footnotes and note-taking features; some have free iphone apps where you scan the ISBN barcode of a book or type the source's name and a citation is created.

Some software is commercial and made available to students by their academic institution (Refworks and  Endnote are common examples).

There are also many open source (freely available) tools. You should always take care that the citations produced by these tools exactly match the rules required by your teachers.

common knowledge

This refers to information that does not have be cited because it is well known and undisputed. Definitions for this term can vary but generally include include:  - undisputed facts that can be found in a number of different authoritative references (like a dictionary or encyclopedia), such as historical or geographical facts. You do not have to cite these even if you did not know the fact without first looking it up.  - proverbs, sayings, folklore (myths, fairytales)  - commonsense observations  - well established, widely accepted facts within a specific profession, discipline or subject area. When in doubt, cite it.

  Recognising common knowledge (University of Technology, Sydney)

continuously paged/continuous paging (pagination)  

A journal with continuous pagination is one in print (hard copy) that has page numbers continuing unbroken through each issue of a complete volume, as if they were all one publication. For example if issue 1 was paged 1-55, issue 2 might  be paged 56-123 and so on. The issue number of a journal is not recorded in a reference list citation if the journal is continuously paged.

database (see also online database)

A storage facility containing large amounts of information, organised for quick retrieval, usually refering to an online storage system.

direct quote / quotation

The exact wording as used by the author in a source. Direct quotations must always be cited and be incorporated fluently into your own expression. The way they are formatted depends on how many words are quoted ( see block quotation and double quotation marks ).

Direct quotations should be used less than indirect quotations or paraphrasing. It is better to use a direct quote where the author's own wording is particularly powerful or effective.

Paraphrase or quotation? - Language and Learning Online. Monash University

Digital Object Identifier (DOI) 

Version 6 of APA Style requires that electronic items, including articles retrieved via a library database, must cite the article DOI in the reference. The database name is no longer required in the citation. A URL should only be given when no DOI is provided.The Digital Object Identifier is a unique string of numbers (and sometime letters) for identifying content, such an a journal article, in a digital environment.

Sample DOI : 10.1375/brim.11.2.197 Information about an article, including its URL, may change over time but its DOI name remains the same. The article is registered with a DOI at the time it is published. An article can be found by entering the DOI number into a DOI resolver , not by pasting it into the address bar of your browser as you would a URL. DOI resolvers DOI.org crossref.org The DOI may be found in the database citation of an article, or at the start or end of the article itself.

domain / domain name

Part of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or web address. http://libguides.gippstafe.vic.edu.au is a URL. libguides.gippstafe.vic.edu.au is the domain name (sometimes called the host name) and indicates what entity hosts the site .edu.au the domain name extension or top level domain.

Domain extensions can be used to help decide if your resource passes the CRAP test. They can give a broad indication of the purpose and authority of the site. Common examples are:  .com  commercial  .org  non-profit organisation  .net   network  .edu  education  .gov  government

double quotation marks

Punctuation symbols " " most commonly used to indicate text that has been written exactly as it was by the author in the source you are citing. Double quotation marks fully enclose quotes of under 40 words. Once you open your quotation marks, you must close them, even if you do not quote a complete sentence.

Also used to indicate a title name mentioned in-text where there is no author.

 example: ("Raising standards", 2009)

Do not use double quotation marks for block quotes (over 40 words) except to indicate another quote within the block quote.

Do not use for titles in your reference list.

When do you use double quotation marks? ( APA style FAQs)

The same title (usually book) may be printed  in different versions or forms . For example there may be a revised edition, an annotated edition, or a series of numbered editions. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is currently in its sixth edition.  The edition statement helps identify the exact version of the title you are citing

Edition information is given only in the reference list citation, in abbreviated form. For example

The Blackwell dictionary of cognitive psychology. (1961). (3rd ed.). Oxford, England: Blackwell.

Spradley, B.W. (Ed.) (2006). Contemporary community nursing. Boston: Little, Brown.

Klaassen, C. D., & Rozman, K. (1991). Absorption, distribution and excretion of toxicants. In M. O.Amdur, J. Doull

          & C. D. Klaassen (Eds.), Casarett and Doull’s toxicology: The basic science of poisons (pp. 50-87). New

          York: Pergamon Press.

Three spaced dots . . . used to indicate that there has been an omission (plural elipses). Used in a Reference List entry for 8 or more authors. Also used when using only a fragment of a sentence in a direct quotation.

end-text reference 

A citation appearing in the reference list, at the end of a paper or essay .

An abbreviation of et alia, a Latin phrase meaning “and others.” In APA style et al.is used to indicate that there are more authors without having to list them all each time.

For works with 3-5 authors, list all names the first time, then use the first author only and et al. in all subsequent citations of that work. For six or more authors, use the first author only followed by et al in all citations, including the first one. It should be written in lower case, not italicised and have a full stop after the al. For an in-text citation, where a publication date is available, it should follow et al. (Curtis et al., 2010) unless you are incorporating author's names into your own text. For example:  Curtis et al. (2010) discovered a strong correlation between...

A specified way of organising information. In APA Style, the citations and reference lists must be formatted in a prescribed way. There are also rules for setting out the actual paper (essay or assignment) , such as width of margin, size and type of font and pagination.  

hanging indent

Text formatting for a reference list in APA has the first line of each individual reference postioned on the left margin but all following lines are  indented by 1.25 cm. creating a "hanging indent" .

indirect quotation

See paraphrasing

in-text citation

Whether you are paraphrasing or directly quoting a source, you must indicate this at the point directly following the quotation or paraphrase in the text of your assignment. In-text citations will typically comprise the author's surname and date of publishing, e.g. (Smith, 2007). Page number(s) will also be provided if it is a direct quotation, e.g. (Jones, 2010, p. 189). Unlike Reference List citations, the format of in-text citations does not vary according to the type of material quoted or paraphrased, so in-text citations for a book, journal or online source will all have the same look. 

italics/italicised

A typeface where characters slant to the right  such as these words . Italicised text helps to distinguish certain words from others within the text. It may also be used within a quotation you are using to add your own emphasis. Note that you  must indicate that you have done this by including [emphsis added] after the italicised words. In APA citations, italics are always used for titles of works in a reference list and for perodical volume number infomation.

literature review

A critical evaluation of published material. Literature reviews typically document "the progress of research toward clarifying a problem" ( Publication manual of the American Psychological Association , 2009).  

  This is defined by Macmillandictionary.com as "a formal piece of writing, or a short book on a particular subject" (2010).

online database (see also database)

An online storage facility containing large amounts of information which is organised for quick retrieval.

paraphrasing

Parentheses.

Rounded brackets or punctuation marks, always used in a pair () to enclose information in citations.

peer reviewed (see also refereed publication)

A book or other published source which has been read and checked by authorities other than the author for the accuracy and reliability of the information it contains.

Publications which may also be called serials or journals. Serials are works published across  regular time intervals such as newspapers, magazines or journals. Usually, periodicals consist of a collection of articles from various authors. They may be scholarly or popular.  Because of their regular publication intervals, periodicals can be a good source of up current/recent information compared to books.

primary source

Refers to material that comes directly from the originator, that is, the person who first presents the idea, theory, model, or definition in question, as distinct from those who later comment on the material. It is preferable to quote from primary sources wherever possible.

quotation (see also direct quotation, double quotation marks, single quotation marks)

Reference list.

This is the comprehensive list of sources you will have quoted or paraphrased in your assignment, appearing on a separate final page. It lists all works alphabetically by author's surname, or where there is no author, by the first proper word in the title. Works you have consulted but not quoted or paraphrased are not included in the Reference List; a Reference List entry will always have at least one corresponding in-text citation. APA prescribes strict conventions for Reference List citations with regard to format, spacing, capitalisation, punctuation, font, the elements to be included in the citation for each type of source used and the order in which to present those elements. The type of source used is identified by these distinguishing features.

refereed publication (see also peer reviewed)

A book or other published source which has been read and checked by authorities other than the author for accuracy and reliability of the information it contains. 

scholarly journal

A journal with articles written by scholars or those with specialist knowledge in the field being written about. A scholarly journal is usually, but not necessarily peer-reviewed.

secondary citation

If you are using a quotation that already has another quotation within it, you will be citing a source within a source. This is known as a secondary citation and it will sit inside the primary, or overall citation. It must be quoted exactly as shown in the primary citation. Cite only the primary citation in your Reference List.

secondary source

Material which comments on a primary source rather than producing its own material, for example a report on findings of a study would be regarded as a secondary source, whereas the study itself would be the primary source. It is preferable to use primary sources when quoting where possible.

self-plagiarism

The practice of resubmitting one's own previously-used work for publication or in the case of a student, handing in work in part or in full, that has been submitted previously for another separate assessment task, as if it were new. Self-plagiarism is regarded in the same way as plagiarism of another's work.

single quotation marks

Also called inverted commas. Single quotation marks are used to identify a quotation within a quotation.

A "work" either published or unpublished which can be quoted / paraphrased by people other than the author or originator.

Abbreviations

For clarity in your writing, explain abbreviated technical terms the first time you use them rather than assume the reader knows the term.

For example:

Aortic Valve Incompetence (AVI)

Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS)

Commonly used abbreviations which are listed in the dictionary as if they were a word can be used with out explanation.

APA Abbreviations - A helpful explanation of the use of standard abbreviations in APA.  Purdue Online Writing Lab,  Purdue University.

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Data Point: A data point is one particular number or item from a data set.

Data Set: A data set is simply a group of numbers. In formal mathematics, data sets are distinguished from each other by using brackets. A more formal mathematical definition allows a data set to contain other things besides numbers (such as letters, items, or even concepts and ideas). The following data set contains only the numbers 2, 5, and 7.

Distribution: A distribution is simply how the data points are clustered. Are they spread apart evenly, or do most of them cluster in the middle and fall off towards the edge like a bell-shaped curve? Two data sets may have the same mean or median, but having different distributions gives them radically different properties.

Mean: The mean (or arithmetic mean) is what most people are referring to when the say average. It is simply the total sum of all the numbers in a data set, divided by the number of different data points.

Median: The middle data point in a data set.

Mode: The most common data point in a data set. This is the value that occurs with greatest frequency.

Population: A population is all of the members contained within a group. In statistics, the population is the group you want your results to generalize about. For example, if you are studying a particular species of fish. such as a Yellow Fin Tuna, then your population is all Yellow Fin Tuna. Your population would not be all fish, nor would your population be all the different species of tuna.

Sample: A sample is all of the units or members that you have studied, drawn from a larger population. In our tuna example, researchers may have found 50 particular yellow fin tuna to study. The sample therefore would consist of 50 yellow fin tuna. As a researcher, you hope that your sample is as representative of your population as possible. The closer the sample represents the population, the stronger and more accurate an inference drawn from the sample will be. This is why you want a large sample to study from.

T-test: A t-test is a common statistical test used to compare two groups, typically two groups' means (the difference of two means divided by a measure of variability). A t-test takes into account the number of units in the sample.

APA (American Psychological Association) format is a format and style used for writing academic documents such as scholarly books and journal articles. It is commonly used within the field of behavioral and social sciences for citing sources. The guidelines were developed to aid reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences, for clarity of communication, and for “word choice that best reduces bias in language”. The guidelines for reducing bias in language have been updated over the years and provide actionable guidance for writing about age, race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality.

APA format refers to a citation style that is widely used by hundreds of scientific journals, including public health and medical journals. It is also utilized in many textbooks, and in academia more broadly. 

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Teaching resources, more terms starting with a, ability grouping, above-level testing.