Introduction to Research Documentation Featuring APA Style

When you conduct secondary research, you are processing information that you discovered from other sources outside of your personal knowledge—books, articles, Web sites, conversations,

Introduction to Research Documentation Featuring APA Style

Buddy McAuthor Renton Technical College

Author Note This introduction to APA-style research is designed to acquaint the student-writer with

basic terms and practices; it is not intended as a substitute for the Publication Manual of

See back page for index and location of topics covered and additional resources

Always defer to individual assignment format requirements

However, when strict APA-compliance is required, include a formal title page with the following 4 details presented in separate lines and

in the following order:

the full title, summarizing the content of the writing author identification

institutional affiliation the phrase “Author Note,” containing clarifications, acknowledgments, or disclaimers

The first three details should be centered in the middle, upper half

of the page The fourth should be placed below them.

Note: APA prefers text to be written in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spaced Book titles receive italics.

Research is the examination of a topic to understand it and explain

its significance to your audience; it can be undertaken in a

combination of two ways: primary and secondary investigation

When you conduct primary research, you are processing information that you

discovered personally—what you have experienced, observed, measured, weighed, collected, calculated, or deduced on your own

When you conduct secondary research, you are processing information that you

discovered from other sources outside of your personal knowledge—books, articles, Web sites, conversations, TV shows, art, music—virtually any type of borrowed information can be used as a secondary information source

With both approaches, you will need to let your readers know how you know In other

words, if you use primary research, you will reveal to the readers how you are an

authority on the information, revealing your experience, education, or discoveries

With secondary research, you will identify and give credit to the source from which you

are borrowing ideas or information We refer to crediting source as citing your source.

To Cite or Not to Cite? That is your first question…

However, not all research needs to be attributed to a source There are instances when you can research secondary sources without identifying or citing where you found the information These instances are limited to the following conditions:

 Common Knowledge Even if you did not know a fact before you researched it,

common, ordinary, & undisputed facts do not need to be credited because no single source would deserve the credit

For example, even if you did not know that Thomas Hardy died in

1928, hundreds of sources will provide that same information

 Widely Circulated & Easily Verifiable Identical Information that readers could

locate in several sources does not need to be credited

In fact, the phrase “Thomas Hardy died” entered into a Google search box returned

866,000 hits; obviously not all just about the date of his death, but certainly many were Other common knowledge, widely circulated, easily verifiable sources

include…

 word definitions from college dictionaries

 facts from general encyclopedias

 facts from maps or atlases,

 current events from major newspapers or magazines

 common computer software programs for word processing or

numerical calculation, data analysis, and presentations

In other words, any applications that are similar or interchangeable, such as the Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Mac

equivalents

However, information which is specialized knowledge, difficult to verify, opinionated, and proprietary (meaning the owner-creator retains rights) needs to be cited, giving

credit to the source Such sources include the following…

 specialized text books, dictionaries, and encyclopedias, legal, technical, or medical,

for example These sources are not widely circulated.

 quotations or opinions from newspaper, magazines, journals

 obscure, controversial, or overlooked facts or events

 written and non-written information, including collaborative class work, such as lab reports, public lectures, films, music, art, audio or visual materials, cartoons, maps, statistical tables/charts/graphs

 computer programs with distinctive features that influence calculation results, such

as geographic information systems, computer algebra, data analysis, calculation, or three-dimensional visualization software

 also, non-standard graphing programs, uncommon algorithms, someone else’s computer program, or part of the program that is incorporated into your work

To Use or Not to Use? That is your next question.

All sources are not equal Before using secondary sources, be sure to evaluate them for

their appropriateness in academic and professional writing You should consider a wide variety of sources relevant to your research project, but the sources that you base your conclusions on should meet the 6-standards test:

 Authoritative Look for sources with the highest education, degree, or

credentials that are appropriate to the topic.

 Credible Look for highly regarded, reputable experts with proven records

 Current Choose the most current dates for time-sensitive topics—

especially vital in science and technology

 Objective Evaluate the integrity of the information; make sure it is free of bias, political agenda, or commercial sponsorship.

 Sufficient Ensure that information is accepted by other reputable sources

 Verifiable Select information that is not hidden, obscure, or out-of-print

Documenting your sources in APA style

Once you have selected appropriate secondary sources, you are ready to use them in your writing as long as you consistently and correctly give complete credit to the source,

which we call documenting the source Documentation is the complete written record of

secondary information used in formal—academic, business, governmental, technical,

scientific—research writing for the purposes of crediting, identifying, and locating

borrowed information from secondary sources Additionally, documentation…

 prevents your research paper from receiving an automatic failing grade

 ensures that your own research is honest and ethical

 enhances the credibility, significance, and purpose of your own writing

 demonstrates your understanding of correct research methods.

 allows writers and researchers to share and build upon borrowed ideas

 pays intellectual debt to the writers who came before you and contributed to your understanding of the topic on which you are writing

Documentation will be formatted according to style requirements relevant to the field of

writing: MLA is used in business, education, general studies, English, humanities; APA, which stands for the American Psychological Association, is used in psychology,

sociology, business, economics, nursing, medicine; CBE is used in biology, natural sciences; Chicago is used in law, linguistics; and IEEE is used in engineering

In every style, including APA, which is our current focus, documentation is a two-part system necessary for the identification and retrieval of researched information:

1 Citing / Citations In the actual written report, writers must provide

a consistent, immediate, and abbreviated credit to every borrowed idea

2 References In order to help readers exactly locate borrowed ideas that were

cited in the report, writers must present, usually in the back of the paper, a list

of all sources used, in alphabetical order, with expanded detail on publication

information

APA format is distinguished by the following features of citations and references: Citations for Paraphrases or Summaries author + date

Because dates identify how current borrowed information is, APA always include them in

every citation For research that is paraphrased, which means that you are restating,

summarizing, or interpreting another person’s ideas using your own words, include the author’s name (if an actual human is identified as the author) and publication date

immediately following the borrowed idea, inside the sentence that contains the borrowed

information

Example:

Although the presence of electromagnetic fields in the home occurs naturally, excessive amounts of exposure may present long-term health risks, especially

to young children (Reynolds, 2011)

If your sentence already includes the author’s name, include only the date immediately following the author’s name

Example:

According to Reynolds (2011), although the presence of electromagnetic fields in the home occurs naturally, excessive amounts of exposure may present long-term health risks, especially to young children

CAUTION: regardless if you are quoting or paraphrasing, all borrowed sources must

be cited to avoid charges of plagiarism Paraphrases may be reworded ideas, but as they

are borrowed concepts, they are equal to quotations and require full credit to the source

Citations for Quotes or Specific Facts

author + date + page or paragraph

If your borrowed information includes a specific quote or fact, include the relevant page

or paragraph number(s) with your citation, using these abbreviations: p (for page); and para (for paragraph).

NOTE: Be sure to place double-quotation marks at the beginning and ending of all

borrowed words and record the words verbatim—exactly as found.

Example: According to Reynolds (2011), “prolonged exposure to electromagnet

fields that produce 2.5 mG may create chronic electromagnetic

hypersensitivity in preadolsecents” (p 43)

Example citation using a quote from the author with her last name in the text:

Author + Date with page number next to the end of the quoted passage

One of the most difficult obstacles to reform is the apparent public

indifference in even debating the future of health care Many U.S citizens

seem unwilling to become advocates for their own health care options

Kate Noble (2011) observed that “52% of the respondents gave ‘no

preference’ to health care reform policy” (p 19)

Citations for Paraphrases

Here is an alternative example that paraphrases the author’s words and uses

parenthetical citation, meaning both the author and the date are enclosed in parenthesis: Author + Date

One researcher reported that about half of the respondents indicated

a lack of interest in health care policy reform policy (Noble, 2011)

In both preceding examples, the name Noble is the “guide word” to the corresponding entry located alphabetically on the back page listing the References:

References

Noble, K (2011) Response to health care policy Retrieved 2011, from National

Conference of Health Care Reform website:

http://nchcr.org/programs/esnr/public.net

Hot Research Tip: The reference above was generated by an online service offered

through our Renton Technical College Library: NoodleTools It is recommended

that you establish a NoodleTools account Details on page 7 +

What, no author? …No Problem!

Citations for Unknown Author.

Many information sources, however, do not identify a human author to cite Web pages, anonymous articles, social, business, or government agencies, for example, typically do not identify a particular human author In such cases, use the next available word or

phrase to cite in the actual paper which will also be used as the guide word to the

corresponding reference page—just as you would with a last name of a human author

Example citation with no author, using the first word of an article title from a Web page:

Several advocates of health care reform are considering more aggressive educational approaches to promoting health care awareness (“Rethinking,” para.12)

The first word of the title, “Rethinking,” is the guide word to the corresponding entry— without quotation marks—in the References:

References

Rethinking health care policy (2011, December 29) National Organization of Health

Care Reform Retrieved January 29, 2011, from http://www.healthcarereform.org

Creating a List of References Attached to the back of the written report, and labeled

with the heading References, will be a list of all works that are used in the report (with

the exception of personal communications, which are not to be included), providing detailed publication information about the borrowed sources

Note: In format a Bibliography is identical to References, but a bibliography is only a list

of sources that could be used Reference sources are actually used; in other words, they

are referred to in the written report Bibliographies are like rough drafts for the final

References page The word References should be centered above the list of sources used

References with Document Identifications or Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) In

order to protect copyright, some online materials are assigned unique alphanumeric identifiers instead of the URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) that persistently identify

sources regardless of their location on the Web APA advises that you include the

Document ID or DOI in such cases

Example APA Web reference with no author and with identifier:

Mobile phones help ease brain disease (2011) Townsville Bulletin doi:1935649671

Using the Guide Word: Connecting the Citation to its Entry in the Reference Page

For documentation to work, it must allow readers to find cited sources quickly and easily

that correspond to full entries listed in the Reference page For clarity, use signal phrases that include the first word or first name in the citation that are also arranged

alphabetically in its reference entry

Example citation in the research report and its corresponding entry:

According to Reynolds (2011), “prolonged exposure to electromagnet fields that produce 2.5 mG may create chronic electromagnetic hypersensitivity in preadolescents” (p 43)

References

Reynolds, B (2011) Electromagnetic fields inside the home:

What you need to know New York Prentice Hall

Begin Research by Creating a Working Bibliography Create a Bibliography a list of possible information sources Begin collecting

secondary sources for your bibliography that may become resources for your writing Since you won’t know right away which ideas you will keep and which you will discard,

it is a good idea to collect as many possible sources related to your topic as a starting point How to format your bibliography in proper APA style will be one of your

challenges, and the General Guidelines for Listing Sources can be found on page 16

Additionally, research-writers can rely on a variety of print and Web-based information sources for help with research documentation, particularly covering rules and models of citations and work cited entries Research-writers never have to memorize format issues

as there are plenty of helpful resources available to supply documentation information

Probably the most efficient method to create bibliographies is to access NoodleTools, an

online service which will help you generate, edit, organize, and your research projects in proper APA format, and arrange all entries into correct alphabetical order in Microsoft

Word files It will also allow you to create note cards and help you to arrange them into

an outline It will save and store all of this information, so you don’t have to worry about your computer crashing or losing your flash drive containing all of your work Because your tuition pays for this resource, you will want to take full advantage of this invaluable tool

Instructions for Navigating NoodleTools

To get started, you need to set up an account using your

RTC student identification number

1 At your computer, go to the RTC home page: http://www.rtc.edu/

2 Find the Student Services tab, scroll down and select Library

3 Select Online Databases

4 Scroll down to find and Select NoodleTools.

5 You will find yourself at this page: NoodleTools Premium and will be invited to sign

in:

6 You will next find yourself at this page: Register or Sign In.

7 First-timer users will need to select “Create Personal ID.”

You'll need your own Personal ID so that the NoodleTools system can store your work

(you'll be able to access it from any computer with this ID)

New User Registration

About You

I am a student or library patron

I am a teacher or librarian

Expected year of graduation:

Choose a Personal ID

Create a Personal ID

Sign In

You'll use this personal ID and password to access your saved work.

Personal ID: 8091234567

Password: *******

Retype password: ********

Easy Login Retrieval

Just in case you lose your personal ID or password, provide the following information so that we can identify your account and help you out

E-Mail: bmcauthor@gmail.com

Initials: BM

(e.g "JS" for John Smith)

Phone: 8486

(last 4 digits only)

Register

8 Important: If prompted for the type of account, look for and choose the most

advanced option: “An account linked to a school/library subscription or trial.”

9 At the top of your page, you will see a tool bar with the following headings:

Projects Dashboard Bibliography Notecards Paper

You will begin by selecting Bibliography.

10 To begin creating a bibliography, select appropriate options, selecting Advanced

for the most types of available citations, and give your project a title that will allow

you to access, develop, and edit it after creation

Create a New Project

Select a citation style (MLA, APA, or Chicago) and level, then enter a short description

of your topic

Citation style:

MLA

 follows the MLA Handbook, 7th ed.

APA

 follows the APA Publication Manual, 6th ed.

Chicago/Turabian

 bibliography and footnotes

 follows The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.

Citation level:

Starter

 Recommended for elementary school students

 Six basic forms

 An introduction to citing sources!

Junior

 Recommended for middle school students

 A small set of simplified forms

Advanced

 Recommended for high school, college, and beyond

 70+ citation forms, comprehensive coverage of the style guides

Description: Electromagnetic Fields

For example, "History 101 report on George Washington"

11 When you are ready to create your first bibliography entry, select the type of source that

you are using from the drop- down list of options

Cite a:

12 From there, NoodleTools will ask you to enter relevant data into the fields Be sure to examine your source material carefully to enter all information accurately, including the authors’ names, titles of the works, and spelling

*NOTE: For guidance on formatting, look to the right of the text boxes and click on

highlighted links for more details For example, “What words should be capitalized?”

13 Double-check your results Whichever method of collection you use, be sure to

make a complete entry for each secondary source exactly as it will appear on the

References page Proof read all records for APA-compliance If you enter erroneous information into NoodleTools, you will likely produce erroneous documentation

Punctuation with and without Citations: