Guidelines for Authors
according to the
Publication Manual
of the American Psychological Association
Fifth Edition

Order of References in the Reference List

• Alphabetize letter by letter – Brown precedes Browning.
• Alphabetize the prefixes literally – MacDowell precedes McDowell.
• Order same author with the earliest date first:
• Brown, L. S. (1996).
• Brown, L. S. (1999).
• Order one-author entries before multiple-author entries:
• Allen, L. J. (2001).
• Allen, L. J, & Brown, J. G. (1999).
• Order references by the same author in a year as follows:
• Green, T. L. (1999a).
• Green, T. L. (1999b).

General Forms - (note punctuation, spacing, capitalization, and italics.)

• Periodical

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author C. C. (1994). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx.

• Nonperiodical

Author, A. A. (1994). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

• Part of nonperiodical

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1994). Title of chapter. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Location: Publisher.

• Online periodical

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2000, May). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx. Retrieved month day, year, from source (e.g., from http://www.abc.org).

• Online document

Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work. Retrieved month day, year, from source.

• Article, no author

The new health care lexicon. (1993, August/September). Health Care Newsletter, x, xx-xx. (This would be alphabetized with the first significant word, new.)

• Newspaper, no author

New drug appears. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, p. A12

• Citation (within text) of a work discussed in a secondary source

Abington and McCarthy study (as cited in Brown, Green, & White, 1993)

• Citation for above (within reference list)

Brown, B., Green, A. W., & White, A. M. (1993). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, x-xx.

• Document available on organization Web site

Mitstifer, D. I. (n.d.). Kappa Omicron Nu: Making a learning community. Retrieved November 19, 2000, from Kappa Omicron Nu Web site: http://www.kon.org/lc.html

Manuscript Preparation

·        Author’s responsibilities – proofread the manuscript and prepare a cover letter to accompany the submitted manuscript.

·        Paper – print on one side only of 8 ½ x 11 paper.

·        Typeface – 12-pt Times Roman or 12-pt Courier (serif typeface is preferred because it improves readability.

·        Double-spacing – this aids readability and editing.

·        Margins – leave at least 1 in. at the top, bottom, left, and right of every page.

·        Order of pages – title page, abstract, text, references, appendixes, author note, footnotes, tables, figure captions, figures.

·        Page numbers and headers – use a running title (partial title) and page number on each page, flush right.

·        Paragraphs and Indentation – indent the first line of every paragraph about ½ inch.

·        Headings – three levels

• Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
• Flush left, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Side Heading
• Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

·        Spacing and punctuation – space once after all punctuation as follows:

• After commas, colons, and semicolons
• After punctuation marks at the ends of sentences
• After periods that separate parts of a reference citation
• After the periods of the initials in personal names
• Do not space after internal periods in abbreviations (e.g., a.m., i.e., U.S.)

·        Seriation

• Seriation within a paragraph or sentence, use lowercase letters (not italicized) in parenthesis – xxxxxxxxx (a) xxxxxxxxxxx, (b) xxxxxxxxxx, and (c)xxxxxxxxxxx.
• Seriation of separate paragraphs (itemized conclusions or steps) – Begin with paragraph indent, number each paragraph with an arabic numeral, and type second and succeeding lines flush left, followed by a period.
• Use comma between elements (including before and and or) in a series of three or more items.

·        Short Quotations

• Quotations of fewer than 40 words should be incorporated into the text and enclosed by double quotation marks.

·        Long Quotations

• Display quotations of 40 or more words in a double spaced block of lines with no quotation marks. Indent block ½ in.

For further information, consult the following publication:

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5^th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.