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MSW Library Resources

Getting Started

American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for citing references in student papers in science, medical, public health, health sciences and nursing as well as the social science.

 The purpose of documentation is to:

  • Identify (cite) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay or term paper.
  • Indicate the authors or sources of these in a References list at the end of your paper.

This guide is based on the APA Manual (7th ed.) that was published in 2019.

APA's Official Resources

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

DOI logo

What is a DOI? A DOI (digital object identifier) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

NOTE: It is regarded as the most important part of the citation because it will accurately direct users to the specific article.

Think of it as a "digital fingerprint" or an article's DNA!

The rules for DOIs have been updated in the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. They should be included as URLs, rather than just the alphanumeric string.

Correct:  

  • http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
  • http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-114

Incorrect:     

  • doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-12-114
  • Retrieved from http://doi:10.1186/1471-2288-12-114

Helpful Tip!

How do I cite an article I found using an iPhone app?

Smartphones

 

It is irrelevant whether you read it on your iPhone, IPad, Android, Blackberry, MAC, laptop or in the library. Creating references is not about documenting "how" you located the information but providing the reader a direct path to the "original" source of the material.

Remember - the "iPhone app" is not the source of the article - the "journal" is your source. Cite it as you would any journal article.  

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the Himmelfarb Heath Sciences Library at George Washington University for letting UWF Libraries reuse and remix their guide on APA Citation Style.

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: APA" by Himmelfarb Reference Desk, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0