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How to Write an Academic Research Paper

A step-by-step guide to the research and writing process.

What is the APA Style?

The APA citation style is a set of rules created by the American Psychological Association.  Generally, this style is used by the social sciences to cite sources in papers, essays, etc.

APA Style Manual

APA's "Core Elements"

Though not labeled as such, APA citations are composed of 4 core elements:  who, when, what, where.

who -- author field

when -- date field (in parentheses)

what -- title of the source

where -- where the source lives

Example:

Anderson, A. K. (2005). Affective influences on the attentional dynamics supporting awareness. Journal of  Experimental Psychology: General, 154, 258-281. doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.134.2.258

Who = Anderson, A. K.

When = (2005)

What = Affective influences on the attentional dynamics supporting awareness.

Where = Journal of  Experimental Psychology: General, 154, 258-281. doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.134.2.258

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • To see an example of a paper in APA style, go here.
  • The citations list is called References.
  • Reference list entries are alphabetized by author's last name.  If there is no author, the entry is alphabetized by title.
  • Entries are double spaced.
  • The first line of an entry is set against the left margin. Subsequent lines are indented using the hanging indent format.
  • For articles and other documents that are online, the URL is replaced with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), if one is available.  The DOI provides an persistent (unchanging) link to the document's location on the Web.
  • For electronic journal sources without a DOI, the URL used in the "Retrieved from" field is the URL for the journal's home page
  • The APA style does not allow source footnotes or end notes.
  • The APA style does not use bibliographies at all.
  • Initials are used for authors' and editors' first and middle names.
  • The format of reference titles varies depending on "independence" of source and on location (text vs. references list)

Formatting the Hanging Indent

Formatting the hanging indent with Word:

[1] Select the text you would like to format (you can select your entire list of citations, for example, to format all at once)

[2] From the Home tab in Word, select the arrow next to Paragraph

[3] Next, under Special, select Hanging

[4] Click OK.  Your selected text will now be formatted with a hanging indent.

Formatting the hanging indent with Google docs:

To see how to format the hanging indent using Google Docs, see this tutorial.