BSN HANDBOOK 2009 APPENDIX D APA WRITING GUIDELINES

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1 Introduction BSN HANDBOOK 2009 APPENDIX D APA WRITING GUIDELINES Basic Use of APA Format Tips for Writing a Professional Paper Prepared for the Finlandia University Nursing Program Using APA Publication Manual (6 th edition) c-2010 Nursing has adopted the guidelines specified in the APA Publication Manual as the standard for preparing professional nursing manuscripts. These guidelines are used for all written works for Finlandia University s Nursing Program. This guide has been prepared to help introduce nursing students to the APA format. The APA Publication Manual, 6 th edition, is on reserve in the Maki Library for your convenience. Guidelines and examples of how to use this format are also available on-line from a multitude of sites including: By typing in your keyword or question you will have access to full text and focused responses from the APA experts. Why Does Nursing Require APA as the Standard Writing Format? According to the APA (2010), the physical appearance of a written paper can help that work appear either professionally composed (a good thing) or sloppy and hurried (not a good thing). A well-prepared paper will encourage your readers to view your work as professionally composed. In school, your readers will most likely be the ones grading those papers. By using a standardized format, your instructor(s) can pay more attention to what you are saying in your paper and less attention to how you are presenting it. This ability will allow faculty to better evaluate your comprehension of the concepts covered within your work. At this point in your education, this is what you want the faculty to do grade your understanding of nursing concepts, not just how you can pull a paper together. Preparation of the General Manuscript A. Basic principles for typing the manuscript: Please type all papers on a standard typewriter, word processor, or personal computer. Computers are available for student use in the Maki Library and the Nursing Computer Lab. Required typefaces include Times Roman or something similar in order to improve readability and reduce eye strain. Funny, italicized, bold, or funky fonts that are difficult to read are not acceptable. (This document is in Times New Roman, font size 12). Font size is to be 12 points, not 10, 11, or 14 please. APA format states that one space is used after all punctuation marks, including the end of sentences (APA, 2001, p. 290). However, many people are in the habit of using two spaces. Regardless of what you use, it MUST BE CONSISTENTLY used throughout your paper. Do not switch between one, two, or three spaces. Pay close attention to these types of details. 1

2 Double-space the lines of your text, but (for the FU Nursing Program) single-space within block quotes and references. Footnotes are generally NOT USED in APA papers. If you find it necessary to use footnotes, please refer to the Publication Manual for guidelines. DO NOT hyphenate at the end of a line. Reserve hyphens for use between words and only when necessary (ex: high-fidelity is a hyphenated word). Indent paragraphs, block quotes, and hanging-indents one-half inch or 5-7 spaces. Most computers use ½ inch as the default. Be sure to check your computer settings. Justification should be set to the left margin only with the right margin uneven, or ragged. This means that the left edge of a paragraph is uniform (or straight) while the right edge of the same paragraph is ragged. Use one inch margins around all four edges. Please check your defaults as many computers use 1.25 inches as the right and left margin defaults. These will need to be reset to one inch. Page numbers are required for all pages of all manuscripts and are located at the top margin on the right. Use only Arabic numerals (1,2,3 ). Start with the first page, including the title page, as 1. The page header is a usually 1-2 words taken from the title (or assignment) and is located at the top of each page, on the right, 3-4 spaces from the page number. Abstracts are generally limited to 150 to 250 words (APA, 2010, p. 27). Exceptions may exist for specific course assignments. Follow your instructor s instructions. REGARDLESS of what APA states, your instructors will provide her or his preferences regarding formatting issues. Follow their instructions. When in doubt, talk to them. Use this supplement as your guide. B. Specific components of the manuscript: Title Page (when and if required for the assignment): o Title, byline, and institutional affiliation must be included in that order. o Position information in the center of the page. o Use appropriate case. Double-space the title if more than one line. o Number the page (1) in the upper right-hand corner. Place page header in upper margin to the left of the page number ex: Pediatric Health Assessment 1 Quotations: o Short quotations (under 40 words) should be included in the body of the text and enclosed by double quotation marks ( like this ). o Quotations over 40 words are written in block format, single spaced (for the nursing program), and are not enclosed in quotation marks. Indent ½ inch (or 5-7 spaces) from the left margin. Only indent the first line if more than one paragraph is being quoted (APA, 2010, p. 92). o APA (2010) format states, Place periods and commas within closing single or double quotation marks. Place other punctuation marks inside quotation marks only when they are part of the quoted material (p. 92). Numbers: o Spell out common fractions (i.e., one-half, Fourth of July) o Spell out all numbers that begin a sentence, title, or text heading (Thirty days hath September ) o All numbers 10 and above are expressed in figures. 2

3 o All numbers under 10 are spelled out (one, two, three ). o Numbers used to express precise measurements (ages, dates, population sizes, etc) are expressed as figures (even if under 10). o When making numbers plural, add an s without an apostrophe (all the 12s are blue). o Place a zero (0) before any and all decimals that are less than one. (Exceptions may occur in statistics. Follow your instructor s advice on this point.) Tables: o Place tables close to where they are first mentioned in your work. o Keep tables intact and on one page. o Each row and column of a table must have a heading. o Keep numbers and units of measure consistent. o Add notes to explain the table contents. o Single or double-space the table contents to achieve clarity and readability. o All tables must have labels/titles. o Do not refer to tables as The table above or below. When discussing tables, refer to as. Table 1 shows the various headings used in APA formats. Or enclose your reference in parentheses (Ex: See Table 1). o Keep table titles brief. Headings: o The introduction to a manuscript does not carry the heading of Introduction since it is expected that all papers begin with an introduction. o There are five levels of headings for APA formats. Regardless of the number of subheadings within a section, the heading structure follows the same top-down progression noted in Table 1 (below). Table 1. Levels of APA Headings (6 th edition this is new!) Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading Indented, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period (only first letter of first word is capitalized). Indented,boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period (only first letter of first word is capitalized). Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period (only first letter of first word is capitalized not boldface). Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 C. Writing Style Hints Abbreviations (to maximize clarity, use abbreviations sparingly): o When using abbreviations, be sure to use approved abbreviations. o Explain acronyms/abbreviations when first introduced. Example: According to the American Psychological Association (APA), professional..the APA therefore, o DO NOT begin sentences with abbreviations. o Periods are used for abbreviations within a reference, except with two-letter postal codes for state names. o Use the Postal Codes for State abbreviations for references (MI, TX, CA, Etc.) 3

4 Bias: o In general, bias is considered anything that would be offensive. o Be gender specific (he and she). Do not use gender stereotypes. Use child, adult, client, etc when appropriate to avoid stereotypes. o Use common sense. When in doubt, be more specific in your terminology. Use APA or ask your instructor as needed. o APA recommends the use of geographical labels rather than ethnic labels and remain gender specific when referring to people. o Use his or hers NOT his/hers, or their. Grammar: o When in doubt about spelling, abbreviations, or tense consult a recently published dictionary, writing guide, or APA manual. o It is strongly recommended that students refer to a writing style manual when writing professional papers. There are many such texts available, however one source highly recommended is: Strunk, W. & White, E.B. (1979). The elements of style (3 rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Citing References within the Body of the Manuscript When writing a paper for any of your nursing courses you will be expected to include supporting data from a multitude of references. When you refer to anyone s work, your source MUST BE cited appropriately. Here are some general examples: 1. When paraphrasing an author or idea, identify the author (last name only) followed by the year. Place in parentheses. Like this A. Smith, Jones, and Johnson (2001) believe that critical thinking is imperative for all nurses. OR B. Critical thinking is an integral competency for all nurses (Smith, Jones, & Johnson, 2001). Note that the punctuation mark follows the reference citation and ends the sentence in Example B. The complete name of the reference will appear on the reference page. 2. Page numbers are included in citations when direct quotes are used. Like this Leighty (2003) states, HIPPA privacy rules are designed to protect the way patient information is stored (p. 231). Note the letter p. is used to denote the page number. Multiple page numbers are noted with pp. in the body of your work. The above quote could also be cited as: HIPPA privacy rules are designed to protect the way patient information is stored (Leighty, p. 231). Since electronic sources generally do not have page numbers, use the paragraph numbers for direct quotes. 4

5 3. Citations with more than one author are connected with the and sign (the ampersand) such as Smith & Jones when in parentheses (Smith & Jones, 1999). More than two are Smith, Jones, & Johnson note the comma before the ampersand. However when these authors are cited in the body of your work, they are joined with the word and such as Smith and Jones (1999) believe that OR Smith, Jones, and Johnson (1999). 4. Citations with two authors are always cited together throughout the paper. They are NEVER shortened to et al. However, once you cite a source with three, four, or five authors, you may shorten to first author followed by a comma and et al. after the initial citation. Ex: Smith, Jones, and Johnson (1999) studied the role of technology in nursing education. Smith, et al. (1999) found that the use of technology in the classroom enhanced the. 5. Citations with more than six authors are cited with et al throughout the text. Example: Jordan et al. (2003) found that all good nurses were critical thinkers. All of the 6-plus authors are to be fully noted on the reference page. 6. Web-based references should include the author or name of the website followed by the date, and chapter if indicated. If no date is listed, this would be noted as n.d. (i.e. Jones, n.d.). DO NOT list the website in the body of the paper. 7. Personal communications are cited as follows: The approved format for nursing papers at Finlandia University is the APA Publication Manual, 5 th edition (F. de Yampert, personal communication, August 27, 2003). 8. When citing secondary sources within other works (use sparingly), cite as follows: Davis s study (as cited in Lewis & Heitkemper, 1999) supports the use of 9. If a reference is cited more than once in the same paragraph, DO NOT cite it a second time. Example: French (2002) used the concept of homeostasis to support his hypothesis of how the body responds to stress. According to his theory, French states that people respond 10. When a reference does not have an author, cite the source by the first few words of the title and the year. Use double quotation marks to identify the title or an article or chapter. Use italics for titles of texts, journals, or brochures. Example: [Title of article] Nursing is the art of caring ( Today s Nurse, 2003). [Title of Journal] The latest edition of Nursing Outlook (2003) includes articles on the art and science of nursing. The Reference Page (see page 7 for an example of a reference page) APA requires specific instructions you are to follow when constructing the reference page. 1. When listing the references used for your work, list only the references cited in the body of the work on a page entitled References. Other sources can and should be used. BUT only include those you actually cite in your work on the Reference page. 5

6 2. Title the page References, center, do not Bold or Underline. Place this page at the end of the manuscript. Include the page heading and number consistent with the body of the work. (See example at the end of this appendix.) 3. List all references in alphabetical order by author. DO NOT NUMBER REFERENCES. 4. When references have more than one author, include them all in the order they appear. DO NOT REARRANGE AUTHORS OF ANY WORKS. 5. List last name, followed by the first and middle initials. Smith, J.K. Follow with the year of publication. Smith, J.K. (2001). DO NOT INCLUDE CREDENTIALS of the authors. 6. Only capitalize the first word of a title and subtitle (like this but do not bold the letters). Smith, J.K. (2001). The importance of critical thinking: A new viewpoint on competency. 7. Book titles, journal titles, and website titles are italicized (not underlined or in bold). Since many word processors automatically underscore all web addresses, you may be required to manually remove the underline before submitting your work. 8. In journal citations, the volume is italicized with the title. A comma and space separates the title and volume number. The issue number follows in parentheses, and then the page numbers. Note there is NO p prior to the page numbers on the reference page. Jones, J. B. (2003). The art of caring. Nursing Outlook, 12(4), In book citations, the format includes the author, year in parentheses, title of work, location of publisher, and the name of publisher. Book editions are noted following the title and are enclosed in parentheses, NOT ITALICIZED. Page numbers for chapters or sections within a book are noted with a pp. Strunk, W. & White, E.B. (1979). The elements of style (3 rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 10. Hanging indents should be used. For the FU Nursing Program please single-space the references BUT double space between references (see example of reference page). 11. When two or more references by the same author in the same year are cited, differentiate them with a lower case a, b, c, etc. You can use the title of the work in alphabetical order to help with the designation. 12. Names of organizations as authors are NOT abbreviated on the reference page although they are abbreviated within the body of the work. Example: the NIH is listed as National Institutes of Health on the reference page although the citation in the paper would be shown as (NIH, 2003). 13. Electronic references vary. In place of publisher information, note the URL or other electronic address information after the term: Retrieved from (see example below). Web-based articles generally appear as author, date of publication, title, electronic address or database. (Retrieval dates are no longer required.) The American Nurses Association. (2001). Position statement on nursing. Retrieved from 6

7 References Anderson, C.A. (1997). The economics of health promotion. Nursing Outlook, 45, American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5 th ed.). Washington, DC: APA. American Psychological Association. (2003). About APA style. Retrieved from Benner, P., Tanner, C.A., & Chesla, C.A. (1996). Expertise in nursing practice: Caring clinical judgement and ethics. New York: Springer. Breslow, L. (1999). From disease prevention to health promotion. JAMA, 281, Parsons, T. (1958). Definitions of health and illness in light of American values and social structure. In E. G. Jaco (Ed.), Patients, physicians, and illness, pp Glencoe, IL: The Free Press. Profetto-McGrath, J., Hesketh, K.L., Long, S., & Estabrooks, C.A. (April 2003). A study of critical thinking and research utilization among nurses. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 25(3), Quinn, J.F. (1997). Healing: A model for an integrative health care system. Advanced Practice Quarterly, 3(1), 1-7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. An online reference with no author or editor can be referenced thusly. (Example, the online definition of the word heuristic. Note the word you looked up serves as the title of the entry.) Heuristic. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster s online dictionary (11 th ed.). Retrieved from Final Note: Feel free to contact your instructors with questions. With the new edition, we are all learning together. Refer to the APA Publication Manual (6 th ed.) as often as necessary to help you construct a professionally prepared manuscript during your academic experience here at Finlandia University. Do write conscientiously and with forethought. The material you present in your courses represents you as you enter the nursing profession. Abbreviated APA guides are also available for purchase online through Amazon and the APA. 7