The American Psychological Association (APA) stresses excellence in writing style and formatting. The APA style is one of the referencing options that are used in the academic area. As a rule, it is widely applied in education, healthcare, social work, business, and so on. This paper aims to review the APA Manual and answer the questions about the details of referencing various types of sources, headings, and ways to search academic articles.
APA Formatting Concepts
Personal Communication Formatting
Chapters 4 and 5 provide the guidelines for personal communication, including language issues, grammar, and writing style. According to APA, it is important to use a bias-free language and be precise while translating messages to the readers. Attention should be paid to gender, age, disability, race, participation in research, and a socioeconomic status (APA, 2020). Also, these chapters contain information about being specific in terms used regarding sexual orientation and intersectionality by identifying specific characteristics to avoid misunderstanding.
Purpose of Headings
Headings are expected to properly organize the structure of the text and indicate the transition between topics (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2017). Running head located at the top of the page signalizes the title of the paper, while five levels of headings visually convey their role in the paper. The differences in the headings depend on the main points of the text. For example, the topic about liberals versus conservatives is likely to have two large parts, and each of them can have minor points that can be labeled as the third level subheadings.
DOI and Its Importance
A unique identifier of a digital document is called DOI, which is especially significant in academic literature. DOI is a permanent identifier, and it helps the readers to correctly locate the source. For researchers, it is critical that the readers would find the given information reliable. It is also possible that their studies will be considered by other scholars in their articles and future development of ideas. In terms of today’s global connections, the international standardization of academic references becomes even more important.
Review of Jerry Falwell Library
This digital library contains a wide range of databases, media, e-books, journals, archives, and other sources of credible data. To find the desired topic, it is possible to use a search line by typing a request. Another method is to search by the type of the source or special collections. For example, Scholars Crossing is a repository of student and faculty scholarship, which offers access to dissertations, theses, and journals. In case of questions regarding the work of the library or the failure to find a source, a student can call or chat online to receive the required help.
Ways to Find Scholarly Sources
If a source is not available via the Jerry Falwell Library, one can search Google Scholar, looking for the article or related sources. Another strategy refers to the InterLibrary Loan services that give access to materials that are not available on campus, including books, articles, audio-visual material, and dissertations. In addition, there is VIV, the Virginia consortium of academic libraries, which partners with the Jerry Falwell Library and allows borrowing resources. Through ILL service, it is possible to order books and articles that are not directly available in the mentioned library.
Format of Various Sources
Conference Session
Conference proceedings should include the name of the author, year, title, publishes, and URL, if it is available. For example, the following citation can be used. Grey, J. (2020). Proceedings of the 9th annual international conference on globalization. Digital Library. (p. 202). In-text citation: (Grey, 2020).
Introduction to Research Textbook
To cite the introduction to the textbook, one should pay attention to the author of the introduction and the one who edited the textbook, its title, page numbers of the introduction, and publisher. This information can found on page 202 of the Manual of the American Psychological Association (seventh edition). Example: Grey, X. (2020). Introduction. In C. Green (Ed.), Leadership and management (pp.1-3). Sage. In-text citation: (Grey, 2020).
Unpublished Manuscript
This type of work is intended to be published, which means that their referencing is close to articles. The citation should include the author, title, year written, and publication process information (APA, 2020, p. 205). One can also add information about the university and note that the manuscript was submitted for publication. For example, Grey. M. (2020). Manuscript title. Unpublished manuscript. In-text citation: (Grey, 2020).
APA Publication Manual
APA Publication Manual can be cited as a book or electronic resource with the link that should be accessible to readers. Page 187 offers the details of citing books and reference works, and it is also useful that the Manual has examples of citations. In this case, APA is the organization that should be used instead of the author: APA. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed.
Scholarly Journal Article
Journal articles are widely cited sources that provide reliable information and help students to complete their research tasks. The example of their referencing is given on page 189.
References
APA. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed.
Bonds-Raacke, J. M., & Raacke, J. (2017). Introduction to research: Less fright, more insight: A customized version of research methods: Are you equipped? 2nd ed., Kendall Hunt Publishing.