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Medical Sciences Library

Public Health

This guide supports the students, faculty and staff in the graduate programs of the School of Public Health.

Academic Honesty

You must provide your reader with an honest representation of your work.  Failing to cite your sources is academically dishonest, and could lead to charges of plagiarism.    

Primary Reasons for Citing Sources:
  • Gives credit to the author(s) of sources consulted
  • Leads readers to the sources consulted
  • Reveals the scope and depth of your research (supports your work)
  • Protects against charges of plagiarism

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

APA Style is a format developed by the American Psychological Association to standardize scientific writing.  It is most commonly used to cite sources within the social and behavioral sciences.  The library provides students and faculty complete access to the print and online editions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.  

Basic Rules and Principles
  • In-text Citations

In-text citations are used when a source is referred to in the body of a paper.  APA uses a parenthetical in-text citation, which contains the author's last name and the publication year.  

Example

More than 9 million young people, ages 15-24, acquire a sexually transmitted infection each year in the United States (Smith, 2015).
 
  • Reference List

A list of sources cited is included at the end of a paper on a separate page.  Title the page "References" (top, center).  Arrange sources alphabetically by authors' last names.  

  • The basic format for an article in an online journal: 

Author's last name, author's initials.  (Publication year).  Title of article.  Journal name, volume (issue), inclusive pages.  doi 

Example

Smith, A.  (2015).  Sexual health education at a top American research university.  Journal of Public Health Studies, 2 (1), 100-103.  doi: 10.1002/cncr.29677

Note: All lines after the first line of your reference should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called a hanging indentation.  A hanging indent could not be accomplished with the software used to present this information.

APA Style Help