APA style is a comprehensive guide to writing scientific papers. APA stands for the American Psychological Association, but the guidelines are also applied in other fields. APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication that helps writers present their ideas in a clear, precise, and inclusive manner.
There are two parts to citing in APA: In-text citations and the References list.
In APA, you must "cite" sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper.
In the body of your paper where you add a brief in-text citation.
In the Reference list at the end of your paper where you give more complete information for the source.
Citation: Details about one cited source.
Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.
In-Text Citation: A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the References List.
Paraphrasing: Relaying information that you have read and putting it into your own words.
Plagiarism: Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.
Quoting: The copying of words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.
Reference List: Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.
Retrieval Date: The date you first look at a source. The retrieval date is included only for sources that are frequently updated or are intended to change over time.