This guide identifies the basic APA Style reference works and also unofficial web guides and books that provide guidance on writing papers and building bibliographic reference lists in psychology and the behavioral sciences.
Citation Mangement Tools
Citation management systems help store references, serve as note-taking tools, and can auto-generate citations in a preferred format, including APA style. Please see our Citation Management Tools guide for information on our support for tools such as RefWorks, Zotero, EndNote, and others.
Recommended Web Resources
- Excelsior Online Writing Lab: APA StyleProvides instructions and guidance for APA formatting
- APA Style BlogThe official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition.
Latest from the APA Style Blog
APA Style Reference Works
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Call Number: Van Pelt Stacks. BF76.7 .P83 2020ISBN: 9781433832178Publication Date: 2019
Concise Guide to APA Style by Call Number: Van Pelt Library. BF76.7 .C66 2020ISBN: 9781433832734Publication Date: 2019
Journal Article Reporting Standards
Reporting standards are a way of showing your work. Psychology scholars adhere to reporting standards to help make their research more reproducible. When publishing original research in a journal article, it's important to report the goals, hypotheses, and detailed methods of a study so that others can evaluate the rigor of those methods and try to replicate its findings. Learn more about what should be reported in a journal article using the resources below.
- APA Style JARS website (Journal Article Reporting Standards)Hub for the most up-to-date information on reporting standards from the American Psychological Association.
Reporting Qualitative Research in Psychology by Call Number: EBOOKISBN: 9781433833434Publication Date: 2020
Reporting Quantitative Research in Psychology by Call Number: EbookISBN: 9781433832833Publication Date: 2020
Read these three documents for the full journal article reporting standards for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research.
Kazak, A. E. (2018). Editorial: Journal article reporting standards. American Psychologist, 73(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000263
Appelbaum, M., Cooper, H., Kline, R. B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Nezu, A. M., & Rao, S. M. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 3–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000191
Levitt, H. M., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D. M., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151
Additional Guides to Writing
The Psychologist's Companion by Call Number: EbookISBN: 9781316488935Publication Date: 2016Covers planning papers, writing papers, presenting data, evaluating one's papers, writing grant proposals, giving talks, finding a book publisher, doing job interviews, and doing media interviews.
- How to Write an Effective Manuscript ReviewWritten by David Brainard, this 2-page document describes the importance of the editorial and review process
