PSYC 4510: Community Psychology

Most academic work draws upon the works of others; therefore, citing your sources is an important part of the scholarly writing process.

Citations include the key elements that allow your sources to be identified and located. These elements vary depending upon the type of resource.

There are several reasons to cite your sources:

• Give proper credit to the ideas, words, and works of others you use in your research

• Allow readers to find your sources - so they can determine if they are reliable, better evaluate your argument, and locate additional information

• Avoid plagiarism (see Georgia State University Academic Honesty Policy)

Plagiarism Example 1

Plagiarism Example 2

Effective Paraphrasing 1

Effective Paraphrasing 2

The bibliography (list of used sources) should appear on a new page at the end of the paper, entitled "References."  Alphabetize the works cited list by author's last name, or by title if a work's author is unknown or not given.

APA recommends that citations be double-spaced.  Check with your professors to see if this is required for papers in their classes.

The first line of a bibliographic entry should be aligned with the left margin. Second and subsequent lines should be indented by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent.

The basic format for APA citations is:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (date). Title of book. Publisher Name. DOI or URL.

Perkins, K. A., Conklin, C. A., & Levine, M. D. (2008). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation: A practical guidebook to the most effective treatments. Routledge.

Edited book:

Heilbrun, K, Goldstein, N. E. S., & Redding, R. E. (Eds.)  (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Prevention, assessment, and intervention. Oxford University Press.

Chapter in book:

Palmer, E. J. (2008). Criminal thinking. In D. Carson, R. Milne, F. Pakes, K. Shalev, & A. Shawyer (Eds.), Applying psychology to criminal justice (pp. 147-165). John Wiley.

To cite journal articles:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume(issue), page numbers. DOI or URL.

Fazlioglu, Y., & Baran, G. (2008). A sensory integration program on sensory problems for children with autism. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 106, 116-422.

(Note: Most GSU social science faculty will accept this format if you are citing the PDF format of an article retrieved electronically from a database, since the PDF format is exactly the same as the print.)

Goldstein, G., Luther, J. F., Jacoby, A. M., Haas, G. L., & Gordon, A. J. (2008). A preliminary classification system for homeless veterans with mental illness.  Psychological Services, 5, 36-48. doi:10.1037/1541-1559.5.1.36

APA is recommends that the DOI be included if available because this number is unique and permanent and will allow for accessing the citation through the Internet without knowing the specific database from which it was retrieved.

Format for non-peer-reviewed web sources:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (date). Title of work. Site Name. URL.

Insurance Information Institute. (2008, October).  Cellphones and driving. Retrieved December 22, 2022 from http://www.iii.org/media/ hottopics/insurance/cellphones/

Include the date retrieved only if the date is not included in the site and the content is likely to change.

Social Media citation format:

Author, A. A. [@username]. (date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words. Site Name. URL. 

Audiovisual Works

Director, D. D. (Director). (date). Title of work [Description]. Production Company. URL.

Jackson, P. (Director). (2001). The lord of the rings: The fellowship of the ring [Film; four-disk special extended ed. on DVD]. WingNut Films; The Saul Zaentz Company.