The APA Handbook, 7th edition was published in 2019 and adopted by IRSC Libraries in August 2020. Many databases and citation generators have been updated to the 7th edition. Please check with your instructor about which version of APA to use in your assignments.
Always refer to the APA Manual for authorized examples of citations.
Some of the citations in this guide are taken from the APA Manual; others are recommendations from IRSC librarians.
Old Way (APA 6th Edition) |
New Way (APA 7th Edition)
|
The running head for the title page is different than the running head for subsequent pages |
The running head rules are “simplified,” and running heads are not required for student papers |
The title page has only three elements | The title page has expanded to include the professor's name, the course number, course name, department, and date |
A pronoun should reflect the same number as the noun it replaces |
Use of singular “they” is endorsed |
Type "Retrieved from" before copying and pasting a URL in your end references | The use of "Retrieved from" before a URL is no longer needed |
The first in-text citation mentions up to five authors
|
The first in-text citation of a work by more than two authors may list only the first author, followed by “et al.” |
The reference section lists seven authors of a single work |
The reference section lists up to 20 authors for a single work |
Book references disclosed publisher location |
Book references omit publisher location |
Two spaces after a period to end a sentence is acceptable |
Use one space after a period, unless otherwise directed |
The standard citation style guide book for the fields of business, education, health science, public service, and social science is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, 2020. The American Psychological Association (APA) publishes the manual. We commonly refer to it as "the APA Manual".
The business, education, health science, public service, and social science departments at IRSC recommend APA format for papers written in these fields.
Two types of citations are included in most research papers: citations within the text of the document and a list of reference citations at the end of the paper.
In-Text Citations:
The APA Manual uses the author-date citation system for in-text citations.
Reference Citations:
The sources you use in your work are included as a separate list at the end of the paper. The APA Manual suggests using the title, References, for the list.
APA 7th Edition Style Guide by Indian River State College Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.apastyle.org/.