Students Guide to APA Psychology 1.21

APA Style is followed by over a thousand research journals, in psychology and in many other fields. The style is documented in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.; 2001). The APA Publication Manual is focused on just that, preparing papers for publication. If you are writing a research paper for a class, the rules change a bit, and the APA Manual has special instructions for you too (see chapter 6). The guides at www.docstyles.com all follow the APA guidelines for preparing papers for class use, what the APA Manual calls final manuscripts.

Light Reading? The APA Manual is 467 pages long. Where do you start? You have many options. APA101 is an introductory course in APA style. If you must master the style this is a great place to start (its basic, but not easy). The "APA Crib Sheet" was developed by a psychology professor in the 1990s and updated by Doc Scribe in the 2000s. It is the best brief guide to APA style found anywhere. The comprehensive Writers Guide to APA Style is for more advanced users. The Quick Reference uses a graphical interface to highlight the essential feature of APA style for class papers.

APA Warning! "The Publication Manual is not intended to cover scientific writing at an undergraduate level. . . Instructions to students to use the Publication Manual should be accompanied by specific guidelines for its use" (APA, 2001, sec. 6.01). Never fear, Doc Scribe has you covered if your prof does not!