Hi Ingrid, In the Publication Manual, we do not recommend a specific number of times to mention an author in a thesis; however the first section of Chapter 6 states that the number of sources cited will vary according to the intent of the paper (see p. 169). Figure 6.1 (p. 170) shows an example of appropriate citation level for a paper. If you are working on a thesis, it might be best to check with your professor or check the university guidelines. Good luck!

Hi Susyr143, Thank you for your question regarding bias-free language. In section 3.15 (p. 76) of the Publication Manual, we recommend referring to people with mental retardation as people with intellectual disabilities. We also have a table on bias-free language at http://supp.apa.org/style/pubman-ch03.00.pdf that you may find helpful. Thanks for your interest in APA Style.

Hi Rick, Thnk you so much for pointing this out. You are correct, there should be one space after the author's initial, before the year. It has now been corrected. Thanks again!

Hi Patrick, Thanks for this question. We will consider your comments when planning for the seventh edition of the Publication Manual. I understand your point that other style authorities do not restrict the use of since to its temporal meaning. APA Style is primarily intended for scientific writing, whereas the sources you mention address several writing styles, including the humanities. The sixth edition of the Publication Manual clarifies this in section 3.22, “Relative Pronouns and Subordinate Conjunctions” (pp. 83–84): Some style authorities accept the use of while and since when they do not refer strictly to time; however, words like these, with more than one meaning, can cause confusion. Because precision and clarity are the standards of scientific writing, restricting your use of while and since to their temporal meaning is helpful. I hope this helps explain the current APA Style rationale for restricting the use of since to its temporal meaning. Thanks again for your feedback and interest in APA Style.

TypePad HTML Email Hi Elultimopunk, Thank you for your comment. If you would like more information on our Spanishpublisher, you can find it at http://www.manualmoderno.com/ If you would like more information on ordering through APA, click here: http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4200073.aspx We hope that you are pleased with the Spanish translation of the manual.

Hi Catie, I can appreciate your dilemma in marking final papers. Here is a summary of the changes to the sample papers. The corrections included the following: ensuring that the words “Running head” are included on only the first page of a manuscript; deleting boldface from elements considered parts of the manuscript but not proper headings; adding boldface to one heading so that all are boldface; spelling out numbers under 10; adding the state of the publisher to two references; minor changes to spacing in table notes and figure captions and placement of the figure caption; and deletion of additional information in the asterisked sentence at the top of the reference page of the meta-analysis sample. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for participating in our blog! Anne

Hi Theresa, I understand your concern. The words running head appear on the title page only. The author of a manuscript includes these words to identify her or his preferred shortened title for the published article. Because it functions as only a label, there is no need to repeat it on subsequent pages. Yes, you are correct, this is not spelled out in detail in the manual in either section 2.01 or section 8.03. The text in section 8.03 is correct and meant to imply that the abbreviated title or running head (not the label) "should appear flush left in all uppercase letters at the top of the title page and all subsequent pages." I hope this clarifies the issue. Thanks for participating in our blog!

Hi Annette, Thanks for bringing this up--I understand your point. We have included publication information for print sources only, as this information, described in section 6.30 of the manual, is a standard element included in several reference styles. Although it may seem obsolete in today's publishing world, including this information can help in tracking down a publisher to request permission for reprinting from a particular source. But yes, it is a tradition that we no longer include for online publications, as discussed in section 6.32 (p. 189) of the manual. Thanks for your excellent question and for your interest in our blog!

Hi Annette, Thank you for your comment. You make a good point about table formatting. In the sixth edition of the manual, section 5.04 acknowledges that "most tables are constructed with the tables feature of the word-processing program used to generate the manuscript text." In a multipage table, repeating the column headings at the top of the next page in a table is sufficient; there is no need to include “Table X continued.” I hope this is helpful. Thanks for participating in our blog!

Dear Tom and Rhonda Reed, Thank you for your questions and for participating in our blog. You are correct, as stated in section 8.02 in the manual, the title page should begin on page 1 and the text on page 3. We will make this correction to the manual and online and appreciate your pointing this out. In Example 48, (p. 209), the word Deaf is capitalized because it is considered a proper noun and reflects Guideline 2 in the Reducing Bias in Language section (p. 72) in Chapter 3, regarding respecting preferences within groups. The Concise Rules of APA Style and other APA Style publications related to the sixth edition of the manual are not in error so there are no corrected printings of these publications. Thank you again for contributing to our blog and for your interest in APA Style.

Dear Methods Prof, Thank you for your comment regarding the tables in the sample papers. Before a manuscript is typeset, we see tables formatted with a horizontal line (or "rule") at the top of the table and also without. At the typesetting stage, there will be a rule extending across the top of all tables. We will add the rule to the top of the table in the sample paper online in order to be more consistent with what is in the manual. Thanks again for your close read.

Hi Stu, Thanks for your comment and perspective on the two space guideline. We appreciate your feedback and will consider this in future discussions of this topic. We have clarified that this is not a strict requirement but a guideline and is intended for ease of reading for reviewers of manuscripts, before actual publication. Thanks again for your interest in and contribution to our blog!

Thanks for your comments and I'm glad that you find the new versions of the sample papers helpful. Your question about the correct format for the Abstract and Reference sections is a good one and I understand that this is confusing. The confusion rests on whether these function as heading levels (in which case they would be bolded) or as labels of manuscript parts (in which case they would not be bolded). Because these function as labels of parts of the manuscript, they should not appear in boldface. The primary headings appear within the text to “establish the hierarchy of sections via format or appearance” and to effectively organize ideas within a study. These headings and subheadings should follow the format specified in Chapter 3 on p. 62 of the manual. In the new heading styles in the sixth edition, Levels 1-4 are boldface. Level 5 is roman. “Abstract” and “References” should not be boldface because they are not proper headings within the paper. I hope this rationale helps explain the differences.

Hello at spacewaste.wordpress.com, Thanks for your comments. It is nice to hear that you find the corrections and clarifications helpful. I understand your concern about spacing twice at the end of sentences; others have expressed this as well. In response, we included the sentence you mention to help clarify that this is a recommendation but not a strict requirement in APA Style. The recommendation came from the APA governance groups who are senior scholars in the field of psychology and is based on their experience reviewing and writing manuscripts for publication.

Hi Nancy, I appreciate your taking the time to bring this up. Sometimes reading a flow chart is an art in and of itself! If you look at the preceding question in the green diamond Check CrossRef.org for the DOI. Did you find one? you will see that the portion you mention follows the "No" arrow, so that is why the parenthetical statement says that there is no DOI. So, therefore it would be referring to a print version without a DOI. I hope this is helpful in reading the flow chart. Thank you for your comment! Anne

Hi Susan, Good question! As collaborative web pages that anyone can write, review, and edit, wikis do not have a specific date. So I would suggest including (n.d.) for the date of publication (see section 6.28, p. 185, in the sixth edition) and include the exact retrieval date, as you have mentioned. Thanks for your participation in our blog. Anne