Hi Dee Pee, Yes, there is guidance on this, but it has to do with margins rather than double spacing. "Leave uniform margins of at least 1 in. at the top, bottom, left, and right of every page" (p. 229). The first text line should be one inch from the top. Most word processing programs automatically place the running head and page numbers somewhere within that upper margin. Thanks for getting in touch. Mary Lynn

Hi Dissertation Editor, Thanks for clarifying that. The running head should appear as it does here in the sample papers. In the top left margin of the first page, it will appear after the label "Running head" (e.g., "Running head: EFFECTS OF AGE ON DETECTION OF EMOTION"). The complete title is then centered on the page below it. Neither the running head nor the complete title appears more than once on the page. Mary Lynn

Hi again, Here is the passage that I believe you're referencing: "The title page includes five elements: title, running head, author byline, institutional affiliation, and author note. Identify the title page with the page number 1. The remaining pages should be numbered consecutively..." The opening sentence is intended as a summary of the parts that appear on the page--not as instruction of the order in which those parts should appear. I can see your confusion if this is the way you're reading it, and I apologize for the lack of clarity. The sample papers display all elements of the title page exactly as they should appear. Mary Lynn

Hi Dissertation Editor, It is correct to include the running head on the title page of the paper, as described on p. 229. But I think I'm missing something...the running head IS included on the first page, upper left corner, of the sample papers that I see--all printings of the book as well as the online sample paper. But my brain may be a little addled from all the luge runs we've been doing out here--let me know if I'm missing something and I'll take another look. Thanks for getting in touch. Mary Lynn

Hi Gary, I just checked outthe zotero link. Wow! Good to see such dedication to getting it right. One small clarification to Jeff's post--the 6th edition translations she mentions have been licensed but not yet completed. Because the 6th edition just released in July 2009, the translations are still underway. Mary Lynn

Hi again, You were spot on in your first note--s.f. is correct. You have good instincts! Mary Lynn

Hi Gary, I just checked the Spanish translation, published by Manual Moderno. I'm not sure if this will help or not --my Spanish is comparable to Jeff's. Here goes: "N. de trad. Existen abreviaturas de terminos tecnicos que son siglas del ingles mas tienen un oso convencionalmente aceptado en espanol, de ahi que en el uso comun se mantengan en su idioma original, sin traducirse." From "Manual de Estilo de Publicaciones de la American Psychological Associatio, 2a. edicion, p. 122. (This is the latest edition available in Spanish--Manual Moderno is currently translating the new edition.) Mary Lynn

Happy New Year and welcome back, Susan! I see what you mean--it looks like the space was manipulated in typesetting. We will modify it to remove the ambiguity. You are correct in your assumption that the usual double-spacing applies to all elements in the manuscript, including the author note. As stated in section 8.03, double-spacing is the norm. A few exceptions: triple- or quadruple-spacing is occasionally acceptable for display material like complicated equations, and single-spacing is acceptable in tables and figures (but never in text). Thanks for giving us the opportunity to clarify that! Mary lynn

Hi Michelle, That is absolutely true. We're offering three options for dealing with the corrections: First, we've produced a detailed corrections summary that supplies the error list in a user-friendly presentation. This document notes all the errors in the Publication Manual and puts them in context for greater understanding. Download a PDF version of the corrections summary supplement (118 KB). Second, you can order a printed version of the supplement, formatted to accompany the book. To do this, contact the APA Service Center at 800-374-2721 for more information. Third, if those options don't meet your needs, we will provide you an exchange replacement copy of the second printing of the Publication Manual at no cost to you. In order to receive an exchange replacement manual, you must return your current copy of the sixth edition to APA no later than December 15, 2009. A process has been created to provide you with a UPS postage paid return label that you can use to return the book to us. If you are interested in an exchange replacement copy, please contact the APA Service Center at your convenience for further information. Service Center staff can be reached at 800-374-2721 from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm (Eastern Time) Monday–Friday.

Thanks for your question. The one-inch margin rule specified on p. 229 is correct. The sample papers (and associated margins)were reduced so that two would fit on one page. If they were enlarged to full-sized 8.5 x 11 paper, the margins would be regulation one-inch. Mary Lynn

Hi Dr. Kuleck, Yes, I understand your confusion. The Publication Manual contains three sample papers. However, we make an additional paper available on the website, so if you choose "Sample Papers" from the "Related Resources," four papers appear. The first three are in the book, and the fourth is provided online only for extra instruction. You'll note that the fourth paper is a typeset journal article. We incuded it because it provides a good example of a mixed-methods study as well as the detailed reporting of methodology recommended in the Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) that are new in this edition of the Publication Manual. Thanks for your query. Mary Lynn

Thanks for this suggestion. We have printed supplements, sized to fit the books, that are available now through the APA Service Center. Service Center staff can be reached at 1-800-374-2721 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday. Email correspondence can be directed to [email protected].

Hi Amy, Thanks for your comment. We regret that errors were made and the inconvenience that this has caused. I'm also sorry that rumors around a relatively minor set of corrections have generated the sense that the book is deeply defective. Here is the truth about the errors: In 188 style rules, there were minor errors in subsections of 2 rules. In approximately 1,000 text examples illustrating those rules, there were 36 errors. Roughly half of these were in the sample papers. Ten more occurred in the 374 reference examples. They include such things as un-italicized volume numbers, and most of these appear correctly many more times than they appear incorrectly. We chose to add language clarifying about 5 points that were identified as confusing on the blog. These were not errors--just points that we felt would benefit from minor clarification. The remaining errors are typographical errors that are difficult to find and do not impact the pedagogical utility of the book. These errors were identified by highly skilled copyeditors who are accustomed to distinguishing a hyphen from a minus sign and an em-dash from an en-dash. Because this is a style guide, we felt it important to make these corrections, but they are relatively invisible to most readers. While the substantive rules and a vast majority of the examples in the book are correct, what is NOT correct is the sample papers. We know how important these are for modeling (indeed, this is why we moved them up in this edition). So those should be replaced. For a replacement copy of the sample papers, sized to fit the book, you can contact the APA Service Center. Service Center staff can be reached at 1-800-374-2721 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday. Email correspondence can be directed to [email protected]. Thank again for your comment and for bearing with us as we take steps to rectify this problem. Mary Lynn

Hi Annette, As you've discovered, the material listed as "Supplementary" on the website is called out in the book directly where the topics are being discussed. The material was moved to the web for a number of reasons--not the least of which was that the web allows us to respond more quickly to changing standards for some kinds of information (e.g., bias-free language examples). There is another kind of information on the web that is NOT called out in the book--"Related Resources." These include material we found helpful while writing this edition--background information on DOIs, ethics in publishing, Journal Article Reporting Standards, and other topics that we felt might be of interest to a small group of readers. We're hoping those, along with the free tutorials and a growing list of FAQs would help clarify some of the stickier points of APA Style. Mary Lynn

Hi Annette, You are not alone in your opposition to DOIs. We know that they can seem like a superfluous string of letters. But they are the most reliable way to locate online information. We'll planning a series of posts that we hope will make them easier to understand. Stay tuned. Mary Lynn

Hi Peter, Thanks for your comment. Whether or not to require issue numbers was a hotly debated topic. Ultimately, the majority wanted to stay with the rule as it was expressed in the fifth edition. However, this is sure to come up for the 7th edition, and we'll take your comment into consideration (we considered over 57 pages of comments from the 5th edition when we mapped our course for this book). I'm glad that you're happy with other changes you're seeing! Mary Lynn

Hi Susan, I believe the use of "running head" here was intended to function as a label. It should not be included on each page of the manuscript. I can see why this is confusing--we'll most likely remove it from future printings to clear things up. Thanks for the close read. Mary Lynn

Hi Dennis, Thanks for your note. I understand your wish to do away with extraneous data in references. Simplifying things was our goal. However, the publishing world is still in flux, and there are cases where print and electronic versions do not offer the same material. See Nicholson Baker's Kindle review in the New Yorker(A New Page). Thanks also for your comment about the lack of guidance on qualitative research--duly noted.

If you visit www.apastyle.org, you'll find three ways to learn about changes in the sixth edition: 1) a detailed list, 2) a free tutorial ("What's New in the Sixth Edition") and 3) an on-line course offered for CE credit (Mastering the Sixth Edition). I recommend that you view the tutorial with your students--it would be a good jumping-off place for any changes you'd like to cover in depth.

Hi John, APA Style requires that you cite the people who influenced your work. So a citation would be appropriate not only to back up a statistic but also to acknowledge how others have had a role in forming your argument. (Take a look at Chapter 6 in the Sixth Edition of the Publication Manual for guidance on what to cite.) It sounds like part of the assignment was to familiarize you with the requirements of scholarly reporting, so even if everything you wrote was completely original, I'd guess that your instructor would have wanted you to find a way to incorporate a citation or two into your report. Thanks for checking in, and good luck with your work! Mary Lynn