Introduction to APA style referencing
Transcript below.
On Screen: QUT Logo
On Screen: Title Page - Introduction to APA Referencing
On Screen: A quick introductory guide to APA style referencing at QUT
Why Cite?
In your work at university and in your professional life after graduation, it is essential to acknowledge words or information you have taken from another source such as books, websites, newspapers, journals and so on.
Citation, referencing or citing is how you acknowledge your use of information or words written by someone else in your work to support your argument or illustrate your point.
You need to cite when you:
use a direct quote from someone else.
give a summary of someone else's ideas.
paraphrase someone else's ideas.
copy some information (such as a picture, a table or some statistics).
There are variety of citation, or referencing styles currently in use.
Many QUT faculties require students to adopt the APA style of referencing - it is defined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which is available at QUT Library.
We'll refer to it as "APA style" from here on in.
APA Style was first developed in 1929 by a group of social scientists who wished to establish sound standards of communication. Since that time, it has been adopted by leaders in many fields and has been used by writers around the world. The 7th Edition was released in 2019.
The APA Manual is the definitive guide for the rules and procedures to follow in referencing sources in the APA style. QUT cite|write provides a useful short cut to the 'greatest hits' of APA citation - in most instances an example for the kind of source you need to cite will be included in cite|write.
You can find cite|write on the QUT Library homepage… here…and here.
QUT cite|write provides basic examples for commonly cited materials in the APA style. It also provides a useful summary of the general rules of the APA style.
It also has a handy guide to In-text Citations, References and Reference Lists.
The QUT Cite Write APA guide covers:
Books
Articles
Internet Sources
Creative Works
Government and Corporate Documents
Data
Maps and Diagrams
QUT resources and personal communications.
Find the resource type that you need to reference, and follow the templates and examples to build your own reference list.
Also be aware of the pink buttons at the base of each page, these provide more details on Authors, DOIs, publication details and more.
As we've said, QUT cite|write provides basic examples for commonly cited materials in the APA style. From time to time you may need to go outside of cite|write and consult the full APA Manual.
We do recommend spending a little time familiarising yourself with the rules of the style, they will serve you well as you move through your studies at QUT and into your professional life after university. We also recommend checking the official APA Style Blog from time to time for updates and tips.
https://apastyle.apa.org/blog
This has been a very brief introduction to referencing, APA style and cite|write. Cite|write is always online, the APA manual is available at QUT Library, and in our Course Reserve Collections, so help is never too far away.
Please also feel free to ask the QUT Librarians for help with referencing whenever you need to, you can find us in the QUT Law Library, level 5 of C Block, Gardens Point, online via library chat, or in our drop in sessions at HiQ at Gardens Point or Kelvin Grove Campuses.
On Screen: End / Credits Page - Script, voiceover and editing by Stephen Booth
On Screen: QUT Logo