APA Referencing

 

There are several different referencing styles used in academic writing. APU uses the 7th edition APA (American Psychological Association) referencing style. It is a variant of the Harvard system which uses the author-date method of referencing, where you have an in-text citation and a related entry in a reference list at the end of your work.

What is referencing?

Referencing is a method of acknowledging or citing the sources of information that you have used to undertake an assignment. Citing the sources of information accurately is extremely important to show that you have done an in-depth research and that you have consulted appropriate texts for your work. It is important that you must acknowledge all information sources you have used while writing your paper. Failure to acknowledge your sources will result in plagiarism. 

What is regarded as plagiarism?
Your work can be questioned for plagiarism if: 

  • you submit someone else’s work as your own.
  • you have copied words, ideas and original creations from someone else without acknowledgment. 
  • you provide inaccurate information about the source of information used. 
  • you reword but copied the sentence structure of a source without giving credit. 
Why should I reference?
  • To establish that your work is authentic and can be supported by facts. 
  • To acknowledge the used ideas and written material belonging to other authors/creators in your work. 
  • To allow readers to understand, evaluate and assess the original source independently without being biased by your interpretation. 
  • To help your research readers to locate and retrieve the sources used in your work easily. 
  • To avoid situations where your work can be questioned for plagiarism as a result of failing to acknowledge the sources. 
Where do I need to apply APA referencing?
In any referencing style, there are two complementary aspects to it; namely In-text citation and reference list. This also applies to APA referencing style.  

  • In-text citation: Any information sourced from another author/creator and used within the body of your work (whether it is directly quoted or paraphrased) must be referenced within the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix.  In APA, the in-text citations will include the author’s name and the date of publication (month and year). These citations will point to the reference list at the end, which will include a list of all the sources you used in your body of work.
  • Reference list: This is a compiled list of all the works cited in the body of your text. You must remember this differs from bibliography. Bibliography refers to all the materials that you have accessed / read which would have helped you in evaluating, assessing, interpreting the information you needed for your work but may or may not actually cited. 
Cite Them Right: A Guide to Referencing Styles

Cite Them Right is an online platform that helps you reference correctly across different styles, including Chicago, Harvard, APA, IEEE, and MLA. Based on the best-selling book by Richard Pears and Graham Shields, it’s trusted by institutions worldwide and used by thousands of students every day. You’ll find articles and videos that answer common referencing questions, teach you how to avoid plagiarism, and explain the difference between primary and secondary sources.

 

Access Here

How to Login:

  1. Click on the “Access Here” to access Cite Them Right.
  2. Enter your APKey and password; and hit the “Login” button.
  3. Once you’re in, you’ll have full access to the Cite Them Right platform.
Is there any APA guide that I can refer to for further information?

Library has the following print and electronic materials that you can refer to which will help you to maintain the consistency of the referencing style throughout your academic work.