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Psychology: Referencing with APA

Referencing your work

It's very important to reference your work correctly.

Cite Them Right will help you to reference just about any source using the APA referencing style.

The 7th edition of APA was published at the end of 2019 to replace the 6th edition. APA 6th edn has now been removed from Cite Them Right

For further examples see the online version of the book Cite Them Right by Richard Pears and Graham Shields below.

What is referencing? Why do you need it?

At University it is very important that your work is fully referenced. This means you must provide details of your sources wherever you draw arguments, ideas, facts, images or quotations from other authors.

Make sure you read our library guide on referencing.

This shows your tutors the valuable research that has informed your writing, and helps back up the arguments you put forward in your work. Giving detailed references is also necessary to avoid plagiarism. If you are worried about this issue, please see our referencing guide pages on plagiarism.

Turnitin is an Assignment Drop-Box tool which is set up by your lecturer. It is located within your module information in myUniHub:
UniHub > myUniHub > My Study > My Learning > Learning modules >  Module

For more help see our guide.

Understanding the originality report from Turnitin

Captions

If you include figures, diagrams or images in your work, remember to:

  1. caption the images (with a figure number and some details about the image);
  2. refer to them in your text (tell the reader when to look at the image);
  3. give details about where the images came from in your reference list .

Image of a cat's paw

Fig. 1. Paw (2008) - of course this is not a serious example!

  1. caption your image in the text as shown above
  2. refer to the image in your text eg. (see fig. 1)
  3. In your Reference list

Referencing Tips

APA the basics

APA style - what's needed

The APA system of referencing involves two elements:

1. In Text Citation - In the text itself, you include brief citations in brackets identifying the sources you have used.

2. Reference - At the end of the essay you include a reference list. This includes full details of all the resources you have cited, ordered alphabetically.

If you need additional help on how to cite or reference using the APA style (American Psychological Association) there are  some sources listed below.

The APA Style website

The APA Style Blog

APA Style 7th edition

Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style

APA Style Manual 7th edition

Using Refworks?

Want to sign up to new RefWorks?

To set up a new RefWorks account go to sign up.

  • Use your Middlesex email address.
  • When you leave Middlesex you can switch to a limited free account.  Change your email address in your account settings.

For help with Refworks see our guide.

Finding the Right APA 7th Version in RefWorks (April 2021)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJv7omZEUFA

Do I still need to check my references when using RefWorks (or any other bibliographic management software)?

Yes! While RefWorks should generally handle the formatting for you, there are still opportunities for error. You are still responsible for your final reference list, and you will want to proofread for spelling, capitalisation, and general formatting. Make sure that the data that has been stored in RefWorks is correct as it can only reflect what has been exported into it. If you find problems, you can either fix them in the citation in your RefWorks database and regenerate your paper, or just make the changes in your final Word document before printing it.

Reference guidelines

The University of Lincoln have produced a set of reference guidelines including Harvard and APA 7th ed. which students may find helpful to consult

University of Lincoln Referencing Guidelines