The American Psychological Association (APA) style is among the most common styles that different students and professional uses, including those belonging to the nursing field. In most universities, students must have a basic understanding of the APA nursing paper format.
After all, this diverse style allows students to support different work ideas without labeling their work as plagiarized work. The style has a standard format to give the author credit, thus ensuring that everyone is on the same page. The universal standards make it easier for everyone to comprehend the meaning and elements of a citation.
Below we are going to talk about how to do the in-text citation properly for your nursing paper. So, without any further delay, let us get started!
NOTE: You can find the reference citations in-text on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual.
The Basics of APA Citation
If you are using the APA format, you need to follow the author-date method of in-text citation. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, please see the example below.
Role-play can help children learn techniques for coping with bullying (Kraiser, 2011).
See how we have placed the Author’s name and the publication date at the end of the text. Also, ensure that a complete reference for every source is present in the reference list at the end of your nursing paper.
In case you are just referring to another man’s idea and not directly quotation the material from the source, you do not have to have to mention the page number in your in-text reference. All you would need to mention is the author’s name and the publication year.
On the contrary, if you will directly include or borrow work for another source, you must mention the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. To list the page, you should use the abbreviations below.
“p” – When the information is taken just from one page.
“pp” – When you take information from multiple pages. For the page ranges, use an en dash.
For example, you write (Kraiser, 2011, p. 2) or (Kraiser, 2011, pp. 9-11).
Regardless of how you cite them, it is important for any sources cited in the text to appear in the reference list present at the end of your paper.
In-Text Citation Capitalization, italics, and Quotes
It is a must for you to capitalize proper nouns, including the author’s number and the initials: D. Jones.
In case you are referring to a source title in your nursing paper, make sure that you capitalize all words that are four letters long or more within the source title. Exceptions are applied to short words that are adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, nouns, and verbs.
For example, Writing New Media, There is Nothing to Lose.
Remember that you are to capitalize only the first word of your title in the reference list. In this case, it would be Writing new media.
In case you are to capitalize titles, make sure that both words in the hyphenated compound words are capitalized. Example, Top-Notch Quality APA Nursing Paper Format
You also need to capitalize the first word after a colon or a dash: “Making a Meal of Manhood: Revisiting Hope and the Question of Hitchcock’s Homophobia.”
In case you have italicized the working title in the reference list, make sure to use the same title case in the text and italicize it. “Making a Meal of Manhood: Revisiting Hope and the Question of Hitchcock’s Homophobia.”
If you have not italicized the working title in your reference list, you need to use the double quotation marks in your text and the title case capitalization. The title case capitalization is irrespective of whether you are using the sentence case for the title in the reference list. For example, “Multimedia Narration: Construction Possible Worlds;” “The One Where Chandler Can’t Cry.”
Short Quotations
It is important to include the author, publication year, and page number for reference if you are directly quoting from another source. See above as to how to write the page number for the in-text citation.
You also have the option of introducing the quotation with a signal phrase that contains the last name of the author along with the publication date. Put both of these things in parentheses.
Sindhu (2011) describes one of the immediate effects of drinking a can of coke: “Because you have just swallowed your entire daily intake of sugar, your liver goes into overdrive and turns sugar into fat.”(p. 41).
Another way to include the author’s name in-text of the sentence is to place the author’s name, publication year, and the page number at the end of the quotation. Make sure that these three things are within the parentheses. See the example below:
“Because you have just swallowed your entire daily intake of sugar, your liver goes into overdrive and turns sugar into fat.”(Sindhu, 2011, p. 41).
Long Quotations
If your quotation is 40 words or longer, you should place it in a free-standing block of typewritten lines. There is no need for quotation marks; thus, you can omit them. Just make sure that you start the quotation on a new line.
Indenting the quotation is also important. ½ inch indentation from the left margin. In other words, it is the same place where you would start a new paragraph. You need to type the entire quotation on the new margin. In the subsequent paragraphs within the quotation, you use the ½ inch indentation for the new margin.
However, you need to maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line after or before it. Incorporate the parenthetical citation after the closing of the punctuation mark instead of within the quotations.
Below is a screenshot of a generic example of the block quotation formatting.
Citing More than One Author in APA Style
Two Authors
If you mention two authors, first provide information about the first author, put a comma, and then add an ampersand (&). After this, add information about the second author in parenthesis. See the example below.
Some feminist researchers’ question that “women’s response to the war have been ignored” (Raitt& Tate, 1997, p. 2)
Three to Twenty Authors
Use commas to separate each other’s names and then add an ampersand (&) before adding the final author’s name. However, do bear in mind that you are not to list more than 20 authors in APA citation of journal articles.
Twenty-one or More Authors
List the name of the first 19 authors, separated by a comma. After the nineteen authors put a common and then an ellipsis (…), now write the final author’s name.
Citing Corporate/Group Authors APA Nursing Paper
In APA citation of a journal, you use the publication instead of the author name for the corporate author. Include the publication company’s name at the start of the citation. This is similar to what you would do with the name of the author. Make sure to follow the proper capitalization rules.
Take Quotes From Source That Do Not Have Page Numbers
To use a direct quotation from a source that does not have pages, you should not reference a page number. On the contrary, you can use another logical identifying element for the reference: a section number, a chapter number, a table number, a paragraph, or something else.
For older texts, especially the religious ones, you can use the verse numbers as the special location identifiers. In other words, you need to have a substitute for your page numbers. Just make sure that these substitutes make sense for your source.
Summary or Paraphrase
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another source, you must include the author’s name and the publication year in your in-text reference. You do have the option of omitting the page numbers.
However, the APA guidelines do encourage that you include the page range for paraphrase and summary. After all, this would make it easier for the reader to locate information in a longer work.
Smart Tips to Use APA Style Correctly
You need to check out the syllabus, lesson, or instructor’s discussion post for every course, for starters. There is a high probability that your instructor has the correct APA reference and citations.
Also, you must read the APA manual. We are not saying that you read it cover to cover. However, use the index to find the pages that would provide you the required information. Simply mark these pages for later use as well. Examples present in the basic citation table, as well as the reference examples, are beneficial. Therefore, pay close heed to them.
Use the APA resources that the official offers.
You Still Have a Question?
If you are still confused about how to go about in-text citation, we encourage you to reach out to professional nursing writing services. Their writers, editors, and proofreaders have the experience to deliver a top-notch quality paper that follows the APA style in the best possible way.