APA style provides a distinct structure to any research or literature review-based paper/article. The basic APA structure includes a title page, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, references and appendices. The main users of APA format are individuals who study the social or behavioral sciences, including psychology, social work, education, child development, anthropology and sociology. The cohesive format of APA allows these somewhat similar disciplines to adhere to a singular style, making papers and journal articles more understandable. Additionally, using this type of structured style allows students, professionals and researchers to easily format manuscripts for publication.
One of the goals of APA format is to use language that is free from bias. This means that issues such as sexual orientation, disability or race are only mentioned when specifically called for by the topic or research at hand. APA style discourages the gratuitous use of biased language that may mar or unfairly characterize a certain group of people. As social and behavioral science professions, which primarily focus on issues relating to groups of people, often call for anonymity and sensitivity, APA can be a useful tool when writing.
Citing sources is a key component of any research paper or literature review. APA style allows writers and students to cite in-text sources and format a reference page in a simple, easy to follow manner. The style guide provides detailed information on citing many different types of sources such as books, journal articles, websites, government publications and dissertations.
Many individuals who use APA style need to format research findings for a college or university paper, thesis or professional journal article. APA provides researchers the opportunity to format data into organized tables, charts, graphs and pictorial displays that are often required by major publications in the social and behavioral sciences. This makes for ease of data insertion and allows the reader to better understand the research presented.