APA was developed for a number of reasons including reducing plagiarism and crediting original authors for their research and work. The American Psychological Association promotes the reduction of bias in writing, even when unintentional. Whether gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or ethnic bias, authors sometimes insert personal feelings and opinions into scholarly writing and reporting. APA regulates this bias through the standards and style guidelines.
American Psychological Association referencing includes both in-text citations and a reference list at the end of the article or paper. These citations within the body of the paper include the original author's last name and publication date surrounded by parentheses, usually directly after the section of wording referenced. At the end of the paper, an alphabetical list describes each original author's work to include their last names, first initials, title of the paper or journal, the publication, date and publication details.
A paper formatted in APA style includes a title page, an abstract, the main body of the paper and the references. The title page includes the title of the work, the author and the affiliate institution. On the title page, a running header with the title in all capital letters as well as the page number appear in the header. The abstract is a brief summary of the paper and is contained on its own page. Begin the main body on a new page and continue until it is completed, while the references are started on a new page as well. Double-space the entire paper, including the reference and title pages.
Areas in the social sciences often use APA format for shaping journals and scholarly papers. The social sciences are those taught that deal directly with society and people as individuals. These disciplines include psychology, sociology, business, criminology, nursing, social work and economics. Other disciplines in the social sciences using APA are anthropology and political science. Many classes are multidisciplinary and may combine two facets of the social sciences together.