The first printing of the APA style manual, 6th edition released in July, has several errors.  APA has posted a corrections sheet, linked from the APA homepage.

APA has announced that it will exchange copies of the first printing with a revised second printing. Anyone interested in making the exchange (free) should contact APA customer service through the APA switchboard at 800-374-2721 or 202-336-5500. The Service Center is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (CST).  To be eligible for this offer, purchasers must return their books by December 15.

The corrections sheet has been added to Milner Library copies of the first printing.  Exchange of library copies for the revised second printing is in progress. 

The American Psychological Association has compiled a list of errors in the first printing of the new (6th edition) APA style manual.  The list is posted on the APA website (see Corrections to the First Printing (July 2009). 

The corrections list is being placed in Milner Library copies of the 6th edition.  We are investigating replacement of our copies with newer, more accurate printings.

APA 6^th edition has arrived.  Copies are available at multiple locations within the library: Floor 2 Reference and Floor 2 Desk Reference for use within the building, Floor 3 Shelves for borrowing.  The call number is BF 76.7 .P83 2010.

Unfortunately, APA has not yet made the manual available to libraries in electronic format.  However, APA has created a website called APA Style dedicated to the new manual. The site includes links to FAQs and a style blog.  You can also email questions to style experts on the APA staff.

Milner Library has developed a handout with examples of common citations using APA 6^th edition.  See APA Style Guide: 6^th Edition.  In addition, the RefWorks citation management service now provides the option of using APA 6^th.  The Preview Output Style option in the Tools menu of RefWorks provides examples of both reference list and in-text citations in APA 6^th for a large variety of publication types. 

One of the most discussed changes from APA 5^th to APA 6^th is the way articles are cited.  In APA 6^th, article citations include a digital object identifier, or DOI, if available.  If a DOI has been assigned to an article, you can find it either in the subscription database that indexes the journal (e.g., PsycINFO) or on the article itself.  APA 6^th edition requires inclusion of the DOI in the citation regardless whether the article is viewed online or in print.  If the article is viewed online but does not have a DOI, the website of the journal homepage is included in the citation rather than the URL of the article or the subscription database name, as was previously the case with APA 5^th.  Note the examples below from the Milner Library handout. (Note: Examples do not use required double spacing and hanging indent.)

Journal article with Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Electronic or print

Fong, J. (2009). Sacred nationalism: The Thai monarchy and primordial nation construction. Journal of  Contemporary Asia, 673-696. doi:10.1080/00472330903077030

Journal article without DOI
Print

Fong, J. (2009). Sacred nationalism: The Thai monarchy and primordial nation construction. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 673-696.

Journal article without DOI
Electronic

Fong, J. (2009). Sacred nationalism: The Thai monarchy and primordial nation construction. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 673-696.  Retrieved from http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/00472336.asp

One of the more frustrating aspects of article citations using APA 6^th is inclusion of the journal URL when you have viewed an article online but a DOI is not available.  One might think it appropriate to use the URL of the article as viewed online.  Instead, APA 6^th stipulates using the URL of the journal website even though you have might not have viewed that site.  A Google search should successfully identify the journal URL.  If it does not, the URL can usually be found using the subscription database called Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory.  Ulrich’s is available via the Milner Library Databases & Article Indexes page.

Attend a 1-hour workshop to activate your free RefWorks account and master the basics of creating reference lists and in-text citations automatically. RefWorks works with both APA 5th edition and APA 6th edition.  The next session is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, 3 p.m., Milner 164d.  For more information and to register online, see RefWorks Training 2009.

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The American Psychological Association released the 6^th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, aka APA Manual, on July 1.  RefWorks staff is in the process of making the new edition available to RefWorks users. 

To view the new APA 6^th Edition, use the Output Style Manager and add it as a favorite in your RefWorks account.  You can find the Output Style Manager in the Tools section of the RefWorks menu. 

Here’s information about APA 6th Edition from the RefWorks Technical Services Team:

“APA 6^th style is not a major change from APA 5^th output style.  The new version does not use the database name with the exception of ERIC documents (reports).  We have removed the database field from all reference types with the exception of reports.

The new edition of APA has changed the manner in which authors are to be listed in the text and in the reference list. The new reference list guidelines state that when there are seven or more authors there should only be seven authors presented. When there are more than seven authors the first six are to be listed, ellipses added after the sixth, and the last author added at the end.  In order for RefWorks to adhere to these changes, we will need to make modifications to our current Output Style Editor which will require program development.  In the short-term, our new APA style will list all authors and will require the user to manually remove the extra authors and add the ellipses.

The new guidelines allow for the inclusion of up to five authors in the first instance of an in-text citation and the use of the first author with ‘et al.’ in all subsequent citations of the same reference. This too, will require APA specific development in RefWorks.

We realize this is not an ideal solution and apologize for this inconvenience. We will be working with our development team to address these issues as quickly as possible and hope to have the necessary program changes loaded within the near future. The reason that we are posting the style before the program development can be completed is to give our users a chance to review the style and to send us their input and suggestions with the intent of having an accurate and comprehensive presentation of the 6^th prior to the next academic term.”

Feel free to send your comments, concerns, suggestions to Bruce Stoffel at Milner Library.  Bruce will in turn pass them along to the RefWorks technical team.

The 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, aka APA Manual, was released by the APA on July 1.  Copies of the new edition have been received at Milner Library and are being processed for the shelves in advance of the fall semester.  Copies will soon be available at the reference desk and in the reference collection (for in-building use), and on the Floor 3 shelves (for borrowing).   A revised handout summarizing use of the 6th edition will also soon be available via the Milner website. 

Online access to the complete manual will not immediately be made available by the APA.  APA staff is in discussions about making online access available to subscribing libraries in late 2009 or early 2010. 

For more information about APA style, visit the APA Style Guide website.