purdue owl literature review apa

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Basic Format for Books

Edited book, no author, edited book with an author or authors, a translation.

Note : When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should appear with both dates: Plato (385-378/1989)

Edition Other Than the First

Article or chapter in an edited book.

Note : When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references, except for newspapers. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).

Multivolume Work

Articles in periodicals.

APA style dictates that authors are named with their last name followed by their initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of the website from which you are retrieving the periodical.

Article in Print Journal

Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source. The example above assumes no DOI is available.

Article in Electronic Journal

Note :  This content also appears on Reference List: Online Media .

As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a DOI if one is associated with the article.

DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.

Article in a Magazine

Article in a newspaper.

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Library Guide for Education Graduate Students

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How to Write as a Graduate Student

The OWL Provides some helpful tips on writing as a graduate student. Here are some topics covered. The links below will take you to the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) website .

• Introduction to Graduate Writing
• Graduate Writing Topics
• Graduate Writing Genres
• Writing a Thesis/Dissertation

Creating an Annotated Bibliography

The OWL also provides guidance on creating an annotated bibliography, a common tool and assignment for graduate students.  Below are a few topics covered by the OWL.

• Annotated Bibliographies - Definitions & Format
• Annotated Bibliography Breakdown
• Annotated Bibliography Samples
• Writing a Literature Review

Just about every major research project involves a literature review, often these can be placed at the beginning of a paper or can be publishable in their own right. The OWL provides guidance for literature review writing.

Job Search Writing

Writing while on the job search takes various forms. The OWL provides useful tips for writing in this context.

• Preparing an Application
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How to Do a Literature Review: Resources

• Introduction
• Where to Begin
• Organization & Writing

Video Tutorials

Sample Papers

• Sample APA Literature Review Contains explanations and tips. From the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
• Example APA Paper from Purdue OWL Example of an APA communications paper with a literature review inside it. From the Purdue Online Writing Lab.

Online Resources

• PDF Literature Review Guide A succinct guide to literature reviews, including a short sample of a literature review.
• Writing a Literature Review A basic guide to writing a literature review. From the University of Guelph.
• Literature Reviews Very detailed guide to writing literature reviews. From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Literature Review Tutorial From American University.
• Why is Writing a Literature Review so Hard?
• Literature Reviews: OWL Purdue Graduate Workshop
• Social Work Literature Review Guidelines: OWL Purdue Writing Lab

Books and Ebooks

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• Last Updated: Mar 4, 2021 10:44 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mcny.edu/literaturereview

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ASA Citations: American Sociological Association

• Literature Reviews
• ASA Manual & Guides
• Sample Citations
• ASA Outline Template
• What is a Literature Review?
• Sample Review in ASA
• Literature Review Resources
• Five Steps to Writing a Literature Review
• Annotated Bibliographies
• Organize Citations

What is a literature review?

• A literature review is a critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic. As a researcher, you collect the available literature on a topic, and then select the literature that is most relevant for your purpose. Your written literature review summarizes and analyses the themes, topics, methods, and results of that literature in order to inform the reader about the history and current status of research on that topic.

What purpose does a literature review serve?

• The literature review informs the reader of the researcher's knowledge of the relevant research already conducted on the topic under discussion, and places the author's current study in context of previous studies.
• As part of a senior project, the literature review points out the current issues and questions concerning a topic. By relating the your research to a knowledge gap in the existing literature, you should demonstrate how his or her proposed research will contribute to expanding knowledge in that field.

Take a look at our Literature Review Guide for more information. 

• SAMPLE: Literature Review in ASA This is a sample literature review from a professional journal that publishes in ASA style. ***Lit review begins on page 384 and ends on page 387. DATA AND METHODS section is NOT part of the lit review.
• Literature Review Matrix (Excel Doc) Excel file that can be edited to suit your needs.
• Literature Review Matrix (PDF) Source: McLean, Lindsey. "Literature Review." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2015. https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/literature-review.
• Academic Writer (formerly APA Style Central) This link opens in a new window This resource has templates available for literature reviews and other types of papers.
• Sample Literature Reviews: Univ. of West Florida Literature review guide from the University of West Florida library guides.
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) Sample literature review in APA from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)

• << Previous: ASA Outline Template
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• Last Updated: Feb 10, 2023 4:31 PM
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RSC 507: Scholarly Writing: APA Style

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APA Handbooks

APA Citation Style

What is the apa citation style.

" APA Style® originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style rules, that would codify the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension." (APA Style | "What is APA Style®?")

Who uses the APA citation style?

"APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences." (Purdue OWL | "APA Style Introduction") APA is also commonly used in education and the sciences (some of which actually have their own specific citation styles). That means, unless your instructor says otherwise, that if you're writing a research paper for your Biology, Business, Chemistry, Criminal Justice, Education, History, Medical Laboratory Science, Psychology, or Sociology classes, then you should probably be citing your sources according to the APA citation style.

How do I use the APA citation style?

• The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation. Include the page header by inserting page numbers flush right at the top of the page and then typing the title flush left of the page numbers.
• Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page.
• Beneath the title, type the author's name: first name, middle initial(s), and last name.
• Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation, which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.
• The introduction presents the problem that the paper addresses. It should start on the same page as the Literature Review.
• Start on a new page with the title References centered; do not underline or italicize. All citations in the paper should have a reference on this page.
• Introduction
• Appendices (Purdue OWL | "Types of APA Papers")

How do I cite a resource using the APA citation style?

• Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples . . .
• In 2003, Kessler's study of epidemiological samples found . . .
• Several studies (Miller, 1999; Shafranske & Mahoney, 1998) . . .

How do I properly format my References page?

According to APA citation style, you must have a References page at the end of your research paper. All entries on the References page must correspond to the resources that were cited in the main text of your paper. Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name (or the editor's or translator's name) or the title (ignoring initial articles), and the hanging indent style is used. For example:

Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11 , 7-10.

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66 , 1034-1048.

(Purdue OWL | "Reference List: Author/Authors")

• APA Template

Feel free to use the following document as a template for properly formatting your paper in APA, but please double-check with your instructor to make sure that you're following his/her specific directions!

• << Previous: APA Citation Style
• Next: APA Sample Paper >>
• Last Updated: Oct 23, 2023 1:26 PM
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4.3: APA Format

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• Lindsey Jo Hand, Erin Ryan, and Karen Sichler
• Kennesaw State University via GALILEO Open Learning Materials

Before getting started on the research process, let’s learn a little more about formatting and structuring papers. Scholarly research within communication studies typically uses American Psychological Association format, or APA. APA style provides scholars with a uniform way to present and understand research. While it takes some time to learn, this formatting style will help you keep your papers organized and most importantly, will aid you in properly citing your sources in order to avoid plagiarism. This chapter will walk you through a series of exercises intended to familiarize you with APA style. First, we will briefly discuss the general structure of a paper written in APA format. Then we' will practice in-text citations and reference list citations. As you complete these exercises, make sure you have your APA manual handy. You may also find the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/ helpful, as this site stays current on APA formatting as well.

Paper Structure

The structure for a literature review is somewhat standard and involves several components, which are listed in Figure 2. While exercises following this chapter will walk you through writing each section, we're going to give you a quick explanation of what each paper section entails.

"Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein." -Zora Neale Hurston

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Literature Review Paper Structure

The title page is the first page of your paper. As illustrated in your manual and the APA sample paper provided on Purdue OWL at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media...013008_560.pdf , the title page should include a header, page number, the paper title, your name, and your school name. You may also include an author note, but some instructors may not require this. For a demonstration on how to format your header, please click on the button below:

Video \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Introduction

The introduction informs the reader on what your topic of inquiry is. You give the reader background information on your topic such as definitions or statistics illustrating the significance of your topic. Here, you describe what the purpose of your paper is. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 1 to 3 paragraphs.

The abstract is placed on the page after the title page and provides a brief summary of the whole paper along with keywords used in your library source searches. Since it's a summary of your whole paper, it should be the last part of the paper you write. This section is typically 5 to 7 sentences.

Literature Review

Your literature review section should be an overview of research that has already been conducted on the topic you are researching. This is the main section of the paper and is intended to give the reader an idea of what the state of knowledge is on the topic. It's important to remain objective and rely solely on your sources for information. Make sure you leave personal observation and personal knowledge out of your literature review. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 4 to 6 pages.

Analysis and Discussion

This section is where you discuss the literature you just reviewed and summarized. What does it all mean? Identify patterns and ideas that your sources seem to agree on. Were there any discrepancies or contradictions? What did your sources miss, and what questions still need to be answered regarding your topic? After identifying this information, you will need to suggest future research possibilities and what scholars should investigate next. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 1 to 3 pages.

Your conclusion will wrap everything up by restating the purpose of your paper and reiterating your main points. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 1 to 3 paragraphs.

This section is where you cite all of the sources you used in your paper. Make sure you have your APA manual handy as you complete your citations.

Avoiding Plagiarism

We provide citations in academic works in order to let the reader know that our information and claims are supported by evidence and to avoid plagiarism. Whenever you share information or an idea that is not your own, the source of that information must be cited. Please see the list below from the University of Pittsburgh (2008) to get a better understanding of what plagiarism is and what types of plagiarism exist:

• Copying text "as is" without quotation marks and with no citation or source.
• Reordering the elements of the source text without citation.
• Copying pieces (sentences, key phrases) of the source text without citation.
• Paraphrasing without citation. o Reproducing information that is not common knowledge or self-evident without citation.
• Incorporating an idea heard in conversation without citation.
• Using your own past material or another student's material as a new idea without citation.
• Paying for another to contribute to your work without citation.
• Using software or online translators to translate material without citation.
• Paying someone else to do your work, purchasing material, or translating from someone else's material (Calvano, 2011, p.1).

In-text Citations

The in-text citations you provide in your written work help the reader understand where your information came from and ensure that the informatoin you are sharing is credible. Below are some examples of common in-text citation styles you will use in your paper. For these examples, we'll use the following citation:

Stiles, M., & Hand, L. (2017). APA format: You can do it. Kennesaw State Journal, 3(1), 1-10. doi: 10.3920958039

Paraphrasing

--There are two ways to do this.

According to Stiles and Hand (2017), APA format can be a little complicated and takes time and practice to learn.

APA format can be a little complicated and takes time to time and practice to learn (Stiles & Hand, 2017).

Direct Quotes

According to Stiles and Hand (2017), "APA formatting is nuanced and consists of many rules, and fully learning this format takes time" (p. 2).

"APA formatting is nuanced and consists of many rules, and fully learning this format take time" (Stiles & Hand, 2017, p. 2).

More Than 3 Authors

--List all names in the first citation then use "et al." for all other following citations.

What the first citation would look like:

According to Stiles, Hand, and Smith (2017), APA formatting highlights publication dates because recent research is important in social science disciplines.

APA formatting highlights publication dates because recent research is important in the social sciences (Stiles, Hand, & Smith, 2017).

Citations following the first citation:

Stiles et al. (2017) claim that APA takes time to learn.

APA takes time to learn (Stiles et al., 2017).

According to Stiles et al. (2017), "APA formatting takes consistent practice to fully learn" (p. 3).

"APA formatting takes consistent practice to fully learn" (Stiles et al., 2017, p. 3).

Reference List Citations

These types of citations are listed in the references section of your paper. As you complete your work, you may find the checklist at https://www2.indwes.edu/APA/APAStyleChecklist.pdf helpful. Please see the list below from Purdue OWL (2018) for basic rules on constructing a references list.

• All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
• Authors' names are inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work for up to and including seven authors. If the work has more than seven authors, list the first six authors and then use ellipses after the sixth author's name. After the ellipses, list the last author's name of the work.
• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
• For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
• Present the journal title in full. o Maintain the punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its title. For example: ReCALL not RECALL or Knowledge Management Research & Practice not Knowledge Management Research and Practice.
• Capitalize all major words in journal titles.
• When referring to books, chapters, articles, or Web pages, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
• Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.
• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

Scholarly Journal Article Citation Example

Scholarly book citation.

Sichler, K., & Ryan, E. (2018). The joys of APA format. New York, New York: Cengage

Calvano, B. (2011). Plagiarism in higher education. Retrieved from http:// www.examiner.com/adult-education-in- pittsburgh/plagiarism-higher- education

Purdue Online Writing Center (2018). Reference list: Basic Rules. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/

University of Pittsburgh. (2008). Undergraduate plagiarism policy. Retrieved from http://www.frenchanditalian.pitt.edu/undergrad/about/ plagiarism.php

APA Format Source Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Let's practice. Conduct a quick search on your library's website. Use the key words "media", "effects", and "cultivation theory". Find one scholarly article and one scholarly book. List their information in the form below to the best of your ability. Use this form to keep track of your sources and to ensure your citations include all required information.

Scholarly Journal Article

Author name(s):

Publication date:

Title: Publication/journal name:

Volume number:

Edition number:

Page numbers:

Doi number or url:

Full Citation:

Scholarly Book

• USU Library

Conducting a Literature Review in Education: Citing Sources

• Key Resources
• Lit Review Overview
• Search Alerts
• Managing Sources
• Citing Sources

Citing Sources in APA

According to APA 7th Edition guidelines you need to find out as much information as you can about who created and published a source and when. You communicate this to your audience through in-text and Reference List citations which your readers can look up themselves.

Recommended sources for help with APA style guidelines:

• APAstyle.org Free online help directly from the American Psychological Association. Scroll down to "Quick Answers" section for help with references and formatting.
• Purdue OWL APA Formatting & Style Guide Free APA help online from Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL). Provides examples and instructions for commonly cited materials, as well as a sample APA paper and tips for avoiding plagiarism. The left-hand menu has guidance for both in-text citations and the references list at the end of your paper.

Automatically Creating Citations in Library Article Collections

Many databases and article collections, plus many e-books, will automatically create citations for whichever article or chapter you are viewing.

Look for a “Cite,” “CiteNow,” or “Cite This Item” button on the database record for the specific article or chapter. (Not all databases have this feature. For example, LexisNexis does not.)

Examples of citation buttons:

     EBSCOhost databases                      ProQuest databases                                JSTOR (e.g., Academic Search Premier)                  (e.g, Newsstand)

APA style requires that a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) be included in your citation, if available. To see if a journal article has been assigned a DOI, you can look it up on CrossRef or Ask a Librarian .

For more information about the DOI system, see http://www.doi.org .

• << Previous: Managing Sources
• Last Updated: Apr 18, 2024 4:01 PM
• URL: https://libguides.usu.edu/educationlitreview

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• Research Guides

Writing Literature Reviews

• Literature Review Overview
• Organizing Your Lit Review
• Tips for Writing Your Lit Review

Need Assistance?

Find your librarian, schedule a research appointment, today's hours : , what is a literature review.

A literature review ought to be a clear, concise synthesis of relevant information. A literature review should introduce the study it precedes and show how that study fits into topically related studies that already exist. Structurally, a literature review ought to be something like a funnel: start by addressing the topic broadly and gradually narrow as the review progresses.

from Literature Reviews by CU Writing Center

Why review the literature?

Reference to prior literature is a defining feature of academic and research writing. Why review the literature?

• To help you understand a research topic
• To establish the importance of a topic
• To help develop your own ideas
• To make sure you are not simply replicating research that others have already successfully completed
• To demonstrate knowledge and show how your current work is situated within, builds on, or departs from earlier publications

from Literature Review Basics from University of La Verne

Tips & Tricks

Before writing your own literature review, take a look at these resources which share helpful tips and tricks:

Lectures & Slides

• Literature Reviews | CU Writing Center
• Writing a Literature Review | CU Writing Center
• Revising a Literature Review | CU Writing Center
• Literature Reviews: How to Find and Do Them
• Literature Reviews: An Overview

How-To Guides

• Literature Reviews | Purdue OWL
• Literature Reviews | University of North Carolina
• Learn How to Write a Review of Literature | University of Wisconsin
• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide | University of Connecticut
• Literature Reviews | Florida A & M
• Conduct a Literature Review | SUNY
• Literature Review Basics | University of LaVerne

Sample Literature Reviews

• Sample Literature Reviews | University of West Florida
• Sample APA Papers: Literature Review | Purdue OWL
• Next: Organizing Your Lit Review >>
• Last Updated: Apr 24, 2020 3:12 PM
• URL: https://libguides.cedarville.edu/c.php?g=969394