University of Applied Sciences

APA

At NHL Stenden, we follow the APA guidelines for citing sources. APA is a format for the writing of documents. It gives guidelines for referencing, bibliographies, quoting and paraphrasing. You can find out about how to apply the APA style in the quick guide. This quick guide also gives examples of references to various types of publication. For more information, see the comprehensive manual.

APA style quick guide (PDF)

More information? Take al look at the complete APA style manual (pdf)

Quoting

Whether you quote (directly copying someone else’s text) or paraphrase (presenting someone else’s text in your own words), you will need to reference your source.

Short quotes (less than 40 words)

Use double quote marks directly before and after the quoted material. Place the quotation in the text in double quote marks. The reference (author, year, page number) is part of the sentence.

For example:
In fact, "the dominance of technology over culture is an illusion", according to Hofstede (2001, p. 453).

Long quotes (40 words or more)

Place the quoted material in a separate block of text, starting on a new line and indenting the text block by 1.3 cm. Do not use quote marks. End the quote with a full stop and place the reference after it.

For example:
There are many different definitions of culture. The definition of the anthropologist Kluckhohn is well-known:

Culture consists in patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values. (Kluckhohn, 1951, p. 86)

Paraphrasing

If you don’t want to quote someone directly but you do want to use their idea, then you do so by paraphrasing. You don’t copy the text; instead, you rewrite it in your own words. You place a reference after the text (author, year). The reference is part of the sentence.

For example:
Hofstede’s statement (2001) indicates that the usage of technology is influenced by culture and can therefore differ across the globe. The usage of technology is influenced by culture and can therefore differ across the globe (Hofstede, 2001).

Bibliography

At the end of your assignment, report or thesis, you include a bibliography made up of all of the sources that you used in your text, listed in alphabetical order.

Referencing a book

Family name author, Initials. (Year). Title of the book: Subtitle (edition). Place of publishing: Publisher.

Bijvoorbeeld:
Nutt, P.C., & Wilson, D.C. (Eds.).(2010). Handbook of decision making. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Referencing a journal article

Family name author, Initals., Family name author, Initials., & Family name author, Initials. (Year). Title of the article: Subtitle. Title of the journal: Subtitle, volume(issue number). page-page.

Bijvoorbeeld:
Unruh, G., & Ettenson, R. (2010, June). Growing green: Three paths to developing sustainable products. Harvard business review, 88(6), 94-100.

Referencing text of a website

Family name author, Initials. (Year). Title of the text: Subtitle. Retrieved on Month, day, year, from URL

Bijvoorbeeld:
Hofstede, G. (n.d.). Dimensions of national cultures. Retreived on August 25, 2010 from www.geerthofstede.nl/culture.dimentions-of-national-cultures.aspx

More information

The APA style is established by the American Psychological Association, the American professional society for university-trained psychologists. It is the most commonly used referencing style at colleges.