The APA Style and Format Scavenger Hunt
Problem: You are a student or professional of the Social Sciences; you must write research papers. You are required to follow APA style and format for your writings. Action: You acquire the APA "bible," its Publication Manual, 4h edition. Problem: You now search for answers to your APA style and format questions. You scavenge for hours. Action: You know that the information you need is all there, but where? You experience the Psychological Rite of Passage known as the "Twilight Zone of Altered States of Reference Logic." Problem: The Manual is not intuitive. Solution: Develop your own cognitive cues and frames to make sense of the book's layout. Even though I was familiar with its third edition, I still used lots of post-it stick-em things temporarliy attached to sections. And then get on with it.
"THE" APA Manual - Extremely Useful but not an Easy Read
First things first. This is "THE" APA Manual. You will be using this if you are writing any academic papers in the social sciences - period. Like most manuals of style, it is extremely insightful in many ways, and just as idiosyncratic in others. Oh, and it is not an easy read. *Get over it!* If you are opening this book for the first time anytime within 90 days of your due date, you've got bigger problems, trust me!
The 4th edition is somewhat changed from the 3rd edition, and the 5th edition is little changed from the 4th, so the economist in me says that it pays to buy the less expensive and just as useful 4th edition.
In conclusion, this is actually a useful book, though it is less than optimally organized and not exactly a page-turner. Still, if you are in the social sciences, you have to use it, and use it you will. Get past all the "my gawd, I can't believe how fast 5 years flew by, I'm out of extensions and all of a sudden my paper is due" frustrations. Get a copy, learn how to use it and use it well - just like you've done with a million other less than user-friendly, yet essential references.
Good luck!
Unhelpful Guide about an Unenlightening Style
Like some of the other reviewers, I am in a program of advanced study in which APA is the "accepted" style of citation for scholarly research. As we can see, APA is an absolutely dreadful citation style, especially with its prohibition of footnotes, leading to incomprehensible paragraphs in which your prose is murdered by names and dates in parentheses. The lack of required page numbers in your citations also allows you, if you're so inclined, to transform your references into all sorts of unsupported speculation and conjecture, and no reader will be able to prove or disprove what you're saying. I realize that arguing about the merits of APA style is not the same as reviewing the merits of this book. But the weaknesses in the core citation style are so prevalent that it would be impossible to create a book of this nature with any sort of usefulness.
Now let's get to the trouble with this particular book. First, it is unnecessarily humungous, trying to beef up the very thin body of APA citation requirements (which by the way can be found for free all over the internet) with hugely unenlightening chapters on basic writing style and methods. Infinitely better guides on how to actually write and conduct research can be easily found elsewhere. Even when you do want to find instructions on the core requirements of APA citation style, this is an annoyingly difficult task in this atrociously organized and indexed book. A thin and under-compiled index sends you to hard-to-find section numbers rather than page numbers. And finally there is the practice of this book's publishers to promote a "new edition" which is merely the same as before with a couple of new entries, sold with a new cover and of course a new full price. In case you're wondering, about the only new information in this edition concerns how to reference websites and online publications. Once again, this info can be found for free on the internet, while you could also spend a pittance on a used copy of the supposedly "outdated" previous edition.
This book gets two stars because it is nominally useful (at least in theory) if you're stuck with it. But if you find yourself required to use the talent-crushing APA style in your attempts to write something of importance, first try to convince your mentors that APA is inherently anti-intellectual. Then find a way to get out of any requirements to buy this unhelpful book, and find the information on the internet instead. [~doomsdayer520~]
About Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association detail
- Amazon Sales Rank: #432 in Books
- Published on: 2001-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 439 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781557987914
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association Description
Style manual for writers, editors, students, educators, and professionals across all fields. Provides clear guidance on grammar, the mechanics of writing, and APA style. Includes examples, new guidelines and advice, and more. Previous edition: c1994. Softcover, wire-spiral edition is also available. Hardcover edition due later.
