A research as massive as the one that ties in such processes as child development, particularly child’s academic performance, and the mother’s adult learning (Sabates, Duckworth & Feinstein, 2011), definitely demands an all-embracive and comprehensive research of the available sources. In addition, it is crucial that the research should be structured and formatted properly. Therefore, the need to utilize an adequate reference style emerges. Since the APA style allows for creating a short annotation traditionally defined as an abstract, as well as developing a detailed outline and offering in-ext information on not only the author of the source, but also the date when it came out, therefore, facilitating the relevance of the source in question, it is the most appropriate style to be used in the given research. The APA style is not to be confused with the APS one, which is also known as the American Psychological Society reference style (Wharton County Junior College, 2013).
When using the APA style, one must keep its peculiarities in mind. To be more exact several key specifics of the given citation style are to be mentioned. Created by the American Psychological Association (APA Style, 2014), APA includes the elements that other reference styles do not have and, therefore, needs to be taken a closer look at.
Abstract
An abstract is a short description of the paper, i.e., the goal, the method and the key results. An abstract precedes the text and follows the title page of the paper.
Title page
As a rule, the traditional APA style presupposes that the title page should contain the title of the paper, the student’s name and the institution that the student attends. Rules may differ, though, depending on the institution.
Reference page
Named the “Reference List,” an APA referee page contains an alphabetically ordered list of sources used in the paper.
In-text citation
One of the most memorable elements of the APA style – one may argue, in fact, that this is the APA style’s calling card – the method of citing and quoting sources in the text is definitely worth mentioning. Apart from providing the author’s name and, occasionally, the page (the latter being used in case of a direct quotation), the author of a research must also include the year when the source was published. It is desirable (though not imperative, unless stated in the instructions) that the sources used for a research should not be older than five years; seeing how the given research is going to be carried out in 2014, it will be necessary to use the sources from 2009–2014. In addition, it should be kept in mind that an APA style does not approve of using many quotations; instead, citations are much more preferable.
Pagination
According to the APA traditions, the front page does not have a number; the pages are numbered starting with the second one, which is the page with the abstract on it.
Running head
Another element that only an APA paper has, a running head is a capitalized and shortened version of the tile, which is put in a header on the opposite of the page number.
Subheadings
The APA citation style has a complex system of subheadings; suffice to say, all of them are written in bold and serve to help the readers navigate within the research.
Reference List
APA Style (2014). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, sixth edition.
Sabates, R., Duckworth, K., & Feinstein, L. (2011). The impact of mothers’ adult learning on their children’s academic performance at Key Stage 3: evidence from ALSPAC. Oxford Review of Education, 37(4), 485–504.
Wharton County Junior College (2013). Internet resources.