APA Referencing for VCE Data Analytics

American Psychological Association (APA) referencing system

There are several different accepted styles to use when citing / referencing other people's work.

They all accomplish the same thing: they prove you're not passing off other people's brainwork as your own. And you let let readers find out more about the research you are talking about.

The the only difference between citation styles is their appearance.

Some use footnotes at the bottom of each page.

Other use end notes at the end of the document.

The one you need to be able to use for VCE is the commonly-used APA (American Psychological Association) system. It uses end notes.

The APA referencing system uses the "author-date" style, which

in the body text, adds the surname of the author and the year of publication after the cited
in the reference list at the end of the article, provides full details of the source of the cited information.

IN THE BODY TEXT

Insert a minimal link to more detailed source information that will come later. (I only use red to highlight the relevant bits. It is not required in real citations)

e.g.

While the literature dealing with the sleeping habits of parrots is extensive, the discovery that "The Norwegian Blue prefers kippin' on its back!" (Python, 1969, pp.2-3) was revelatory.

In early parrot research, Monty Python (1969, pp.2-3) reported that the Norwegian Blue had a preference for sleeping on its back whereas...

IN THE REFERENCE LIST

At the end of the document, a reference list gives full details of the source to match the reference inserted into the body text:

Python, M (1969). The Dead Parrot Sketch Compendium (3rd ed.) BBC.

Where

Python, M = author(s) named Monty Python
(1969) = year of publication
The Dead Parrot Sketch Compendium = publication title
(3rd ed.) = the edition, if relevant
BBC = publisher

For Internet sources - add the URL (internet address), and date of retrieval because - unlike a printed text- the online data might well have changed since you found it during your original research.

So... as an example

In the body text

While the different referencing styles "all accomplish the same thing" (Kelly, ) there are some significant variations.

In the reference list at end of the document

Kelly, M. (). APA Referencing for VCE Data Analytics. https://vcedata.com/p/apa.html

Give enough relevant information for readers to locate the original material for themselves. The more specific, the better.

Lots of more specific conditions may arise, e.g.

several authors with the same name
several publications by an author in the same year
multiple authors: (Python & Milligan, 1969) or (Python et al. 1969)

but these need not be dwelt upon for VCE exam purposes.

You can easily find detailed information for APA referencing in many places online.

Just remember:

In the body text - put a minimal LINK - e.g. Kelly () famously said...
In the reference list at the end - put a detailed SOURCE - e.g. Kelly, M. (). APA Referencing for VCE Data Analytics. https://vcedata.com/p/apa.html

In a VCE exam, you should not be marked down for failing to use italics or other trivial formatting. (Tip: use underlining in an exam, instead of italics)

Due to non-existent pressure from my non-existent fans, I must point you to the existence of the original Dead Parrot Sketch by Python, M (1969)

This page was created on 2022-03-31 @ 10:57
Last modified on Saturday 2 April, 2022 10:23