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Types of APA Papers
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APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (6 th ed., 2 nd printing).
Note: This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. There is currently no equivalent 7th edition page, but we're working on one. Thank you for your patience. Here is a link to our APA 7 "General Format" page .
There are two common types of papers written in fields using APA Style: the literature review and the experimental report (also known as a "research report"). Each has unique requirements concerning the sections that must be included in the paper.
Literature review
A literature review is a critical summary of what the scientific literature says about your specific topic or question. Often student research in APA fields falls into this category. Your professor might ask you to write this kind of paper to demonstrate your familiarity with work in the field pertinent to the research you hope to conduct.
While the APA Publication Manual does not require a specific order for a literature review, a good literature review typically contains the following components:
- Introduction
- Thesis statement
- Summary and synthesis of sources
- List of references
Some instructors may also want you to write an abstract for a literature review, so be sure to check with them when given an assignment. Also, the length of a literature review and the required number of sources will vary based on course and instructor preferences.
NOTE: A literature review and an annotated bibliography are not synonymous. While both types of writing involve examining sources, the literature review seeks to synthesize the information and draw connections between sources. If you are asked to write an annotated bibliography, you should consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for the APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies.
Experimental/Research report
In many of the social sciences, you will be asked to design and conduct your own experimental research. If so, you will need to write up your paper using a structure that is more complex than that used for just a literature review. We have a complete resource devoted to writing an experimental report in the field of psychology here .
This structure follows the scientific method, but it also makes your paper easier to follow by providing those familiar cues that help your reader efficiently scan your information for:
- Why the topic is important (covered in your introduction)
- What the problem is (also covered in your introduction)
- What you did to try to solve the problem (covered in your methods section)
- What you found (covered in your results section)
- What you think your findings mean (covered in your discussion section)
Thus an experimental report typically includes the following sections.
- Multiple experiments (if you conduct more than one)
- Appendices (if necessary)
- Tables and/or figures (if necessary)
Make sure to check the guidelines for your assignment or any guidelines that have been given to you by an editor of a journal before you submit a manuscript containing the sections listed above.
As with the literature review, the length of this report may vary by course or by journal, but most often it will be determined by the scope of the research conducted.
Other papers
If you are writing a paper that fits neither of these categories, follow the guidelines about General Format , consult your instructor, or look up advice in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association .
When submitting a manuscript to a journal, make sure you follow the guidelines described in the submission policies of that publication, and include as many sections as you think are applicable to presenting your material. Remember to keep your audience in mind as you are making this decision. If certain information is particularly pertinent for conveying your research, then ensure that there is a section of your paper that adequately addresses that information.
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Understanding APA Literature Reviews
Teachers often assign research papers to students, especially an APA literature review. Literature reviews may be part of a larger research paper or stand alone on their own. Since conducting original research and writing a paper about it takes considerable time, instructors often require students prepare papers such as compare and contrast, critical essays or literature reviews instead.
What Is a Literature Review?
Although a literature review in the seventh edition of APA is considered a summary of previous research, it is more than that. You must select sources that move the research forward. Then, you should suggest ways other researchers can move the subject further still. For example, if you are preparing a literature review for your sociology class, you may choose a topic such as bullying and social media or the gender wage gap .
Researching Your Topic
As you research those topics, check the dates of the articles, websites and books you’re reading. You want the most current information whenever possible. However, you may want to start by referencing studies from several years back and then finding newer sources. This shows how the research and understanding has changed over time.
Gaining understanding of how bullying and social media develops over time strengthens your argument. After you find your sources and develop your thesis , you can conclude your school paper by suggesting new areas of research.
If you include a literature review as part of a larger research paper, that section appears after the introduction. The research sources in the literature review section back up your thesis statement. They should be relevant to the arguments you present in the rest of your school research paper.
Organizing Your Literature Review
An APA style paper is organized in the author-date style. This means you cite the author’s name and year of publication within the text with an in-text citation. You also include the page number, if appropriate. You then include the full information of that source in a reference list at the end of your paper. As a reference list contains only those sources you used within the text of your paper, every in-text citation must match with a reference list entry.
APA Literature Review Example
In a seminal 1992 interpretation of the collection of The Maryland Historical Society (MdHS) from an African-American perspective, artist Fred Wilson created an installation by re-juxtaposing objects and documents from the collection. The title of the exhibition, Mining the Museum, reflected the process— mining the collection for items, most of which were in storage, as well as the emerging theme—a representation of history that felt more “mine” to the artist than that previously presented.
In “How Mining the Museum Changed the Art World” (2017), Maryland Institute College of Art curator Kerr Houston wrote that Wilson’s installation permanently changed the way MdHS presented their collection. For example, Wilson added a spotlight illuminating the image of an enslaved boy in the shadows of a portrait of a white child. The MdHS now recognizes the enslaved child as well as the white child in its labeling and cataloging of the painting.
LaPierre, S. S. (2019). Contemporary art and historical archives: Collaborations and convergences in a digital multicultural age. School of Information Student Research Journal, 9 (1). http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/slissrj/vol9/iss1/4.
An APA Literature Review
APA literature reviews are a common assignment teachers give, along with compare and contrast and critical essays . Now you know how to create an APA 7 format literature review, it’s time to get writing.
Writing a Literature Review for a College Paper
Writing APA Abstracts for a Literature Review
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APA Block Quote Format
Apa reference list examples of periodical citations, apa image citations for photos and digital pictures, apa movie citation examples.
Literature Review
- Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
- Finding "The Literature"
- Organizing/Writing
- Sample Literature Reviews
- FAMU Writing Center
Resources on the Web
- Writing a Literature Review Brendan Rapple, Boston College Libraries
Literature Review Tutorial
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Books about Lit Reviews
What is a Literature Review?
A Literature Review Is Not:
- just a summary of sources
- a grouping of broad, unrelated sources
- a compilation of everything that has been written on a particular topic
- literature criticism (think English) or a book review
So, what is it then?
A literature review is an integrated analysis-- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings that are related directly to your research question. That is, it represents the literature that provides background information on your topic and shows a correspondence between those writings and your research question.
A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment. Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.
Why is it important?
A literature review is important because it:
- Explains the background of research on a topic.
- Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
- Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
- Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
- Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
- Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.
- Next: Steps for Conducting a Lit Review >>
- Last Updated: Oct 20, 2022 11:24 AM
- URL: https://library.famu.edu/literaturereview
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- Using Visual Media
What is a Literature Review?
What do we mean by "the literature", literature review video tutorial, find sample literature reviews.
- Organizing Your Literature Review
- Sample Papers & Other APA Resources
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Commonly referred to as a “Lit Review”, a literature review is a critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic.
- Have a particular focus or theme to organize the review.
- Discuss the significant academic literature important for that focus.
- Compare, relate, and contrast different theories and findings.
- Reflect trends over time.
- Be written in a legible academic style, leading logically from idea to idea.
- Remember to use parenthetical references in the text, for example: ...describe recent trends in supervision (Diaz, 2006; Stacey & Holmes, 2004).
Keep in mind that if your literature review stands alone—distinct from a thesis, study or dissertation—it should include a brief introduction and conclusion.
- Scholarly journals (a.k.a. "peer-reviewed" & "academic")
- Professional journals
- Academic books & e-books
- Research reports
- Conference proceedings
- Doctoral dissertations
A 10-minute overview of what a literature review is and its purpose.
You can search for literature reviews in our databases by searching your topic and adding "literature reviews" as a search term.
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How to Write a Literature Review in APA Format
To complete a literature review, you must decide on your topic, research academic databases, organize your findings and write your review. The American Psychological Association provides specific guidelines for writing your review, from overall organization to minute details in formatting. Once you have organized and analyzed your findings, use APA style to write your review.
Format Your Document
Before you begin writing, ensure that your document is formatted properly. Set your page margins to 1 inch and double your spacing unless otherwise specified. Your font should be 12 point Times New Roman. Your header will contain a running heading and the page number on every page, including the title page. The page number should always be at the top right corner.
The title page will first introduce the running heading with the tag: "Running Heading: AND THE HEADING IN ALL CAPS." The title page should contain the title, the author, your name and your institution, all doubled-spaced and centered in the middle of the page.
Organize Your Sections
The essential sections for a literature review are the:
- introduction
- body -- organized by main points
An abstract may be included, though it is not required. In your introduction , include a summary of the focus of your review and why it is important. For example, if you are reviewing studies about student motivation, explain that it is important for teachers and parents to be aware of what motivates students to learn, and include if there has been little or a lot of research on the subject.
Organize your body using your main points , with bold, centered headings. For example, after you have researched different studies examining student motivation, organize the body of your review based on motivating factors. In the section about parental approval, discuss studies that measured the effects parental approval had on student motivation. Your final section will be references.
Cite Your Sources
APA style includes specific, detailed instructions for in-text citations . Each time you refer to a study by restating information or findings, include a citation in parentheses. The general format is to list the last name of the author, followed by a comma and the publication year, all enclosed in parentheses. For example:
Fear of failing has been found to motivate some students (Jones, 2010).
If there are two or more authors , list the last names, separated by commas. Include the "&" symbol before the last name. For example, some students reported being afraid of failure (Jones, Smith, & Williams, 2010). If you cite the author in the reference, include only the year. For example: Jones found that some students are motivated by fear of failing (2010). If you are citing multiple studies, list them alphabetically by the first listed author.
Include Your References
Your references should begin on a new piece of paper with a bold, centered heading: References. Organize your studies alphabetically by the last name of the first author. A study by A. Brown and T. Roberts would come before a study by R. Clark and M. Adams, because Brown is alphabetically before Clark. All references are only single-spaced after periods.
The general format is the same for scholarly journals. List the last name, comma and first initial of every author. Put the date the article was published in parentheses. Write the title of the article with only the first word capitalized, followed by a period. Write the publication name in italics, followed by volume number if applicable. Finally, list the page numbers, for example:
Brown, A., & Roberts, T. (2010). Effects of fear of failure on student success in the classroom. Journal of Research, 23, 34-48.
The difference for books is that the title of the book is italicized, and location of the publisher is listed, for example:
Clark, R., & Adams, M.N. (2011). Why children succeed in the classroom. New York: Education Press.
- Purdue University Online Writing Lab: Types of APA Papers: Literature Review
- University of Nebraska at Lincoln: Ordering the Sections of an APA Literature Review
Hannah Richardson has a Master's degree in Special Education from Vanderbilt University and a Bacheor of Arts in English. She has been a writer since 2004 and wrote regularly for the sports and features sections of "The Technician" newspaper, as well as "Coastwach" magazine. Richardson also served as the co-editor-in-chief of "Windhover," an award-winning literary and arts magazine. She is currently teaching at a middle school.
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Literature Review: Conducting & Writing
What is a literature review, what is a literature review: a tutorial, literature reviews: an overview for graduate students.
- Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
- Finding "The Literature"
- Organizing/Writing
- Chicago: Notes Bibliography
- Sample Literature Reviews
A Literature Review Is Not:
- just a summary of sources
- a grouping of broad, unrelated sources
- a compilation of everything that has been written on a particular topic
- literature criticism (think English) or a book review
So, what is it then?
A literature review is an integrated analysis-- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings that are related directly to your research question. That is, it represents the literature that provides background information on your topic and shows a correspondence between those writings and your research question.
A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment. Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.
Why is it important?
A literature review is important because it:
- Explains the background of research on a topic.
- Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
- Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
- Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
- Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
- Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.
Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students (by North Caroline State University Libraries)
- Next: Steps for Conducting a Lit Review >>
- Last Updated: Jan 15, 2023 5:54 PM
- URL: https://libguides.uwf.edu/litreview
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
What are the parts of a lit review? · Introduction: An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is · Body: Summarize and synthesize
A literature review is a critical summary of what the scientific literature says about your specific topic or question. Often student research in APA fields
An APA style paper is organized in the author-date style. This means you cite the author's name and year of publication within the text with an in-text citation
Literature Review · Home · Steps for Conducting a Lit Review · Finding "The Literature" · Organizing/Writing · APA Style · Chicago (Author-Date)Toggle
This video walks students through a short literature review that has been updated in APA 7th edition.
Commonly referred to as a “Lit Review”, a literature review is a critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic.
A literature review is a concise overview of the research that exists on a particular subject. ... Make sure all formatting elements follow APA guidelines.
APA style includes specific, detailed instructions for in-text citations. Each time you refer to a study by restating information or findings, include a
Abstract. Literature review abstracts and research article abstracts share the same basic format but differ in content. Abstracts of literature review articles
Home · Steps for Conducting a Lit Review · Finding "The Literature" · Organizing/Writing · APA Style · Chicago: Notes Bibliography · MLA Style · Sample