APA 7th Edition (2020) | The 17 Most Notable Changes
Introduction to the APA 7th Edition
In October 2019, the American Psychological Association (APA) released the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual, replacing the 6th edition from 2009. This update reflects significant changes in citation practices, technology, and the need for more inclusive language.
This article highlights the major updates and provides guidance on how to adapt to the new standards. For comprehensive support on APA citations, visit Datapott Analytics.
References and In-Text Citations in APA Style
The 7th edition of the APA Manual simplifies citing online sources with clearer guidelines. It includes 114 examples covering a wide range of sources, from books to social media.
Key Updates:
- Publisher Location: The location of the publisher is no longer required in the reference.
Old format: Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
New format: Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people. Simon & Schuster. - In-Text Citations: For works with three or more authors, use only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” from the first citation.
Old format: (Taylor, Kotler, Johnson, & Parker, 2018)
New format: (Taylor et al., 2018) - Author Names: List up to 20 authors’ names in the reference entry.
Example: Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T., … Lee, L. H. (2018). - DOIs and URLs: DOIs are formatted like URLs, and “DOI:” is no longer needed. URLs should not be preceded by “Retrieved from” unless a retrieval date is necessary.
DOI example: https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449
URL example: Streefkerk, R. (2019, October 11). APA 7th edition changes. Datapott Analytics. https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-seventh-edition-changes/ - Ebooks: Omit the format, platform, or device and include only the publisher.
Old format: Brück, M. (2009). Women in early British and Irish astronomy. [Kindle version]. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2
New format: Brück, M. (2009). Women in early British and Irish astronomy. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2 - Additional Contributors: Clearly include contributors such as hosts for podcasts and writers or directors for TV series episodes. Guidelines also cover the use of emojis and hashtags in citations.
For more details, check out Datapott Analytics’ citation services.
Inclusive and Bias-Free Language
The 7th edition emphasizes the use of inclusive and bias-free language. Guidelines include:
- Gender-Neutral Pronouns: Endorsement of the singular “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun.
Example: Instead of “A researcher’s career depends on how often he or she is cited,” use “A researcher’s career depends on how often they are cited.” - Descriptive Phrases: Replace labels with more descriptive and specific terms.
Example: Use “People living in poverty” instead of “The poor.” - Age Ranges: Specify exact age ranges instead of broad categories.
Example: “People aged 65 to 75 years old” instead of “People over 65 years old.”
Explore further guidelines on inclusive language at Datapott Analytics.
APA Paper Format
The 7th edition introduces new formatting guidelines for both professional and student papers, including:
- Font Options: Flexibility to use fonts like Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, and Georgia 11.
- Running Head: For professional papers, the running head includes only a shortened title and page number, without “Running head:”.
Example: THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE ON THE INTERNET - Student Papers: The running head is omitted unless otherwise specified by the instructor.
- Headings: Updated formatting for heading levels 3-5 to improve readability.
For sample papers and additional formatting guidelines, refer to Datapott Analytics’ resources.
Mechanics of Style
Two notable changes in style include:
- Spacing: Use only one space after a period.
- Quotation Marks: Use double quotation marks for linguistic examples instead of italics.
Learn more about these style updates at Datapott Analytics.
