research paper

How to Cite References Using the American Sociological Association's Style

This guide provides examples of the American Sociological Association (ASA) citation style, which is used primarily in sociology and related disciplines. For additional information, consult the most recent American Sociological Association Style Guide located at the Reference Desk (REF DESK HM73.A54 2007).

Reference List

ASA style requires citations both in the body of the paper and in an alphabetical reference list at the end of the paper. For citation style in text, see p. 3-4. Although reference entries below are single-spaced due to paper restrictions, ASA style references should be normally doubled spaced. Some of the general features are:

· The first line of each citation begins flush left, and the second and subsequent lines are indented three spaces. (This is called a “hanging indent.”)

· The list should be arranged alphabetically by author’s last name. Include the first name and surnames for all authors. Only use initials if the author used initials in the original publication. Add a space between the initials, such as M. K. F. Fisher. If the source does not have an author, alphabetization is by the first word in the title.

· Invert the author’s name. If there are two or more authors invert only the first author’s name.

· Use six hyphens and a period (------.) instead of repeating an author’s name.

· Arrange multiple items by the same author in order by year of publication, oldest date first.

BOOKS

· Book titles are italicized.

· Include both the city and state for the place of publication, excepting New York City. Use the U. S.

Postal Code abbreviation for states (e.g., WI; IL; Washington, DC)

One author

Henslin, James M. 2002. Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Two or more authors

Nelson, Margaret K. and Joan Smith. 1999. Working hard and making do: surviving in small town America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

No authors

Change: readings in society & human behavior. 1972. Del Mar, CA: CRM Books.

Edited book, other than first edition

Vander Zanden, James W. 1996. Sociology: the core. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

• Other accepted abbreviations for editions: Rev. ed., 2nd Ed., 3rd ed., 2 vols. Edited books Finsterbusch, Kurt, ed. 1999. Sources: notable selections in sociology. Guilford, CT:

Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.

Articles from collected works

Brewer, John D. 1998. “Sensitivity in Field Research: A Study of Policing in Northern Ireland.” Pp. 29-37 in Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, edited by John J. Macionis and Nijole V. Benokraitis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

· Titles of periodicals are italicized. Titles of articles are in quotation marks.

· All important words in article title are capitalized.

· Use the issue number or exact date for journals that do not number pages consecutively within a

volume.

One or more authors

Bullock, Barbara E. and Denis M. Provencher. 2001. “The Linguistic Representation of Femininity and Masculinity in Jean Genet’s Notre-Dame des Fleurs.” French Cultural Studies. 12 (34): 43-59.

Dwivedi, Kedar and Arun Gupta. 2000. “`Keeping Cool’: Anger Management through Group Work.” Support for Learning. 15:76-82.

Villani, Susan. 2001. “Impact of Media on Children and Adolescents: A 10-Year Review of the Research.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 40:392- 402.

Articles from Magazines and Newspapers

Duke, Lynne. 1994. “Confronting Violence: African American Conferees Look Inward.” Washington Post, January 8, pp. A1, A10.

Lemonick, Michael D., Dan Cray, Deborah Fowler, Julie Grace, Alison Jones, Durham Thompson, and Dick Thompson. 2000. “Teens Before Their Time.” Time, October 30, pp. 66- 73.

WEB SITES AND E-JOURNALS

· Date of retrieval is included.

· Internet address is enclosed in parentheses. Periods are put outside of the parentheses.

· Follow the format and include the same information for books and articles. Web Site (No Author) American Anthropological Association. 2006. “Race.” Retrieved December 12, 2006

(http://raceproject.aaanet.org).

Information Posted on Web Pages or Web Logs (Blogs)

DeLong, Brad. 2007. “Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez Give Their Current View on American Income Inequality.” The Brad DeLong Blog, January 7, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2007 (http://econ161.berkeley.edu/movable_type).

Markowitz, Robin. 1991. “Canonizing the Popular.” Cultural Studies Central. Retrieved October 31, 2001 (http://culturalstudies.net/canon.htm).

Articles from Commercial Electronic Periodical and Newspaper Databases

Scott, Lionel D., Jr. and Laura E. House. 2005. “Relationship of Distress and Perceived Control to Coping with Perceived Racial Discrimination among Black Youth.” Journal of Black Psychology 31 (3):254-72. (Retrieved from JSTOR on December 16, 2006.)

Articles from Electronic Journals (Article Exists Only in an E-journal)

Jabbour, Nicholas. 2000. “Syphilis from 1880 to 1920: A Public Health Nightmare and the First Challenge to Medical Ethics.” Essays in History 42. Retrieved October 19, 2001 (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/journals/EH/).

Rashotte, Lisa Slattery. 2001. “Some Effects of Demeanor on the Meaning of Behaviors in Context.” Current Research in Social Psychology 6:251-277. Retrieved October 19, 2001 (http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp.html).

CITATIONS IN TEXT

ASA style requires the use of citations in text. Citations in the text include the author’s last name and year of publication. Page numbers are included when quotes are taken directly from a work or refer to specific pages. Endnotes and footnotes are to be used only if necessary. These citations refer within the text to sources listed on the References Cited page at the end of the paper. Citations in text for electronic resources generally follow the preceding guidelines. Format guidelines are found in American Sociological Association Style Guide (Reference Desk HM73.A54 2007), from which the examples listed here were taken.

Author’s name in text

...as Jackson stated (1992).

Author’s name in a reference

... rather than serving the main purpose (Simpson 1995:33).

Joint authors

... (Hurt and Wallace 1997).

Multiple authors

• If there are three authors, cite all three last names in the first citation. Afterwards, use “et al.” If a work has more than three authors, use “et al.” in all citations.

First citation: ...within an organization (Brown, White, and Green 1982). Later: ...(Brown et al. 1982)

Parenthetical citations for electronic resources generally follow the preceding guidelines.

Quotations in the text

• Quotations taken directly from text must begin and end with quotation marks. The author, date and / or page numbers follow the end quote and precede the period.

Hunt and Wallace note that the debate included “questions relating to the unemployment of ethnic minorities to be asked of contractors but only a small number of local authorities are using this limited provision” (1997, p.30). OR The debate included “questions relating to the unemployment of ethnic minorities to be asked of contractors but only a small number of local authorities are using this limited provision” (Hunt and Wallace 1997: 30).

Block quotations

• Lengthy quotations (usually 50 words or more) are set off in a separate indented paragraph. Block quotations should not be enclosed in quotation marks.

As stated by Thrasher (1999): Gangs represent the spontaneous effort of boys to create a society for themselves where none adequate to their needs exists. What boys get out of such association that they do not get otherwise under the conditions that adult society imposes is the thrill and zest of participation in common interests, more especially in corporate action, in hunting, capture, conflict, flight and escape. (P. 147)

• The author, date, and/or page number follows the period in a block quote. In a block quote, the “P” for “page” is capitalized when the page number is cited alone without author and date information, as in the above example.

Corporate author

• Use the minimum identification from the beginning of the complete citation. ... (National Research Council 1998:22).

Multiple references

• Authors may be listed alphabetically or by year, but be consistent throughout the document. ... (Jones 1999; Smith 2000; Jacobi and Rumery 2001).

For additional examples of citations in text, see the American Sociological Association Style Guide (Reference Desk HM73.A54 2007).

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