Introduction for Instructors

This open manual is intended to be an accessible, simplified, Canadian guide to the seventh edition of APA Style, suitable for students across a variety of disciplines and experience levels at Loyalist College and beyond. This manual contains the elements of APA Style most commonly used at Loyalist College. It is not exhaustive, and the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (the Publication Manual) continues to be the fullest explanation of APA Style. Students and faculty should refer to the Publication Manual with any questions.

This manual also includes two chapters on research. Chapter 3 introduces and explains the research process, and Chapter Four provides tools and techniques for evaluating sources.

Finally, this manual includes a chapter on academic writing. Chapter 7 explains the basics of grammar and sentence structure, punctuation, quotations, paraphrasing and summarizing, bias-free language, and it provides tools and techniques for editing and revising written work

The authors of this manual have reviewed the text in full, and to the best of our knowledge, all of the information in the manual is accurate. However, mistakes do occur. Students bear sole responsibility for ensuring that their citations are correct, and that their assignments meet the criteria laid out by their instructor. The authors welcome feedback and corrections, to ensure that this manual is as accurate as possible. These can be sent to jdupuis@loyalistcollege.com

Using This Manual

This manual has been released under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Under this license, faculty at any institution who adopt this manual can:

• Retain: make, own, and control copies of the manual, including downloading and storing copies.
• Reuse: use the manual in a wide range of ways, including in classes, or sharing on a Learning Management System (LMS) like Canvas or Blackboard.
• Revise: adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content in the manual, including translating the content into another language, or changing examples.
• Remix: combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new.
• Redistribute: share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others.
  (Wiley, n.d.)

Under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, this resource cannot be sold or used for commercial purposes.

Why create an open Loyalist College APA Manual?

Why create an open APA manual? How is this text different from Cites & Sources (2021) or the Publication Manual (2020)? The goal of this manual is to complement, rather than replace, the Publication Manual. This manual is one more tool in the research and citation toolbox to support students and faculty with APA Style, while meeting the following criteria:

• It is accessible, both in format and in cost, in line with the goals laid out in the 2022-2027 Academic Plan.
• It is adaptable. As described above, faculty have the option to revise and remix the content in this manual, under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
• Examples in this manual use Canadian content.
• It has a renewed focus on academic rigor, and excellence in written communication.
• It includes a focus on appropriately citing Indigenous names and titles, as well as Knowledge Keepers and Traditional Knowledge. It also incorporates Indigenous ways of knowing wherever possible.

Incorporating Indigenous Ways of Knowing

To help with understanding academic integrity, the authors of this manual highly recommend Seven Grandfathers in Academic Integrity, developed by Iehnhotonkwas Bonnie Jane Maracle from the University of Toronto. This excellent resource explains academic integrity using the Seven Grandfather Teachings, a set of Anishinaabe guiding principles – Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility, and Wisdom – each intended to provide guidance on living a thoughtful, ethical life. These teachings have been passed down through stories and ceremonies, through many generations over thousands of years. You can learn more about the Seven Grandfather Teachings in the link at the end of this section. Ms. Maracle’s lesson about academic integrity through the lens of the Seven Grandfather Teachings gives more thoughtful context about why we cite and give credit for ideas and information.  A link to Ms. Maracle’s work can also be found at the end of this section.

Finding More Information

Wherever possible, there is a note indicating where a piece of information is found in the Publication Manual. This is done with the chapter and section number, the same numbering system used in the Publication Manual itself. For example, (1.10) tells us that additional information can be found in chapter one, section ten.

This manual also includes a glossary. Words included in the glossary are hyperlinked the first time they appear in a chapter, so readers can move to the glossary easily.

Finally, this manual includes an appendix that explains some of the most common kinds of sources. Like the words in the glossary, words included in this second appendix are also hyperlinked the first time they appear in a chapter.

Sources

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). (n.d.). Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).

Iehnhotonkwas B.J. Maracle. (2020). Seven Grandfathers in academic integrity. University of Toronto. https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/Seven_Grandfathers_in_Academic_Integrity.pdf

Legislative Assembly of Ontario. (n.d.) The Seven Grandfather Teachings. https://www.ola.org/sites/default/files/common/pdf/Seven%20Grandfather%20Teachings%20WEB%20Eng%20.pdf 

Wiley, D. (n.d.). Defining the “open” in open content and open educational resources. https://opencontent.org/definition