APA 7th Edition – Find out What’s new

Table of Contents

Introduction

Referencing is a term used for the acknowledgement of authors in a written work. Researchers, scholars, academics, writers and professors use the term referencing whenever they have used another author’s idea, thought line or concept to emphasize a point in their own work. In writing, there are different styles the aforementioned uses to acknowledge other writers.

What is the APA 7th Edition?

APA is an abbreviation for the American Psychological Association. It is a method of documentation and a pattern used in writing research papers. The APA documentation form is used basically for courses or fields in the social sciences.

Some of these fields are education, psychology, sociology, etc. In 1923, the American Psychological Association (APA) ventured into publishing. Known for its method of simplicity in referencing style, the APA since its inception has different publications subsequently.

The APA referencing style was brought to notice after the first edition of a publication of the manual in the year 1952. Having released several editions over the years, the APA referencing style had its 7th edition released in October 2019, where several changes and additions were made. Having the 7th edition published, the association has the aim of helping writers become better at what they do, by amplifying the needs for simplicity and clarity.

The APA 7th edition was released in order to correct a number of notable errors found in the 6th edition. In the 7th edition, there are resources that make for easy usage. The new 7th edition has a list of new additions in it.

List of New additions in the APA 7th edition

After the publication of the 6th edition, the association responsible for criticizing publications, Association of Established Parameters gave a review and commissioned reviews from various bodies of scholars and professionals.

These comments and reviews which was given by psychologists, librarians, professionals, business leaders, etc. prompted the force to appoint a set of people made up of in different areas, which include, standard writing style, statistics, referencing style, bias-free language, article reporting, journal referencing, journal article reporting standard, language ethics and graphics.

After the APA had published the 5th edition, they reported that there was a sudden increase by online users for online sources and materials, including journals and other research materials. This also made way for need of the 6th edition. The 6th though was released with a few changes brought about the APA style website, apastyle.org and the blog, APA style blog, proffering solution for online researchers and users.

This blog and website were established or created in order for users to have answers to common questions. Though with a level of review and corrections put in place for the 6th edition of the APA style, then came a set of errors that needed to be fixed. This 6th edition was announced only after eight years of the publication of the 5th edition.

With the aim of righting some errors found in the 6th edition, the new additions in the APA 7th edition were deemed necessary and to serve its users better. These additions are listed below:
A student title page
Student paper format
A journal article containing quality and quantitative report standard for mixed research.
A bias-free language guide for all possible users including communicators.
Classroom website sources
Classroom course pack materials
Shortened in-text citation format for easy reading and to enable easy accessibility, considering users with cognitive disabilities.
Student-friendly examples

In the new 7th edition, every user has a reference or a solution and answer to referencing questions. The association made available quite a large number of examples to different reference questions examples. These examples are not limited to just written articles or works, they also include ways to reference authors or producers of audiovisuals, charts, maps, tables, graphs, images, cites or webpages, social publications, etc.

There is also the provision for those who have questions to get answers on the APA style blog. This blog provides answers to common questions for people who need help with the APA style.
When using the APA referencing style in research work, it is important to greatly considered the take note of the reference page and the in-text citation as well.