APA 7th Edition: Glossary of Terms

Citation: The proper format of all the sources you used in your paper. Information that will be used when you cite research within your paper (In-text Citation) and on your References page. Remember: each source must have at least one In-text citation AND appear on your References page.

DOI# : Digital Object Identifier. Journal articles accessed via databases now have an individual DOI#. Older articles may not have this number. IF there is a DOI#, it must become part of your citation on your References page.

et al. : In Latin this means “and others.” It is used especially in referring to academic books or journal articles that have more than three authors. NOTE: even though et al. is taken from Latin, it is NOT italicized in APA format.

Hanging Indent:  All lines after the first line of each citation on your references page should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is the opposite of standard paragraph format.

In-text citation: This provides the source of information for a quote, paraphrase, or summary within the body of your paper. The most common format should be: (Author, Year) See the In-text Citations page for more information.

Paraphrase: To rewrite part or all of someone else’s idea or information in your own words. Make sure it is rewritten in your own words. Only changing one or two words is neither a direct quote nor a paraphrase -- this is considered a form of plagiarism. 

Quote: If you copy word-for-word (verbatim) information from a source you must put the information in quotation marks: for example: Maya Angelou said: "If someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." A period or comma goes inside the quotation marks.

A Reference(s) page is the last page of your paper, where all the sources you have cited in your paper are listed. This page is numbered. See the References page of this LibGuide for more information.

A source is one of the books/articles/videos you have used to help create your paper.

URL: Uniform (or Universal) Resource Locator is the address of the web page, Ex: http://www.monroecollege.edu is the URL for the Monroe College website.

A Webpage is a single page that contains information on a topic.

A Website has a number of webpages that are connected by links. Monroe College Library has a website, not a webpage.