A Useful Guide on How to Cite a Dissertation APA

Many students want to know how to cite a doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in APA style when pursuing social science programs. APA stands for the American Psychological Association. It’s the most commonly used citation style in social sciences.

Students are required to deliver excellent desperations in APA when applying for doctoral social science degree programs. As such, many learners want to know how to cite a dissertation or thesis in APA to excel in their studies. If you’ve just enrolled in a social science program, or you have an unpublished doctoral dissertation, you probably want to know how to cite your paper in this style.

How to Cite a Dissertation APA

APA style is simply an editorial style that sets the rules for citing sources of the information used to write a dissertation or thesis. It is a style that is used to cite the sources of all the information used to complete the doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis. As such, this style requires a dissertation or thesis writer to answer four basic questions.

These are:

• Who is the author of the work?
• When was the work created?
• What is the name of the work?
• Where can the work be found?

Additional information can be included when a doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis is cited in this style. However, this depends on whether the document was published. APA citation style is mostly used when writing proquest dissertations and theses in fields like education and psychology. This style has a unique format for different sections of a dissertation. For instance, this style can affect how the abstract section of this paper looks and how sources are cited. Therefore, students should pay keen attention to different editions of the APA style and adhere to the instructions provided by professors. This is large because the institution awarding the degree is keen on students using APA as a referencing style in most cases.

How to Cite a Dissertation in APA

When writing an APA cite dissertation, you can include your references in three major ways as follows:

Published Dissertations

If you want to cite a published dissertation, provide the name of the author, year when the document was published, title, and where it can be accessed. Once you’ve done that, proofread the citation to ensure that it’s formatted properly and that it features accurate information. The entry should be single-spaced. Entries should be double-spaced when citing a dissertation in APA.

Unpublished Dissertations

To cite an unpublished doctoral dissertation, provide the author’s name, the year title when the document was published, the title of the text, as well as, name and location of the institution. Once you have provided this information, check the citation carefully. Proofread every entry to ensure that the provided information is accurate and formatted properly.

In-Text Citations

Perhaps, you want to include in-text citations when it comes to referencing sources or citing Proquest dissertations and theses in APA. In that case, provide the name of the writer, year of publication, and the page number. The author’s name should be integrated into the text if possible.

It’s crucial to note that new editions of this citation style keep emerging. For instance, the 7^th edition is the latest. This was released in 2019. However, the 6^th edition is still available online and it has not been updated. If you think this is an issue that can affect your writing in terms of your writing and APA citing a dissertation, talk to your professor about it.

APA Cite Dissertation – Why it’s Important

Perhaps, you’re wondering why you should cite your information sources in the dissertation. Well, here are some of the major reasons to cite your sources properly.

• Citing your sources is an important aspect when it comes to the successful completion of this academic assignment.
• Proper citation proves the authenticity of your dissertation while giving your research work credits.
• Your professors want to be sure that you have learned to make a proper citation in English for electronic and printed books, journals, websites, magazines, and online articles. They want to be sure that you can reference different databases in your work.

The goal is to expound on the identified sources of the information that a student uses to write the unpublished dissertation. It is used to create a list of reference entries correctly. This enables the doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis readers to refer to the referenced sources for further reading or authentication of the information. Using the list of cited sources, readers can determine whether the author argues correctly and makes logical conclusions in the paper.

Tips for Citing a Dissertation APA

By now, you already know how to cite a doctoral dissertation APA. But, you probably want to know how you can do it more effectively. Here are important tips for citing a dissertation APA to guide you.

• Square any bracketed description to distinguish different types of sources that you use to write your dissertation.
• The university or institution that awards the author a degree is the unpublished master’s thesis or dissertation source.
• The online archive or database is the published dissertation source
• You can include URLs in the published theses citations if they are absent in the databases
• Use an example from a reputable institution or website as your guide for citing sources in APA style.
• Study the generic elements of APA style before you start citing your sources
• Proofread your citations to ensure that they are written correctly and that they include all the elements and information before submitting your dissertation.
• List your dissertations’ bibliography alphabetically by the last name of the authors

The Bottom Line

A doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis should include a basic list with the references of the sources that were used to complete the paper. When the Proquest dissertation and theses, websites, magazines, books, and other sources are referenced properly, the document gets increased credibility. It provides reliable evidence that the author of the doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis took the time to investigate different sources when writing the paper.

What’s more, it shows that the unpublished doctoral dissertation or thesis author took the time to understand the topic or issue they are attempting to address in the paper. In-text citations provide a brief reference to the source. If the reader wants to check out the source, they can go to the bibliography which includes the full list of the sources used to write the dissertation. Thus, readers can consider in-text citations and reference citations when it comes to reading further.

Using the 7th edition, your referencing would go lit, and your project would become top-notch. While it also commands a lot of authority. For your dissertation and theses global referencing in APA style, we got you covered.

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