Note: For formatting purposes, it's best to use Word in the desktop app rather than the web version.  Click on Editing in the top-right corner and click Open in Desktop App.

Paper Basics

• Font should be Times New Roman 12pt
• Page numbers should be in top-right corner
• The entire paper should be double-spaced
• IMPORTANT - Running head - most nursing professors at Wilson prefer you include a running head even though the student version of APA 7th ed. does not require one.  The running head is an abbreviated form of the paper title and should be included in the header, beginning on the left-hand side of the screen.  The running head should be in ALL CAPS.

Step by Step Directions for the Title Page

• Make sure your font is set to Times New Roman 12 pt
• Click on paragraph settings to set the spacing to double
• Click on insert and insert page numbers top-right 
• Click on Insert again, choose Header and click on Edit Header (this allows you to add your running head and keep your page numbers running continuously)             
• Click enter until you think you are at the middle of the page
• Type your paper title (centered and bolded)
• Follow your professor's guidelines regarding what other information you should include on the title page 

If you need to include an Abstract page, here are some tips:

• The word Abstract should be centered and bolded at the top of the second page
• The Abstract paragraph should NOT be indented. It should start flush-left at the left margin

Here are some tips for formatting the Refernces page.

• The References page should always begin on a separate page
• The word References should be bolded and centered at the top of the page
• The entire page should be double-spaced just like the rest of the paper
• References should be in alphabetical order by the author's last name.  If there is no author, use the title of the source
• All citations on the References page should use a hanging indent.

The hanging indent function can be found by clicking on Layout and then the Paragraph button.  Drop down the Special menu and choose Hanging.

Sample References Page:

:

Paper Formatting Resources:

APA Formatting and Citations - 7th ed. Video Tutorial

APA Paper Formatting and Citations for Nursing - 7th ed..pdf

There are two different types of citations.

In-text citations

APA follows the author-date method. The author's last name and the year of publication should appear in the text. If there is no author, use the title of the source instead.

• Two authors: (Wegener & Petty, 1994)
• Three or more authors: (Taylor et al., 2018)

Tips:

• Paraphrasing material instead of directly quoting information is preferred
• If you have a page number you should include it in the in-text citation: (Park, 2015, p. 41)
• You have two options for in-text citations:
  • you can put the in-text citation at the end of the sentence before the period like this: The Maine lobster industry is struggling due to rising sea levels and water temperature changes (Park, 2015).
  • you can use a signal phrase and include the in-text citation in the sentence like this: According to Park (2015), the Maine lobster industry is struggling due to rising sea levels and water temperature changes.
• Signal phrase verb examples: claims, argues, suggests, writes, mentions, describes, comments, and notes

Reference citations

Examples of the most commonly cited sources:

Website

Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium.

     Retrieved March 18, 2020,

     from https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

Journal Article

Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B. & Warington, P. T. (2006). Development and validation

     of the active empathetic listening scale. Psychology

     & Marketing 23(2), 161-180.

Book

Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend.

     Yale University Press.

Tips:

• Citations should be double-spaced
• The second line should be indented (hanging indent)
• Sources should be listed in alphabetical order by authors' last names  (by title if there is no author)
• Only initials should be used for first and middle names (Smith, M. R.)
• The date follows the authors' names
• Journal articles are tricky:
  • Journal titles should be italicized and all words should be capitalized
  • Only the first word, the word after the colon, and proper nouns should be capitalized in article titles
  • Volume numbers should be italicized, but issue numbers are not

Purdue OWL

Click here for the APA Formatting and Style Guide from the Purdue Online Writing Lab.

Excelsior College

Click here for the APA style guide from Excelsior University Online Writing Lab.

APA Formatting and Citations - 7th ed. Video Tutorial

APA Paper Formatting and Citations for Nursing - 7th ed..pdf

Note: A librarian is always available to check your APA citations before you turn in an assignment.  If you are unsure of how to cite a particular source or you would like a librarian to check over your References page, use the Ask a Librarian form to reach a librarian.

You may have some assignments where the professor asks you to find articles specifically from nursing journals or articles where the content is focused on the nursing field.

When searching CINAHL you can increase your chances of finding the right articles by adding nurs* to your search.  This action adds any terms that begin with nurs to your search such as nurse, nursing, and nursing staff.

While adding nurs* increases your chances of finding articles that are focused on nursing you will still want to take a look at Journal Titles to make sure you are using the appropriate sources for your assignment.

You should always check with your professor to make sure that your sources meet the requirements of your assignment.

CINAHL contains a somewhat hidden box that you can check to make sure your articles are based on Evidence Based Practice or EBP. The only place you can check this box is below the search boxes on the initial search screen.  Once you do a search you will not get the opportunity to check this box unless you go back to the original home screen, click the box and run the search again.

EBSCO has developed a few resources to help you come up with search terms from your PICO question.  These resources will guide you through the process of finding the right search terms to help you find articles that directly relate to your PICO question.

What-is-the-PICO-Process-Handout.pdf

7-Steps-to-the-Perfect-PICO-Search-White-Paper_0.pdf

You may have some professors who ask you to find a mixture of qualitative and quantitative journal articles on your topic.  In general, quantative articles describe research studies that are based on numerical data that can be measured.  Qualitative articles contain information about research studies that are based on data gathered through participant interviews and observations. It is important to keep in mind that not all research studies will fit into one category or another.  There are mixed-methods studies that contain both a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data.

To find qualitative research studies you can include words like qualitative, focus group, interview, phenomenological, and ethnological to your search. You can connect all of these words with OR.

To find quantitative research studies you can include words like quantitative, statistics, data, and correlation.

For more information on finding and identifying qualitative and quantitative articles, check out this video tutorial.

LibKey 

The library has purchased access to a product called LibKey. When you search the library databases you will see a LibKey Instant PDF link for some of the sources you find.  This link directly connects you to the full-text for open access content that is freely available on the web.  With this service, you will experience less clicks and find fewer broken links.

LibKey also has a browser extension (for most common browsers) you can download which helps you easily connect to subscribed content from the library.  You will see PDF links as you explore publisher websites, Wikipedia, PubMed, Science Direct and more.

You can download and install the LibKey browser extension here: Download LibKey Nomad.

For more information about LibKey, including a step-by-step guide on how to install the browser extension, watch this video:  LibKey Tool Information and Installation.

PowerNotes is a tool that helps you save, annotate, organize, and cite the sources you find in library databases and on the web.  Additionally, PowerNotes offers you the opportunity to create paper outlines, avoid accidental plagiarism, and keep track of the sources you plan to use in your research projects. 

Go to PowerNotes to create your account and get started.  Remember to use @wilson.edu when creating your account.  Here you will also find links to available PowerNotes browser extensions.  Information on getting started with PowerNotes can be found here: Getting Started with PowerNotes.

Want to learn more about the functionality of PowerNotes, visit their library of video tutorials here: PowerNotes Video Tutorials Blog.

Librarians are here to help you at any stage of the research process - from narrowing down a topic to searching for sources to formatting citations.

Research help is available via email, over the phone or through Zoom. 

Use the Ask a Librarian form (at the top of the library's website) to contact a librarian.