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citation guide review policy press theses

Concise Guide to APA Style: 7th Edition (OFFICIAL)

Page 292 Review

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Book Review: Navigating Academic Citations – A Deep Dive

Navigating Academic Citations: A Deep Dive into Clarity and Precision

Academic writing demands precision, and nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of citations.

This review delves into a section of a guide focused on providing clear examples for referencing various sources, particularly policy briefs, press releases, and dissertations/theses.

Understanding these guidelines is crucial for maintaining academic integrity and ensuring that readers can easily trace the origins of information.

Policy Briefs: Concise and Impactful References

The guide highlights the importance of accurately citing policy briefs, often used to inform decision-making processes.

The example provided is:

Policy brief

“Harwell, M. (2018).

Don’t expect too much: The limited usefulness of common SES measures and a prescription for change [Policy brief].

National Education Policy Center. https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/SES”

The structure is clear: Author, year, title, type of document (policy brief), and the source.

This standardized format allows readers to quickly identify the nature of the source and its origin.

The guide then illustrates how to cite this in both parenthetical and narrative form:

Parenthetical citation: (Harwell, 2018)

Narrative citation: Harwell (2018)

This simplicity is key; it avoids ambiguity and promotes clarity in referencing.

Press Releases: Capturing Timely Information

Press releases are often used to announce important updates or developments, making their accurate citation essential.

The guide uses an example from the U.

Food and Drug Administration:

Press release

“U.

S.

Food and Drug Administration. (2019, February 14).

FDA authorizes first interoperable insulin pump intended to allow patients to customize treatment through their individual diabetes management devices [Press release]. https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm631412.htm”

The citation includes the organization, date, title, the designation as a press release, and the URL.

Note the inclusion of the specific date, crucial for capturing the timeliness of the announcement.

Similar to the policy brief, the guide provides the parenthetical and narrative citations:

Parenthetical citation: (U.

S.

Food and Drug Administration, 2019)

Narrative citation: U.

S.

Food and Drug Administration (2019)

This consistency in format reinforces the ease of tracking sources within the text.

Dissertations and Theses: Differentiating Published and Unpublished Works

The section on dissertations and theses introduces a critical distinction: whether the work is published or unpublished.

This distinction affects the information included in the citation.

The guide explains:

“References for doctoral dissertations and master’s and undergraduate theses are divided by whether they are unpublished or published; unpublished works generally must be retrieved directly from the college or university in print form, whereas published works are available from a database (e.g., the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global database), a university archive, or a personal website.”

For unpublished works, the university name is included in the source element, while for published works, it appears in square brackets after the title.

The guide then provides a template for unpublished dissertations and theses:

“Author, (2020). | Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].

Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.”

“Title of thesis [Unpublished master’s thesis].”

“Title of undergraduate thesis {Unpublished undergraduate thesis].”

This template emphasizes the importance of specifying the type of thesis (doctoral, master’s, or undergraduate) and indicating that it is unpublished.

This level of detail ensures that readers understand the nature of the source and where to potentially locate it.

The distinction between published and unpublished dissertations is vital.

Published dissertations, available through databases like ProQuest, follow a different citation format, which this excerpt doesn’t detail but implies exists.

Conclusion: Precision and Accessibility in Citations

This section of the guide underscores the importance of precise and accessible citations in academic writing.

By providing clear examples and templates for policy briefs, press releases, and dissertations/theses, the guide equips researchers and students with the tools necessary to properly acknowledge sources and maintain academic integrity.

The emphasis on distinguishing between published and unpublished works, especially for dissertations, highlights the nuances of academic referencing.

Consistent adherence to these guidelines ensures that readers can efficiently locate and verify the sources used, promoting transparency and rigor in scholarly discourse.

Further clarification on citing *published* dissertations and theses would make this guide even more comprehensive.

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Citation Guide Review: Policy, Press, & Theses