Specific business sources cited in APA style

Let’s discuss how to cite a few specific sources in APA style. Examples comprise annual reports, public reports, company reports, SWOT, and surveys.

First up, what’s APA style?

APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members (About APA).

The best scientific writing is spare and straightforward. It spotlights the ideas being presented, not the manner of presentation. Manuscript structure, word choice, punctuation, graphics, and references are all chosen to move the idea forward with a minimum of distraction and a maximum of precision.

To achieve this clarity of communication, publishers have developed rules of style. These rules are designed to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material. Editorial style concerns uniform use of such elements as

• punctuation and abbreviations;
• construction of tables;
• selection of headings;
• presentation of statistics; and
• citation of references.

When editors or teachers ask you to write in APA Style®, they are referring to the editorial style that many of the social and behavioral sciences have adopted to present written material in the field. APA Style was first developed in 1929 by a group of social scientists who wished to establish sound standards of communication (About APA Style).

Here are 2 examples of APA style of in-text citation toward the end and start of a sentence.

• This is toward the end of a sentence (Johnson, 2018).
• Johnson (2018) at the beginning of a sentence.

Format your references and citations in line with the style guide to avoid plagiarism. Use in-text (citation) and references toward the end of the paper to credit other writers’ contribution to your work.

Use an ampersand (&) before the last name to cite multiple authors in-text and use “and” before the last name for authors that are part of the sentence. An exception is a direct quotation where the folio number follows the date of publication. Enclose within quotes text less than forty words otherwise indent the text and block with space between the last line of the paragraph. Do not use quote marks for blocked quotations and mention citations in parenthesis.

Alphabetize the list of authors in the references section in Times New Roman 12-size typeface with provide double line spacing. Not boldface, no quote marks. Italicize book and journal titles and set the text with the first word in initial caps.  Use hanging indent for each item in the list.

Now let’s take a look at the various types of business information with a few examples.

Annual Reports

• In text: (American Wire Corporation, 2014)
• Reference: American Wire Corporation. (2014). Annual report. Retrieved from http://corp.americanwire.com/EN/Investors/FinancialReports/Annual%50Reports%40Library/ATC_AR_2014.pdf.

Company Reports

In text: (Navisys, 2015)

Reference: Navisys. (2015). Navilin Inc. general firm information report. Retrieved July 11, 2017, from Navisys Online database.

Public Reports

This refers to a table

• In text: (U.S. Statistical Bureau, 2011)
• Reference: U.S. Statistical Bureau. (2011). Kingston County, Iowa–data in the Past 10 Months. [Table]. Retrieved from http://factfinder.stats.gov/.

This refers to a report (report title is italicized)

• In text: (U.S. Statistical Bureau, 2011)
• Reference: U.S. Statistical Bureau. (2011). Schedule E 2011, Chapter 20. Retrieved from https://www.stats.gov/publications/doc/ata/pts/bychapters/33400d60.pdf.

Citing SWOT reports

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT reports are cited in this manner.

• In text: (Marketwire. 2010, July)
• Reference: Marketwire. (2010, July). Navilink, Inc. SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid&user=s3432432&password=password.profile=ns

Italicize the report name and notice that the month is given in addition to the year in the citation and reference.

Consumer Surveys

In text: (Bureau of Employee Statistics, 2011).

Reference: Bureau of Employee Statistics. 2011. Race of reference person: Ratios of mean employee expenditures and base of income, Employee Expenditure Survey [Table]. Retrieved from http://www.emp.gov/cex/

Talk to your department guide or a librarian if you are still unsure on how to cite it right. Check out APA’s tutorials available on the website.