APSA Style Guide

APSA Style Manual site offers all necessary information on citation style. This site acts as a great resource for the preparation, production, and submission of a manuscript for acceptance to all APSA journals, including section journals. The APSA Style Manual is the premier style manual for the political science discipline.

Reference lists must list each source used in an author’s research. Each reference must also explicitly link to at least one parenthetical citation in the manuscript (in the body, a table, a figure, an appendix, etc.). Selected and annotated reference lists, as well as reference essays, are not accepted. It is the sole responsibility of the author, not the journal’s editorial team, to provide an accurate reference list. Always reference the exact version of the source that is consulted while researching. (APSA Style Manual)

Parenthetical citations give instant information to readers on the source of a quote, data, and more, and guide readers to the full reference on the reference list. The Parenthetical Citations section describes how to reference these sources within the text.

The purpose of citation is primarily to show how your work fits into the larger conversation taking place on your particular topic and to help facilitate the exchange of ideas between scholars. Citation also ensures that the original authors or originators of an idea receive proper credit for their work.