BUSN - Citing Business Sources

Table of contents

The APA Manual does not cover correct formatting for a Table of Contents. It is recommended that students consult their instructors as to the preferred format for the Table of Contents.

According to the OWL at Purdue University:

“The table of contents contains a guide to the contents of the whole report. It lists the preliminary pages such as the letter of transmittal and the acknowledgements, and it includes all headings and subheadings used in the report, exactly as they appear in the report.

The table of contents also includes the page numbers for all parts. Use lower case roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.) for all preliminary pages and arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) for all pages in the body of the report, starting with page 1 for the introduction of the body” (Purdue University, 2020, Table of Contents section).

References List (For further information: APA, 2020, p. 303, 9.43)

-     See pages 3 and last page of this document for references list examples

-     the reference list should be on a separate page at the end of the paper, titled “References” (bolded and centered at the top of the page)

-     only resources cited in the paper are included in the reference list and vice-versa – if a resource appears in the reference list, it must be cited in the text of the paper

-     double-space the list of references

- First line of each reference entry is left-aligned and subsequent lines have a hanging indent – see “Create a hanging indent”.

- Ordering the Reference List (For further information: APA, 2020, p. 304 & 305) -      Arrange entries in alphabetical order.

-     Alphabetize letter by letter

-     Several works by the same author – arrange by year of publication with the earliest year first:

Example:

Johnson, B. (2014)

Johnson, B. (2016)

 Same author, one with no publication date and the other with a publication date – n.d. comes before a

date (For further information: APA, 2020, p. 304, 9.45)

Example:

Gagnon, R. (n.d.).

Gagnon, R. (2018).

Several works by the same author and published in the same year. First, compare the dates. References

with only a year precede those with more specific dates, and specific dates are placed in chronological

order. Place lower case letters – a, b, c and so on – immediately after the year within the parentheses and

be sure to include these letters in the in-text citation as well. (For further information: APA, 2020, p. 305, 9.47)

-     Example 1:

-     Azikiwe, H., & Bello, A. (2020a).

-     Azikiwe, H., & Bello, A. (2020b, March 26).

-     Azikiwe, H., & Bello, A. (2020c, April 2).

-     For identical dates, arrange alphabetically by title (excluding “A,” “An,” or “The”).

-     Example 2:

Johnson, B. (2014a). The handbook of …

Johnson, B. (2014b). Measuring the value of …

(“h” comes before “m” and “The” is excluded when alphabetizing)

Example 3:

Agrium Inc. (2016a). Agrium: Annual information form 2015 …

Agrium Inc. (2016b). Agrium: Cultivating excellence: 2015 annual report. …

Agrium Inc. (2016c). Corporate website. …

If you have multiple sources with no date and the same author, you format those like this:

Gagnon, R. (n.d.-a)

Gagnon, R. (n.d.-b)

No author – begin the reference list entry with the title (including “A” or “The”) and alphabetize the entry

by the first significant word

-     Example:

Johnson, B. (2012) ….

The manufacturing outlook dims. (2011, November 2). Edmonton Journal.

Norton, L. (2008). Taking lessons from Al Gore. Canadian Consulting Engineer……

(“j” followed by “m” followed by “n”)

Appendices

According to the APA (2020b), material that supplements article content but may not be appropriate in the body of

the paper, may be included in appendices. This type of material may include financial statements, tables, graphs,

detailed description of a product or piece of equipment, detailed demographic information etc. If you have “one appendix, label it ‘Appendix’” (p. 41). If you have “more than one appendix, label each … with a capital letter, (e.g., ‘Appendix A,’ ‘Appendix B’) in the order” that they are mentioned in the paper (p. 41). Each appendix must have a title, but refer to the appendices by their labels in the text of the paper. E.g. Company financial data indicates that total revenue increased in 2020 (see Appendix A for complete financial statement). Begin each appendix on a separate page. Centre and bold type the word Appendix (and letter if appropriate) at the top of the page and centre and bold type the title below. Use Title Case format (APA, 2020b). See APA, 2020, p. 167, 6.17 for details.

Appendices come at the end of the report, after the references (APA, 2020b, p. 43) unless otherwise specified by your instructor.

How to cite sources used for an appendix:

Use parenthetical in-text citations in your appendix

Include all sources cited in your appendix in your larger alphabetical References section

“The APA Publication Manual does not give explicit direction on how to cite external sources that are used within appendices. However, APA style favors the idea of keeping all sources cited in a single reference list. A good practice would be to cite your source information in your appendix with an in-text parenthetical citation, like you would in the body of your paper, and include the source in the alphabetical list with everything else in your References section. With a grey area like this, where the manual does not have explicit direction, it is often a good idea to check in with your instructor to ensure that your approach will align well with their expectations” (Gabe, 2020, p. 1).

Footnotes

In APA (2020b), footnotes are used to provide additional content or to acknowledge copyright permission. “Content footnotes supplement or enhance substantive information in the text: they should not include complicated, irrelevant, or nonessential information. … When authors reproduce lengthy quotations and/or test or scale items in the text, a copyright attribution is usually required and should be presented in a footnote” (APA, 2020b, p. 40).

-      “Number all footnotes consecutively in the order … [they] appear in the [manuscript] with superscript Arabic numerals” (APA, 2020b, p.40).

-      Footnotes may be placed “at the bottom of the page on which it is discussed”… or “in consecutive order on a separate page after the references” (APA, 2020b, p. 40).

Abbreviations

You may abbreviate a lengthy company name, organization name, government department name etc. “if the

abbreviation is well-known, will help avoid cumbersome repetition, or will appear at least three times in the

paper” (APA, 2020b, p. 268).

If there is no official abbreviation for the name you may create one (make sure the abbreviation is meaningful).

The first time you use an abbreviation in the text, present both the spelled-out version of the name and the short

form - put the abbreviation in parentheses after the full name.

Example: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (Brookfield) is a Canadian company focused on property,

renewable power, infrastructure, private equity and residential development.

In-text citation – once you have indicated that you will be using an abbreviated form of the full name, you may also

use the abbreviation in in-text citations, but you are always required to use the full name in your reference list.

Example: The company is valued at over $41 billion and operates in many countries around the world

(Brookfield, 2016).

References list: Do not use the abbreviated form of the name in the References list.

Example:

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (2016). A global alternative asset management company: Brookfield

Asset Management Inc. annual report 2015. SEDAR. https://www.sedar.com