Library & Learning Commons: APA Style Guide: Clinical or Lab Practice

QUICK TIPS

If there is no individual author for a report, you should list the company or organization responsible for the content as the corporate author.

If the report has been assigned a number, provide the report number in parentheses after the title.

A technical report may not contain all of the information you require for a reference. If there is no date of publication, use the abbreviation n.d. (for "no date").

When the publisher is the same as the author (e.g., with group authors), omit the publisher from the source element.

Quantitative paper example A sample paper demonstrating APA style for quantitative papers, including figures.

How to write a lab report
Uploaded by permission of J. Christakos, Cambrian College, 2023
Rubric for a lab report example
This rubric is a revised version of that designed and shared by permission of Dr. Megan Salhus.

CLINICAL or LAB PRACTICE

Lab or diagnostic manuals follow the format for books.

Author(s) and/or editor(s)
Year of publication
Title and subtitle
Edition
Publisher
Page numbers for direct quotes from the author

Example of Reference

Pagana, K. D., Pagana, T. J., & Pagana, T. N. (2019). Mosby’s diagnostic and
laboratory test reference (14th ed.). Elsevier.

Examples of In-Text Citations:

Parenthetical citation:
(Pagana et al., 2019)

Narrative citation:
Pagana et al. (2019)

Clinical Trial

The APA Citation Style does not seem make any distinctions for citing clinical trials. The following is a suggestion, but please check with your instructor.

Author(s)
Year(s) of publication ie. (2000, May 17 - 2022 May 17).
Title and subtitle of the trial
Identifier number begins with NCT
URL

Example of Reference

Bernard, S. (Chief Investigator.) (2020). Patch trauma: Pre-hospital anti-fibrinolytics for traumatic coagulopathy and haemorrhage (The PATCH study) [Clinical Trial: NCT02187120]. Australian & New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre, Monash University. https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/3020947/patch-protocol-version-1.7-6-jul-2020.pdf

Example of Parenthetical In-Text Citation:

... trauma, and subsequent haemorrhaging (Bernard, NCT02187120) ...

VIDEO TUTORIALS

Academic Writer Tutorial - The Basics
Learn the basics - paper elements, format and organization, academic writing style, grammar and usage, bias-free language, mechanics of style, tables and figures, in-text citation, paraphrasing and quotations, reference list format and order.
Top 5 Types of Sources for Nursing - ALL - Students Using APA Style
Professor Jus B (‪@juslikethat‬), working with the APA, reviews the top 5 common types of sources that students use in their assignments. She uses examples specific for nursing and health care students but all the examples are easily adaptable to any course using APA. Topics include: report by a government or other agency (2:41)
What is Grey Literature? (video)

HANDBOOKS AND GUIDES

Clinical Practice References
Includes clinical practice for nurses, including drug information, lab or diagnostic manual, Cochrane review.
Abbreviations and units of measurment
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase, or a unit of measurement when it appears with a numerical value.
Tables and Figures
A table usually shows numerical values arranged in columns and rows. A figure may be a chart, graph, photograph, drawing, plot, infographic, or any other illustration that is not a table.
Numbers and statistics
When to use numerals (eg. 1, 2, 3,) or words (eg. one, two, three).
Data set references
In general, if you are citing existing data or statistics, cite the publication in which the data were published (e.g., a journal article, report, or webpage) rather than the data set itself.
Figure Setup
Common types of figures include line graphs, bar graphs, charts (e.g., flowcharts, pie charts), drawings, maps, plots (e.g., scatterplots), photographs, infographics, and other illustrations.
Figure Samples
Includes bar and line graphs, flowcharts, path model, qualitative research, experimental stimuli
Table Setup
Tables are visual displays composed of columns and rows in which numbers, text, or a combination of numbers and text are presented.
Table Samples
Includes demographics, correlation, analysis variance, regression, qualitative,

How to create a hanging indent in MS Word
A Hanging indent, also known as a second line indent, sets off the first line of a paragraph by positioning it at the margin, and then indenting each subsequent line of the paragraph. (Word for Microsoft 365, 2023)