An important part of the research process is properly documenting and managing your sources. The citations listed in your paper show others what materials you used and where you found those materials. APA Style is the standard for most public administration publications. Originally designed for the field of psychology, the style has been widely adopted by other social and behavioral sciences. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, the authoritative source for the style, is not available electronically so be sure you get a copy.
Online resources for APA Style
Draft Citations
Let the databases do some of the work. Many of the research databases, including those from EBSCO and ProQuest, have an internal feature that will produce a citation in various styles. Look for a link or icon titled "cite" or "save, print, email." You will have to check for accuracy, so regard the citations as drafts, but you will save a lot of work.
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