Can we use APA style?

Question

I am new here so please be patient. I have used APA in my work for over 30 years.  I see you prefer the Chicago format.  Can we use APA or is that not acceptable?  Thank you.  

Lynn McCurdy Robinson

Comments

What's APA?

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APA is a citation style defined by the American Psychological Association and is widely used in the Humanities. Other fields use different styles. We prefer Chicago Manual of Style but there is also MLA (from Modern Language Association) that is in wide use. There are a number of additional ones but these are the top three.

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Many thanks for that.  I'm not American, you see, so it bewildered me...

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Chicago is also sometimes called Turabian if that is more familiar. The Strathclyde citation guidelines uses APA as their base. The European Union Studies Guide for citations uses either Chicago or Harvard (MLA based). I was looking to see if genealogical writing in Europe specifies anything but it doesn't appear to be as organized as the USA. Having peer reviewed journals that have pretty much all adopted Chicago style and the certifying bodies for professionals also adopting it (due to the journals requiring it) makes it the de facto standard for genealogical research here.

Are there any specific European citation styles? I'm curious and always want to learn new things.

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MHRA( Modern Humanties Research Association) style is commonly used in the UK for historical research. It's  very similar to Chicago.It uses numbered superscripts/footnotes followed by an alphabetically listed bibliography. In the bibliography  primary sources are  listed separately from secondary sources. I think the main difference is in the punctuation of the citation http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/referencing/mhra_footnotes.html 

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It is like a department store...too many styles to chose from.  It would be nice if the arts and humanities, the Social sciences and the sciences could just standardize.. Maybe someday.  Thank you all for your answers and suggestions.  It is appreciated.  Lynne

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We used APA when I was a researcher in education/educational psychology in Sweden - aiming for international publication (and when more local, just to get into the habit). It was more that different disciplines adhered to different styles.

In Wikitree I mostly cite digitized primary sources, using the formats proveded through the repository (FamilySearch, ArkivDigital, and Swedish National Archives).

Answer 1

Lynne, honestly, I thought that too. I honestly just use APA anyways, since as long as there’s a source it doesn’t matter in the long run. If people are offended they can fix it.

Comments

I like your spirit!  Thank you so much!  Anthropology thanks you too!

Answer 2

Lynne, welcome to G2G.

As you say, the prefered citation format in WikiTree is the CMoS.

"But don't get hung up on this. The important thing is citing the source, not how it's done."

Please see the following help page:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Sources#Examples

Comments

Thank you so much!  I appreciate your candor.

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You're welcome Lynne.

Answer 3

You can use APA (or any other proper citation) but keep in mind that if you were to ever want to write for a USA genealogy journal, Chicago Manual of Style as detailed in Evidence Explained is pretty much the only accepted format. The big five journals use that and it is also what professional genealogists are required to use in order to become certified.

Comments

Yup. i'ts tied to the discipline. APA for psychology, Chicago for sociology - what do the hard sciences use?

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Some of the sciences use APA, others Chicago. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) uses a slightly modified Chicago. Chemists use their own style.  Historians appear to mostly use Chicago which fits with what genealogists in the USA have adopted.