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HSC 320: Writing for Health Sciences Professionals

Resources and strategies to support the academic work in the HSC 320 course.

Writing & Using Citations

The key to reading a cited reference is to understand the type of publication being referenced. So, is it an article published in a scholarly journal? A book? A chapter in a book? A blog post? A video? 

  • Citing is how researchers and scholars around the world and across time share information with each other.
  • Each subject uses the citation style that emphasizes aspects of the research that the subject highly value (eg the sciences indicate they value the date of research by using APA).
  • The title (article, journal, book chapter, book, etc) tell you how dense the source is - and that can help you decide if you also need a broader source for contextual information.

Based on Dan Martin's work

APA Style Resources

The 7th Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was published in October 2019, but some support resources have not yet incorporated information about the new edition yet. Want to learn more about the changes? See a comparison of the 6th edition and the 7th edition.

Examples of APA Style References

These images point out the different parts of an end-of-text citation for a journal article, whole book, and book chapter. Underneath each one, an example from an actual source has been included. While APA is not the only citation style you'll be asked to use during your time at MCPHS, it is one of the most common, and it's worthwhile to become familiar with what the information is that you're asked to include.


Journal Article Format

Diagram of APA journal article citation

 

Journal Article Example

Bingmer, K., Kazimi, M., Wang, V., Ofshteyn, A., Steinhagen, E., & Stein, S.L. (2021). Population demographics in geographic proximity to hospitals with robotic platforms do not correlate with disparities in access to robotic surgery. Surgical Endoscopy, 35(8), 4834. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-020-07961-2


Book Format

Format for APA citation for a book.

 

Book Example

Tong, R. (2018). Wearable technology in medicine and health care. Elsevier Science & Technology.


Book Chapter Format

Format for APA citation for a book chapter

 

Book Chapter Example

Kulyukin, V. (2014). Speech-based interaction with service robots: A survey of methods and approaches. In A. Neustein (Ed.), Speech and automata in health care (pp. 31-59). De Gruyter.


Images from: Fowler, M.R. (2020). 7th edition reference guide for journal articles, books, and edited book chapters. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-guide.pdf

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