Creating a references page in ASA (American Sociological Association) style is a critical skill for students and scholars in sociology and related social science disciplines. This guide, based on the standards set by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL), will walk you through the essential formatting rules for your ASA style references page, ensuring clarity and academic rigor in your citations.
Setting Up Your ASA References Page
The references page comes at the very end of your paper, after the main body of your text and any appendices. It should begin with the centered, first-level heading REFERENCES. Here’s how to format each entry on your references page:
- Spacing: All references should be double-spaced.
- Indentation: Use a hanging indent for each reference. This means the first line of each citation is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented.
- Title Case: Apply title case to all titles within your references. This involves capitalizing all principal words, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. However, do not capitalize prepositions (like of, between, through), articles (like a, the, an), or conjunctions (like but, and, or) unless they begin the title or subtitle.
- Hyphenated Words: Capitalize only the first word in hyphenated compound words, unless the second word is a proper noun or adjective. For example, “Self-preservation” but “Anti-American.”
- Alphabetical Order: List all references alphabetically by the first author’s last name.
- Full First Names: Include full first names for all authors, not just initials, unless the original publication uses initials.
- List All Authors: In ASA style, it’s crucial to list all authors of a work. Avoid using “et al.” unless the source is genuinely authored by a committee.
- Repeated Authors: For multiple entries by the same author, repeat the full name in each reference. Arrange these chronologically, starting with the oldest publication.
For example, if you are citing multiple works by E. Digby Baltzell, they would be listed like this:
Baltzell, E. Digby. 1958. Philadelphia Gentlemen. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Baltzell, E. Digby. 1964. The Protestant Establishment. New York: Random House.
Baltzell, E. Digby. 1976. “The Protestant Establishment Revisited.” American Scholar 45:499-519.
When you have single-authored and multiple-authored works by the same first author, place the single-authored works first, even if this disrupts chronological order slightly.
Hoge, Dean R. 1979. “A Test of Theories of Denominational Growth and Decline.” Pp. 179-197 in Understanding Church Growth and Decline 1950-1978, edited by D. R. Hoge and D. A. Roozen. New York and Philadelphia: Pilgrim Press.
Hoge, Dean R., Benton Johnson, and Donald A. Luidens. 1994. Vanishing Boundaries: The Religion of Mainline Baby Boomers. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
If you have multiple entries by the same first author with different co-authors, alphabetize them by the last name of the second author:
Alba, Richard, and Philip Kasinitz. 2006. “Sophisticated Television, Sophisticated Stereotypes.” Contexts 5(4):74-77.
Alba, Richard, John R. Logan, and Brian J. Stults. 2000. “The Changing Neighborhood Contexts of the Immigrant Metropolis.” Social Forces 79(2):587-621.
For works by the same author(s) published in the same year, differentiate them by adding letters (a, b, c) to the year. Then, list them alphabetically by title:
Fyfe, James J. 1982a. “Blind Justice: Police Shootings in Memphis.” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 73(2):707-22.
Fyfe, James J. 1982b. “Race and Extreme Police-Citizen Violence.” Pp. 173-94 in Readings on Police Use of Deadly Force, edited by J. J. Fyfe. New York: Police Foundation.
ASA Reference Examples Across Source Types
Understanding how to format different types of sources is crucial for a comprehensive references page. Here are examples for common source types in ASA style:
Books
Book with One Author:
Author’s Full Name, Last Name First. Year. Book Title in Title Case and Italicized. Publishing City: Publisher.
Remember to include the two-letter state abbreviation only if the city is not well-known or could be confused with another city of the same name. Cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or Boston do not require state abbreviations.
Gurr, Ted Robert, ed. 1989. Violence in America. Vol. 1, The History of Crime. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Mason, Karen. 1974. Women’s Labor Force Participation. Research Triangle Park, NC: National Institutes of Health.
Book with Two or More Authors:
Format the first author as last name first, followed by full first name. For subsequent authors, list names in normal order (Full First Name Last Name). Separate author names with commas and use “and” before the final author’s name.
Corbin, Juliet, and Anselm Strauss. 2008. Basics of Qualitative Research. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Edited Volume (citing the entire volume):
Follow the book format, but add “eds.” after the editor(s)’ names to indicate they are editors.
Hagan, John, and Ruth D. Peterson, eds. 1995. Crime and Inequality. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Chapter in an Edited Volume:
Author of Chapter’s Full Name, Last Name First. Year. “Chapter Title in Title Case and in Quotes.” Pp. Page Numbers in Book Title in Title Case and Italicized, edited by Editor’s Initials Last Name. Publishing City: Publisher.
Clausen, John. 1972. “The Life Course of Individuals.” Pp. 457-514 in Aging and Society. Vol. 3, A Sociology of Stratification, edited by M.W. Riley, M. Johnson, and A. Foner. New York: Russell Sage.
Journal and Magazine Articles
Scholarly Journal Article:
Author’s Full Name, Last Name First. Year. “Article Title in Title Case and in Quotes.” Journal Title in Title Case and Italicized Volume Number(Issue Number):Page Numbers.
Note: No space after the colon preceding page numbers. For multiple authors, only invert the first author’s name.
Conger, Rand. 1997. “The Effects of Positive Feedback on Direction and Amount of Verbalization in a Social Setting.” American Journal of Sociology 79:1179-259.
Coe, Deborah L., and James D. Davidson. 2011. “The Origins of Legacy Admissions: A Sociological Explanation.” Review of Religious Research 52(3):233-47.
Magazine or Newspaper Article:
Author’s Full Name, Last Name First. Year. “Article Title in Title Case and in Quotes.” Magazine/Newspaper Title in Title Case and Italicized, Date of Publication, Page Numbers.
Ziff, Larzer. 1995. “The Other Lost Generation,” Saturday Review, February 20, pp. 15-18.
Newspaper Article (author unknown):
Newspaper Name in Title Case and Italicized. Year. “Newspaper Article Descriptor.” Date, Page Numbers.
Lafayette Journal & Courier. 1998. Newspaper editorial. December 12, p. A-6.
Public Documents and Legal References
Public Documents (Reports, Constitutions, Laws, Ordinances):
Formatting for public documents varies. The key principle is to provide enough information for readers to locate the source easily.
New York State Department of Labor. 1997. Annual Labor Area Report: New York City, Fiscal Year 1996 (BLMI Report, No. 28). Albany: New York State Department of Labor.
Ohio Revised Code Annotated, Section 3566 (West 2000).
Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104-014, 110 U.S. Statutes at Large 56 (1996).
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1990. Characteristics of Population. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 4.
Legislation Examples (Court Cases and Legislative Acts):
These follow legal citation formats.
Court Case Name v. Court Case Name, Volume Number Source Abbreviation Page Number (Year).
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
For online databases:
Ohio v. Vincer (Ohio App. Lexis 4356 [1999]).
U.S. Congress. House of Representatives. Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. H.R. 2. 110thCongress, 1st Session, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2010 (http://thomas.loc.gov).
Unpublished and Electronic Sources
Unpublished Materials (Presentations, Papers):
Author’s Full Name, Last Name First. Year. “Title of Presentation in Title Case.” Paper presented at Conference Name, Date, Location.
Smith, Tom. 2003. “General Social Survey.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 16, Atlanta, GA.
Dissertation or Thesis:
Author’s Full Name, Last Name First. Year. “Dissertation/Thesis Title in Title Case.” PhD dissertation/Master’s thesis, Department, University, Location.
King, Andrew J. 1976. “Law and Land Use in Chicago: A Pre-history of Modern Zoning.” PhD dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Archival Sources:
Archive Name, Collection Abbreviation, Box Number, Date. File Number. Description.
Meany Archives, LRF, Box 6, March 18, 1970. File 20. Memo, conference with Gloster Current, Director of Organization, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Electronic Sources (Websites, E-journals, Social Media):
The Asa Style Guide provides detailed guidelines for electronic sources, especially in its fifth edition.
Website:
Organization or Author. Year. “Page Title in Title Case.” Retrieved Date (URL).
Purdue University. 2012. “Purdue University’s Foundations of Excellence Final Report: A Roadmap for Excellent Beginnings.” Retrieved Nov. 21, 2014 (http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/provost_pubs/1/).
Print Book Accessed Online:
Author’s Full Name, Last Name First. Year. Book Title in Title Case and Italicized. Publishing City: Publisher. Retrieved Date (Database URL).
Daniels, John. 2010. Apathetic College Students in America. Middletown, IL: University of Middletown Press. Retrieved April 6, 2011 (http://site.ebrary.com/lib/collegestudies/docDetail.action?docID=1010101010).
E-Journal Articles with DOI:
Author’s Full Name, Last Name First., and Co-author Full Name. Year. “Article Title in Title Case and in Quotes.” Journal Title in Title Case and Italicized Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Numbers. doi: DOI Number.
Phillips, Reginald M., and S. H. Bonsteel. 2010. “The Faculty and Information Specialist Partnership Stimulating Student Interest and Experiential Learning.” Nurse Educator, 35(3), 136-138. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0b013e3181d95090.
Social Media Sources:
ASA recommends footnoting social media sources within the text rather than including them in the references page. Footnotes should include the page title and URL.
Conclusion
Mastering ASA style references is essential for producing credible and scholarly work in sociology and related fields. By carefully following these guidelines, adapted from the Purdue OWL, you can ensure your references page is accurate, properly formatted, and enhances the academic integrity of your research. Remember to always double-check the latest edition of the ASA Style Guide for the most up-to-date rules and examples. This guide provides a solid foundation for creating impeccable ASA style references pages.
