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American Sociological Association (ASA) General Guidelines

Developed by Sharon Quintero

Paper Format

Always check with your instructor to see if he or she has any different requirements or specifications for your paper.

Margins should be at least 1-1/4" (one and one-forth  inches) on all sides.

Pages are numbered 1, 2, 3... starting with the title page, and including the reference page.

Double space throughout.

The title page should include the full title of the article, the name(s) and institution(s) of the author(s) (listed vertically if more than one), a running head, the approximate word count for the manuscript (including footnotes and references), and a title footnote.

The abstract begins on a separate page following the title page. Type the title of the article.  Do not include the author’s name.  It should consist of 150 to 200 words of summary in one paragraph.

The text of your manuscript should begin on the next page with the manuscript title. Do not include author’s name throughout the text. Footnotes, appendices, references, tables, and figures should be printed in separate sections following the text.

  In text block citations of more than 40 words should be indented 10 spaces without quotation marks. Do not give the first line an additional indent.  Use a smaller type than used for the body of the paper.  After the quote,  put the page number in parenthesis (P. 531).

In Text Citations

Citations for Most Written Sources

ASA guidelines require that the writer give credit for ALL information whether it be a direct quote or a paraphrase.  Generally, you are required to give the following information: author, year of publication and page number for any direct quote.  For paraphrases, you are only required to give the author and year of publication.   Do not put a comma between the author's name and publication year. 

There are two ways to show author, year of publication and page numbers.

If you first write the quote or paraphrase, you can then put the citation author's last name, publication year:page number in parenthesis at the end of your sentence.  In this style, you use a colon mark (:) instead of a p. for page.  For example:  

 

Direct Quote with author's name in parenthesis "Apes can gesture, but do not understand the grammatical structure of American Sign Language" (Smith 1994:345).
Paraphrase with author's name in parenthesis It has been shown that apes do not actually understand the syntax and structure of ASL (Smith 1994:345).

 

If you include the author's name as part of the sentence, just give the year in parenthesis directly after the author's name, and put p. for the page number in parenthesis after the quote.  

Direct Quote with author's name in the sentence According to Jack Gannon (1988), "The protest provided a wonderful opportunity for those interpreters to assist the deaf community" (p. 94).
Paraphrase with author's name in the sentence  Jack Gannon (1988) explained that the DPN protest gave interpreters a chance to help Gallaudet's deaf community (p. 94).

 

If you include the author's name and date of publication as part of the sentence in which you use a direct quote, you should put the page number in parenthesis after the quote.  If you include the author's name and date as part of a paraphrased sentence, you don't have to put anything additional in parenthesis.  You can, if you choose to, provide the page number after the paraphrased information, but the page number is not required.

Direct Quote with author's name and date in the sentence In 1988, Jack Gannon explained that "the protest provided a wonderful opportunity for those interpreters to assist the deaf community" (p. 94).
Paraphrase with author's name and date in the sentence  In 1988, Jack Gannon explained that the DPN protest gave interpreters a chance to help Gallaudet's deaf community (p. 94).

 

If there is no publication date, cite the author’s last name followed by a  n.d. (for no date).

Direct Quote from a source with no  publication date "Doctors have been prescribing a new drug to treat social anxiety" (Geraldi n.d.:24).

 

If you refer to the same text more than once in your paper, you still must give the author's name, date, and page number each time you cite that same source.

First reference to a source "Gallaudet's Deaf community earned the respect of deaf communities around the world during their 1988 DPN Protest" (Harding 1988:86).
Later reference to the same source (in the same paragraph) "Deaf people deserve the right to determine their own leaders, just as hearing people have the right to chose theirs" (Harding 1988:87).

 

If you are using several different works to illustrate one point, you may find it necessary to cite two or more works written by different authors with different dates.  In that situation, organize the information alphabetically by the authors' last names, and separate each block of information with a semicolon.  Put all the names inside one set of parenthesis.  Do not use ampersand (&) between the authors' names.

Citing several different works by different authors at one time Several studies (Burna 1980; Geraldi 1988; Kesser and Morals 1990) indicate that the cure for the common cold is just around the corner.

Multiple Authors

When a source has two authors, you should give both last names.

Source with two authors The Oxford English Dictionary was written "specifically for learners of English as a foreign or second language" (Hornby and Ruse 1976:82).
Source with two authors-- with authors' names in the sentence Hornby and Ruse (1976) explain that the Oxford English Dictionary was designed to be used mostly by new English users (p. 82).

 

When a source has three, four or five authors, cite all the authors’ last names and the year the first time the reference occurs.  For later references to the same source cite only the first author’s last name followed by et al.

Source with 3 authors, 
a first reference		 "Scientists are tying to find a cure for the common cold" (Juneston, Craig, and Carter 1993:220).
Same source, a later reference   "There are thousands of different viruses that cause what we refer to as 'the common cold'" (Juneston et al. 1993:223).

 

If a source has four or more authors, use the first author's name, et al., the date and page number.  Do not put a comma between the author's name and et al. 

Source with 4 or more authors "U.S. Congressmen are obsessed with getting re-elected and not concerned enough with making a real difference for their constituents" (Harris et al. 1997:76).
Source with 4 or more authors-- with the author's name in sentence Harris et al. (1997) argue that the United State Congress is too focused on getting re-elected and not focused enough on meeting their constituents' needs (p.76).

 

To cite a group author (e.g. association, organization, or government agency) you should spell out the full name.

Group author "Some people have adverse reactions to the flu shot, such as vomiting, fever, and rashes" (National Institute of Health [NIH] 1999).

Quotes of 40 words or more

If your quote is more than 40 words, indent 10 spaces on a separate line and then begin the quote.  Do not use quotation marks.  Double space.  Use a smaller type for the quotation than you use in the body of your paper. 

Gallaudet University received a lot of publicity during the 1988 DPN Rallies.  It was a time when deaf people learned about the strength of their community.

The student protest that shut down Gallaudet University the week of March 6-13, 1988, accomplished far more than just the selection of the world's first deaf university president.  It proved, convincingly, that deaf people could band together effectively for a common cause and succeed.  The protest experiences taught deaf people about the needs and values of being more assertive.  (Gannon:15)

It also reaffirmed that the deaf population has a voice worth listening to, and that they will fight to be heard by Gallaudet's Board of Trustees. 

 

ASA Style Reference List
You can check for more information about the citation references on pages 33-37 in the American Sociological Association Style Guide.

The word, References, should be titled at the top center on a last, separate paper.  The citation references should be double-spaced and listed in alphabetical order by authors’ last names.    If there is more than one author, only the first author's name is written last name, first name.  The second author is listed first name, last name.

Do not indent the first line but indent 5 spaces on the second line and thereafter.

If there is no date, use "N.d."   For unpublished materials, use "forthcoming" to indicate that the material is in  the process of being published.

 

 

One Author (book)

Mason, Karen O. 1974. Women’s Labor Force Participation And Fertility. Research Triangle

Park, NC: National Institutes of Health.

Two or More Authors (book)

Brelin, Gordon and Andrea Stum. 1978. A Goal to a Better Health: Basic Cooking Skills. New

Jersey: Health Foundation.

Book Edition

Morrisy, Paul and Jeus P. Needer. 1990. How to Develop Linear Models. 2d ed.

New York: Longwell

  Edited Book:

Luczak, Ray (ed.).  1993.  Eyes of Desire:  A Deaf Gay and Lesbian Reader.  Boston: Alyson Publications, Inc.

Chapter from an Edited Book

Johnson, Roberta A.  1983. "Mobilizing the Disabled."  Pp. 82-97 in Social Movements of the 60's and 70's,    

            edited by J. Freeman.  New York: Longman.    

Journal or Magazine Article

Solomon, Andrew. 1994.  "Defiantly Deaf."  The New York Times Magazine (August 28):38+

Newspaper Article

Gauli, Melissa and Crystal Milten. 1992. "A New Look on Automobiles in Quebecca."

Quebecca News, January 13, pp. A2, A14.

Archival Source

National Archives,  Box 133. 1991. File: State and Local Information,

September-October 1990. Letter from Vice President of the National Association for the

Advancement of Learning Disabled People to William Wondra.

Government Document

U.S. Bureau of Monetary Resources. 1975. Characteristics of Jurors. Vol. 2. Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office.

Dissertation

Kung, Fang B. 1992. "Law on Deafness and Learning Disabilities." PhD dissertation,

Department of Law Studies, Bellevue University, New York, NY.

Electronic Sources

Jasonson, Jerry F., Jean A. Mulken, and Ann S. Seawall. 1996. "A History of Deaf People at the

Workplace." Deaf Perspectives 51:62-66. Retrieved January 26, 2001

(http://www.deafperspectives.org/journals/jasonson.html).

Goldensmith, Arlene. 2001. "Two Murders Happening at Gallaudet University." Washington

News, February 2, p. A1. Retrieved February 5, 2001

(http://www.washingtonnews.com/~wn.goldensmith.html).

Swinger, Alice and Jorge Andle. 1997. "The New Knowledge of the Space Age." (Abstract).

Annual Review of Science 15:255-59. Retrieved February 6, 2001

(http://www.annurev.org./series/science/Vol34/sc34abst.htm).

 

Update: February 16, 2001
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