I agree with the previous review. This 'APA Bible' is complex and not well organized. The sections are listed in such a way that if you happen to be looking for something simple, like how to do a citation for a book, that can be found easily. However, if you are in the book section, it is not easy to then find how to do a citation for a book chapter from a unique author or how to cite a textbook, 3rd ed. As such, I found the book to be cumbersome, even after some serious time working with it in graduate school.
One suggestion for a major improvement would be to include a large section (or a supplemental guide) with a grouping of papers that are examples. These examples could cover a broad range of paper types. It could also highlight common errors in the use of APA style and how to correct them - both within text and in citations. Generally speaking, this book is fine for a reference tool, once the reader already knows APA style. It is quite insufficient for a student who is trying to learn and write simultaneously. As such, most students make use of on-line tools and quick reference guides, rather than consulting the manual. APA, please provide assistance for beginning users. Thanks!

I never knew I didn't know how to write until I got this book. I have had to use APA style for my undergrad degree and didn't have it, but starting graduate school, I found I really needed it! Now, if I have any questions about how to put together a paper, I have a manual that is considerably more words than my thesis, yet not quite dissertation length, to guide me through my errant ways of writing.

This manaul is very helpful to reference the many in's and out's of APA formatting for research papers, including how to cite references from the internet.

Very useful and to the point, with clear examples, helped me a lot with my MA thesis.

I got this book just in time because I live in Bangkok. The seller said it took 21 days to delivery the book. I got exactly what I order I mean it brand new condition.

The program that I am in requires that I write all of my papers in this style, so I was forced to purchase the book. I do highly recommend the spiral format, as it is awfully easy to use.

Product delivered on time, in perfect condition, was the correct version and spiral bound. I would order from this company anytime.

For anyone who is in graduate school, or who writes articles for journals, this book is a "must-have" text. APA has become the preferred style of documenting references for scholarly articles and this book tells you how to do it. If you cannot invest in any other APA guide, invest in this one! It is reasonably priced in the paperback version.

it's useful, but little bit difficult for starters.
However, I heard there is no book which is more accurate than this book.
After becoming familiar with this book, I'm sure I can take advantage of this book.

Of course, this is my opinion but I just think that the book could be more simple or easier. Although, it does show APA formatting, the last one showed examples and more in depth. Most of us students need that. It is a good book do not get me wrong but like with most things, it could be better.

Would have liked to know more of the breakdown for the chapeters but all in all it is a good tool.

If your class requires it, you got to have it. Each teacher has their own style requirements. So, it is either APA or Chicago Man. of Style.

I like this version. Smaller, lighter, easier to take. I use it when reading papers and doing mine. However it will be more diserable if they keep the red blod words which make the title and keywords more clear. I know some of the student buy it because the instructors ask them to. But it is really useful even if your major is not psychology.

The book was in excellent condition when I received it, and it was exactly what I ordered.

A must-have for anyone writing in the field of psychology, students and professionals alike. You can't always find this information on google and Amazon's price was less expensive than anywhere else I looked.

The book arrived in excellent condition. I saved almost 50% of the original price by buying it at Amazon versus my University bookstore. Highly recommend buying certain books from amazon

I needed this book for formal written papers for nursing school. It is exactly what was needed based on school requirements. It gives you all the examples needed for references and for publications.

Helps with APA format, but sometimes easier to just search online because this book can sometimes be confusing. How many pages can one read on APA format?! But brand new, perfect condition.

This book is very boring and painful to read. However, the quality of information is of great value to anybody in the behavioral sciences. I gave it a three because it was boring but I think people in the field definitely need to have this book.

This is a required textbook. It really is needed for anyone in college. I would also recommend getting the MLA publication.

This text has every possible option for citing in APA. Can get overwhelming, but very useful for my thesis.

I bought the hardcover of this 5th edition for about USD 27. Excellent price. Massive amount of info, but the neat thing about this hardcover is that it is a proper sewn-in-signatures book that stays pretty well flat when it is opened. No brick required. Far better than my ppbk 4th edition, with its so-called 'perfect' (glued) binding. This is one of those books that I gotta have, and this suits me fine.

This book was slightly used, but you cant even tell. And it came here in 3 days.

This product is in perfect condition and is easy to use! the fact that it is spiral bound makes it easier to find and locate the various contents within the book without creasing the cover or other pages.

Product was nearly new. It came within the specific delivery times. No problems

This book sucks. It is unorganized and does not provide enough examples. There's software and online sources available to help you.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

Currently, I am taking a course entitled "Introduction to Research in Healthcare" as a prerequisite for my radiography major. This particular manual, though not necessarily required for the course, is extremely helpful as I am in the process of putting together a literature review for the course, using the APA style format as a guideline. It is extremely thorough and easy to understand. I also was thrilled by the fact that the book had plenty of examples to go by, rather than just state the basics of, for example, a reference page. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to fellow college students who are also science majors (especially in the medical field).

One star was as low as I could go! I wanted to give them a ZERO! This book must be invisible, because I've never seen it. Yes, I ordered it. Yes, I paid for it. No, it never arrived. I had to go to the campus bookstore and buy it there so I could have it for class. When I emailed to ask about the status, I got no reply. This is why people stay away from online ordering. Two out my three book orders were fabulous...this was a disaster! I will NEVER order from them again. Their reliability is non-existent.

The APA (American Psychological Association) publication manual is now in its fifth incarnation, and remains the writer's reference to the style required by over a thousand journals in psychology, education, and other fields. Those familiar with the stylistic Tower of Babel that exists in other fields, such as medicine or biology, understand this is no small achievement. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has sought for nearly four decades to encourage medical journals to share a common style. To date about 500 have agreed to do so, while thousands (!) of others insist on their own nuances and variations. Psychologists need master just one style, a fact critics should keep in mind. The APA's style turned 80 in 2008 and shows its age. For example, it insists that "datum" is the singular form of data, usage that now seems a bit quaint. The current edition is of mixed parentage as well. The chapter on references is rewritten to accommodate sources found on the Internet, but that on the "Content and Organization of the Manuscript" is unchanged from at least the third edition (1983). Completely new with this edition is the chapter on "Manuscripts Other Than Journal Articles," an aid to preparing papers for class use or presentation at conferences.

The section on tables is so exceptional the Chicago Manual of Style even refers readers to it (CMS, 2003, p. 496). Also outstanding are the "Guidelines to Reduce Bias in Language." This is just nine pages of discussion followed by a six-page table replete with examples of poor usage and the preferred alternative. No other style guide deals with this topic in such a concise and useable fashion, a must-read for students. A chapter is devoted to profusely illustrating the page format required of articles submitted for review (what APA calls "copy manuscripts"). There is even an example of a cover letter.

Unique to APA style is the practice of referencing electronic facsimiles of print articles (e.g., in Adobe's Portable Document Format) as print sources with just the note [Electronic version] added to the title. In these areas the manual and style are thoroughly contemporary and concise. In others, such as the profuse use of periods and parentheses in references, the style again seems a bit quaint, even cluttered. Every initial is followed by a period, parentheses are placed around the date, edition number of a book, page numbers of edited volumes, and abbreviations like (Eds.) for "editors." Some sources require the abbreviation "pp." before page numbers in references, others not. No other style is so profusely punctuated. Over all, though, the coverage of reference formats is thorough and highly accessible, cluttered punctuation, nuances, and all.

Quality suffers in the sections on metrics and statistics. The style uses nonstandard symbols for some statistics, such as "M" for "mean," not the more familiar x with a bar over it (there is a table of required symbols). More troubling is that some statistics must be placed in parentheses in the text, and some not. The rules for doing this are ambiguous, and examples are sparse. Just 10 pages are devoted to this subject. In the section on the International System of Units (metric system), the manual stills notes a class of "supplementary units," a class that was eliminated by international convention in 1995, six years before this edition of the manual went to press. The point is a small one, but you wonder what else they got wrong? While the manual now has a chapter to help students prepare papers, the instructions are vague and there are no graphics to show how to format a title page or the rest of a paper. Students are well advised to seek out the "APA Crib Sheet" on the Web. The Crib Sheet interprets and illustrates these instructions for you (and your instructor!), and it's free.

The spiral-bound edition lies flat on your desk whatever page it is turned to. If you have ever worked with a conventionally bound style guide you know this is not a trivial convenience. The third edition of the APA manual was published in 1983, the fourth in 1994. The fifth edition (2001) was probably rushed to get an approved style for references to electronic sources in print. The next edition is due in 2011 or 2012 if the past is a guide. The verdict on the APA manual is a banal one, but all too true: The APA manual is what it is. A fairly recent survey of 210 journal editors found that 39% had returned papers solely for not following APA style ("The Elements of [APA] Style: A Survey of Psychology Journal Editors," by B. W. Brewer et al., 2001, American Psychologist, 56(3) pp. 266-267). If you are writing for publication, the style is too complex and nuanced not to have the manual at hand. How else will know when to "pp." the page numbers in your references?

The APA manual, standard for undergraduate- and graduate-level writing, needs to be rewritten.

Its poor formatting and jumbled outline leave amateur college students baffled and looking to abbreviated sample papers for help. The professors are the only ones who have had time to master this tome of confusion.

As another reviewer opined, it is "boring, but necessary."

I was very pleased with this book. The information in it is easy to read and apply to papers as needed. Thanks for your help!

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is a very good book for people who want to publish and need to know the nuts and bolts. It uses simple language. Its non-linearity is its main strength becuase it directs the reader to the specific topic needed. It is a good academic investment.

I cannot rate this product due to the fact that that it was never sent to me. I ordered two books on the same day and received one of them a few days later. I really need to be rating the seller of the book, since they ripped me off.

I cannot rate this product due to the fact that that it was never sent to me. I ordered two books on the same day and received one of them a few days later. I really need to be rating the seller of the book, since they ripped me off.

The Manual of the American Psychological Association has been around in successive editions for many years and continues to set the standard for the ways in which psychologists write and communicate their discipline. Publication manuals can be necessary and there is no doubt that when the APA first established the Manual there was a need, in the era of print technology with type setting and proof editing, for precise rules on tabular settings, figure descriptions etc. The problem for today is that the continued need for such rules to guide the printer has become enshrined with a style of writing and reporting that dates from the same era. As has been pointed out several times elsewhere, the Manual was first written at the time when American psychology was dominated by the Behaviorist paradigm and by methodological operationalism. Behaviorism eschewed certain kinds of psychological states and operationalism specified only particular ways in which processes and methods could be described. Both of these paradigms have been long overturned and psychology is no longer confined by such restraints. But still the style is used to restrict the ways that young, incoming members of the profession and science are taught to write and therefore, oftentimes, to think about their subject matter and the people that they are studying. In America such restraints may only be imposed at the level of graduate study and the student will have reserves of thought and style that resist such intrusions. In other parts of the world, such restrictions are imposed from the very beginning of the undergraduate degree. Students therefore learn to think about people and operations in a way that narrows the descriptions and the thought processes that are applied to the issues and problems. If the APA was the only outlet with such restrictions, these effects would be a cause for regret but not despair. The APA style, however, has been adopted by virtually all of psychological publishing houses, so there are few escape routes. It is not a matter simply of putting the references in the correct form; it is about thinking about subject matter in severely restricted ways.
It is probably too late to hope for any change in the ways in which the APA Manual is used and further procreated. But it is a case study, worthy of serious study, of how the past, lived and recorded with good intentions, can continue to stifle the present and the future. The APA Manual has become functionally autonomous, affecting thinking but with little or no continuity with the past. To a degree it is pathological in form and, worse than that, it is a pathogen that is severely infectious.

The book was just as advertised and in excellent condition, arriving much sooner than expected.

This book is proving to be a valuable resource for outlining the writing "rules of the road". I'm in the midst of writing my doctoral dissertation and the APA Manual has proved extremely useful for learning the proper way to cite references from various sources (like telephone conversations), use combinations of unusual punctuation (should the comma go inside or outside this parentheses?), and for presenting statistical output and tables. I can see it continuing to be a useful reference for writing articles in professional journals as well since it offers guidance on writing manuscripts and authorship (which is a topic that can bring collaborators to fisticuffs!) I highly recommend this book!

The best thing that I ever did was to purchase the APA Manuel.
It has helped me with formating and the proper way to cite in text and referance in APA format. This book is much better than the Diane Hacker book on APA.

This is one of the most cumbersome and difficult to navigate reference books out there, and it is notorious for being so. I highly suggest getting an APA formatting program for writing your papers using this style. I use APA PERRLA myself, and love it. You will still need to refer to the publication manual for your more rarely used reference types, etc. Unfortunately, it's a necessary evil.

This book is required for all college students pursing a degree in any major. It may not see like the most interesting book to have on your shelf, but is crucial when writing college papers.

It is an essential tool you will be glad you have for reference.

Merna

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I bought this book because most of the internet guides are not comprehensive enough to cover specifics addressed in this book. I agree with other users that say this book lists material on the same topic in multiple places, requiring you to waste time checking around for something you think you remember seeing before. The index needs to be re-done, something I hope they fix for the next edition. Electronic resources are very generally addressed.

good resource, but consider also getting a more user-friendly book to help with APA, too....you will waste a lot of time looking for information in this one.

It is very helpful, and I'll be using it for many projects and several years to come.

Good book, very informative. Would like a bit more instruction under some of the examples.

This is a must have for anyone needing to write in this format. Provides clear examples and explainations.

Full of all the information you need to write papers for publication. A must have but not easy to find reference in a pinch, so always mark pages for easy reference next time.

This is a must have for any MBA or PhD student. The spiral bound edition is far superior to the paperback hardbound as it lays open for reference without needing to place other items on it to keep it open. While APA is a hard to learn, you can find sound examples in this book that when used in conjunction with items from the university provide a sound reference source.

There's no way I could be getting through grad school without this manual. I highly recommend this to anyone who is in college. It's straight forward and easy to use. The best section starts on page 306 and has a full-blown APA paper sample for reference. It's great!

Very informative. A valuable asset for completion of my MBA.
Good choice for a book that will stay on my reference shelf for a long time.

Seems very complete and detailed. I was required by my university to purchase this book, but I don't really know how much I'll use it.