ASA (American Sociological Association) Format

IMPORTANT NOTE: The ASA format requires that the entire document, including
references, be double-spaced. This guide has been produced in single-space in order to
save space and paper. Please remember that when you produce your own document, all
text and references should be double-spaced.

Every scholarly field has its preferred citation format or "style." The ASA style, as presented in
this handout, is the accepted format for the field of Sociology. The ASA citation format requires
citation within the text rather than endnotes or footnotes. Citation in the text provides
information, usually the name of the author and the date of publication, to lead the reader to the
accompanying bibliographical entry. Complete information about each source cited in the text is
supplied in a list called "References," which is placed at the end of the research paper.

In Text Citations

In the text of a research paper, if the author’s name is part of the narrative, include only the year
of publication in the parentheses.

in another study by Duncan (1959).

whenever it occurred (Gouldner 1963).

If citing a particular page of a document, include that information after the name with a colon
and no space:

Greenwood (2013:55)

If there are two authors, use both last names:

(Jones and Springer 2005)

If a document has three authors, cite all three last names in the first citation; thereafter, use et al.
in the citation. If a document has more than three authors, use et al. in the first citation and all
subsequent citations.

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First citation:

(Jones, Springer, and Greenwood 2009)

Later:

(Jones et al. 2009)

Separate a series of references with semicolons:

As multiple studies have shown (Martin 2010; Smith 2005; Jones 1995)

Quotations and block quotations:

Quotations in text begin and end with quotation marks; the author, date, and/or page numbers
follow the end-quote and precede the period:

Wright and Jacobs (1994) found that “the variation in men’s earnings relative to their peers in the
labor force was not a reliable predictor of men’s…flight from feminizing occupations” (p. 531).

Or

One study found that “the variation in men’s earnings relative to their peers in the labor force
was not a reliable predictor of men’s flight from feminizing occupations” (Wright and Jacobs
1994:531).

Block quotations are set off in a separate, indented paragraph and should be used for longer
quotations (generally, 50 words or more). Do not use quotation marks in block quotations.

As stated by Wright and Jacobs (1994):

The variation in men’s earnings relative to their peers in the labor force was not a reliable
predictor of men’s attrition. This finding is inconsistent with the prediction that declines
in earnings are responsible for male flight from feminizing occupations. (P. 531)

References

 List all references in alphabetical order.

 The Reference List should be double-spaced.
 Arrange references for the same single author by date of publication—earliest to latest.
 Distinguish references for the same single author with the same publication year by using
1982a, 1982b, etc.

Books:

Single author:

Williams, Dianne. 2012. Race, Ethnicity, and Crime: Alternate Perspectives. New York: Algora.

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Two authors:

Jaynes, Gerald D. and Robin M. Williams, Jr. 1989. A Common Destiny: Blacks and American
Society. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Three or more authors:

Barak, Gregg, Paul Leighton, and Jeanne Flavin. 2010. Class, Race, Gender, and Crime: The
Social Realities of Justice in America. Lanham, MD: Roman & Littlefield, 2010.

Editor as author:

Hasselm, Alicia E., ed. 2011. Crime: Causes, Types and Victims. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science
Publishers.

Chapter in a book:

Riley, Matilda White. 1985. “Women, Men, and the Lengthening Life Course.” Pp. 333-47 in
Gender and the Life Course, edited by A. S. Rossi. New York: Aldine.

Ebooks retrieved from a database:

Newman, Katherine S. and Rourke L. O’Brien. 2011. Taxing the Poor: Doing Damage to the
Truly Disadvantaged. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Retrieved August 27,
2013.(http://site.ebrary.com/lib/stmarysca/docDetail.action?docID=10446269).

Encyclopedia or Handbook article:

Levine, Felice J. 2001. “Professionalization of Social and Behavioral Scientists: United States.”
Pp. 12146-54 in The International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences,
edited by N.J. Smelser and P.B. Bates. London, England: Elsevier Science Limited.

Journal articles:

Desmond, Matthew. 2012. “Eviction and the Reproduction of Urban Poverty.” American Journal
of Sociology 11(1):88-133.

Journal article retrieved from a database:

Cite the same as the print unless a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is available for the article, then
include the DOI.

Desmond, Matthew. 2012. “Eviction and the Reproduction of Urban Poverty.” American Journal
of Sociology 11(1):88-133. doi:10.1086/666082.

Magazine and Newspaper Articles:

Articles in print and articles retrieved through a library database are cited the same.

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O’Hare, William P. (1983). “Poverty’s Bottom Line.” New York Times, August 19, p. A1.

Tough, Paul. 2009. “Man With a Plan: Obama Wants a Seismic Shift in How We Tackle
Poverty. It's Already Started In Harlem.” Mother Jones, January/February, pp. 48-49.

For newspaper and magazine articles retrieve from web sites, add the retrieval date and URL

Sampson, Robert J. 2006. “Open Doors Don’t Invite Criminals.” New York Times, March 11.
Retrieved July 10, 2010 (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/opinion/11sampson.html).

Book reviews:

Klinenberg, Eric. 2001. Review of Poverty and Place: Ghettos, Barrios, and the American City
by Paul A. Jargowsky. Ethnic and Racial Studies 24(1):150-151.

Dissertations:

Dissertation retrieved from Proquest Dissertations and Theses:

Lens, Michael C. 2011. “Estimating the Spatial Relationships between Subsidized Housing and
Crime.” PhD dissertation, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New
York University. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database.

Videos:

The Central Park Five. 2013. A film by Ken Burns, David McMahon, Sarah Burns. Arlington,
VA: PBS Distribution. DVD.

Web sites:

If you know the physical location of the organization, include the location. List the organization
as the author followed by the date.

In the text cite as (ASA 2006)

In the reference list:

American Sociological Association 2006. “Status Committees.” Washington, DC: American

Sociological Association. Retrieved December 12, 2006
http://www.asanet.org/cs/root/leftnav/committees/committees).

If the physical location is unknown:

In the text cites as (IBM 2009)

In the reference list:

IBM. 2009. “2009 Annual Report.” Retrieved July 12, 2010

(http://www.ibm.com/annualreport/2009/2009_ibm_annual.pdf).

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Blogs:

In the text cite as (Harrington 2010)

In the reference list:

Harrington, Brooke. 2010. “Economic Sociology.” American Sociological Association. Contexts

Blogs. Retrieved July 12, 2010 (http://contexts.org/economicsociology/).

E-mails:

References to e-mails (and other personal communications) should be entered as part of the text
and then cited in a footnote or endnote, not in the reference list. Obtain the sender’s permission
and DO NOT include the email address.

Text: In an e-mail message to the author, Jones indicated that he was leaving the university.

Footnote: 8 John Jones, e-mail message to author, May 23, 1999.

Many examples and explanations in this guide were taken from:

American Sociological Association. 2010. American Sociological Association Style Guide. 4th
ed. Washington DC: American Sociological Association.

This guide is available in the Reference Room on the first floor of the library Call number: Ref.
808.0663 Am35a.