This libguide provides a brief overview on the APSA Citation Style for the political science discipline and includes some relevant examples on how to cite sources using the APSA style format.
The American Political Science Association (APSA) style is the official citation style for scholars and academics in the field of political science (APSA, 2018). Putting a special attention to government documents, APSA has published its Style Manual for Political Science which was revised in 2018.
According to the APSA Style Manual, it generally follows the guidelines of Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) 17th edition. While it aims to provide a more general approach on political science citation style, the APSA encourages scholars to follow the citation format set by specific journals in the discipline (University Writing Center, Middle Tennessee State University [MTSU], n.d.)
APSA generally follows the Chicago Manual of Style formatting with the use of parenthetical citations when appropriate. In addition, it follows the author-date format of CMOS. The full APSA style manual is available for free on APSA website in PDF format.
American Political Science Association. (2018). Style manual for political science. (Revised 2018 ed.). https://apsanet.org/Portals/54/journals/2022%20Style%20Manual%20for%20Political%20Science.pdf?ver=uR1fgZiAd_a7K6GqVg61Jw%3d%3d
University Writing Center, Middle Tennessee State University. (n.d.). RES 8: APSA Quick guide. https://www.mtsu.edu/writing-center/handouts/RES8APSAQuickGuide.pdf
