APA Documentation Style in Scholarly Narrative Writing

Monday, August 07, 2017 APA , Documentation , Expert Advice , Scholarly Writing , writing style No comments

Some of the trickiest APA questions we receive have to do with how to document sources in narrative style writing. In this style of writing, writers are charged with citing interviews and personal communication and sometimes, even, themselves. This blog post will discuss these types of documentation, commonly found in narrative style writing.

APA Documentation for Narrative Scholarly Writing title image

Most important in this style of writing is that your readers know your source's credentials and why their ideas are being included in your text. Think critically about the sources you choose to include in your text and make sure their background makes them a credible and reliable resource, with valuable insight on your topic. Rely on individuals who have credible professional experience or research experience in related to your topic.
Citing an Interview or Other Personal Communication

First, it is important to know that an interview or personal communication is cited in your text only. Interviews and other personal communication will never be included your references list.

In your text, interview and personal communication citation guidelines follow standard author/year APA rules. Additionally, however, you must include your source’s first initial, along with the month and day that your communication took place.

For example, if you conducted an interview with Donnie Edwards on May 28, 2017, you would cite this interview as follows:

D. Edwards (personal communication, May 28, 2017) claimed that donuts are better than cookies.
Or
Donuts are better than cookies (D. Edwards, personal communication, May 28, 2017).

In summary, you must include the following information in your in-text citation of interviews or other personal communication.

1. Your source’s first initial and last name
2. The form of communication (personal communication)
3. The month, day, and year that the personal communication took place

And remember, interviews and personal communication sources will never appear in your references list.

Citing Yourself

It is generally recommended that you do not cite your own ideas from previous papers. Walden University (and we at the Writing Center!) know that you’ll revisit your areas of interest again and again during your tenure as a student. Research in your areas of interest will continue to grow during your tenure, which means that you will have new and evolving research to include in your texts. This means that your own analysis of your areas of interest should also be evolving.

The Walden University Student Handbook (2017) builds on this idea, stating that “During their studies at Walden, students might find themselves writing for a second, third, or fourth time on the same topic; regardless, their writing is expected to reflect new approaches and insights into that topic to demonstrate their intellectual growth.”

If you do choose, however, to cite your own ideas from past papers, you can do so by following general author/year APA guidelines. You must include the author’s name (your own name) and the year of publication in your text. For example, if I am citing myself, I might say:

Townsend (2017) claimed that “it is generally recommended that you do not cite yourself in your text.”
Or
“It is generally recommended that you do not cite yourself in your text” (Townsend, 2017).

This is a source that you would include in your reference list, as it adheres to the standard conventions of APA-style documentation.

In summary, due to the continual evolution both of research in your areas of interest and of your own analysis of your areas of interest, Walden University recommends that you avoid citing yourself in your text. However, if you choose to cite yourself in a paper, you must follow standard APA guidelines, and you must also include the source in your references list.

Including a paper of your own in your references list would follow the below format.

Townsend. N. (2017). A query into self-citation. Unpublished manuscript, Walden University.

Nicole Townsend is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. She has worked in writing centers for ten years, with an interest in individualizing support for diverse student populations. While Nicole also enjoys editorial work and teaching English as an adjunct professor, her passion is for the foundation of collaboration embedded in writing center best practices.