The American Sociological Association Style is intended for use by authors preparing manuscripts for publication in ASA journals. This page is intended for students who are instructed to use ASA style when writing research papers.
REMEMBER: Always check with your instructor to see if they have any special requirements or specifications for your paper.
As the national organization for sociologists, the American Sociological Association, through its Executive Office, is well positioned to provide a unique set of services to its members and to promote the vitality, visibility, and diversity of the discipline. Working at the national and international levels, the Association aims to articulate policy and implement programs likely to have the broadest possible impact for sociology now and in the future.
| Type of Citation | First Citation in Text | Subsequent Citations in Text | Parenthetical Format, First Citation in Text | Parenthetical Format, Subsequent Citations in Text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One work by one author | Walker (2007) | Walker (2007) | (Walker 2007) | (Walker 2007) |
| One work by two authors | Walker and Allen (2004) | Walker and Allen (2004) | (Walker and Allen 2004) | (Walker and Allen 2004) |
| One work by three authors | Bradley, Ramirez, and Soo (1999) | Bradley et al. (1999) | (Bradley, Ramirez, and Soo 1999) | (Bradley et al. 1999) |
| One work by four or more authors | Wasserstein et al. (2005) | Wasserstein et al. (2005) | (Wasserstein et al. 2005) | (Wasserstein et al. 2005) |
| Groups as authors (readily identified through abbreviation) | NIMH (2003) | NIMH (2003) | (NIMH 2003) | (NIMH 2003) |
| Groups as authors (no abbreviation) | University of Pittsburgh (2005) | University of Pittsburgh (2005) | (University of Pittsburgh 2005) | (University of Pittsburgh 2005) |
Source: American Sociological Association. 2010. Style Guide. Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association.
| Book: General |
Author1 (last name first), Author2 (last name last), and Author 3. Year of publication. Book Title. Location of publisher, State or Country: Publisher's Name. An ",eds." is appended to an author(s) entry to indicate the name(s) of editors. If no date of publication is available, use N.d. in place of the date. |
|
Book with One Author/Editor |
Beeghley, Leonard. 2000. The structure of social stratification in the United States. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. |
|
Book with Two Authors/Editors |
Lareau, Annette and Dalton Conley, eds. 2008. Social class: how does it work? New York: Russell Sage Foundation. |
|
Book with Three or More Authors/Editors |
Scott, Jacqueline, and Rosemary Crompton, and Clare Lyonette, eds. 2010. Gender inequalities in the 21st century: new barriers and continuing constraints. Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar. |
| Entire Book: Electronic Version |
Feagin, Joe R. 2010. Racist America: Roots, Currentalities, and Future Reparations. New York: Taylor and Francis Routledge. Retrieved January 25, 2011 (http://www.netlibrary.com/AccessProduct.aspx?ProductId=308036). |
| Chapter in a Book or Encyclopedia Entry. |
Zambrana, Ruth E. and Victoria-Maria MacDonald. 2009. "Staggered Inequalities in Access to |
For additional examples, see pages 45-51, 77, 99-101, and 106 in the ASA's Style Guide (2010).
| Periodical: General |
Author1 (last name first), Author2 (last name last), and Author 3. Year of publication. "Article title." Journal Title Vol#(iss#):Page#. |
|
Journal Article with One Author |
Campbell, Mary E. 2009. "Multiracial Groups and Educational Inequality: A Rainbow Or a Divide?" Social Problems 56(3):425-446. |
|
Journal Article with Two Authors |
Mouw, Ted and Arne L. Kalleberg. 2010. "Occupations and the Structure of Wage Inequality in the United States, 1980s to 2000s." American Sociological Review75(3):402-431. |
| Journal Article with Three or More Authors |
Moller, Stephanie, Arthur S. Alderson, and Francois Nielsen. 2009. "Changing Patterns of Income Inequality in U.S. Counties, 1970-2000." American Journal of Sociology 114(4):1037-1101. |
| Magazine and Newspaper Articles |
Duke, Lynne. 1994. "Confronting Violence: African American Conferees Look Inward." Washington Post, January 8, pp. A1, A10. |
| Journal Article from an Online Resource with Page Numbers |
Kramer, Lisa A. and Steph Lambert. 2001. "Sex-Linked Bias in Chances of being Promoted to Supervisor." Sociological Perspectives 44(1):111-127. |
| Journal Article from an Online Resource withoutPage Numbers |
Lesser, Lawrence M. 2007. "Critical Values and Transforming Data: Teaching Statistics with Social Justice." Journal of Statistics Education 15(1). Retrieved January 25, 2011 (http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v15n1/lesser.html). |
| Journal Article from an Online Resource with a Digital Object Identifer (DOI) |
Pearson, A. Fiona. 2010. "Real Problems, Virtual Solutions: Engaging Students Online." Teaching Sociology 38(3):207-214. doi:10.1177/0092055X10370115. |
For additional examples, see pages 46-51, 78, and 101-103 in the ASA's Style Guide (2010).
|
Website document retrieved from an institution at a known location. |
American Sociological Association. 2006. "Status Committees." Washingon, D.C.: American Sociological Association. Retrieved July 10, 2010 (http://www.asanet.org/about/committees.cfm). |
|
Website document retrieved from an institution at an unknown location. |
IBM. 2008. "2008 Annual Report." Retrieved January 25, 2011 (ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/annualreport/2008/2008_ibm_annual.pdf). |
| DVD |
American Sociological Association. 2004. Max Weber Visits America, 1904. DVD. Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association. |
For additional examples, see pages 79-82 in the ASA's Style Guide (2010).
Helpful ASA Style resourses may be found at these websites: