Is APA Style Right for Your Dissertation? Everything Doctoral Students Need to Know

APA style is the most widely used citation and formatting standard for doctoral dissertations in education, psychology, social work, public health, and the social sciences. Here is a complete guide to APA 7th edition dissertation formatting — citations, headings, references, and the most common mistakes to avoid.

If you are completing a doctoral dissertation in education, psychology, sociology, social work, public health, nursing, counseling, business, or a related social science or health science field there is a strong chance your institution requires APA style. APA — the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association — is the most widely used style manual for doctoral dissertations outside the humanities and it governs everything from how you format your citations to how you structure your headings to how you present your reference list.

The challenge is that APA style is highly technical and the rules are specific. The seventh edition — published in 2019 and now the current standard — introduced significant changes from the sixth edition that many doctoral students and even some faculty advisors are not fully up to date on. Using outdated sixth edition rules in a dissertation that requires seventh edition compliance is one of the most common APA formatting mistakes submitted to graduate schools today.

This comprehensive guide covers everything doctoral students need to know about APA style dissertation formatting — the fundamental principles, the most important rules, the seventh edition changes that affect dissertations most significantly, and the most common APA dissertation mistakes to avoid before submission.

What Is APA Style and Who Uses It?

APA style refers to the formatting and citation guidelines published in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association — currently in its seventh edition published in 2019. It was originally developed for journal articles in psychology but has become the standard style manual across a wide range of academic disciplines.

Doctoral dissertations that most commonly require APA style include:

Education and educational leadership dissertations
Psychology dissertations — clinical, counseling, educational, organizational
Social work dissertations
Public health and health sciences dissertations
Nursing practice dissertations
Sociology dissertations
Criminal justice dissertations
Business and organizational management dissertations — particularly EdD and DBA programs
Counseling and counselor education dissertations
Communications and media studies dissertations

If you are unsure whether your dissertation requires APA style check your institution's graduate school formatting guidelines and confirm with your committee chair before formatting any citations or headings.

The Fundamental Principles of APA Style

Before diving into specific rules it is helpful to understand the core principles that underlie APA style. These principles explain why the rules are what they are and help you apply them correctly in situations not explicitly covered by the manual.

Clarity and precision:

APA style prioritizes clear, precise, and unambiguous academic writing. Every formatting and citation rule is designed to present information clearly and consistently so readers can find, evaluate, and build on the research efficiently.

Author-Date citation system:

APA uses an author-date in-text citation system — citations appear in the body of the text in parentheses immediately following the information cited, and a full reference list at the end of the document provides the complete citation information. There are no footnotes for citations in APA style.

Bias-free language:

The seventh edition of APA places significant emphasis on bias-free language — writing that is respectful, accurate, and inclusive in how it describes people, communities, and identities. This includes guidance on person-first language, preferred terminology for racial and ethnic groups, gender-inclusive language, and appropriate language for discussing disability, age, and sexual orientation.

Consistency throughout:

Like all style manuals APA requires absolute consistency in how formatting and citation rules are applied throughout the document. Inconsistency — applying rules differently in different sections — is a formatting error regardless of whether each individual instance is technically correct.

APA 7th Edition — The Most Important Changes from the 6th Edition

The seventh edition of APA introduced significant changes that affect dissertation formatting. If you learned APA style using the sixth edition or if your institution's guidance materials have not been updated you may be applying outdated rules. Here are the most important changes:

Running head:

The sixth edition required a running head — a shortened version of the title appearing in the header of every page — for manuscripts submitted for publication. The seventh edition eliminates the running head requirement for student papers including dissertations. Many graduate schools still require a running head based on sixth edition guidance — check your institutional requirements.

Publisher location:

The sixth edition required the city and state or city and country of the publisher for book references. The seventh edition eliminates the publisher location requirement. Books are cited without a place of publication.

Example — sixth edition: New York, NY: Routledge. Example — seventh edition: Routledge.

DOI format:

The seventh edition changed the DOI format from the older doi: prefix to a URL format — https://doi.org/xxxxxx. Always use the current URL format for DOIs in APA 7th edition dissertations.

Up to 20 authors in reference list:

The sixth edition required et al. after six or more authors in the reference list. The seventh edition lists up to 20 authors before using an ellipsis and the final author's name for sources with 21 or more authors.

Singular they:

The seventh edition officially endorses singular they as a gender-neutral pronoun — an important update for dissertation writing that discusses individuals whose gender is not specified or who use they as their pronoun.

Heading formatting:

The seventh edition revised the heading system to make all five levels more visually distinct from each other. The most significant change is that Level 3, 4, and 5 headings are now formatted differently from the sixth edition. Always use the seventh edition heading format.

How to Format APA Style Citations in a Dissertation

APA citations appear in two places — in-text in the body of the dissertation and in the reference list at the end.

In-text citations — basic format:

For a paraphrase — author last name and year: (Collins, 2000)

For a direct quote — author last name, year, and page number: (Collins, 2000, p. 45)

For a source with two authors — both names every time: (Crenshaw & Gotanda, 1995)

For a source with three or more authors — first author et al. from the first citation: (Hill et al., 2019)

For a source with no author — use the title or a shortened version of the title: ("Dissertation Formatting," 2023)

For a corporate or organizational author — spell out in full on first citation, abbreviate if the organization has a well-known abbreviation: First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020) Subsequent citations: (APA, 2020)

Narrative citations — author name in the sentence:

When the author's name appears naturally in the sentence include only the year in parentheses: Collins (2000) argues that... According to Crenshaw and Gotanda (1995)...

Block quotations in APA style:

Direct quotes of 40 or more words are formatted as block quotations — indented half an inch from the left margin, no quotation marks, and the citation appearing in parentheses after the final punctuation.

How to Format the APA Reference List

The APA reference list appears at the end of the dissertation on a new page with the centered bold heading References. Here are the key formatting rules:

General formatting:

Double spaced throughout with no extra space between entries
Hanging indent — first line flush left, continuation lines indented half an inch
Entries listed alphabetically by first author's last name
No numbering of entries
Sentence case capitalization for book and article titles — only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized
Headline capitalization for journal names — all major words capitalized
Journal names and book titles italicized
Article titles not italicized and not in quotation marks

Book reference format:

Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle in sentence case. Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx if applicable

Example: Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.

Journal article reference format:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Name in Headline Capitalization, volume number(issue number), page range. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Example: Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

Edited book chapter reference format:

Chapter Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of chapter in sentence case. In Editor First Initial. Last Name (Ed.), Title of book (pp. page range). Publisher.

Dissertation or thesis reference format:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of dissertation in sentence case [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Database Name. URL

Website reference format:

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of page in sentence case. Website Name. URL

How to Format APA Headings in a Dissertation

APA 7th edition uses five heading levels. Most doctoral dissertations use three to four levels. Here is the complete heading format:

Level 1 — Centered, Bold, Title Case: The Historical Roots of Welfare Policy

Level 2 — Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case: The Colonial Origins of Labor Exploitation

Level 3 — Left-Aligned, Bold, Italic, Title Case: Virginia Legislation and Women's Labor

Level 4 — Indented, Bold, Title Case, Period. Text follows on same line: Early Colonial Laws and Their Legacy.

Text begins here and continues on the same line.

Level 5 — Indented, Bold, Italic, Title Case, Period. Text follows on same line: The 1662 Partus Sequitur Ventrem Act.

Text begins here and continues on the same line.

Key APA heading rules for dissertations:

All heading levels use title case — all major words capitalized
Level 1 is the only centered heading — all others are left-aligned or indented
Do not bold the paragraph text that follows a Level 4 or Level 5 heading
Do not skip heading levels — if you use Level 3 you must first use Level 2
Institutional guidelines may modify these requirements — always check

APA Bias-Free Language Requirements for Dissertations

The seventh edition's bias-free language guidelines are particularly important for dissertations in education, social work, public health, and social sciences that discuss race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, or sexual orientation.

Key bias-free language rules:

Race and ethnicity:

Capitalize racial and ethnic group names — Black, White, Indigenous, Asian American, Latino
Use the specific ethnic or national group name when known rather than broad umbrella terms
Avoid terms that are outdated or considered offensive — always use current preferred terminology

Gender:

Use gender-inclusive language throughout — they and their as singular pronouns when gender is unknown or unspecified
Avoid gendered assumptions in writing about roles, occupations, or behaviors
Use the pronouns and terms an individual uses for themselves when writing about specific people

Disability:

The seventh edition endorses both person-first language (a person with a disability) and identity-first language (a disabled person) depending on the preference of the community being discussed
Avoid deficit language that frames disability as something to be overcome or cured

Age:

Use specific age ranges rather than broad terms like elderly or seniors
Older adults is preferred over elderly for people 65 and above

APA Formatting Requirements for Dissertation Pages and Margins

APA style specifies the following page formatting requirements for dissertations:

Margins:

One inch on all sides — top, bottom, left, and right. Some institutions require a wider left margin — typically 1.5 inches — for binding. Check your institutional guidelines.

Font:

APA 7th edition allows several fonts — Times New Roman 12pt, Calibri 11pt, Arial 11pt, Lucida Sans Unicode 10pt, or Georgia 11pt. Most institutions specify Times New Roman 12pt — check your graduate school guidelines.

Line spacing:

Double spaced throughout the body of the dissertation. Some elements — block quotations, footnotes, and reference list entries — may have specific spacing requirements per your institutional guidelines.

Page numbers:

Page numbers appear in the header flush right on every page. Preliminary pages use lowercase Roman numerals. The body begins at page 1 with Arabic numerals.

The Most Common APA Dissertation Mistakes

Mistake 1 — Using sixth edition rules instead of seventh edition:

The seventh edition introduced significant changes. Using outdated sixth edition rules — including running heads, publisher locations, and old DOI formats — is one of the most common APA dissertation errors.

How to fix it: Verify that you are using the current seventh edition of the APA Publication Manual published in 2019. If you learned APA from sixth edition materials review the key seventh edition changes before formatting your dissertation.

Mistake 2 — Using sentence case for headings:

APA headings use title case — all major words capitalized. APA reference list titles use sentence case — only first word and proper nouns capitalized. Students frequently apply sentence case to headings after becoming accustomed to sentence case in reference list entries.

How to fix it: Remember — headings use title case, reference list entries use sentence case. Check every heading and every reference list entry against the correct capitalization rule.

Mistake 3 — Missing DOIs or incorrect DOI format:

APA 7th edition requires DOIs in the new URL format — https://doi.org/xxxxx — for all journal articles and other sources where a DOI is available. Missing DOIs or using the old doi: prefix format are citation errors.

How to fix it: Check every journal article reference for a DOI. Use the DOI lookup tool at doi.org if needed. Format all DOIs as https://doi.org/xxxxx.

Mistake 4 — Including publisher location in book references:

The seventh edition eliminated the publisher location requirement. Including city and state or city and country in book references is a seventh edition formatting error.

How to fix it: Remove all publisher location information from book references. The reference ends with the publisher name — or the DOI or URL if applicable.

Mistake 5 — Incorrect block quotation formatting:

APA block quotations — direct quotes of 40 or more words — must be indented half an inch from the left margin with no quotation marks and the citation in parentheses after the final punctuation. Incorrect block quote formatting is a common APA error.

How to fix it: Check every direct quote in your dissertation. Any quote of 40 or more words must be formatted as a block quotation. Any quote under 40 words must be formatted as an inline quote with quotation marks.

Mistake 6 — Et al. usage errors:

In APA 7th edition sources with three or more authors use et al. from the first in-text citation. The sixth edition used et al. only after six or more authors. Many students trained on the sixth edition apply the wrong threshold.

How to fix it: In APA 7th edition use et al. for any source with three or more authors from the first in-text citation. For sources with two authors always list both names.

Mistake 7 — Incorrect reference list capitalization:

Reference list entries for books and article titles use sentence case — only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Journal names use headline capitalization. Applying headline capitalization to book and article titles in the reference list is one of the most widespread APA formatting errors.

How to fix it: Check every book title and article title in your reference list. Convert to sentence case — lowercase all words except the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.

Mistake 8 — Not listing up to 20 authors:

The seventh edition requires listing up to 20 authors in the reference list before using an ellipsis. The sixth edition required et al. after six authors. Cutting off author lists at six authors is a seventh edition formatting error.

How to fix it: For sources with up to 20 authors list all of them in the reference list. For sources with 21 or more authors list the first 19, add an ellipsis, and then list the final author.

APA Dissertation Formatting Checklist

Before submitting your APA dissertation use this checklist:

Confirmed APA 7th edition is required — not 6th edition
One inch margins on all sides — or institutional requirement
Times New Roman 12pt or approved font throughout
Double spaced throughout the body
Page numbers in header flush right throughout
Roman numerals for preliminary pages — Arabic numerals for body beginning at page 1
In-text citations follow Author-Date format throughout
All in-text citations have corresponding reference list entries
All reference list entries have corresponding in-text citations
Reference list uses hanging indent throughout
Book and article titles in reference list use sentence case
Journal names in reference list use headline capitalization and are italicized
DOIs formatted as https://doi.org/xxxxx for all applicable sources
No publisher location in book references
Sources with three or more authors use et al. from first in-text citation
Block quotations — 40 or more words — correctly indented with no quotation marks
All heading levels formatted per APA 7th edition requirements
Bias-free language used throughout
No running head unless specifically required by institution
No tracked changes or comments remaining in the document

Getting Your APA Dissertation Formatted Correctly

APA style is one of the most technical and detail-demanding formatting systems used for doctoral dissertations. The seventh edition introduced significant changes that affect citations, references, headings, and language throughout the document. Getting every element right — consistently, throughout a two hundred or three hundred page dissertation — requires systematic attention and expert knowledge of the current edition.

At Two Dissertation Moms we provide comprehensive APA dissertation formatting and editing services for doctoral students across all APA disciplines. We work exclusively with the seventh edition and we check every citation, every reference list entry, every heading, and every page formatting element against current APA requirements and your institution's specific guidelines. We correct errors, ensure consistency, and deliver a dissertation that meets every APA standard your graduate school requires.

Whether you are completing an education dissertation, a psychology dissertation, a social work dissertation, a public health dissertation, or any other APA dissertation we are here to make sure your formatting is correct before your committee sees it.

FAQ Section:

Q: What is the difference between APA 6th edition and APA 7th edition for dissertations?

A: The seventh edition of APA introduced several significant changes affecting dissertations. The running head is no longer required for student papers. Publisher location is no longer required in book references. DOIs are now formatted as URLs — https://doi.org/xxxxx. Sources with three or more authors use et al. from the first in-text citation. Up to 20 authors are listed in the reference list before using an ellipsis. Always confirm which edition your institution requires.

Q: Does APA style use footnotes for citations?

A: No. APA style uses an Author-Date in-text citation system — citations appear in parentheses in the body of the text immediately following the cited information. There are no footnote citations in APA style. Footnotes may be used for supplementary content but not for citations.

Q: What capitalization does APA style use for headings?

A: APA headings at all five levels use title case capitalization — all major words capitalized. This is different from APA reference list entries which use sentence case — only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns capitalized. Applying the wrong capitalization style to headings versus reference list entries is one of the most common APA dissertation mistakes.

Q: How do I format a block quotation in APA style?

A: In APA style direct quotes of 40 or more words are formatted as block quotations. The quoted text is indented half an inch from the left margin, no quotation marks are used, and the citation appears in parentheses after the final punctuation of the quoted text. Block quotations are double spaced in accordance with the rest of the dissertation.

Q: Is a running head required in an APA dissertation?

A: The seventh edition of APA eliminated the running head requirement for student papers including dissertations. However some institutions still require a running head based on sixth edition guidance or their own institutional requirements. Always check your graduate school's formatting guidelines to confirm whether a running head is required for your dissertation.

Q: How should racial and ethnic group names be capitalized in an APA dissertation?

A: APA 7th edition requires racial and ethnic group names to be capitalized — Black, White, Indigenous, Asian American, Latino, and so on. This reflects the recognition that these are proper names for distinct groups with shared cultural and social identities. Always use the most current and preferred terminology for the groups you are discussing and capitalize consistently throughout.

Is APA Style Right for Your Dissertation? Here Is Everything Doctoral Students Need to Know About APA Formatting