In-text citation and referencing style: The rudiments of accurate academic writings

Writing a doctoral dissertation is a multifaceted and demanding endeavor that necessitates a thorough command of diverse research methodologies and tools. Doctoral candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency in essential components of scholarly research, such as formulating topic proposals, conducting comprehensive literature reviews, gathering and analyzing data, and organizing their dissertations. This paper seeks to aid inexperienced doctoral students in grasping a crucial aspect of academic writing: citation and referencing. It furnishes instructions and illustrations on the proper method of citing sources within the body of their dissertations using both parenthetical and narrative citations, as well as how to format these sources in the reference list in accordance with the 7th edition of The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2019/2020). Furthermore, the paper underscores the principal revisions implemented in the most recent edition of the APA Manual in comparison to its prior iteration.