Sociology Research Guide

What is ASA style?

• Each academic discipline has its own rules for citing ideas and words borrowed from other writers and researchers.
• Courses in Sociology generally use the style rules developed by the American Sociological Association.
• The American Sociological Association (ASA) Style Guide contains comprehensive rules and examples for citing.

• Current manual is the 7th edition, published in 2022

How to cite in ASA style:

1. In-Text Citations 

• Use an in-text citation to acknowledge that you are quoting or paraphrasing another author's words or ideas in the text of your research paper. 
• Your reader will use the author information provided in the in-text citation to find the full citation for the source in your references list.
• In-text citations should include the last name of the author and the year of publication, e.g. (Martin 2023), with the following exceptions:
  • If you use the author's name in the text, leave it out of the in-text citation, e.g. (2023)
  • If you are directly quoting the authors’ words, paraphrasing a passage, or referring to specific passages, include a page number in the in-text citation, e.g. (Martin 2023:21)
  • If there are 2 authors, include the last names of both authors, e.g. (Martin and Bailey 2023)
  • If there are 3 authors, include the last names of all authors in the first in-text citation and use only the last name of the first author followed by "et al." in any subsequent citations, e.g. (Martin, Bailey, and Greene 2023) followed by (Martin et al. 2023).
  • If there are 4 or more authors, use only the last name of the first author followed by "et al." as shown above.

• Here's an example: 

  Critser (2003:5) noted that despite growing numbers of overweight Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young.”

  If the author is not named in the signal phrase, place the author’s name, the year, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation (Critser 2003:5). 

2. References List

• Include a references list at the end of your paper. The list should contain a full citation for each in-text citation referenced within your paper.
• Each full citation should include the specific publication information required by the ASA rules. This allows your reader to find the sources, if desired.
• Arrange the citations alphabetically by the author's last name. Use the title if the source has no author.