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If you intend to utilize lecture slides as a source in your research paper, ensure to include an in-text citation at the conclusion of each sentence where you quote or paraphrase those slides, along with a complete citation in your Reference List at the conclusion of your document. When employing the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style, you have two options for citing a lecture slide, contingent on whether the lecture slides are publicly accessible.
Procedures
Referencing Entries
Exclude a Reference List entry if the slides are not published online. The purpose of your Reference List is to furnish your readers with adequate information to access the source you employed themselves. If the slides are not openly accessible to your readers, there is no necessity for a Reference List entry at all.
- If you acquired the slides from a class website, such as Canvas, that necessitates a password for access, typically, you would still incorporate a Reference List entry. A reader could contact the author of the slides for access.
- If you possess a downloaded copy of the slides but they are not accessible to the general public, you would still typically cite them as personal communication. Consult your instructor or advisor to determine if they would prefer you to append a copy of the slides to your paper as an appendix.
Commence your Reference List entry with the author's name. Write the last name of the author (or lecturer) first, followed by a comma. Then, add their first initial, followed by a period. If a middle initial is available, include it after the first initial.
- Example: McGonagall, M.
Include the year of slide creation. According to APA guidelines, the year within your citation, enclosed in parentheses after the author's name, typically represents the publication year. For lecture slides, this corresponds to the year they were produced. However, if the slide creation year is unknown, utilize the year of presentation viewing.
- Example: McGonagall, M. (2018).
Specify the presentation title and its format description. Italicize the presentation title. Apply sentence case, capitalizing solely the initial word and any proper nouns in the title. If a subtitle is present, follow the title with a colon and write the subtitle in sentence case, ensuring capitalization of the initial word. Add a space, then indicate the lecture slides format within square brackets. Conclude with a period following the closing brackets.
- Example: McGonagall, M. (2018). A guide to advanced transfiguration [PowerPoint slides].
- For alternative formats, such as Apple Keynote, specify accordingly. For instance, if utilizing Apple Keynote, denote the format as '[Keynote slides].' For document formats, mention the document format followed by the term 'document,' like '[PDF document]' or '[Word document].'
Conclude with the URL leading to the slides. Provide a direct URL directing readers to the referenced presentation. Omit a period after the URL. In cases where the presentation is sourced from a class website, like Canvas, accessible only to enrolled members, indicate the webpage name instead.
- Example for a website: McGonagall, M. (2018). A guide to advanced transfiguration [PowerPoint slides]. https://www.hogwarts.edu/transfiguration/slides/chapter_4
- Example for Canvas: McGonagall, M. (2018). A guide to advanced transfiguration [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from WebCampus.
Format for Reference List:
Author, A. (Year). Lecture title in sentence case [Format]. URL
Crafting In-Text References
Integrate a parenthetical citation labeled as 'personal communication' for unpublished slides. If the slides are not publicly available, only an in-text citation is necessary, omitting a Reference List entry. Begin with the first initial and last name of the author (or lecturer), followed by a comma. Subsequently, insert the term 'personal communication,' trailed by a comma. Lastly, furnish the date of the lecture in month-day-year format.
- For instance, you might express: Despite the common belief in the dangers of dark arts, transfiguration has been the cause of more Hogwarts students ending up in the hospital (M. McGonagall, personal communication, May 4, 2018).
Incorporate the author's surname and publication year within a standard parenthetical citation. The conventional APA in-text citation necessitates the author's last name and year, separated by a comma and enclosed in parentheses. Position this citation at the conclusion of any sentence containing a quotation or paraphrase from the source, within the sentence's concluding punctuation.
- For example, you might state: Transfiguration represents not only one of the most challenging and intricate skills mastered by Hogwarts students, but also one of the most perilous (McGonagall, 2018).
Utilize the publication year if the author's name is mentioned in the text. In certain contexts, it might enhance the flow of your text to include the author's name. When adopting this approach, a parenthetical with only the publication year is necessary, positioned immediately after the author's name.
- For instance, you might convey: According to McGonagall (2018), disregarding the inherent peril of transfiguration would be unwise.
Include a slide number when quoting directly. Most lecture slide presentations are numbered. In instances where numbering is absent, manual counting is required. Within your parenthetical citation, add a comma following the publication year, then insert the term 'slide' followed by the slide number.
- For example, you might write: The most advanced transfiguration spells are exclusively attempted by the elite students at Hogwarts (McGonagall, 2018, slide 4).
