Customer Reviews
A bestseller because its required. - By: a sociologist, 08 Oct 2008 
Most people aren't crazy about this book but have to buy it because it is required-in other words, people buy this book because they have to use the format & style it discussesin order to write & submit a paper. Other than that, I don't know who else would go out of their way to buy this thing. It's thick & not thumb indexed the best. Other psychological books readers may benefit from include The Sixty-Second Motivator.
A manual for professionals - By: Kurt Messick, 05 Jan 2006 
There are many style manuals available, & many different styles from which to choose (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). For those who are involvedin social science & medical research, often the APA style (American Psychological Association) is a required format, & expected.
This is not my favourite format for several reasons, not the least of which is because the footnote/endnote notations do not include first names of authors (a big minusin my estimation). However, the system is a tried-and-true one, & one that shows little sign of decreasingin popularity among its adherents.
That being said, this manual is not for the basic student or author. It does include sections on grammar & usage, but these are meant to be refreshers or references rather than teaching sections. The part that most people will use, the sections on citationsin footnotes, endnotes, & in-line/in-text references, is somewhat inadequate here, as the internet & other forms of media have all expanded beyond the scope of the fifth edition. I find that, when I am forced to put something into the APA framework, I am invariably having to go to the internet rather than my guide (or other guides, such as Diana Hacker) because the reference forms simply aren't there.
My first choice of reference form would be the MLA style; APA is somewhat lacking & somewhat confusingin many cases, but for those who need to follow this format, this is one of the better references available.
A research bible - By: , 09 Apr 2003 As a post-graduate muddling to create a psychology PhD matching the specifications expected, I have found the APA publication manual as a literal bible. In addition to the reknown excellence of the APAin the United States, many psychological PhDsin the United Kingdom are constructed to that style outline by the APA publication manual. Often when I have a question that my advisor can not answer, the APA publication manual can.
This manual is not neutral - By: , 08 Jun 2000 
Se also my review of this book on Amazon.com.(This review supplies new information to that).
Regarding bibliographical system (in the text &in the reference list), I prefer the APA style much compared to number systems (where you have to change all numbers every time you add or delete a reference). There is one point, however, where I find the APA bibliographical standard unacceptable: The abbreviation of all first names. Many people would like to know the first name of the people, whith whom they communicate. More important, with many names (e.g. Smith), this system produces confusions.
Also read this interesting analysis: R. WalshBowers (1999): Fundamentalismin psychological science - The Publication Manual as ''Bible''. Psychology of women quarterly, 23(2), 375-392 Drawing from social historical studies & critical feminist perspectives on psychological method & report writing, WalshBowers analyzes the content of the fourth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 1994) as if it were a biblical text. The focus is on the correspondence between the espoused intention of sensitivity toward participants & the codes of investigative conduct made explicit & implicitin the manual. Specifically, definitions of research, research roles, ethical standards, writing style, & gender issues are examined. Then the manual's function as a fundamentalist biblein relation to psychologists' culture, including socialisation of psychology students & the production of research articles is discussed. The author concludes with recommendations for investigative & compositional
Still needed and still valued. - By: , 11 Dec 1998 The fourth edition of the APA *Manual* is, despite some of the flaws others have noted, very useful to those studying or working within the social sciences. While our current breed of word processing programs have indeed been a great benefit to academic writers, we cannot forget the orgins of academic writing linger from long before the computer age. This book offers a complete & varied guide to how to write for a field of disciplines. I would compare it to the *American Medical Association's Style Manual* as I also use this reference quite oftenin that both books truly offer a great deal of information that is usefulin science-related writing. We are lucky to have something that is this complete.
