So, what is a bibliography and what is a reference list? They both look similar but are they different?
The simple answer is: yes.
A reference list is a listing of all the resources that have been cited within the text of a paper. A bibliography on the other hand is a listing of all the works the author has referenced to gather information about and to research the topic at hand. The bibliography, therefore, not only includes the texts cited within the paper but also others the author has utilized while working on the paper.
Is there such a thing as a bibliography in an APA research paper?
The simple answer is: no.
The APA style guide makes no mention of a bibliography. It concentrates on in text citations and listings of these citations on the reference page at the end.
Your teacher, supervisor or school may require you to include a bibliography at the end of your research paper. This is usually done to gauge the depth of your research. The more books, articles and papers you have read, the better you understand what you are doing. Your teacher may ask you to set the bibliography in a particular style, usually either APA or MLA. In order to successfully compose a bibliography in an APA style, here is a brief review of the style’s referencing rules.
The APA style has specific rules for citation of different types of academic or non-academic resources. These can include everything from books, journal papers, newspaper articles and online blogs to plays and films. For an exhaustive review, please refer to the APA handbook but make sure you have the latest one. These handbooks are updated periodically.
The general way to cite a source is as follows:
The author’s last name is included, followed by the first initial. After this, the date of publication of the book or resource is added. Following this is the Title of the resource.
Here is an example of a research paper citation:
Canning, D., Bloom, D. E., Moore, M. and Mansfield, R. K. (2007). Demographic Change, Social Security Systems and Savings. Journal of Monetary Economics 54