The APA Style Converter

[Ping Li]

Dear Colleagues,

If you are submitting articles to journals that require the APA Style, you
might be
interested in a web interface that we have developed, the APA Style
Converter. A description of the Converter is attached below.

You can access the Converter from our web server at:
http://cogsci.richmond.edu/. We welcome your feedback, comments, and
suggestions.

Sincerely

Ping Li
pli at richmond.edu
http://www.richmond.edu/~pli/

Abstract: The APA Style Converter is a web-based tool for authors to
prepare their papers in APA
Style according to the APA Publication Manual (5th ed.). The converter
provides a userfriendly
interface that allows authors to copy and paste text and upload figures
through the
web, and it automatically turns all texts, references, and figures to a
structured article in APA
Style. The output is saved in PDF format, ready for either electronic
submission or hardcopy
printing.

Rationale: While the APA Style has widespread use in the scientific
community, there are several
factors that hinder authors from accurate use of the style. First, many
authors find it difficult
to keep track of all the details specified in the Manual. For example,
when asked, few
researchers are certain about, (a) whether the Footnotes section should
come before or after
the Author Note, (b) whether the Appendices should come before or after
the Tables, or (c)
what a Page Header is, how it is different from a Running Head, and how
these head and
headers should be laid out on the Title Page. Second, some authors who are
familiar with
earlier versions of the APA Style might not have kept up with the newest
changes in the
current version such as the abolition of underlines and the citation for
internet resources.
Third, researchers from countries other than North America and Europe are
relatively
unfamiliar with the APA Style, either because it is not part of their
training or because
writing conventions and publication guidelines for their native languages
differ from the
APA Style. Yet more and more researchers find it necessary to deal with
the APA Style: the style is
widely used in many disciplines, and the journals to which they submit
papers require it.
Researchers from other countries are also under increasing pressure to
publish in
international journals that may require the APA Style.