Concerns and Benefits Regarding the Use of the American Psychological Article

Concerns and Benefits Regarding the Use of the American Psychological Association (APA) Format of Citation - Article Example Numerous citation formats are currently being used by most researchers and scholarly writers based on their specialization. The most popular style that can be used in any field is the Chicago or Turabian style, MLA is most used for the humanities, and APA style is used in the social sciences, and in recent years in education, research, and business as well (Lipson, 2011). The styles may vary according to what is needed to be presented, but all of these are borne out of the necessity of presenting thoughts or ideas as scholarly and as professionally as possible, all while giving appropriate recognition to the writers that presented the original ideas beforehand (Winkler & Metherell, 2011). Also, because the different writing styles are designed in order to properly present information in the field that these are most often used, one type of citation style may not be appropriate to use in other fields of study, and some necessary information that is usually needed in referencing may be omitted, or added, which could cause confusion (Lipson, 2011). Due to this, the use of a citation style must be in accordance to what kind of information is being presented. In addition, the use of specific styles for each field of discipline is needed to homogenize the presentation of information, especially for publications (Szuchman, 2010). The American Psychological Association (APA) created a format of information presentation around 80 years ago, in order for social scientists to establish a standard for communications in that field (American Psychological Association, APA, 2012a). This format is now popularly known as APA Citation Style, and is widely used because of its focus on sparing and straightforward presentation of information (APA, 2012a). There is much focus on the content, as well as the condensation and rephrasing of information from other sources, making this citation style more authoritative than other methods (Beins, 2012). Another characteristic of APA Citati on Style is it being parenthetical, with much more focus on the name of the research writer and the date it was written. This is due to the fast nature of scientific research in generating new information and making other ideas obsolete in a short period of time (Winkler & Metherell, 2011). With this in mind, this kind of format is much more applicable in the field of nursing, since most concepts are most often needed in a condensed form, as well as the fast turnover rate of information in this field. The use of APA Citation Style in writing scholarly articles is very useful in my field of nursing, especially when writing research papers, position papers, or even short papers such as summaries of one or more articles. The use of the parenthetical method in citing information previously published is able to quickly tell the reader of the paper when this information was generated, and it could either strengthen the validity of an argument without adding any bias (APA, 2012b). Also, th e style is designed to be as minimalist as possible for researchers to write and edit