Is ASA the Same as APA: Similarities and Differences

Referencing your paper is one of the requirements in the academic world. And while there are many referencing styles, the American Sociology Association (ASA) and American Psychological Association (APA) are some of the common ones.

But are the two similar, and if not, what differences exist between them? At first glance, they might look similar but after taking a closer look, you’ll see that the two are actually quite different. But no matter the style you choose, you need to follow the basic referencing guidelines that each recommends.

Referencing is a must-do if you want to avoid the enormous challenge of plagiarism.

ASA vs APA

There are many referencing and formatting styles. However, today we look at the ASA and APA formats. Here is a quick preview of what these two styles are

The American Psychological Association (APA) style is a writing style and format for academic documents. It details the proper forms for referencing, footnoting, and citing sources using in-text citations and a reference list.

Many scientific journals, universities, colleges, libraries, and publishers use the APA style guide. Additionally, it is used primarily in social and behavioral sciences.

On the other hand, the American Sociological Association (ASA) style is an editorial style and format for academic papers written in the sociology field. It offers guidelines for organizing information into documents and includes examples of bibliographical citations, tables of contents, appendices, figures, illustrations, tables, and footnotes/endnotes (in-text citations).

It also prescribes how to use endnotes/footnotes (reference list), appendices/appendices (reference list), and additional reading resources.

So, is ASA the same as APA? Here is a detailed look at their similarities and differences.

The Similarities

Both ASA and APA are confusing because they are closely related in appearance. Some of the rules and features they share in common include

1. Formatting

The font is New Times Roman, set at 12, and double spaced in both styles. Further, each has a title page that includes information such as the authors, although ASA requires more details than APA.

Also, the titles in both follow the capitalization rule, which requires a title case capitalizer.

2. Referencing

The most apparent similarity between ASA and APA is that they both use footnotes and parenthetical citations. They also require a reference list at the end of your paper that includes every source you cited within the text of your article.

Although APA uses numbers in brackets instead of parentheses, both styles use superscript numbers to denote footnotes and endnotes.

Similarly, the sources are labeled references rather than works cited, as with other styles such as MLA. Also, in both, the references are arranged alphabetically.

3. In-text Citation

Both APA Style and ASA Style use an author-date system for referencing sources, which means you cite works by their authors’ names followed by their dates of publication.

This form of citation is called parenthetical documentation because the writer includes this information in parentheses within the sentence or sentence fragment in which they refer to a source.

The APA style manual recommends using superscript numbers to differentiate among multiple citations within one paragraph or page. However, ASA does not require this practice.

For example, if it is one author, it will appear as

• Florida has a high rate of homeownership (Smith 2018)
• If two authors Florida has a high rate of homeownership (Smith and Liz 2018)
• If three Florida has a high rate of homeownership (Smith, Liz, and Walker 2018) and (Smith et al. 2018) for subsequent times
• If there are more than four authors, Florida has a high rate of homeownership (Smith et al. 2018)

4. Professional Bodies

Both organizations, ASA and APA, serve as professional membership organizations for sociologists and psychologists, respectively. They both have journals that publish scholarly articles about sociology and psychology.

They also hold conferences where members can present their research findings. Both organizations have a code of ethics that members must adhere to when conducting research.

5. Code of Ethics

Another similarity between ASA and APA is that they require their members to follow a code of ethics when researching or publishing articles about their findings.

For example, if you were researching something like race relations in America, you would need to follow specific rules.

These rules guide how you conduct your research and what kind of language you use when talking about certain topics such as race or ethnicity. This helps ensure that everything is done correctly so that no one gets hurt by misleading information presented in these reports or articles.

The Differences

ASA and APA are two of the largest professional associations in the world. They have similar goals and frequently collaborate on research, policy, and advocacy projects. However, there are some key differences between them, such as

1. Format

The format significantly differs between ASA and APA. The former aligns the author and institution on the title page at the center, while the latter does not. In ASA publications, author names are listed first with their institutional affiliation second, while in APA publications, it is in reverse order.

Additionally, there is a 1-inch margin on all sides in APA, whereas, in ASA, the margins are at 1.25 inches.

Both styles require title pages with paper titles and author information, but ASA requires more details than APA. Specifically, ASA title pages must include running heads, paper titles, an author’s name, institutional affiliation, course information, acknowledgments, and notes.

Further, the information includes word count, the receiver’s address, and all sponsors. That’s a lot more info than is needed on an APA title page.

2. Author Names

In the American Psychological Association (APA) style, authors are expected to put their names at the end of the paper. For example, an author’s information should be placed in a separate section at the end of an article. The first author’s name appears first, and subsequent authors’ names are listed alphabetically by last name.

In contrast, in the American Sociological Association (ASA) style, authors are expected to put their names at the beginning of their papers. For example, all of an author’s information is placed at the top of a document. Similarly, if you were citing an article published by multiple authors, you would list their names alphabetically by last name with no punctuation between them.

3. Their Works

Whereas both ASA and APA are used widely in the academic fields, their works are different. ASA is majorly involved in sociological studies, papers, and journals. On the other hand, the APA is involved in psychological articles.

Additionally, ASA focuses primarily on social science research related to human beings and societies, while APA covers other topics such as psychology and education.

While ASA publishes articles that address various topics from multiple perspectives, APA primarily publishes empirical studies that report original findings or work based on those findings.

This means ASA is primarily used by researchers in the fields of sociology, anthropology, and political science, while researchers in the social sciences most commonly use APA. They are generally not accepted by many other areas of study.

4. In-Text Citations

When using in-text citations in your paper, you should include the author’s last name and page number and a summary of the idea written by another source. For example, if you were giving a direct quote from another source, you would include this information: (Smith, pg. 1).

If you were paraphrasing another author’s ideas, you would include this information: (Smith, as cited in Jones, pg. 2). If no author is given for an idea or quote, use “Jones” instead of “Smith.”

While ASA uses a note style for citations, APA’s references are usually placed in parentheses within the text. The difference is that while ASA uses footnotes with reference numbers, APA uses endnotes with page numbers below each reference to avoid any confusion between footnotes and endnotes when reading through your paper.

5. References Page

APA uses the last and first names of the author, whereas ASA uses the first and middle names unless these were also abbreviated from the beginning.

6. Other Differences

ASA also has specific requirements for the running heads (or footers) found at the top or bottom of each page of your manuscript to identify it specifically as part of this particular manuscript. They don’t appear in published articles. This is useful if your reader accidentally flips through several pages too quickly at once. With this, they can see which article they’re reading without re-reading every single page number.

There are various ways to cite sources within your paper in both style manuals, but ASA typically uses footnotes or endnotes instead of parenthetical citations.

Bottom Line

As you can see, there are many differences and similarities between the two styles. But don’t let that intimidate you. It just means there’s more freedom of choice when formatting your paper. If you choose APA or ASA, you should follow each style’s guidelines and do not mix the two.

Similarly, choosing one style over the other depends on your paper and your professor’s instructions. Nevertheless, both styles provide a perfect way to format and reference your article in an academically acceptable manner.