As with other editorial styles, APA Style consists of rules or guidelines that a publisher observes to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material. APA is the style used most frequently in the field of Education, Nursing and in the Sciences.
Most departments at AU require that students use APA style to format papers. APA recently changed some of their rules. Here's a quick tutorial that covers the basics.
The most recent revision from APA, directs researchers to use DOIs to identify resources when possible.
What is a digital object identifier, or DOI?
A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet. The publisher assigns a DOI when an article is published and made available electronically.
All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and contain a prefix and a suffix separated by a slash. The prefix is a unique number of four or more digits assigned to organizations; the suffix is assigned by the publisher and was designed to be flexible with publisher identification standards.
Example for journal article read online:
Hamilton, R. J., & Bowers, B. (2007). The theory of genetic vulnerability: A Roy model exemplar. Nursing Science Quarterly, 20, 254-264. doi: 10.1177/0894318407303127
More on DOIs