I could say that the APA style is the most frequently used citation format in Journalism literature. The reasons for using the APA citation format could be numerous, but I think most people use this style due to its simplicity and clarity. As opposed to some other citation styles, the APA citation format gives readers the ability to focus on the content rather than spending time to locate references.

Maybe the best plan is to identify a journal to which you want to submit your work, and see what their expected style is in their instructions to authors.

However, I think that APA style is the most common in communication and journalism scholarly writing.

Thanks, Isyaku Hassan & Michael W. Marek

I was writing my PhD thesis. Now I'm following APA style, but many of the theses I went through followed MLA style. That's why a confusion arose. I think I should follow APA.

Renjith R. Now that you have said this question about your PhD thesis, I can say that your academic department should have a standard.

Maybe ask your faculty thesis advisor, or any faculty member in the department.

True, I think you should follow the advice given by Renjith R.

APA format is preferred by the American Psychological Association and is typically used in behavioral and social sciences such as psychology, sociology, history, and communication. Your subject too Renjith R.

AP Style Book.

Melinda S. Warner, Ed.D., ABPdN

Daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning Newspaper Editor as well as the

Daughter of another set of 3 smaller, multiple times per/week newspapers

In my opinion APA, due to the lack of rigor in reference sources in a news item.

I would like to amend my previous response. I'm not clear what exactly you are writing. If you are writing for a journalism class or degree, then you are obligated to follow the standards of that profession. If, on the other hand, you are working on a dissertation out of a psychology department, then you are bound by their requirements. The standard in that field is the most recent edition of the APA citation guidebook. Who you are writing for makes a critical difference in this kind of a situation.

APA is the most commonly used style, but check the journals you plan to target. Also, I recommend using Zotero, a free reference management software. It will make changing a citation style in a paper a matter of minutes.

Thanks for the responses.

Yulia A. Strekalova I'm using Mendeley and Zotero for my citation management. Both the software has its own unique features.