How to Cite in ASA Format - Helpful Examples and Samples

ASA format and citation guide are specifically designed and created for the papers and publications in Sociology. Like other citation styles, it also has different guidelines and formatting rules.

This format is created and managed by the American Sociological Association. It is especially used by the students and researchers of the sociological field. Like APA and MLA, ASA also has a different set and pattern that it follows.

To learn more about it and how to format and cite in it, refer to the following blog.

Our guide provides useful guidance on in-text citations, the reference list, manuscript formatting (covering page numbering), and much more.

What Is the ASA Citation Format?

The ASA citation format is introduced and managed by the American Association of Sociologists as they constantly update it. Just like the IEEE format and other citation styles, which are used by the technical fields’ students and researchers, ASA is especially used by the students and researchers in the field of Sociology. This citation style has its own citation, paper format, footnotes, references, and bibliography.

The writing style was developed for use for research and academic papers in the sociological field. It has complete and thorough guidance for students who are studying and researching in this field. The citation guidance includes directions about formatting your paper, the paper content, header, references, footnotes, and other rules, and features.

Learning about how to cite in ASA format will help you steer clear of any possible mistakes.

How to Cite in ASA Format?

Working with the ASA format is somewhat like formating in the APA style. Both of these formatting styles have a common reference and citation structure. As the paper sources and references are placed at the end of the paper.

The reference sources are arranged in alphabetical order and in the author-year format. The date of publication is added after the author (s) name. But ASA follows the Chicago style referencing as its guiding referencing format.

The core elements of an ASA paper format are below:

ASA Format Title Page

The full title page (separate page) is the first section. It contains the student’s name, institute’s name, topic, a running head, the total word count, and a title footnote. And even the address of the students, in case the instructor needs to reach out to the student.

All the information should be center-aligned and the title of the paper should be in bold.

ASA Format In-Text Citation

Citation or in-text citations are added in the paper content following the author’s name and the year of publication. In the ASA format citation, the last name of the author and date are added in the parenthesis. It is usually placed at the end of the paraphrased or direct idea.

In case you have mentioned the name of the author in the content then do not add it in the parenthesis.

Example:

According to Williams (2015) …….

In 2010, a number of people argued that the water was contaminated with different chemicals…………..

……..is similar to what Williams wrote (2015)

ASA Format Heading

An ASA-style paper is divided into headings and subheadings. The main title of the chapters is the main headings and the subsequent sections are the subheadings. The main headings come in all capitals while the subheadings will be in italics.

Example:

FIRST LEVEL HEADING

Second: Level Heading

Third Level Heading.

ASA Reference Format

As per the ASA format guidelines, all the sources or references will be added at the end of the paper. It is the last section of the paper and is labeled as ‘References’. All the references are arranged alphabetically and by the last name of the author.

ASA bibliography format is also the same. But you will have to make the bibliography list separately and after the References page.

If the reference continues to the second line, all the following lines will be indented about 0.5 inches. The titles of the books and periodicals while the titles of the articles or chapters should be in italics. But without quotation marks.

Example:

For Books with 1 Writer:

Buhs, Joshua Blu. 2009. Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

For Books with 2 Writers:

Weiss, Penny A. and Loretta Kensinger. 2007. Feminist Interpretations of Emma Goldman. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

For Books with 3 or More Writers:

Fritz, Birgit, Ralph Yarrow, and Lana Sendzimir. 2012. Inexactart - The Autopoietic Theatre of Augusto Boal: A Handbook of Theatre of the Oppressed Practice. Stuttgart, Germany: Ibidem-Verlag.

For an Edited Book:

Crenshaw, Kimberle, ed. 1995. Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the Movement. New York: New Press.

For a Book Chapter:

Howard, Robert Glenn. 2009. “Crusading on the Vernacular Web: The Folk Beliefs and Practices of Online Spiritual Warfare.” Pp. 159-174 in Folklore and the Internet: Vernacular Expression in a Digital World, edited by T. J. Blank. Logan: Utah State University Press.

For Journal Articles:

Gray, Phillip W. 2013. “Leaderless Resistance, Networked Organization, and Ideological Hegemony.” Terrorism and Political Violence 25(5):655-671.

For Newspaper Articles:

Brus, Brian. 2011. “Innovators: OKC-Based Doodlycouch – Drawn to Art Therapy.” Journal Record (Oklahoma City, OK), May 2, pp. B2.

For Archived Sources:

Archive of Folk Culture, Vance Randolph Collection, Box 3, Folder 36, 1941-1972. Ozark Fiddle Tunes. American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

For Print Government Documents:

U.S. Census Bureau. 2013. 2009-2013 American Community Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce.

For Online Government Documents:

U.S. Council of Economic Advisers. 2014. “The War on Poverty 50 Years Later: A Progress Report.” Retrieved December 9, 2014 (http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo45575).

For Conference Papers:

McNabb, Caroline. 2013. “Women’s Wisdom: Menarche Narratives and Body Politics.” Paper presented at the Northwest Anthropology Conference, March 27, Portland, OR.

For Website References:

American Sociological Association. 2014. “Section on Peace, War and Social Conflict.” Retrieved October 2, 2014 (http://asanet.org/sections/pwsc.cfm).

For Online Blog Posts:

Wade, Lisa. 2014. “When Force is Hardest to Justify, Victims of Police Violence are Most Likely to be Black.” Sociological Images Blog, November 28. Retrieved December 5, 2014

(http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/11/28/chart-of-the-week-63-of-white-people-are-wrong-about-ferguson/).

For Podcasts:

Commonplace Books. 2012. “Welcome to Night Vale.” Audio Podcast. Retrieved August 28, 2014 (http://commonplacebooks.com/).

For Audio and Visual References:

Firstenberg, Sam [Director]. 1984. Breakin’ 2: Electric Bugaloo. DVD. Santa Monica, CA: MGM Home Entertainment.

ASA Format Example Paper

The below-mentioned ASA paper format will help you understand the citation and referencing basics of the ASA format.

ASA Paper Format Guide

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