The APA Style Converter

[Ping Li]

Dear Colleagues,

If you are submitting articles to journals that require the APA Style
(such as Neural Networks, for the Reference section), you might be
interested in a web interface that we have developed, the APA Style
Converter. A description of the Converter is attached below.

You can access the Converter from our web server at:
http://cogsci.richmond.edu/. We welcome your feedback, comments, and
suggestions.

Sincerely

Ping Li
pli at richmond.edu
http://www.richmond.edu/~pli/

Abstract: The APA Style Converter is a web-based tool for authors to
prepare their papers in APA Style according to the APA Publication
Manual (5th ed.). The converter provides a user-friendly interface
that allows authors to copy and paste text and upload figures through
the web, and it automatically turns all texts, references, and figures
to a structured article in APA Style. The output is saved in PDF
format, ready for either electronic submission or hardcopy printing.

Rationale: While the APA Style has widespread use in the scientific
community, there are several factors that hinder authors from accurate
use of the style. First, many authors find it difficult to keep track
of all the details specified in the Manual. For example, when asked,
few researchers are certain about, (a) whether the Footnotes section
should come before or after the Author Note, (b) whether the
Appendices should come before or after the Tables, or (c) what a Page
Header is, how it is different from a Running Head, and how these head
and headers should be laid out on the Title Page. Second, some authors
who are familiar with earlier versions of the APA Style might not have
kept up with the newest changes in the current version such as the
abolition of underlines and the citation for internet resources.
Third, researchers from countries other than North America and Europe
are relatively unfamiliar with the APA Style, either because it is not
part of their training or because writing conventions and publication
guidelines for their native languages differ from the APA Style. Yet
more and more researchers find it necessary to deal with the APA
Style: the style is widely used in many disciplines, and the journals
to which they submit papers require it.  Researchers from other
countries are also under increasing pressure to publish in
international journals that may require the APA Style.