Formatting Guide

National Academy of Sciences of Armenia

International Scientific-Educational Center

Style and Formatting Guidelines for

 Katchar / Academia: Social Science Periodical

Yerevan 2025

 

Main Principles (From Elsevier’s Standard Reference Styles)

General:
The responsibility of maintaining accuracy for all bibliographical references is entirely upon the authors.

 

In-text citations:
Ensure that each source in the text is present in the reference list, and vice versa. All sources cited in the abstract must be presented fully. Unpublished results or personal communications (letters, interviews, etc.) should not appear in the reference list, but can be mentioned in the text. Sources cited “in press” are understood to be accepted for publication.

 

Web citations:
Present the full URL and the date of last access, at the minimum. Other information, if available (author, date, references to primary sources, etc.) should be presented as well. If desired, web citations can be referenced separately (after the reference list) under a different section title, or can be included within the reference list. Web citations include news articles, blogs, websites etc.

 

To the authors

 

Submit the article in Microsoft Office Word.

The article must be sent electronically to both katchar@isec.am and https://katchar.sci.am.

 

Paper structure

 

Papers should contain at least the following sections:

  • Abstract: in English and Armenian, 1 page each
  • Keywords: maximum of 6 words
  • Introduction
  • Theory and Methodology
  • Research Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusions
  • References

 

Text formatting

 

  • Paper size: A4
  • Pages: 10-12
  • Line spacing: 1.5
  • Margins: 2.01 cm on all sides
  • Font: GHEA Grapalat for Armenian, Times New Roman for English
  • Font size: 10.5 pt
  • Do not use line breaks in text

 

Size and format of headings and sections

 

  • Title, author name, surname: 10.5 pt, HEADING, bold
  • Author’s position, affiliation, degree, title: 10 pt
  • Abstracts: 10 pt (titled Համառոտագիռ, Abstract, titles in bold)
  • Keywords (maximum of 6): 10 pt, the word “Keywords” in bold
  • Subtitles: 10.5 pt, bold

 

Citation style

 

Use APA style, 7th edition.

Details in the “APA style” section

 

APA style

Official source: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition, ISBN: 978-1-4338-3218-5

Examples and main methods taken from this useful resource: Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html

 

APA in-text citation basics

The APA format uses the author-year method for in-text citations. Insert in the text the author’s last name, the year of publication of the work, in parentheses, separated by a comma.

            Example: (Jones, 1998)

In case of two authors they are separated by an ampersand (&).

            Example: (Wegener & Petty, 1994)

In case of three or more authors only the first is mentioned followed by “et al.” (including the dot).

            Example: (Kernis et al., 1993)

When the parenthetical citation includes two or more authors, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (alphabetically), separated by a semicolon (;).

            Example: (Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)

When referring to an idea from another work but not directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, only make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in the in-text reference.

When directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s) (including the dot). Use an en dash for page ranges. An en dash can be typed by holding the Alt key and typing 0150 on the numberboard. The en dash will appear upon letting go of the Alt key. Separate the pages from the year of publication by a comma. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201).

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper. In APA format, the section with the reference list is titled References.

 

In-text citation capitalization and italics
When mentioning an English source title, capitalize all nouns and words longer than three letters, example: Permanence and Change. Also capitalize the shorter words that are verbs, adjectives, pronouns and adverbs: Writing New Media, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. This style is called title case capitalization, as opposed to sentence case capitalization, which follows the normal sentence rules of capitalization.

In titles, both words in a hyphenated compound word should be capitalized: Natural-Born Cyborgs.
The first word coming after a dash or a colon should be capitalized: “Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock’s Vertigo.”
If the title is not presented in italics in the reference list, use quotation marks (“ ”) and title case capitalization when mentioning it in text (even if it uses sentence case in the reference list): “Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;” The One Where Chandler Can’t Cry.”

 

Short quotations

For a direct quote, include the author’s surname, the year of publication, and page number(s) in parentheses. Write “p.” before the page number, or “pp.” for multiple page numbers. A range of pages should be indicated with an en dash.

If using the author’s name in the text, follow it up with the year of publication in parentheses, then the quote, then the page number(s) in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author’s name is not mentioned in text, it is placed after the quote with the year and the pages, in parentheses.

She stated, "students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

 

Long quotations

Quotes containing 40 or more words should be formatted as a block of text, starting on a new line, without quotation marks, 1/2 inches (1.27 cm) from the left margin, as for a new paragraph. If the quote contains a paragraph break, the new paragraph must be indented again by 1/2 inches. No blank lines before or after the block quote. The parenthetical citation is places after the final punctuation mark.

Example:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Jones’s (1998) study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or ask their teacher for help. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (p. 199)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

 

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotes from sources that do not have identifiable pages use other logical markers. You can cite the paragraph number, the chapter, the section number, the figure, etc.

Jones (1998) found a variety of causes for student dissatisfaction with prevailing citation practices (paras. 4–5).

A meta-analysis of available literature (Jones, 1998) revealed inconsistency across large-scale studies of student learning (Table 3).

 

Summaries or paraphrasing

 

When summarizing or paraphrasing an idea from a source, you can omit the page number from the citation. However, for longer sources, it is generally encouraged to mention the page, since it can be difficult to find the information within the source.

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

 

APA reference list basics

The reference list in APA format begins on a new page and is titled References, coming at the end of the paper and containing all sources cited in the text. Similarly, all the sources referenced in the reference must be contained in the text, cited at least once.

The title References should be bold and center-aligned. No quotation marks or underlining.

For each source, all lines after the first should be indented 1/2 inches (hanging indent).

All author names are inverted (last name first).

Only use the initials of the author’s first and second names. Example: the author Jane Marie Smith should be cited as Smith, J. M.

If the work is written by up to 20 authors, each of their last names and initials must be presented, separated by commas. Before the final author use and ampersand (&). If the number of the authors is 21 and higher, place an ellipsis (…) after the 19th author, followed by the final author.

The reference list is in alphabetical order, by authors’ last names.

If there are multiple works by the same author, or if there are authors with the same name, cite in chronological order, from the earliest to the latest.

When referencing titles of books, chapters, articles, reports, websites or other sources, capitalize only the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle, the first word coming after a dash or a colon, and proper nouns. Titles of academic journals use special rules.

Titles of large works are italicized (books, journals, collections).

Shorter works are not italicized, not underlined, don’t use quotation marks (chapters of books, articles in a collection).

 

Basics of citing articles from academic journals

  • Present journal titles in full.
  • Italicize journal titles.
  • Maintain any nonstandard punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its title.
  • For example, you should use PhiloSOPHIAinstead of Philosophia, or Past & Present instead of Past and Present.
  • Capitalize all major words in the titles of journals. Note that this differs from the rule for titling other common sources (like books, reports, webpages, and so on) described above.
  • This distinction is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles have all major words capitalized, while other sources' titles do not.
  • Capitalize the first word of the titles and subtitles of journal articles, as well as the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and any proper nouns.
  • Do not italicize or underline the article title.
  • Do not enclose the article title in quotes: for example, an article titled “The eclipse of listening,” published in the journal The New Criterion, should be cited as:
    Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5–13.

 

In summary, the formula for a citation in the reference list is as follows:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

The punctuation, parentheses, and formatting of this formula should be replicated on real examples.

The author’s last name is separated from the initials by a comma. Authors are separated by commas. There is an ampersand before the final author. The year of publication in parentheses, followed by a dot. Title of article, not italicized, not underlined, not in quotation marks, in sentence case, followed by a dot. Title of periodical in italics, in Title Case, comma, the volume number in italics, the issue number in parentheses, not italicized, no space after volume number, then comma. Pages, then dot. The DOI address

 

Remember that there is no space between volume number and issue number.

Example:

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

 

If the DOI is not available, use the URL. Many websites provide the shortened URL link.

Example:

Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018). "Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in writing centers. Writing Center Journal, 37(1), 67–98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26537363

 

Pay attention to the article title in the last example. It is a direct quote, hence it has quotation marks. Article titles in general do not require quotation marks.