social work research process pdf

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Book Title: Graduate research methods in social work

Subtitle: A project-based approach

Authors: Matthew DeCarlo; Cory Cummings; and Kate Agnelli

Book Description: Our textbook guides graduate social work students step by step through the research process from conceptualization to dissemination. We center cultural humility, information literacy, pragmatism, and ethics and values as core components of social work research.

Book Information

Graduate research methods in social work Copyright © 2021 by Matthew DeCarlo, Cory Cummings, Kate Agnelli is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Social work

Social Work Students and the Research Process: Exploring the Thinking, Feeling, and Doing of Research

• September 2007
• Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work 13(1)

• Fordham University

• Monmouth University

• Princeton University
• This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.

Abstract and Figures

Discover the world's research

• 25+ million members
• 160+ million publication pages
• 2.3+ billion citations

• Carolyn Gulbrandsen

• Michael A. Mancini

• Robert Dickinson
• Gurbuz Ocak

• Nora S. Gustavsson
• Ann E. MacEachron

• J.B. Turock
• W.M. George
• J.R. Belvin

• Charles D. Spielberger

• C. C. Kuhltau
• Gary Holden

• Thomas Meenaghan
• Malcolm Shepherd Knowles
• Recruit researchers
• Join for free
• Login Email Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google Welcome back! Please log in. Email · Hint Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google No account? Sign up

FSU | College of Social Sciences and Public Policy

Site Navigation

Global navigation, college of social sciences and public policy.

at Florida State University

COSSPP Student Recognized as FSU Student Star

Jack Folwell, a political science and physics double major, was recently selected as an FSU Student Star.

Two COSSPP Students Earn Spots in Latest Cohort of John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows Program

Two College of Social Sciences and Public Policy students were selected to participate in the Faith & Politics Institute’s John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows Program. Read More

COSSPP Research Team Awarded Borchard Foundation Grant

An FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP) research team was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation for the project “Pro-Tech Ageism? Analysis of U.S. Aging Policy’s Depiction of Technology.”

COSSPP Share Your Memories Survey

We invite students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends to take a stroll down memory lane and share your fondest moments, anecdotes, and photographs that encapsulate the unique journey we’ve all shared together.

COSSPP celebrates 50th Anniversary

The College of Social Sciences and Public Policy is celebrating its 50th anniversary during the 2023-2024 academic year. A number of events honoring the College's golden anniversary will be held throughout the school year.

Subscribe to our new quarterly alumni newsletter!

We will be sending newsletters to all of our Alumni & Friends with quarterly updates. If you would like to receive our summer edition, please use the link below to subscribe! Subscribe Now

Meet With Our Career Liaison Tyrone "T.J." Johnson

The College of Social Sciences and Public Policy has a dedicated Career Liaison, Tyrone "T.J." Johnson, who specializes in assisting students in our College! T.J. provides drop-in career advising for both students and alumni and pre-scheduled appointments. Reach out for help with your resume, cover letter, online portfolio, applying to grad school, and searching for an internship or job! Reach Out

$3M estate gift to FSU expresses couple’s ‘love for the university’

In a significant show of support for their alma mater, Florida State University alumni Scott and Suzi Brock recently announced a $3 million charitable bequest that underscores the couple’s enduring appreciation for FSU Athletics, gives back to the College of Business and honors Scott Brock’s late father, a northwest Florida native who dedicated his life to public service. Read More

Through stimulating coursework and opportunities for educational enhancement beyond the classroom, our students are engaged, inspired, and transformed into tomorrow’s leaders and brightest thinkers — dynamic people well prepared to offer innovative solutions to pressing issues we face in today’s world.

Message from the Dean

Read a message from Dean Tim Chapin and learn more about us!

Academic Advising / Academic Dean

Find information about academic advising and contact the Academic Dean.

Prospective Students

Advance your career by pursuing your education with our world-class faculty.

Get Involved

Get involved and 'Get More Than A Degree" by engaging in organizations, programs and opportunities that expand your horizons.

Funding Opportunities

Learn about financial assistance and scholarship opportunities available to undergraduate and graduate students in our college and at FSU.

Give Back to the College

Your support makes it possible for students to gain hands-on experiences that transform them into tomorrow's well-rounded leaders.

Alumni Spotlight: Rotem Raz

August 14, 2024

Rotem Raz – FSU alumnus (B.S. International Affairs ’23) – hosted the first Israel Day at the Florida Capitol on February 29, 2024.  The initiative gathered Israeli business leaders, nonprofits, student movements, and industry leaders from across the state to celebrate Israel's relationship with the state of Fl …

August 13, 2024

In a significant show of support for their alma mater, Florida State University alumni Scott and Suzi Brock recently announced a $3 million charitable bequest that underscores the couple’s enduring appreciation for FSU Athletics, gives back to the College of Business and honors Scott Brock’s late father, a northwes …

FSU’s Civil Rights Institute Participates in Juneteenth Event in Anchorage, Alaska 

August 12, 2024

Florida State University’s Civil Rights Institute’s Director and Acting Chair of the 400 Years of African American History Commission (400YAAHC), Ted Ellis, attended Freedom Forward: Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska, from June 19 to June 24.   …

COSSPP History Series: Political Science

August 8, 2024

The Department of Political Science within the College of Social Science and Public Policy has a rich history dating back to Florida State University’s genesis. While courses exploring government, law, and politics can be found as far back as the very first university bulletin in 1851, the Department of Political Sci …

COSSPP Makes News FSU Makes News RSS Feed

Read More COSSPP Makes News

Events Calendar

• Undergraduate

Departments

• Political Science
• Urban and Regional Planning
• Askew School of Public Administration & Policy
• African American Studies
• Asian Studies
• Emergency Management and Homeland Security
• Interdisciplinary Social Science
• International Affairs
• Latin American and Caribbean Studies
• Public Health
• Russian and East European Studies

Centers and Institutes

• Center for Demography and Population Health
• Center for Disaster Risk Policy
• Claude Pepper Center
• DeVoe L. Moore Center for the Study of Critical Issues in Economic Policy and Government
• GIS Laboratory

Centers and Institutes Continued...

• L. Charles Hilton Jr. Center for the Study of Economic Prosperity and Individual Opportunity
• LeRoy Collins Institute
• Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy
• Stavros Center for Economic Education

Academic Advising

• General Information
• Schedule an Appointment
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Major Changes
• Declare Minor or Concentration
• Suggested Course Lists
• Drops and Withdrawls
• Transient Coursework
• Distance Learning
• Graduation Information

Alumni and Friends

• Engage Magazine
• Distinguished Alumni
• Make a Donation

News and Media

• College News

Faculty Research

• COSSPP Resources
• Wicked Problems, Wicked Solutions Blog

Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses.

Información en español

Celebrating 75 Years! Learn More >>

• Health Topics
• Brochures and Fact Sheets
• Help for Mental Illnesses
• Clinical Trials

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: What You Need to Know

• Download PDF

What is ADHD?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder marked by persistent symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Some people mostly have symptoms of inattention. Others mostly have symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity. Some people have both types of symptoms.

Symptoms begin in childhood and can interfere with daily life, including social relationships and school or work performance. ADHD is well-known among children and teens, but many adults also have the disorder. Effective treatments are available to manage symptoms.

What are the symptoms of ADHD?

People with ADHD may experience an ongoing pattern of:

• Inattention : Difficulty paying attention
• Hyperactivity : Showing too much energy or moving and talking too much
• Impulsivity : Acting without thinking or having difficulty with self-control

Signs of inattention can include frequent difficulty with :

• Paying attention to details, leading to careless mistakes at school, work, or during other activities
• Concentrating on tasks or activities, for instance, while having conversations, taking tests, completing assignments, or reading papers
• Listening when spoken to directly
• Following instructions or finishing tasks at school, work, or home
• Organizing tasks and activities, managing time, and meeting deadlines
• Completing tasks that require sustained attention, such as homework, large projects, and complicated forms
• Losing things, such as backpacks, books, keys, wallets, and phones
• Getting easily distracted by unrelated thoughts or stimuli
• Forgetting about daily activities, such as chores, errands, and events, or other important things, like assignments, appointments, and phone calls

Signs of hyperactivity and impulsivity can include often :

• Fidgeting, tapping hands or feet, or squirming while seated
• Moving around when expected to remain seated, such as in the classroom or office, or feeling restless in these situations
• Running, climbing, or moving around at times when it is not appropriate
• Being constantly “on the go” and acting as if driven by a motor
• Being unable to quietly play or take part in hobbies and activities
• Talking excessively
• Answering questions before they are fully asked or finishing other people’s sentences
• Struggling to wait or be patient, such as when playing a game or waiting in line
• Interrupting or intruding on others, for example, in conversations, games, or meetings

What causes ADHD?

Researchers are not sure what causes ADHD, although many studies suggest that genes play a large role. Like many other disorders, ADHD probably results from a combination of factors.

In addition to genetics, researchers are looking at differences in brain development and neurobiology among people with ADHD compared to those without the disorder. They are also studying environmental factors that might increase the risk of developing ADHD, including brain injuries, nutrition, and social environments.

How is ADHD diagnosed?

Based on their specific symptoms, a person can be diagnosed with one of three types of ADHD:

• Inattentive : Mostly symptoms of inattention but not hyperactivity or impulsivity
• Hyperactive-impulsive : Mostly symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity but not inattention
• Combined : Symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity and impulsivity

ADHD symptoms must begin in childhood (before age 12). Symptoms often continue into the teen years and adulthood. The criterion for a diagnosis differs slightly based on age. 

• Children up to 16 years must show at least six symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, or both.
• Adults and youth over 16 years must show at least five symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, or both.

To be diagnosed with ADHD, a person’s symptoms must also:

• Occur for at least 6 months
• Be present in two or more settings (for example, at home, at work, in school, or with friends)
• Interfere with or impair social, school, or work functioning

Stress, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, and other physical conditions or illnesses can cause similar symptoms to those of ADHD. A health care provider needs to do a thorough evaluation to determine the cause of symptoms, make a diagnosis, and identify effective treatments.

Primary care providers sometimes diagnose and treat ADHD, or they may refer the person to a mental health professional. During an evaluation, a provider usually:

• Examines the person’s mental health and medical history, including their mood and past or current health conditions.
• Looks at the person’s current or, if an adult, childhood behavior and school experiences. To obtain this information, the provider may ask for permission to talk with family, friends, partners, teachers, and others who know the person well and have seen them in different settings to learn about behaviors and experiences at home, school, or elsewhere.
• Uses standardized behavior rating scales or ADHD symptom checklists to determine whether the person meets the criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD.
• Administers psychological tests that look at cognitive skills, such as working memory, executive functioning (abilities such as planning and decision-making), visual and spatial abilities, or reasoning. Such tests can help identify psychological or cognitive (thinking-related) strengths and challenges and identify or rule out possible learning disabilities.

Does ADHD look the same in everyone?

Anyone can have ADHD. However, boys and men tend to display more hyperactive and impulsive symptoms, while girls and women are more likely to be diagnosed with inattentive ADHD.

ADHD can also be diagnosed at any age, although symptoms must have begun in childhood (before age 12). Adults with ADHD often have a history of problems with school, work, and relationships.

ADHD symptoms may change as a person gets older.

• Children show hyperactivity and impulsivity as the most common symptoms. As academic and social demands increase, symptoms of inattention often become more prominent and begin to interfere with academic performance and peer relationships.
• Adolescents usually show less hyperactivity and may appear as restless or fidgeting. Symptoms of inattention and impulsivity typically continue and may cause academic, organizational, or relationship challenges. Teens with ADHD are more likely to engage in impulsive, risky behaviors, such as substance use and unsafe sexual activity.
• Adults, including older adults , can show inattention, restlessness, and impulsivity, although, in some people, those symptoms become less severe and less impairing. They may also be irritable, have a low tolerance for frustration and stress, or experience frequent or intense mood changes.

Some adults may not have been diagnosed with ADHD when younger because their teachers or family did not recognize the disorder, they had a mild form of the disorder, or they managed well until experiencing the demands of adulthood. But it is never too late to seek a diagnosis and treatment for ADHD and other mental health conditions that may co-occur with it. Effective treatment can make day-to-day life easier for people with ADHD and their families.

How is ADHD treated?

Although there is no cure for ADHD, current treatments may help reduce symptoms and improve functioning. Common treatments for ADHD are medication, psychotherapy, and other behavioral interventions. For children, treatment often includes parent education and school-based programs.

Researchers are studying new treatments for people with ADHD, such as cognitive training and neurofeedback. These options are usually explored only after medication and psychotherapy have already been tried. For many people, treatment involves a combination of elements.

Stimulants are the most common type of medication used to treat ADHD, and research shows them to be highly effective. They work by increasing levels of brain chemicals involved in thinking and attention.

Like all medications, stimulants can have side effects and must be prescribed and monitored by a health care provider. Tell the provider about other medications you or your child are taking. Medications for common health problems, such as diabetes, anxiety, and depression, can interact with stimulants, in which case, a provider can suggest other medication options.

Health care providers sometimes prescribe nonstimulant medications like antidepressants to treat ADHD. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved these medications specifically for ADHD. Sometimes, a person must try several different medications or dosages before finding the one that works for them.

Learn more about  stimulants and other mental health medications . You can learn more about specific medications, including the latest approvals, side effects, warnings, and patient information, on the  FDA website  .

Psychotherapy and behavioral interventions

Psychological interventions for ADHD can take many forms and be combined with medication and other elements for parents, families, and teachers. Adding therapy to an ADHD treatment plan can help some people better cope with daily challenges, gain confidence, or manage impulsive and risky behaviors.

Therapy is especially helpful if ADHD co-occurs with other mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, conduct problems, or substance use disorders. Learn about  other mental disorders .

Several psychosocial interventions have been shown to help manage symptoms and improve functioning.

• Behavioral therapy  helps a person change their behavior. It might involve practical assistance, such as organizing tasks or completing schoolwork, learning social skills, or monitoring one’s behavior.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy  helps a person become aware of attention and concentration challenges and work on skills to improve focus and organization and complete daily tasks (for instance, by breaking large tasks into smaller, more manageable steps).
• Family and marital therapy  helps family members learn to handle disruptive behaviors, encourage behavior changes, and improve interactions with children and partners.

Some people find it helpful to get support from a professional life coach or ADHD coach who can teach them skills to improve daily functioning.

Learn more about  psychotherapy .

Parent education and support

Therapy for children and teens requires parents to play an active role. Treatment sessions with the child alone are more likely to be effective for treating symptoms of anxiety or depression that may co-occur with ADHD than for managing core symptoms of the disorder.

Mental health professionals can educate parents about the disorder and how it affects a family. They also can help parents develop new skills, attitudes, and ways of relating to their child. Examples include parenting skills training, stress management techniques for parents, and support groups that help parents and families connect with others who have similar concerns.

School-based programs

Many children and teens with ADHD benefit from school-based behavioral interventions and academic accommodations. Interventions include behavior management plans or classroom-taught organizational and study skills. Accommodations include preferential seating in the classroom, reduced classwork, and extended time on tests and exams. Schools may provide accommodations through what is called a 504 Plan or, for children who qualify for special education services, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). 

Learn more about special education services and the  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act  .

Cognitive training

Cognitive training approaches involve repeatedly using a program or activity over several weeks to improve specific functions, such as memory or attention. Exercises are tailored to the person’s ongoing performance.

Cognitive training is shown to modestly improve the tasks being practiced. For instance, research shows the training can help memory, attention, inhibition, planning, and cognitive flexibility in people with ADHD. However, these improvements don’t usually translate to changes in core ADHD symptoms of impulsivity and hyperactivity.

Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a noninvasive technique in which an electronic device monitors and records a person’s brain activity, providing them with immediate feedback to support self-regulation. The device measures brain activity through such means as EEG or fMRI scans and feeds the information back to the person, usually in the form of a computer screen or visual cue. Through this feedback, people learn to self-regulate their brain activity to directly alter the associated behavior. The assumption is that, with repeated, real-time information, people can change their internal brain activity, with observable effects on behavior and cognition.

For people with ADHD, neurofeedback is used to train and improve specific cognitive functions. Although it is shown to help reduce some ADHD symptoms, the effects of neurofeedback remain lower than those seen from medication and psychotherapy. Additional research is needed to refine the treatment and determine for whom it works and under what conditions.

Complementary health approaches

Some people may explore complementary health approaches to manage symptoms of ADHD. These can include natural products, vitamins and supplements, diet changes, and acupuncture. Others find it helpful to make lifestyle changes, like adding more physical exercise to their daily schedule.

Unlike psychotherapy and medication that are scientifically shown to improve ADHD symptoms, complementary health approaches generally have not been found to treat ADHD effectively and do not qualify as evidence-supported interventions.

Find more information from the  National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health  . 

How can I find help?

If you’re unsure of where to get help, a health care provider is a good place to start. They can refer you to a qualified mental health professional, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or clinical social worker, who can help figure out the next steps. Find tips for talking with a health care provider about your or your child’s mental health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  has information about ADHD symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as additional resources for families and providers.

You can learn more about getting help on the NIMH website. You can also learn about finding support  and locating mental health services  in your area on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website.

How can I help myself?

Medication and therapy are the most effective treatments for ADHD. Other strategies may also help manage symptoms.

• Get regular exercise, especially when feeling hyperactive or restless.
• Eat regular, healthy meals.
• Get plenty of sleep. Try to turn off screens at least 1 hour before bedtime and get between 7–9 hours of sleep every night.
• Stick to a consistent routine.
• Work on time management and organization. Prioritize time-sensitive tasks and write down assignments, messages, appointments, reminders, and important thoughts.
• Take short breaks during tasks that require sustained attention to help maintain focus and prevent burnout. Break large tasks into smaller, more manageable steps.
• Connect with people and maintain relationships. Schedule activities with friends, particularly supportive people who understand your challenges with ADHD.
• Take medications as directed. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs not prescribed for you.

How can I help my child?

• Be patient, flexible, and understanding. ADHD can be frustrating both for people who have it and the people in their lives. ADHD may make it hard for your child to perform certain tasks or behaviors. Some children may need to use different strategies to help them succeed.
• Use clear, simple, direct language to explain rules and expectations. Reward behaviors that meet these expectations with positive reinforcement. Provide consistent praise or rewards for acting in a desired way.
• Offer practical help, such as on tasks like cleaning and organizing, or simply be present and engaged while your child works, which can give them a sense of accountability and motivation and help them stay focused and on track.
• Provide opportunities to explore different activities and interests. Help your child discover their unique talents and build confidence in their abilities.

What are clinical trials and why are they important?

Clinical trials are research studies that look at ways to prevent, detect, or treat diseases and conditions. These studies help show whether a treatment is safe and effective in people. Some people join clinical trials to help doctors and researchers learn more about a disease and improve health care. Other people, such as those with health conditions, join to try treatments that aren’t widely available.

NIMH supports clinical trials across the United States. Talk to a health care provider about clinical trials and whether one is right for you. Learn more about participating in clinical trials .

For more information

Learn more about mental health disorders and topics . For information about various health topics, visit the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus   .

The information in this publication is in the public domain and may be reused or copied without permission. However, you may not reuse or copy images. Please cite the National Institute of Mental Health as the source. Read our copyright policy to learn more about our guidelines for reusing NIMH content.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health NIH Publication No. 24-MH-8300 Revised 2024

DSpace JSPUI

Egyankosh preserves and enables easy and open access to all types of digital content including text, images, moving images, mpegs and data sets.

• IGNOU Self Learning Material (SLM)
• 21. School of Social Work (SOSW)
• Master's Degree
• Master of Social Work (Counselling) (MSWC)
• Courses in Social Work Discipline for Associate Studentship

MSW-006 Social Work Research Community home page

Collections in this community, block-1 basics of research in social work, block-2 research methods in social work, block-3 tools and methods of data collection, block-4 data processing and analysis.

How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Related and recent

Comments are disabled due to your privacy settings. To re-enable, please adjust your cookie preferences.

APA Style Monthly

Subscribe to the APA Style Monthly newsletter to get tips, updates, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

Welcome! Thank you for subscribing.

APA Style Guidelines

Browse APA Style writing guidelines by category

• Abbreviations
• Bias-Free Language
• Capitalization
• In-Text Citations
• Italics and Quotation Marks
• Paper Format
• Punctuation
• Research and Publication
• Spelling and Hyphenation
• Tables and Figures

Full index of topics