Appendix: Modifications of APA Style for MERGA Usage

The following modifications either amend APA style for Australasian usage or clarify and extend its application in MERGA publications. References are again to sections of the APA Manual.

Spelling

Use Australasian academic English (not British or US English). The standard spelling reference is The Macquarie Dictionary (2nd Revision, 1987). In particular, spell words like “visualise” with the ending -ise, not -ize, and words like “centre” with the ending -re, not -er [cf. 3.10]. Before using a spell checker, ensure that you specify the language used in the document as English (AUS).

Punctuation

As in Australasian academic English, place periods and commas outside closing quotation marks, unless the text quoted ends with a period [cf. 3.36].
However, contrary to Australasian academic English, always insert a comma in lists of three or more items before the final “and” or “or” (e.g., “Bloggs, Bloggs, and Bloggs” and “1, 2, 3, or 4”) [3.02]. Use letters (a), (b), and so on to identify elements in more complex lists, with commas, colons, and semi-colons as appropriate [3.33]. Also, a sentence following a colon should begin with a capital letter [3.04].

Numbers

Place a zero before the decimal point in all numbers less than 1 (e.g., “p < 0.05”) [cf. 3.46].

Place names

Assume that Australian capital cities are well known to the reader, but other places not [cf. 3.106].

• Refer to Australian capital cities by name, without state or country. For all other Australian cities, state the name and the state or territory.
• Do not refer to Australasian suburbs. Instead, refer to the cities in which they lie (e.g., “Melbourne” not “Carlton, Victoria”).
• Refer to New Zealand cities by name and country.
• Spell out “New Zealand” and the names of Australian states in text, but abbreviate them in references. Use the following abbreviations:

  New Zealand NZ
  Australian Capital Territory ACT
  New South Wales NSW
  Northern Territory NT
  Queensland QLD
  South Australia SA
  Tasmania TAS
  Victoria VIC
  Western Australia WA

Notice the capital letters and the absence of a full stop (except at the end of a sentence).

• Refer to all US cities by name and state or territory, without country. Spell out “WA” as “Washington State, USA” if there is any danger of confusion with Western Australia.
• Refer to all other cities by name and country.