Problem with APA style

silvonen
I am using APA style in my papers, and it works basically very well. There is a problem, anyway, with one kind of reference.

If I am making a reference to a book, or book section, the style works OK.

But if I add a translator in a book section, I will get a wrong reference.

Example, correct references:
Freud, S. (1981). Johdatus psykoanalyysiin (E. Puranen, Trans.). Jyväskylä: Gummerus. [Full book]

Freud, S. (1981). Johdatus psykoanalyysiin I. Wienissä 1915-1917 pidetyt luennot. In S. Freud, Johdatus psykoanalyysiin (pp. 9–406). Jyväskylä: Gummerus. [a book section]

Adding translator to book section gives that:
Freud, S. (1981). Johdatus psykoanalyysiin I. Wienissä 1915-1917 pidetyt luennot. In E. Puranen (Trans.), Johdatus psykoanalyysiin (pp. 9–406; By S. Freud). Jyväskylä: Gummerus.

This reference means that the translator is the author of the book.

Reference should be like that:
Freud, S. (1981). Johdatus psykoanalyysiin I. Wienissä 1915-1917 pidetyt luennot. In S. Freud, Johdatus psykoanalyysiin (pp. 9–406; Trans. by E. Puranen). Jyväskylä: Gummerus.

Could some one help me, how to correct this bug in APA style.
  • bwiernik
    Strictly speaking, correct APA style would be to not even cite the individual chapter, but would cite just the authored book (APA does not specify a format for chapters in authored [non-edited] books).

    That said, if you were to cite this as a chapter, then citing the editor or translator, not the book author, is the correct format. The translation is the key thing readers would need to know to locate the source that is cited. APA has specified stated in correspondence with me that book _authors_ should generally not be cited in the same position as editors/translators. The current format the Zotero produces is correct.
  • silvonen
    Well, I have a book, 'S. Freud, Introduction to psychoanalysis'. This book has two sections, lecures from years 1915-1917, and lectures from year 1932. Usually these lectures are published as separate books, but in Finnish translation they are in one book. Because they are actually different books, I have to be able to make a reference to the right section of the book.

    The name of translator is not important for the identification of the book, but the name of book author. It is a book *from Freud*, not from the translator.

    Thats why the correct reference is

    Freud, S. (1981) Introductory lectures on Psychoanalysis, 1915-1917. In: S. Freud: Introduction to psychoanalysis. (pp. 9-406, transl. by E. Puranen). Jyväskylä: Gummerus

    That's the way how journals and books do it in Finland. If this is not APA style, then I need help to change the style to adapt it in Finnish way to make citation / references.

  • bwiernik
    edited June 27, 2019
    Correct APA style would just cite the whole work, “Introduction to psychoanalysis”. It’s not separate volumes, there is no need to cite it as part one or part two. It doesn’t matter how the works are published in other languages—it only matters how the version you are actually consulting is published.

    I recommend you just cite:
    Freud, S. (1981) Introduction to psychoanalysis. (E. Puranen, Trans.). Jyväskylä: Gummerus. Original work published XXXX.

    If you want to reference a specific part of the book, do so using page numbers in the text.

    This isn’t an easy thing to change in the CSL style—APA is the most complicated style in the CSL/Zotero repository, and the handling of editors, translators, and book authors is very complex. I recommend you follow the APA style guidelines here.
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