When to use square brackets
-
- To enclose material that is already in parentheses.
- (The results of the hypothesis [h=5] are presented in Figure 4).
- To enclose the abbreviation if the abbreviation is in parentheses.
- (United Nations [UN]; Butler et al., 2003)
- For confidence intervals values
- 95% CIs [ –7.2, 4.3]
- To add information to a direct quotation
- Fasulo (2023), “Financial Freedom [for the author] is the status of being able to make decisions for the rest of your life without worrying about money” (p.2).
- To enclose unusual description of form from some works on a reference entry
- The Peoples Profiles. (2022, October 21). Oskar Schindler & the story of Schindler’s list documentary [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEztt2bfQok
- To enclose material that is already in parentheses.
When no to use square brackets
-
- To bring attention to statistics that are already in parentheses
- Correct: F(2, 36)= 5.48, p= .046
- Incorrect: (F[2, 36]= 5.48, p= .046)
- For a narrative citation that appears in parentheses.
- (As Birckman, 2023, states)
- To bring attention to statistics that are already in parentheses
Adapted from APA, 2020, pp.160
Source
The American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th edition.
