Question

If you are writing a APA paper and you are comparing research to your workplace, how do you reference your workplace when you cannot use "I"

Answer 1

Not using first person when you are relating personal experiences can be difficult. You have to get creative. One thing you can do is to write as if you are just a neutral third party that is researching your place of employment. So anything you relate you will be writing as if it is someone else's experience even though it is your's. You can even cite yourself (you would use a personal communication citation). Let me dig through my papers and see if I can find a good example for you. I have written several papers that relate my own personal experiences. Give me a few. I'm watching the Super Bowl, so I'm only here during commercials. lol ;)

Answer 2

Thank you so much. I had never thought of writing in 3rd neutral party. I appreciate your help.

Answer 3

Here is just one paragraph from a paper I work in PSY/320 - Human Motivation. I worked at both Harrah's and Sequoia so was pulling from my own experience. I cited myself for the Sequoia information and I cited the Harrah's Employee Handbook for that information:

Many companies have some sort of goal system in place in which their employees can be motivated to strive to achieve. Most goal systems involve a goal set by management, to be achieved by the staff, with some reward given after the goal has been achieved. An example of this would be Harrah’s quarterly bonus program. Every three months surveys are sent out to regular guests. The surveys cover various areas from service to friendliness to cleanliness. If the scores in each area are higher on average than the previous year for the same quarter, the employees receive a $300 bonus (Harrah's, 2000). Other than a couple short-lived sales contests, Sequoia Brewing Company (SBC) has no goal system implemented of any kind. Doing their jobs and getting their side work done at the end of the shift is the extent of SBC employees’ work related goals. These legitimate goals are set by management and outlined in the employee handbook and on the daily side work checklist (Jeff C., 2008, personal communication). However, these types of goals are no different from those one would find in any other place of employment and offer very little in the way of reward or employee motivation. On the other hand, for servers at SBC there is considerable goal setting when it comes to servicing their tables. These goals are various and are set on an individual basis. For example, a server may set a goal of making a certain amount of money in tips for the night. Another goal that a server might have is to get off work by a certain time (Jeff C., 2008, personal communication). While these goals are more meaningful to the employees, one could expect to find similar goals in other places of employment. Motivation, although higher and potentially intrinsic, still does not lead to job satisfaction.

Answer 4

This is a real help. I'm back in school after being out for 30 years, you can imagine how hard that is. I must be crazy to try this again.

Answer 5

It all comes back to you as long as you put in the effort. I went back after 22 years out and finished summa cum laude, but the first was a b----. Just getting back into the routine and making time for homework somewhere between work-work and the kids was the hardest part.

Answer 6

I meant the first year was a b----.