APA Citation Guide (7th Edition)

Do

• Be as specific as possible with ages and use terms appropriate to each age group: Infant, child, transgender girl, boy, adolescent, adult, older adult.
• Treat aging as a normal part of the human experience rather than a disease.

Avoid

• Use demeaning or othering terms that promote stereotypes, such as “elderly,” “senior,” "the aged," or “senile.”
• Open ended age ranges, such as under 18 or over 65, unless those are the age ranges listed in the study.
• Using language that supports stereotypes, such as referring to all older adults as being frail or all children as being naive or innocent.

Do

• Use respectful terms people use to self-identify.
• Refer to Non-White racial and ethnic groups as a whole  as “people of color” or “underrepresented groups”
• Be specific about the country or geographical region when possible rather than lumping a whole region together: "Chinese," “Korean”, or “Japanese” vs. "Asian."

Avoid

• Terms that lump diverse cultures together, such as "Asian" or "African."
• Derogatory or disrespectful terms.

“Negro”
“Afro-American”
“Oriental”
“Eskimo”
“the Black race”
“the White race”

Do

• Use terms people use to self-identify.
• Refer to LGBTQA+ groups as a whole as “sexual and gender minorities” or “Sexual orientation and gender diverse.”
• Be specific when possible when describing sexual orientation, including the gender along with the orientation.

"Bi-sexual women"
"Gay men"
"Pansexual gender-fluid adolescents"

Avoid

• Terms or labels that lump groups together as if they are one, such as "homosexuals" or "homosexuality"
• Referring to sexual orientations as a lifestyle or preference.
• Derogatory or defamatory terms, such as "pervert" or "deviant"

Do

• Use acceptable generic terms, such as "patient" or "client."
• Maintain the human dignity of all people by using person first or identity first language. Identity first language is chosen by the person or community rather than assigned by those outside because they consider it part of their identity rather than something negative. For example, deaf people often consider this aspect of themselves as part of a cultural identity, not a disability.

“Person with substance use disorder”
"Person with dementia from Alzheimer's"
“Wheel-chair user”
“Blind person”
“Autistic person”

Avoid

• Using terminology that demeans people or defines people by a disease or mental health issue:  

“Substance abusers”
"Addicts"
“The mentally retarded”
"Wheel chair bound"
"Sight challenged person"
"Special needs"

Do

• Refer to people by the terms they self-identify with if it is known.

"Man"/"Woman"
"He"/"She"
"Non-binary"/"Gender-fluid"
"Ze"
"Hir"

• Use the pronoun "they" if the gender of the person is not known, even if you think you can guess someone's gender by their name.
• Refer to humans and groups of people in an inclusive way

"People"/"Humanity"
"Flight attendant" (vs. stewardess or steward)

Avoid

• Using disparaging and demeaning terminology or terminology that implies sex is an immutable characteristic without cultural influence:

“Birth sex”
“Transvestite”

• Language that attempts to include everybody with binary, thus excluding anyone who is nonbinary.

"He or she"
"He/she"

• Referring to groups of people or humankind in gendered terms

"Mankind"
"Policemen"
"Waitress"

• Referring to men and women using the nouns "males" and "females"

Do

• Use people first language that describes a situation rather than focuses blame on on the individual or a deficit.

"Individuals who are undocumented"
"People whose incomes are below the federal poverty threshold"
"Youth experiencing homelessness"
"People with less than a high-school education"
"Economically marginalized families"

• Be precise about household income levels and household sizes. 

Avoid

• Pejorative, broad, or generalizing terms with negative connotations or that put blame on the person described.

"The homeless"
"Inner city"
"Illegal aliens"
"The undocumented"
"Poor people"
"Low class"
"High school drop-outs"
"Underprivileged families"