A Quick Guide to APA 6 th Edition Elements of the APA Paper.

A Quick Guide to APA 6th Edition

Elements of the APA Paper

Elements to an APA paper

• Title Page• Abstract• Introduction/literature review• Methods (participants, measures, procedure)• Results• Discussion/Conclusion• References• Table and/or Graph

Basic Style

• Double-spaced• One-inch margins on all sides• Times New Roman, 12 pt.• Page Numbers on right in Header, every page• Running Head, on left in Header, every page– The words “Running Head” only appearing on the

title page, but the running head content should appear on every page

• Sample Papers begin on pg.41 of APA manual

The Tone of an APA Paper

• This is a SCIENCE paper• Never use first person (some might disagree

here, and you might read articles that use first person, but please, don’t do it)

• Professional and dry– Present the information as it is, do not beef it up,

make implications that weren’t made originally, etc.

Tips to Improve Writing Style

• Be concise, do not repeat yourself• The paper, especially the introduction, should

FLOW from paragraph to paragraph• Present the information as it is, always tie it in

with your study• Use the active voice, avoid the expression “was”• Literature review in past tense (the authors

have already done the studies!)

Things to Avoid in Writing Style

• Everything you learned in English and Creative writing– Metaphors, alliteration, rhyming, poetic sentences

• Do not attach “labels” to any aspect of your paper, especially participants– “the elderly” or “college students” could be taken in a

derogatory manner by the reader– Remember: do good/do no harm!

• Prefer if you did not use quotes in your paper– Quotes make it look like you can’t put the information in

your own words

Title Page Format• Title appears ¼ of the way down the page,

centered• Author follows, centered– First M. Last

• Author Affiliation follows, centered– Radford University

• Running Head appears “flush left” in Header• Page Number appears “flush right” in Header– “flush” just means where it begins, however “flush” is

the terminology you will see in the APA literature

So, What’s this Running Head Thing?

• A shortened title that appears at the top of every page of the APA paper

• Appears on the top left of each page• Title page includes “Running Head:”, the rest

of the paper does not contain this• Content of the RH is CAPITALIZED throughout

Formatting the Running Head and Page Number in Word 2007

• Since the RH is different on the title page than the rest of the paper, this takes some special formatting, also, Word 2007 is picky with its page numbers…– Header >> select “Blank” >> make sure it is left justified

>> type the content of the running head >> insert page number immediately after the text >> use TAB to justify it properly

– In Design tab, select “Different First Page” so that the “Running Head” portion will only appear on the Title Page

How to Create a Title

• DO’s– Summarize main point of paper– Be concise– Identify variables that are investigated– Should be able to “stand alone”– Be able to be shortened to the running head– Be approximately 12 words, give or take

How to Create a Title

• DON’Ts– Contain filler words/unnecessary words– Contain abbreviations (#, %, &, ADHD, etc)– Begin with “A Study of…” or “An Experiment of…” – Too short, or too long

Abstract

• A synopsis of the main points of the paper• Important because this will be the first thing

the reader will see – Think about PsycInfo

• Just a statement of the paper, do not evaluate • Approximately one page long

Abstract Format

• Begins on new page• Running Head and Page Number at the top• The words “Abstract” centered after the RH

and Page Number• Begin the content of the abstract– Do not indent the paragraph!

• Include “Keywords” after the last sentence– New line, indented, and “Keywords” is italicized

Tips to Writing an Abstract

• Write it last!• Summarize key points of the paper; take a

sentence or two from each section and tie it together

• Don’t add information here that doesn’t appear in the paper

Introduction Format

• Begins on new page• RH and Page Number appear at the top• Title of the paper appears after the RH and

Page Number, centered• Content of paper follows, no extra spacing

necessary– No set length for the literature review, but the

longer it is, the more work it appears you have put into this

How to Breakdown the Literature Review

• Introduce the topic• Explain the importance– Why do we care?

• Present the past literature– Should reflect why you are investigating this topic– The basis for the experiment

• Introduce the present study, in a paragraph or so

Literature Review Continued

• Should present the past literature that is related to your topic– How does your work build on the previous work?– What are the shortcomings of the previous

literature?– How will the present study make up for the

previous literatures’ faults?– Note the similarities/differences of the previous

literature with the current study

Structure of Literature Review

• Should be divided into TOPICS/VARIABLES, not be divided by each article– With the first paper, this is partially already done

for you– Use multiple references to talk about the same

constructs• With the first paper, tie the two articles together per

topic

Methods

The section on how the study was conducted• Three subheadings in this section, at least:– Participants– Measures/Apparatus– Procedure

• These sections should be described in enough detail so that someone reading this paper could replicate the study

Methods Format

• Immediately follows the introduction, does NOT begin on a new page

• “Method” is centered and Bold since it is a Level One Heading– “Participants” “Materials/Measures” and

“Procedure” are also Bold and flush left, since they are a Level Two Heading

Participants Subsection

• Include all relevant demographics of participants, and total number of participants– “Forty-five percent of participants were female, the

remaining fifty-five percent were male…”– Represent the participants in percentages, not raw

numbers– Include percentages of participants in each group that you

are measuring• Do not include information that is not relevant to your

study• include where the participants were sampled

Measures Subsection

• Include what scale of measurement was used, or what test was used in your study– “The Beck Depression Index was used…”– Do not say “A pen, paper, and SPSS” this is not

enough information!– REMEMBER: include all information so that the

study can be replicated

Procedure Subsection

• Explain how the participants were selected, how and where the data was collected, and over what period of time– Should be in enough detail so that the study can

be replicated!!

Results Format

• Immediately follows the Methods section• Level One Heading: centered and Bold– This section will be around a page long, depending

on the analysis used

Results• State type of statistical analysis used• State variables to be tested/the research question• State what was found (significant or not)• Report the “statistical sentence” which includes

various things, depending on the statistic used• Report all results, even the non-significant ones!– Omission of results is bad science– Something that is “not significant” statistically can still be

significant to the field; now we know that these variables do not need to be tested further

• This section is very dry; just report the results, do not say what it means, yet

Discussion Format

• Immediately follows the Results section• Level One Heading: centered and Bold

Discussion

• Restate the results in words• So now, what does this mean?– Does this comply with your hypotheses?– If not, now what should be done?– If so, now what should be done?• Basically, what are the IMPLICATIONS to your findings

• Go back to literature review and make connections with previous works

Discussion Section Continued

• Point out your flaws!– Where did you possibly go wrong? What could be

changed about this study to make it better?– Threats to validity

• Finish with the larger implications of the study, beyond just this point

References

• This is where you list all the articles you used in your paper

• References page is very specific with rules and guidelines, along with the rest of the paper…

• It is necessary to do this section properly, to avoid plagiarism, and so that the reader can properly find the articles if necessary

References

Alphabetical order by first author’s last name• Hanging indent• Begins on new page• “References” appears at the top of the page,

centered and Bold• Follows guidelines of each type of work (book

chapter, journal article, etc etc)• List authors in order in which they appear in the

original publication

How to Reference a Journal Article With Two Authors

• Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (year). Title of article. Title of Publication, Volume Number, page-page.

• Smith, A. B., Johnson, J. K., Parker, L. M., & Martin, U. M. (2009). Depression and anxiety in the work environment. Depression Monthly, 24, 209-215.

Journal Article Continued

– Notes: only use the initials of the first name and middle name of the authors, do not include full names.

– The title of the article’s first word is capitalized, and nothing else.

– The publication is italicized with capitalization throughout.

– Use this method with up to seven authors

How to Reference a Journal Article with More than Seven Authors

• Cite the first six authors’ names• Use a “…” after the first six authors, then list

the very last author’s name.• Everything else stays the same

How to Reference a Book

• Including textbooks• Last, F. M. (year). Title of work. Location:

Publisher.• Thomas, A. E. (2004). Introductory Psychology.

New York: NY Publishing.

Textbook References Continued

• This should be used as secondary information, to provide definitions for constructs that you are studying– “Working memory can be defined as…” – “Depression can be conceptualized as...”• These should be all you need to use in your papers in

this class, if you need to cite other documents please refer to your APA manual

In-Text Citation (page 177)• While you are writing your literature review, you

have to cite where you got your information from (i.e. the articles you have found)

• This is vital, because if you make a statement, you must back it up with evidence…evidence is the article(s) – Information included are the author(s) last name and

year of publication– First citation will be different from subsequent

citations

In-Text Citation: How Is It Done?

• The citation can either appear at the beginning of the sentence, or at the end of the sentence, the choice is up to you– “Johnson (1998) tested the effects…”– …antidepressants were found to decrease anxiety

(Johnson, 1998)

• Stylistically, change it up! Begin some citations at the beginning of the sentence, begin some citations in parentheses at the end of the sentence

In-Text Citations: Beginning of Sentences

• Works with up to five authors:– First citation: list all authors, followed by the year of

publication in parentheses• Johnson, Martin, Lopez, Roberts, and Walker (2005)

– Subsequent citations: list all authors if work has up to TWO authors, if more than two authors, use “et al.”• Johnson et al. (2005), or if only two authors, Johnson

and Martin (2005). • Works with more than six authors– Use “et al.” in first citation and subsequent citations

In-Text Citations: Parentheses, End of Sentence

• Works with up to five authors– First citation: list all authors, followed by the year

• (Johnson, Martin, Lopez, Roberts, & Walker, 2005).

– Subsequent citations: with more than two authors, use “et al.” again• (Johnson et al., 2005).

• Works with more than six authors– Use et al. in both first and subsequent citations

• NOTE: this form of citation appears AT THE END OF A SENTENCE, NEVER IN THE MIDDLE

Resources

• APA Manual• Sample papers available through Dr. Pierce’s

website– Links to tutorials on how to write in APA, sample

papers, and much more

• If you have questions, just ask– The sixth edition is new to everyone, and we’re all

learning together!