Using the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (6 th ed.)

Using the American Psychological Association

Publication Manual (6th ed.)

By Dr. Frank E. ParcellsAll information is taken directly from Dr. Parcells

interpretation of and/or directly from the APA Publication Manual (6th ed.).

The APA Publication Manual (6th ed.) is used by all Communication discipline scholarly publications, including research papers and theses.

This PowerPoint provides an overview into the use of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (6th ed.) for the writing of research papers and theses in the Department of Communication at Austin Peay State University.This presentation provides only an overview and does not replace the necessity of actual study of the Publication Manual.

Organization of Research Paper Using APA (6th ed.)

Title Page Short Title and Page

Number Title of Research Paper Author's name (byline) Institutional Affiliation

RUNNING HEAD: PHENOMENOLOGY STUDY 1

A Study in Phenomenology

James Patterson

Austin Peay State University

Organization of Research Paper Using APA (6th ed.)

Introduction Do not use the word, "Introduction" as a head for

this section of your paper! Simply put your title, centered and double-spaced below

the shortened title and page number Introduce the problem you plan to explore. Ask: Why is this important? How does this study relate to previous works in this area? What are the primary and secondary hypotheses, research

questions or proposition? How do the hypotheses and research design relate to one

another? What are the theoretical and practical implications of this study?

Organization of Research Paper Using APA (6th ed.)

Example of an Introduction First Text Page of A Research Paper or Thesis Do not use the word, "Introduction" as a head for this

first textual page of your paper! Simply put your title, centered and double-spaced below the

shortened title and page number. RUNNING HEAD: COMMUNICATION CONFLICTS ON FACEBOOK 2

Common Communication Conflicts Occurring in Facebook: A

Mediated Interpersonal Relational Approach

Online relationships are not the same as face-to-face everyday dyadic

communication, but individuals still face Web conflicts hastened by the mediation.

Organization of Research Paper Using APA (6th ed.)

Method Do use the word, "Method" as a head for this section

of your paper! Identify subsections of your methodology. Provide a description of participant characteristics. Describe sampling procedures and be certain to deal with

sample size, power, and precision. Present your research design. Provide sufficient detail of your method – timeframe, survey

instrument, interviewer, interview questions, structure, and other relevant details.

Another researcher should have enough detail in this part that he or she could develop a study to test your hypotheses.

Organization of Research Paper Using APA (6th ed.)

Results Do use the word, "Results" as a head for this section

of your paper! Talk about the recruitment of subjects for your study. Present your results: the data you collected. Present your results: a statistical analysis of the data you

collected. Present your results: analysis of a case study, a PR campaign,

a detailed review of literature on a specific topic, etc. This is where you present, without interpretation and

analysis, the results of your study. No discussion is permitted (No Opinions Expressed Here!)

Organization of Research Paper Using APA (6th ed.)

Discussion Do use the word, "Discussion" as a head for this section of

your paper! Open this discussion section with a clear statement of whether

your data support or do not support your hypotheses, research question, or proposition.

Then, the discussion is where you can offer your opinion of what your results mean. That's called interpretation of the data.

Limitations of the study Threats to validity and/or reliability effects of what was observed what the statistics mean through generalization to group What problems remain unresolved? What types of research still need to

be done?

Organization of Research Paper Using APA (6th ed.)

• What comes after the "Discussion" section in APA?

References – Known in APA as a reference list. You can cite only sources you actually used as intext references.

Tables and Figures that are to be inserted into the text. Appendices and Supplemental Materials – These could

include copies of your survey instrument, letters to your subjects, etc.

Format for Five Levels of Headings in APA

1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

2 Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

5 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

There are five levels of approved APA headings and subheadings as demonstrated below.

APA Writing Style

• There should always be continuity in the presentation of ideas. Proper use of punctuation marks contribute to continuity as does the use of transitional words.

• It's important for there to be a smoothness of expression in your writing. Scholarly writing is not the same as creative writing. Avoid the many devices of creative writing (i. e., ambiguity, inserting the unexpected, shifting in tense or person) and clearly state your problem, method, results, and discussion. Use verb tenses consistently within paragraphs and throughout your writing.

• Tone is a very important element in scholarly writing. APA style does not suggest that writing has to be boring. Find technical writing ways to replace the "flowery" literary writing and still avoid boredom. Imagine a specific reader you intend to reach and write in a way to help that reader learn and understand your information.

• Use economy in written expression by getting to the point in a way where your reader will understand clearly what you intended him or her to grasp. Avoid wordiness and needless redundancy in your writing. Do not just write in simple sentences, but do not fear their overuse.

APA Writing Style

• Employ precision and clarity in your scholarly writing. Be very concerned with word choice. Ask yourself, does that word or even phrase really say what I mean? Avoid colloquial expressions (quite a large number) and jargon (scarcity of poverty). Pronouns can confuse readers unless they are used referring to a specific person or thing, and ambiguous comparisons pose many understanding challenges for your reader. Attribute is important, but it can also be confusing. Attribute directly to the appropriate source.

• Linguistic devices. These devices attract attention to words, sounds, or other embellishments rather than to the central ideas are inappropriate in social scientific communication writing.

• There are a number of strategies to improve writing style in scholarly writing. There are three ways that APA suggests to help you, the author, achieve professional and effective written communication: (a) writing from an outline, (b) putting aside the first draft and then rereading it later, and (c) asking a colleague to review and critique the draft for you.

Reducing Bias in Scholarly Writing•Describe at the appropriate level of specificity.•Be sensitive to labels.•Acknowledge participation.•Be concerned with your use of:gendersexual orientationracial and ethnic identifydisabilitiesagehistorical inaccuracies

Grammar Usage

Action Verbs & Active Voice

Subject – Verb Agreement

Employ action verbs.Try to stay in the

active voice.Limit the use of

passive voice.Select the tense

carefully.Select the

appropriate mood.

A verb must agree in number with the subject.

The plural form of some nouns may appear to be singular when they are actually plural. Consult a dictionary.

Grammar Usage

Pronouns More on Pronouns

Pronouns replace nouns.

Each pronoun should refer clearly to a noun in number and gender.

A pronoun must agree with the noun it replaces.

Pronouns can be subjects or objects of verbs or prepositions.

Use who as the subject of a verb and whom as the object of a verb.

Grammar Usage

Misplaced Modifiers Dangling Modifiers

Due to their placement in a sentence, misplaced modifiers ambiguously or illogically modify a word.

There is no referent in the sentence for dangling modifiers.

These frequently result from the use of passive voice.

Grammar Usage

Use of Adverbs

Adverbs can be used as introductory or transitional words. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs and express manner or quality.

Grammar Usage

Relative Pronouns and Subordinate Conjunctions Relative Pronouns: that versus which. That clauses (called restrictive) are essential to the meaning of

a sentence; The materials that worked well in the first attempt were used in second attempt as well.

Subordinate Conjunctions: while versus since, while versus although, and since versus because.

Words like while and since with different meanings can cause confusion; Jones (2001) found that subjects were happy while music listening or Several versions of a test have been used since the test was first taken.

While versus although, and, or but: Use while to link events occurring simultaneously; otherwise use although, and, or but in place of while.

Since versus because: Since is more precise when it is used to refer only to time (like "after that"); otherwise, replace it with because.

Punctuation UsageSpacing After Punctuation Marks

• Insert one space after: commas, colons, and semicolons; periods that separate parts of a reference citation; and periods used for the initials of personal names.

• Use a period to end a complete sentence and: initial of names, abbreviation United States (U. S.), Latin abbreviations, and reference abbreviations. Do not use periods with abbreviations for state names (like NY or TN) letter abbreviations (like APA or FBI), abbreviations of routes, web addresses, metric and nonmetric measurements.

• Use a comma to set off nonessential clauses, to separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction, to set off the year in exact dates, to set off the year in parenthetical reference citations, and to separate groups of three digit number (like 1,000); Do not use a comma before a restrictive clause, between two parts of a compound predicate, to separate parts of measurement (like 8 years 2 months old).

Punctuation UsageSpacing After Punctuation Marks

• Insert one space after: commas, colons, and semicolons; periods that separate parts of a reference citation; and periods used for the initials of personal names.

• Use a period to end a complete sentence and: initial of names, abbreviation United States (U. S.), Latin abbreviations, and reference abbreviations. Do not use periods with abbreviations for state names (like NY or TN) letter abbreviations (like APA or FBI), abbreviations of routes, web addresses, metric and nonmetric measurements.

• Use a comma to set off nonessential clauses, to separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction, to set off the year in exact dates, to set off the year in parenthetical reference citations, and to separate groups of three digit number (like 1,000); Do not use a comma before a restrictive clause, between two parts of a compound predicate, to separate parts of measurement (like 8 years 2 months old).

Proper Use of ReferencesUse These for Periodicals (Not Monthly Dated Publications)

Single Periodical Author:Jones, J. K. (2008). How to teach video production in the college classroom. Communication Education, 75(2), 275-316.

Two Periodical Authors:Jones, J. K., & Beah, E. T. (2008). Teaching media literacy in the communication curriculum. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 48(1), 73-89.

Multiple Periodical Authors:Jones, J. K., Beah, E. T., Smithson, J., & Kansack, W. (2008). Searching for facts in media usage. Feedback, 71(3), 39-56.

Proper Use of ReferencesUse These for Books and Textbooks (NOT collective works, edited books with different authored chapters, or monographs)

Single Author Books/Textbooks:Bigelow, J. T. (2011). Interpersonal Communication: Maintaining Friendships. Boston: Allyn & Bacon Learning.

Two Author Books/Textbooks:Bigelow, J. T., & Wentworth, A. (2011). Applied Communication Theories (7th ed.). Middleton, VT: Harper & Row.

Multiple Authored Books/Textbooks:Cargill, J., Kinsley, W. J., Wharton, Z., Kettler, W. P., & Zallow, B. C. (2011). Defining the Use of Language in Interpersonal Communication (13th ed.). Jackson Hollow, WY: The Whistler Press.

Proper Use of ReferencesUse these for referencing electronic communication sources (online websites, articles, blogs, etc.) in your Reference list.

Online Newspaper Articles:

Author [last, first initial], (date of publication, when available), Article Title, Newspaper Name, Retrieved (on this date) from what website with a specific URL leading directly to the publication.

Cavanah, I. (June 6, 2012). APSU re-floors the 37year old Dunn Center in the Leaf-Chronicle. Retrieved June 7, 2012 from http://theleafchronicle.com/ archives/re-floors.asp.

Other Online Sources:

Author [last, first initial, when available], (date of publication, when available), Site or Article Title [when available], Publication or Website Title [when available]. Retrieved (on this date) from what website with a specific URL leading directly to the publication.

Vereen, B. (June 12, 2012). ESPN Sports yields to Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 13, 2012 from http://yahoosports.com/espnvyahoo/vereen/art.asp.

Proper Use of Intext ReferencesFor Multiple Authors of Periodical Articles

For First Time Use of Multiple Authored Journal Articles at the Start of a Sentence: Jones, J. K., Beah, E. T., Smithson, J., & Kansack, W. (2008) report that the study…

For First Time Use of Multiple Authored Journal Articles at the End of a Sentence: without notice (Jones, J. K., Beah, E. T., Smithson, J., & Kansack, W., 2008).

For Second Time Reference of Multiple Authored Journal Articles at the Start of a Sentence: Jones, J. K., et al. (2008) report that the study….

For Second Second Time Reference of Multiple Authored Journal Articles at the End of a Sentence: without notice (Jones, J. K., et al, 2008).

Proper Use of Intext RerferencesUsed for Books and Textbooks with Multiple Authors

First Time Intext Referenes with Multiple Authors Starting a Sentence:Cargill, J., Kinsley, W. J., Wharton, Z., Kettler, W. P., & Zallow, B. C. (2011) indicate that….

First Time Intext Referenes with Multiple Authors Ending a Sentence:…without his assistance (Cargill, J., Kinsley, W. J., Wharton, Z., Kettler, W. P., & Zallow, B. C. , 2011).

Thereafter Intext References with Multiple Authors Starting a Sentence:Cargill, J., et al. (2011 indicate that….

Thereafter Intext References with Multiple Authors Ending a Sentence:without his assistance (Cargill, J., et al., 2011).

Many Additional Reference Types

Paper Bound Electronic/VideoDictionaries,

Encyclopedias, Edited Editions, Monographs, Collections vary from standard author formatted references.

Newspapers, Magazines, Newsletters, and Other Specialized Publications also differ in formatting.

There are a variety of differing types on online, electronic reference formats.

Wikis, Blogs, and Social Media and Networking sites are not considered to be reliable sources!

However, online sources are now recognized by APA.

Films, TV Programs, etc. continue to be useful sources.

Nothing Can Replace the APA Publication Manual Itself

Helpful Assistance, but no replacement for purchasing and employing all of the numerous elements from the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (6th ed.) for $28.95.

This Review of APA Publication Manual (6th ed.)was produced for students majoring in Communication Arts at Austin Peay State University. Please use the APA website for additional references on this academic style of writing.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition By American Psychological AssociationPages: 272Item #: 4200066ISBN: 978-1-4338-0561-5List Price: $28.95Publication Date: July 2009Format: SoftcoverAvailability: In StockBuy it now from APA: http://www.apastyle.org/products/4200066.aspx