CHAPTER 8: REPORTING RESEARCH

Reporting Research APA-style article writing Oral presentations Poster presentations McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

APA-Style Article Writing Structure of an APA-style paper  Title page  Abstract  Introduction  Method  Participants McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

APA-Style Article Writing Structure of an APA-style paper (continued)  Materials/Apparatus  Design  Procedure  Results  Discussion  References McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Title Page  The first page of your article will be the title page. It will include the title of the article, the authors’ names, and the authors’ affiliations centered on the page.  Your title should be concise and informative.  The title page will also contain a running head that is a shortened version of the title.  Finally, the page number appears in the header, right margin justified, of every page in the article. McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Abstract  Short summary of study  About words  Contains a sentence or two for each of the four major sections of your article:  Introduction  Method  Results  Discussion McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Introduction  Introduce the general topic/research question.  Review background studies in terms of relevance to research question and hypothesis development.  Briefly describe current study.  State hypotheses and justification for hypotheses.  Overall, argue that current study is important and will add new knowledge to the field. McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Method  Participants  Design  Materials/Apparatus  Procedure  Can combine sections McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Participants  Number  Important demographics  Where obtained  Compensation McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Design  Type of research design  Variables (dependent, independent)  How variables were measured/manipulated McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Materials/Apparatus  Description of stimuli or scales used in the study  Where stimuli/scales obtained or how developed  Description of any apparatus used in the study McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Procedure  Chronological description of what the participants/subjects experienced in the study  Description of instructions given to participants  Order of tasks McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Results  Dependent measure analyzed  Statistical tests used  Alpha level used for tests  Descriptive statistics  Figures/Tables  Statistical values from tests  p values from tests  Statements about significant effects or relationships McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Discussion  Review hypotheses and indicate if they were supported by the results  Compare current results with those from past studies  Provide explanations of unexpected results  Suggest future directions for research  Summarize what was learned in the current study McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

References  The reference section provides a complete listing of all the sources cited in the article.  The references are listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author. All subsequent authors are listed in the reference in the order in which they appear in the publication. You should also provide the publication year, title of the source, where the source was published, and additional information about the publication source. McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

References Smith, L. J., & James, T. R. (2009). The effect of smiling on mood. Journal of Social Psychology, 25(1), doi: / McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Multiple Study Articles  For multiple-study articles, you should include  One introduction section that provides background for all your studies  A method section for each study  A results section for each study  A general discussion section that describes conclusions for all the studies combined McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Research Proposals  To write a research proposal, the APA-style structure is generally followed, but a few modifications are made to account for the fact that the study has not yet been completed.  The results section typically contains a plan for the analysis of the data and predicted results for the study.  The discussion section contains a discussion of what may be learned in the cases where the hypotheses are supported and not supported.  The details of the study are described in the future tense, because the study will take place in the future. McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

General Formatting  Double space paper  1 inch margins for all pages  Use words for numbers less than 10  Any number that begins a sentence should be a word  Define abbreviations the first time used McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Citation Format  Sources can be cited by naming the authors in the text and including the publication year in parentheses.  “Hamilton and Mayes (2006) stated that...”  The entire citation can be provided in parentheses to indicate the source of a statement.  “Prospective memory is defined as remembering to perform a task at a future time (Einstein & McDaniel, 2005).”  If you include a direct quote from a source, you should also include the page number on which you found the quote in the article. McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Oral Presentations Follow general APA for order of information Briefer form than paper Designed for visual and oral acquisition Clarity of visual aids (e.g., PPTs) important McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Poster Presentations Follow general APA for order of information Visual acquisition important Use pictures and bullet points for clarity and space issues Make sure information flows clearly down columns and from left to right on poster Prepare short oral explanation of what is on the poster to guide viewer through McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology. Third Edition © 2016 SAGE Publications, Inc.