Writing a Research Report in APA Publication Style By Dr Rojnath Pande

A Research Article A concise description of Your logic Relevant previous research Your procedures and results Your interpretation of the findings Everything needed to evaluate your thinking & your study APA format simplifies writing process

Major Sections of Research Article Manuscript Title page Abstract Introduction Method Subjects Apparatus Procedures Results Discussion References Appendices (if needed) Tables Figure Captions Figures

Major Sections of Senior Seminar Manuscript Title page Abstract Introduction The world as it is  Supporting research What is missing  Supporting research The “Fix” How it fixes the problem  Supporting research Purpose Statement Summary & Conclusion leading to project Project Description Blueprint for action Who, what, where, when, how, how much, etc. Tables & Figures if needed References Appendices (if needed) Tables Figure Captions Figures

Title Page Page header (1 st 3-4 words of tile & pg. 1) Running head: flush left top (below header; max 50 characters) All caps Concise Title (upper & lower case) Authors & affiliations (no titles!)

Activity Levels in Children 1 Running head: ACTIVITY LEVELS IN CHILDREN Activity Levels in Children Kris A. Grappendorf California State University, Bakersfield Page Header Running Head Title Author Affiliation

Abstract Center & type “Abstract” No indentation (left justified) A concise summary (max. of 960 characters; ~ 120 words) of research project Goes on a separate page (page 2) Although the abstract is first, it is often written last, after the paper is finalized abstract is usually published in data bases

Activity Levels in Children 2 Abstract The abstract is the second page in your paper. It is flush left with no paragraph indent. It should not exceed 120 words.

Introduction Title of Paper (do not write “Introduction”) Outlines for reader the logic of your study & how your study relates to previous research Usually ends w/ specific hypotheses tested in your research study Well written IF the hypotheses seem to follow clearly from the material presented in the introduction

Referencing Work of Others Throughout paper, you should reference ideas & work of others by author & date using APA format as shown below Compton (1994) argued that the results were an artifact of a failure to control experimenter effects. Some have argued the experimenter effects could have accounted for the results (Jackson, 1994). Several researchers (Jackson, 1994; Perkins & Brown, 1992; Rossberg, 1989) disagree with this interpretation.

Method Includes a detailed description of subjects, measures, & procedures Previously published measures or procedures should be referenced Enough detail should be included so that a knowledgeable researcher could replicate exactly the procedure

Results Should include a summary of the finding, statistical tests, & summary statistics Descriptions of subjects Tests of the hypotheses Secondary analyses May use tables & figures to help organize the presentation

Reporting Statistics APA format for reporting statistics Reporting t-tests Group A was significantly slower than group B, t(38) = 3.21, p <.01. Reporting ANOVAs There was a significant main effect for training, F(2, 63) = 4.01, p <.05. Reporting chi-squares Boys were significantly more likely to drop out of the program than girls, X 2 (1, N=50) = 7.96, p <.01.

Tables Tables are numbered consecutively & are placed after the reference page Title of table should be underlined Tables should be referenced in text, but not duplicated; if you describe everything in a table in the text, the table is unnecessary See next slide for an example table

Sample Table

Figures Figures are numbered consecutively (independently of tables) Figures appear at the very end of the paper Camera-ready copies of figures should be included when submitting a paper for publication Figure captions for all figures appear on a separate page just before the figures

Sample Figure Caption Figure Caption Figure 1. Percent reporting improvement during the week.

Sample Figure

Discussion You interpret the results of your study in this section for your readers Summarize the findings Relate the findings to your hypotheses Relate the findings to previous research and the hypotheses of others Acknowledge weaknesses in your study Discuss directions for further research

References Every study mentioned in the paper must be included in the references Ordered alphabetically by author and date Examples of reference format Sagen, C. (1995). The demon-haunted world. New York: Random House. Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K. J., Jaycox, L. H., & Seligman, (1995). Prevention of depressive symptoms in schoolchildren: Two-year follow-up. Psychological Science, 6,

Writing Style Want to achieve good technical writing Precise Concise Well organized Writing manuals can be helpful Strunk & White’s (1979) Elements of Style Zinsser’s (1994) On Writing Well

Summary Final step of any research project is communicating the results APA Publication Style Provides an organizational structure to facilitate communication Divides the report into sections Provides sufficient information for the reader to understand and replicate the study