1. Writing A Research Paper
Dr. Azhar Jasim

2. Writing a Research with APA Style
The American Psychological Association or APA Writing Format is one of the most widely used formats in writing academic papers, particularly in the field of science.

3. In general, your paper should follow these formatting guidelines:
Margin. Although formerly, the required measurement for margins is 1 ½ inch, now, it is required that margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) should each just measure one (1) inch.
Font Size and Type. Font for text all through out the paper should be 12-pt., Times New Roman.

4. In general, your paper should follow these formatting guidelines:
Spacing. Double-space for the whole document, including appendices, footnotes, tables and figures. For spacing after punctuation, space once after commas, colons and semicolons within sentences and space twice after punctuation marks that end sentences.
Text Alignment and Indentation. Alignment should be flush left, or aligned to the left creating uneven right margin

5. In general, your paper should follow these formatting guidelines:
Running Head and Short Title. Running heads are short titles located at the top of each of the pages of your article. Short Titles on the other hand are two to three-word derivation of the title of your paper. Running heads should not be confused with Short Titles. Running heads are typed flush left at the top of all pages while Short Titles are typed flush right.Running Heads are not necessary for high school and collegiate papers unless required by instructor. These are instead mostly required for documents that are being prepared for actual release or publication. Running Heads should not exceed 50 characters including punctuation and spacing.

6. In general, your paper should follow these formatting guidelines:
Active Voice. Traditionally, the APA writing format requires writing in an impersonal form. That is, refraining from using pronouns such as ‘I' or ‘We' in your statements. Now, it has changed. Most disciplines require the active voice. An example of this would be, instead of writing “according to the study,” it should be “according to our study.” This way, papers are made to be as active as possible.

7. In general, your paper should follow these formatting guidelines:
Order of Pages and Pagination. The order of pages should follow this format:Title Page > Abstract > Body > References > Appendices > Footnotes > Tables > Figures
The page number should appear one inch from the right corner of the paper on the first line of each page. The title page will serve as the Page 1 of your paper.

8. Research Paper Outline
Creating an outline is the first thing you should do before you start working on your research paper.

9. Research Paper Outline

10. Introduction
The Introduction should contain your thesis statement or the topic of your research as well as the purpose of your study. You may include here the reason why you chose the particular topic or simply the significance of your research paper's topic. You may also state what type of approach it is that you'll be using in your paper for the entire discussion of your topic. Generally, your Introduction should state briefly all the major points of your topic your readers will be reading about

11. Body
The body of your paper is where you will be presenting all your arguments to support your thesis statement. Please be reminded of the “Rule of 3” where you should find 3 supporting arguments for each position you take. Start with a strong argument, followed by a stronger one, and end with the strongest argument as your final point.

12. Conclusion
Conclusion is where you form a summary of all your arguments and state your final stand. Explain why you've ended up with the said conclusion.

13. Sample

14. Sample

15. Sample

16. In-text Citation No more footnotes and endnotes.
Generally, the format is as follows:
(Author's last name, year of publication of the source, page number)
(Smith, 2013, p. 69)
If your parenthetical citation concludes your sentence, be sure to include a period at the end, as below.
"Sentence sentence sentence" (Smith, 2012, p. 69).
Remember, there is no need to be repeat yourself within a cited sentence.  One could also write the following.
As Smith said, "Sentence sentence sentence" (2013, p. 69).

17. In-text Citation In-Text Group or Organization as Author [6.13]
Write out the full name of the organization or group, the date of publication, page and/or paragraph numbers
Afterwards abbreviate the organization or group
When using a narrative, write out the organization or group name then abbreviate later
When not using a narrative, write out the organization or group name then abbreviate in brackets, each use afterwards, use the abbreviation

18. In-text Citation
Examples of group or organization in narrative and paraphrase:
The American Psychological Association (APA, 2010) noted…
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2009) reported…
In 2009, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) found…

19. In-text Citation Example of group or organization paraphrase:
The field of social work covers many areas (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2008).
Example of group or organization in narrative and quote:
The American Psychological Association (APA, 2010) reported, “The mission of the APA is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives” (para. 1).
Example of group or organization quote:
“The mission of the APA is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives” (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010, para. 1).

20. References
Each scientific discipline and sometimes even each individual supervisor has their own way of setting out references so it is always good to ask for the correct research paper format. Relevant journals you have been reading are also a good guide.
As long as you are consistent and include all of the information that will allow somebody else to replicate your research then it should not matter.

21. How to Cite a Book in APA
SARGENT, J.R. (1995); Origins and functions of lipids in fish eggs: Nutritional implications. Found in; Broodstock management and egg and larval quality, Edited by Bromage, N.R. and Roberts, R.R, pp , Blackwell Science, Oxford, 1st Ed.
Author, A.A.. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Publisher City , State: Publisher.
APA format example:
Finney, J. (1970). Time and again. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Notes: When citing a book in APA, keep in mind:
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title and any subtitles, as well as the first letter of any proper nouns.
The full title of the book, including any subtitles, should be stated and italicized.

22. How to Cite a Book in APA Citing an e-book from an e-reader
E-book is short for “electronic book.” It is a digital version of a book that can be read on a computer, e-reader (Kindle, Nook, etc.), or other electronic device.
APA format structure:
Author, A.A.. (Year of Publication). Title of work [E-Reader Version]. Retrieved from or doi:xxxx
APA format example:
Eggers, D. (2008). The circle [Kindle Version]. Retrieved from

23. How to Cite a Book in APA Citing a book found in a database
APA format structure:
Author, A.A.. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Retrieved from or doi:xxxx
APA format example:
Sayre, Rebecca K., Devercelli, A.E., Neuman, M.J., & Wodon, Q. (2015). Investment in early childhood development: Review of the world bank’s recent experience. doi: /
Notes: When citing an online book or e-book in APA, keep in mind:
A DOI (digital object identifier) is an assigned number that helps link content to it’s location on the Internet. It is therefore important, if one is provided, to use it when creating a citation. All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and are separated by a slash.

24. For journal articles;
NAVARRO, J.C. AMAT, F. SARGENT, J.R. (1991) A study of the variations in lipid levels, lipid class composition and fatty acid composition in the first stages of Artemia sp. Marine Biology, Issue 111, pp

25. For websites; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemia (2006).
Most internet articles should include the date that they were written or last updated. Also include the author in the case of an online article

26. Personal communications;
SARGENT, J. R., (2007), personal communication

27. Basic Rules
All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
Authors' names are inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work for up to and including seven authors. If the work has more than seven authors, list the first six authors and then use ellipses after the sixth author's name. After the ellipses, list the last author's name of the work.
Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
Present the journal title in full.
Maintain the punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its title.
For example: ReCALL not RECALL or Knowledge Management Research & Practicenot Knowledge Management Research and Practice. 

28. Basic Rules Capitalize all major words in journal titles.
When referring to books, chapters, articles, or Web pages, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.
Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

29. Remember!
In the main body of the text you should refer to the article by the name of the author and year. If there was more than one writer then use all of their names the first time, then use 'et al' (Navarro et al, 1991) or 'Navarro et al (1991) found that…'
Set out your reference list alphabetically by first author and try to be consistent with layout.
It is more important for the research paper format that your references are clear than worrying about where every last full stop should go.