1. Completing the Doctoral Study: APA Considerations and Walden Template
Tara Kachgal, PhD
Dissertation Editor
Office of Academic Editing
Walden Writing Center
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2. Unique Writing Center Slide Decks
Slide decks for Writing Center-led residency sessions are not located in Blackboard or SharePoint
Instead, the unique slide decks for all Writing Center-led residency sessions are uploaded to the Writing Center’s Residencies Webpage 5 days before the first day of each residency
Let’s find them together!

3. Session Objectives
Identify APA requirements for key elements of the doctoral study
Download and get familiar with the Walden Doctoral Study Template
Navigate the Form and Style website and resources
Ask questions about Form and Style resources

4. APA Basics

5. Verb tense
Be sure that you use the appropriate verb tense to describe your study or paper.
Use the future tense to describe methods and processes that have not yet been conducted (e.g., introduction to the study in the proposal).
Example: “Using a phenomenological approach, I will explore the effects of childhood obesity on self-esteem in young adults.”
Example: “In this paper I will describe how…”

6. Verb tense
Students should use the past tense to describe action that has been completed (e.g., the conclusion to each section, the description in final doc study).
Example: “Using a cross-sectional survey, I analyzed the effects of exposure to violence as a child on divorce rates in midlife.”
Example: “In this section, I described the literature on…”

7. Verb tense In APA, students should use the
Past tense to talk about other people's work and research. For example: “Patterson (2010) found, stated, discovered, said, and so on…”
Present tense to talk about propositions or elements of a theory. For example: “Piaget (1952) proposed that children experience four stages of cognitive development.”

8. Passive voice
In passive voice, the action (verb) appears before the actor or implied actor in the sentence:
The research was conducted during a 2-month period.
Data were analyzed using inferential statistical tests.
Manuscripts are read by the editors who conduct the form and style review.

9. Passive voice vs. active voice
APA prefers active voice, where the actor precedes the action:
The professor conducted the research
The researchers interpreted the results
This is especially important when describing data collection processes.
Example: “In this study, data were collected using intensive interviews.”
Instead: “In this study, I conducted intensive interviews.”

10. Passive voice and first person
It is acceptable to use the first person (“I”) for self-reference in the interest of precision and clarity. According to the APA (6th ed.) manual, writers should be specific about who is performing the action of the verb (p. 69). However, a lot of “I” statements becomes repetitive in places like the methods section and may distract readers: “In this study, I administered a survey. I created a convenience sample of 68 teachers. I invited them to participate in the survey by ing them an invitation. I obtained addresses from the principal of the school…”

11. Passive voice and first person
As one alternative, the editors suggest using “I” in the first sentence of the paragraph. As long as it is clear to the reader that the student (writer) is the actor in the remaining sentences, use the active and passive voices appropriately to achieve precision and clarity:
“In this study, I administered a survey using a convenience sample. Sixty-eight teachers were invited to participate in the survey. The principal of the school provided me with the addresses of teachers who fit the requirements for participation. I ed the teachers an information sheet and a consent form. A total of 45 teachers responded…

12. Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism occurs when writers attribute human-like qualities to inanimate objects
Example: “This study explored the link between leadership coaching and manager approval ratings.”
Instead: “In this study, I explored the link between leadership coaching and manager approval ratings.”
Example: “The literature review discusses ”
Instead: “The literature review includes discussion of...”

13. Anthropomorphism Exceptions: Theories can indicate, propose, describe…
Theories were created by people, and it often makes sense to describe them in this manner
Data, tables, and results can show, demonstrate, present, indicate…
The same thing goes for processes and systems in IT… think about when it would be appropriate for a process or system to indicate, describe, alert… versus when it is a person’s role to do so.

14. First person vs. third person
Per APA, the first person is preferred; avoid using third person for self-reference.
Incorrect: “The researcher introduced the study to participants and explained to them that they could refuse to answer any questions or stop the interview at any time.”
Correct: “I introduced the study to participants and explained to them that they could refuse to answer any questions or stop the interview at any time.”

15. Third person vs. second person
Avoid the second person.
Incorrect: “As a leader, you have to decide what kind of approach you want to use with your employees.”
Correct: “Leaders must decide what type of leadership approach they want to take with their employees.”

16. References and citations
Author’s last name
Publication year
Grover, M. P. (2007). Automation, production systems, and computer-integrated manufacturing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Press. (Grover, 2007) According to Grover (2007)…

17. References and citations
For APA author-date style, build citation from the first two elements in the reference entry:
Individual author: (Grover, 2017)
Organization or group author: (CDC, 2008)
No identified author: (“Shortened Title,” 2006)
Only use Anonymous if the author is specifically designated as such
For multiple works in the same parentheses, list authors in alphabetical order, separated by a semicolon (Johnson, 2010; Martinez, 2005; Paulsen & Rodriguez, 1998)

18. Reference entry basics
Author’s last name and initials OR organization’s name.
Publication year.
Title (books are italicized) with APA’s capitalization rules
Publication information
Publication city and publisher for books
doi or URL for journal articles and websites
Grover, M. P. (2007). Automation, production systems, and computer-integrated manufacturing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Press.

19. Parenthetical vs. in-narrative citations
There is a clear distinction between automation and CIM (Grover, 2007).
As Grover (2007) explained, CIM is related to information processing, whereas automation is focused on physical activities.

20. Citation overview Multiple authors
Three to five authors: (Sinatra, Garland, & Fitzgerald, 2007) on first reference with (Sinatra et al., 2007) after that
Six or more authors: (Sinatra et al., 2007) on first and all subsequent references
Same surname: M. King (2005) and W. King (2007)
Multiple sources with same author and date: Include lowercase suffix after publication year (Poppycock, 2005a, 2005b; Zounds, 2001)

21. Reference list formatting
Form and Style citation and reference resources
Citations
Citing electronic sources
References
Common references examples

22. Locate the Template on the
Using the Template
Locate the Template on the
Form and Style Website

23. Also available on Direct Links:
Templates

24. Direct Links: DrPH or DHA

25. Template Information Cover basics of the formatting Page breaks
Section breaks
Pilcrow
Headings
Tagging headings
Updating the TOC
Appendices
Adding a table
Brief table requirements discussion
Basic document formatting questions
Editor will open their internet browser and demonstrate downloading the template and demonstrate the above in the document.

26. Writing Help at the Residency and Beyond
Additional help AT the residency:
Advising
Other Writing Center sessions
or chat us AFTER the residency:
Form and Style Website