1. APA Writing Style I
Introduction

2. Why we write research papers
Tell others:
About our ideas and thoughts
About our sample, data collection and results
About what we think it all means; why our study is interesting or important
Paper should make sense of your existing data and results

3. Parts of a research paper
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Paper moves from general to specific and back to general

4. Parts of the Introduction
Opening
Literature Review
Transition
Hypotheses
General
Specific

5. Introduction: Opening
General statements that introduce topic
Broad presentation of issue that you are studying
May include examples from human behavior

6. Sample Openings Article 1:
Theoreticians, clinicians, and researchers have long observed that certain people have a strong inclination to look to others for support, guidance, and reassurance, even in situations where they seem capable of initiating and completing tasks on their own. Such persons have traditionally been thought of as having a “dependent personality.”
Article 2:
Virtually all major theories of adult development focus on commitments to work and family as key developmental milestones, and as the main task of healthy adult development.

7. Introduction: Literature Review
Present previous theory and research
Only include literature that is directly related to your topic
Provides rationale for your study
Synthesize what others have done
Should lead to your study

8. Sample Literature Review
Article 1:
During the past several decades researchers have attempted to delineate the constellation of traits associated with high levels of interpersonal dependency in children and adults (Birtchnell, 1984, 1988; Hirschfeld et al., 1977; Kline & Storey, 1977; Millon, 1981).
Other recent studies have investigated the place of dependency within the five-factor model of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1990; Shopshire & Craik, 1994).
Article 2:
Patterns of commitments to work and family roles should provide major avenues for the expression of personality in adulthood (Helson & Moane, 1987; Hoelter, 1983; Sarbin, 1954).

9. Introduction: Transition
Directly tie literature review to your current study
Show how your study:
Replicates past research
Builds on or extends past research
Fills in gaps from past research
Uses a new methodology from past research
Addresses limitations of past research

10. Sample Transition Article 1:
Although considerable indirect evidence has accumulated that indicates that situational variables play a key role in determining whether a dependent person will behave in a passive, submissive manner or in an active, assertive manner, this issue has never been examined directly.
Article 2:
Although there has been a great deal of research that has dealt with the relationship between work and family roles, there are some important conceptual and methodological problems in much of this research. First, because much of this research is cross-sectional... [paragraph addressing these issues]
Second, much previous research has tacitly assumed that the qualities of women’s commitments to work or family roles are essentially similar [paragraph addressing these issues].
Finally, many of these studies have examined older cohorts of women... [paragraph addressing these issues]
This study offers a remedy to many of these problems. First, ... [paragraph addressing these issues]

11. Introduction: Hypotheses
Most specific part of introduction
Make predictions for your research, based on literature review
Needs to be written so that it is testable
It will be what you test in your analyses

12. Sample Hypotheses Article 1:
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that in situations where the dependent person’s performance is being compared to that of a peer, the presence (or absence) of an authority figure will significantly and predictably influence the dependent person’s behavior. Specifically, in a situation where no authority figure is present, the dependent person should engage in various self-denigration strategies that ensure that the peer will perform better than he or she does.
Article 2:
The main purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that women with different life paths (based on combination of work and family role commitment) would have different personality profiles. More specifically, ....

13. What is NOT in introduction
How you will operationalize your hypothesis
(although the general concepts are ok)
Any results
Specifics about your sample

14. General points on the introduction
Remember that you are telling a story
Consider your audience
Be clear and do not use jargon unless necessary

15. Miscellaneous issues: Writing Style
Use the third person
Use active voice
Tense:
Past tense for introduction
Past tense for methods and results
Past tense in discussion when talking about your results
Present tense when talking about general conclusions from study
Future tense when talking about future directions

16. Avoiding Bias in Language
Say participants, not subjects
Use male and female pronouns when participants are both male and female
Use people of color rather than non-White