APA Style

Week 10
11/13
Ch. 14 (pg. 461-476)
(You may also want to read the
APA handout on BlackBoard)
 Contents of APA Paper (in
order)
• Title page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Method – has subsections
• Participants, materials, procedure
• Results
• Discussion
• References
• Tables and Figures (Optional - if needed)
 Headings
Level One Heading
(Level 1 headings-- Regular font and centered)
Methods, Results, Discussion

Level Three Heading

(flush left, italicized)
Participants, Materials, Procedure

Level three heading.

(indented, italicized)
Sub-sub headings in methods (particular measures)
 Title Page (pg. 1)
• Page #: Use the header function and put short title and
page # on every page (except figure page) in top right
corner
• First line on the top left margin:
– Running head: SHORT TITLE IN CAPITALS
• The rest is centered:
– The title (Use Keywords and make each word count, if long
break into two lines – no more than 10-12 words)
– The author’s name(s) Listed in order of contribution
– The author’s affiliation (DePaul University)
 Abstract (pg. 2)
• Page by itself
• Title is Abstract (centered on page) – level 1
heading
• Block format (don’t indent)
• Summary of whole paper
– Objective of study
– Describe procedure
– Statement of results
– Implication of findings
• Limit to 120 words
 Introduction (pg. 3)
• Title of report at the top of the page
– Centered – level 1 heading
• Progresses from theory specifics
• 3 Components
– Problem under study
– Literature review
– Rationale and hypotheses of the study
• Build a case for why your study was
conducted!
 Method (starts directly after
intro)
• “Method” is centered – level 1
• Describes how study was conducted
from beginning to end
• Allows others to replicate study
• Subsections (Participants, Materials,
and Procedure)
– In italics and on the left margin
 Participants-- level 3
• Describes subjects
• Report the number, sex, and age of
participants (M and SD)
– Step 1 of Data Analysis and Interpretation
• Demographics (ethnicity, religious affiliation, etc…)
• The manner in which the participants were
obtained (recruitment, incentives, etc.)
• Usually 1 paragraph
 Materials-- level 3
• Describe what you used for your
experiment
– Pictures, surveys, tasks, etc.
– Describe your specific
materials/instruments
– If you used an established measure, you
should cite who wrote it and when
• Also cite reliability and validity information
 Procedure-- level 3
• Procedure is step-by-step description of
how study was conducted and what
subjects did
• Include manipulations and conditions,
instructions to subjects
• Describe how IV and DV were
manipulated and measured
 Results
• Describe all results
– In same order your predictions were stated
• Report statistical analyses – use a stats
sentence for each
• Results are NOT an interpretation of data!
– Don’t discuss implications of results
• A large amount of data is put into tables or
figures. They are appended to the end of the
paper with references in text. (The means and
standard deviations can be found in Table 1.)
– Tables and figures are meant to supplement NOT
repeat
 Discussion
• Interpret, evaluate, discuss findings (no
statistics!)
• Begin by summarizing original purpose and
expectations
• Then provide statement of central findings
• How do findings relate to hypothesis
• Integrate results with previous findings
• Contributions of your findings
• Alternative explanations, limitations, and
future ideas for research
• What is the big picture?
 References
• Listed in alphabetical order by the first
author’s last name
• Double space (each ref. begins on new
line)
• Hanging indent
• Italicize journals and books, no
underlining
 References examples
• Journal
Smith, M. B., & Jones, T. L. (2000). The effects of
research methods courses on student
depression. Journal of Cruelty to Students, 15,
67-78.
• Book
Andrews, L. (1994). Violence in our country:
Reflections of a national epidemic. New York:
The Guilford Press.
 In-text References
Jones (1999) showed that…
In a recent review, Jones (1999) concluded…
Other studies have obtained similar results (Jones, 1999).
 Use ‘and’ when the authors names are part of a
sentence, Smith and Stevens (2004) found…
 Use & when citation is at end, (Smith & Stevens, 2004).
Three to five authors, first cite all names, thereafter, cite
first author’s name followed by et al. (Stone, et al.,
2006).
If multiple authors, alphabetize them by the last name of
the first author and separate by semicolons.
(Anderson, 1988; Cohen & Bourne, 1998; etc).
 Appendix
• Begins on new page, word “Appendix”
centered at top
• Usually includes sample of survey,
stimulus items, etc.
 Tables
• Each table is on separate page
• Still has short title and page # and is
double spaced
• Table 1
Title in italics
• No vertical lines
• Use the table function in word
 Figures (graphs/pictures)
• Figure caption page (the heading is
centered) is a separate page
• Figure 1. Then you type the title of the
figure
• The actual figure goes on the following
page without short title and page #
 You shouldn’t need the paper to understand the
figures and tables
 Additional Resources
• See the Handout on BlackBoard
• Vanguard U-- APA Style Essentials
• http://www.apastyle.org