Chapter 10: The Basics APA Format

Chapter 10: The Basics APA Format I. The Anatomy of an APA research article In preparation for this lecture, please read CAREFULLY pages 23-38 in your APA Manual. Research articles are not written like a text book or periodical, they have their own special organizational structure. There are primarily 5 parts: A. Abstract The abstract is a brief summary at the beginning of most articles, which is usually 120 words or less. It enables the researcher to read just this short passage to determine if the article is close enough or useful to his topic. It gives the reader four sources of information: 1. Brief background on topic 2. Mentions hypotheses, goals, or predictions 3. Mentions procedures of the experiment(s) 4. Describes the general pattern of results B. Introduction In the introduction, the researcher provides the reader with: pertinent past research related to his topic, the specific research hypotheses, and why they will benefit this area (contribution). C. Method In the method section, the writer describes in great detail the following three subsections of the experiment: 1. Participants - who are they, age, sex, ethnic break down, how many, how chosen 2. Apparatus/Materials - the BDI, AAI, RSES, number of items per measure, why use them, order, and equipment used. 3. Procedure - describe the procedures/protocols; specific exact steps that the subjects go through including exact instructions that were given. Many include proposed analyses and analysis tools (i.e., SPSS) D. Results In the results section, the writer reports his findings from his manipulations and specific statistical and experimental tests. Ex. Correlations are reported, significance tests, effect size, etc.

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Chapter 10: The Basics APA Format

The results are usually reported in three ways in this order: 1. Descriptive / narrative just describe in words 2. Statistical report numbers and figures (r, p < .05) 3. Tables and graphs: bar graph, pie chart, frequency, scatter plots E. Discussion In this section, the author talks about the meaning of these results. There are five issues to cover: He makes conclusions about his findings and interprets how they relate to past findings. He must mention whether his results support or refute his original hypotheses and explain why or why not. In this section he must also mention the contribution of his findings to the field. He must also mention the weaknesses and limitations of his experimentation. Usually this section is concluded with the authors suggestions for the direction of future research on the topic. II. Writing a Research Paper Getting Started Starting a paper for any purpose can be a daunting task. So step #1 is to take the time to get organized first. Your text authors offer the Notecard method, which has seven basic steps. Like the research process itself, it is dynamic, so information gained in subsequent steps may mean jumping back and forth. 1. Select a paper topic depth and/or breath; do some searching for sources before committing 2. Create an outline fairly detailed; be specific 3. Make reference notecards 3X5 cards; one per source; code them uniquely; write reference in APA format on one side; summaries go on back (BE CAREFUL NOT TO PLAGIARIZE) 4. Make idea notecards use 4X6 cards; for each source, record most important elements needed for paper; denote direct quote material is a specific way 5. Plan the paper per the outline group your idea cards topically to plan a strategy; synthesis ideas into a coherent pice 6. Write the rough draft with the outline, cards, and plan, youve essentially created the paper upfront; so here focus on the depth and length of each paragraph/section, similar diction (word choice), and transitions. 7. Write the final draft if the instructor does not require a draft turned in, have a peer or someone in the writing center review it for you; ask the peer to jot down an outline as they read it for assessment of comprehension and audience III. APA Format Typing Instruction Review the APA Writing Checklist.
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Chapter 10: The Basics APA Format

And Yes, grammar and spelling do matter. IV. In Body Citation: Direct Quoting versus Paraphrasing A. Paraphrasing should be used most often Summarize the work in your own words Include authors names, year Body of sentence or parenthetically - & versus and No paragraph in a literature review (introduction) should lack at least one citation B. Direct Quote When cannot summarize in any way three or more consecutive words Too many make the piece choppy; no flow or transition Include quotation marks and authors names, year, AND page or paragraph number (Smith, 2001, p. 213) Pdf versus html text versions 40 or more words is blocked with no quotation marks For both: If three or more authors, list all first time then first et al. afterward If six or more authors, may use first et al on first citation Credit goes to original author cite primary sources o If impossible, then we write, As cited in Smith and Wesson (2001), Kidd concluded that rifle bullets have a higher trajectory than those of shotguns (1921). V. Writing the Reference Page Here are two helpful sources for the visual learner: Template in the APA Manual pages 41-59. An APA Paper Template Review them both. Sources are arranged alphabetically by first authors last name Titles and degrees are not references First names are not referenced just initials Must reference all authors If the same person authors more than one source, oldest ones are listed first Electronically retrieved sources require additional information see pages 187-215.

http://faculty.txwes.edu/mskerr/files/2303_ch10.htm[Nov 26, 2011 12:13:40 PM]

Chapter 10: The Basics APA Format

Lets do some practice with this made up article: Dr. Tony Bolloni published his review titled, Why Mice Prefer Cheddar Cheese Over American Cheese, in the quarterly journal, American Cuisine. It was published in 2004 in the third issue of the 76 th volume and appeared on pages 211-224.

http://faculty.txwes.edu/mskerr/files/2303_ch10.htm[Nov 26, 2011 12:13:40 PM]