Ch. 14 APA Format

Question 1

APA Format

Answer 1

The American Psychological Association format is the standard format used for reports about psychological research

1. Psychologists have developed their own format, APA style, for the preparation of scientific reports.
2. The major sections of an APA paper include the title page (with author note), abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references, tables, figures, and appendixes (if used).
3. The title page of a manuscript includes a manuscript page header and page number, the running head, the title, and author information. The author note allows the author to thank people for their help, cite a previous presentation of the findings, and designate a contact person for further information about the experiment.
4. The abstract provides a brief (150–250 words) summary of the contents of the paper.
5. The introduction section includes a thesis statement, literature review, and statement of the experimental hypothesis.
6. The method section contains a thorough description of the participants (participants subsection), the objects used in the experiment (apparatus, materials, or testing instruments subsection), and what took place during the study (procedure subsection).
7. The results section presents inferential and descriptive statistics to describe the experimental outcomes. Figures or tables may aid in presenting the statistical information.
8. In the discussion section, the researcher draws conclusions from the experiment by summarizing the results, comparing the results to previous research, and interpreting the results.
9. The reference list provides bibliographic information for any works cited in the paper. APA format includes different reference formats for periodical articles, books, chapters from edited books, and a host of other sources.
10. The specific sections of the APA-format paper are designated by various headings. Level 1 and Level 2 headings are most commonly used with experimental reports. For more complex papers, other headings may be necessary.
11. The primary goal of scientific writing is clear communication.
12. Goals that aid in clear communication are orderly presentation of ideas, smoothness of expression, economy of expression, and a striving for precision and clarity.
13. To improve your writing style, you should write from an outline, put away your first draft before editing it, and have someone evaluate your writing.
14. You should use active voice whenever possible in writing your research report.
15. That should be used only with restrictive clauses, which include information that is essential to the meaning of a sentence. Which should be used in nonrestrictive clauses, which add information but are not essential to a sentence’s meaning.
16. Since should not be used to substitute for because, nor should while substitute for although. Both since and while should be used only for temporal (time-related) meaning.
17. Psychologists strive to use unbiased language in their writing.
18. APA style includes guidelines on such diverse matters as punctuation, capitalization, quotations, numbers, appendixes, and typing guidelines.
19. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2010) is the stylebook for psychological writing. It contains a wealth of information about the writing process.

Question 2

Abstract

Answer 2

A brief description of the research presented in an APA paper.

The abstract is a great tool to tell potential readers what you’ll be discussing and hopfully spark their interest.

Question 3

Title Page

Answer 3

The first page of an APA paper

It includes: manuscript page header, running head, title, authors and their affiliations.

Question 4

Introduction

Answer 4

1st major section of APA paper. Contains thesis statement, review of relevent literature, experimental hypothesis.

Question 5

Method Section

Answer 5

2nd major section. Contains info about participants, apparatus, materials, and the procedures used in the experiment.

This section can also have subsections.

Question 6

Method Subsections

Answer 6

In order:

Participants: Provides full info about the participants

Apperatus: When appropriate, contains info about equipment used in an experiment (can include standardized tests and materials other than the equipment used.

Procedure: Step-by-step account of what both the participants and experimenter did in the experiment

Question 7

Results Section

Answer 7

3rd Major section. Contains info about statistical finding from the experiment.

Question 8

Discussion Section

Answer 8

4th major section. Contains a summary of the experiments results, comparison of those results to prior research, and conclusions drawn from the experiment.

Question 9

Headings

Answer 9

Level 1 heading: Used to indicate a major part of a paper or book. Bolded and centered and the first letter of each major word is capitalized

Level 2 heading: Used to indicate a subordinate section. Bolded, left margin justified, first letter each word capitalized