APA format

Accepted American Psychological Association (APA) form for

preparing reports of psychological research.

The particular form for preparing APA format papers is found in the

fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (

APA format was adopted to help make the publication of

journal articles more uniform.

In addition to being computer friendly

the general layout and design of the APA-format paper are reader friendly.

Headings are titles for various sections of a psychology paper designed to

help the reader understand the outline and importance of parts of the paper.

Authors use headings to divide the

APA-format paper into sections and to help the reader understand the paper's organization.

The major components of an APA-format paper are, in order

1. Title Page 2. Abstract 3. Introduction 4. Method Section 5. Results Section 6.Discussion Section 7.References 8.Appendixes (if any) 9. Author note 10. Tables (if any) 11. Figures (if any)

Title Page

The first page of an APA-format paper.

What does the title page include?

It includes the manuscript page header, the running head, the manuscript's title, and the name(s) of the author(s) and their affiliation(s).

Manuscript page header

The first two or three words of the report's title. Appears with the page number on each page of the research report.

Running head

A condensed title that is printed at the top of alternate pages of a published article.

The running head should

be a maximum of 50 characters, including letters, punctuation, and spaces between words.

When you type the running head on the title page, it is in

all capital letters.

Also, note that the

h in running head is not capitalized.

Abstract

The word "Abstract" is centered and appears two lines below the page number. ; A centered section title in which the first letters of major words are capitalized is designated as a level 1 heading.

Level 1 heading

A centered section title in which the first letters of major words are capitalized; Occupies a line by itself.

The abstract of an experimental report consists of

a brief (up to 120 words) one paragraph description of the research presented in your paper.

The paragraph that comprises the abstract should include

a description of the intent and conduct (including participants and method) of your project, the results you obtained, and the project's implications or applications.

It is important to note that the abstract is typed in

block form; there is not indentation on the first line.

Introduction

The first major section of the APA-format paper. Contains the thesis statement, review of relevant literature, and experimental hypothesis.

Your introduction section begins on

page 3 of your report.

The level 1 heading from this section is

the title from page 1. Be sure that it is exactly the same in both places.

The introduction starts off

broad, then narrows to a specific focus leading to a logical experimental question

Introduction should include a thesis statement which indicates

general topic in which you are interested and your general view of the relation of the relevant variables in that area.

Note that every fact based statement is supported by

a citation to a reference.

If you wish to locate one of the references cited,

you can find the necessary information in the reference section.

Citation

A notation in text that a particular reference was used.

The citation provides the

name(s) of the author(s) and date of the work's publication.

Reference

A full bibliographic record of any work cited in the text of a psychological paper.

Reference section

A complete listing of all the references cited in a psychological paper.

A second point on writing in APA style is that

the use of unbiased language is imperative.

Unbiased language is language that does not

state or imply a prejudice toward any individual or group.

Method

The objective of the method section is to provide sufficient detail about your experiment to enable readers to evaluate its appropriateness or replicate your study should they desire.

The method section is typically made up of

three subsections: participants, apparatus (also designated materials or testing instruments), and procedure.

Method is a

level 1 section heading.

The participants subsection

enumerates and describes the experimental participants.

Participants is a

level 3 heading.

Level 3 heading

A section title that is left-margin-justified, underlined, and has the first letter of each major word capitalized. Occupies a line by itself.

The subsection on participants answers three questions

1. Who participated in the study? 2. How many participants were there? 3.How were the participants selected?

Materials subsection

The second subsection of the method section.

When appropriate the materials subsection contains information about

materials other than equipment used in the experiment.

If you use equipment in the experiment, you should label this subsection

Apparatus.

If your "equipment" consists of standardized psychological testing materials, then the label

Testing Instruments (or Measures) would be appropriate.

Procedure

The third subsection of the method section.

The procedure provides a step by step account of

what the participants and experimenter did during the experiment.

Your primary goal in the procedure subsection is to

describe how you conducted your experiment.

You should give enough information to allow a

replication of your method, but do not include unnecessary details.