APA Style
This information on writing in APA style is consistent with the guidelines set forth in the fifth
edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Abstract
The abstract should be presented immediately after the title page. The word “Abstract” should be
centered on the top line of the page. An abstract should be written in block form, and justified to
the left side of the page.
The abstract should be written as a brief synopsis of the paper. Generally, the abstract should
include information about the theoretical basis, methodology, participants, and results of the
experiment in approximately 120 words or less. However, it is important to remember that the
length of the abstract will vary with its purpose. Many times, presentation and journal
submissions will require an abstract of closer to 500 words. Ideally, the abstract should give
other researchers enough information to make a preliminary decision about whether or not your
paper is relevant to their own research.
Depending on when you write your abstract, its content will vary. If you write an abstract before
you conduct the study, it should include your primary objective (a statement about the
hypothesis), brief information about the participant group, and what you expect to find. If you
write the abstract after you have collected data, but have not completed analysis, you should also
include a statement about preliminary data analysis. Once your study is complete, the abstract
should include the major findings of your research project, possibly mention of statistical
methods (especially if unconventional analyses were used), and a mention of the discussion or
conclusion it has led you to.
For more information on the content and format of abstracts, see section 1.07 of the APA
Publication Manual
Title Page
The title page should be a succinct representation of the topic. There are four main parts to every
title page: the title, the byline, the running head, and the page header.
The title should identify the independent and dependent variables being examined, or at least the
main theoretical issues. Because the recommended length of a title is 10-12 words, it is a good
idea to use only words that are necessary for conveying the purpose of the article, and avoid
words that might serve as “fillers.” It is not necessary to include such phrases as “An
Examination of” or “A Study of” because it is assumed that a published article has been written
to describe research or literature. The title should be centered and positioned part way down the
title page.
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The byline consists of the name and affiliation of the author. The recommended method of
reporting the author’s name is the first name, middle initial, and last name. This is not a hard and
fast rule, but it is a good idea to keep the way your name is listed consistent throughout your
professional career so that others can more easily reference your work. Titles such as Dr.,
Professor, and PhD should not be included as part of the author’s name. The author(s) should be
identified in the line below the title, and institutional affiliation should be indicated in the next
line. Institutional affiliation is simply the location where the research was conducted.
The running head is a shortened version of the title that is published at the top of each page of an
article. The running head should appear, in capital letters, at the top left of the title page.
The page header should be included in the top-right corner of the title page. The page header
should consist of the first few words of the title, five spaces, and then the page number. The page
header should continue on all pages throughout the paper.
For more information on titles and title pages, see section 1.06 of the APA Publication Manual.
Introduction
The Introduction comes immediately following the abstract. The title of the paper should be
centered on the first line of the page. The introduction section (as well as the rest of the paper)
should be double-spaced, and written in paragraph form. Margins should be set at 1” for the top,
bottom, and sides of the page. The font should be limited to something simple such as Times
New Roman, Arial, or Courier. The font size should be 12 throughout the body of the paper.
The introduction is used to introduce and explain the specific problem you are investigating as
well as relevant literature published on the topic. This will not only give your readers a brief
overview of the history of the topic you are studying, but will also supply a thorough explanation
of the theoretical issues, concepts, and direction of your paper. It is important to remember that
an introduction is not a comprehensive literature review; only include literature that is relevant to
the study at hand. Avoid using quotes, and cite as often as needed.
The literature review section of the introduction should integrate all the literature into coherent,
connected paragraphs. It is not a good idea to present each article in its own paragraph without
relating it to similar theories or methodologies used by other studies.
The last paragraph (or two) of the introduction should include a concise statement of the
objectives of the study, and a clear statement of the results you expect to find.
When using information from another’s research, it is imperative to cite the original work. The
two most common ways to do this are as follows: first, tell about something that has been found
in another study and then put the author’s last names and a year in parenthesis like this (Zinser &
Chumney, 2004); second, work the names of the author’s into the sentence and include the year
in parenthesis immediately after the names.
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For more information on the writing style, content, and formatting of the introduction section,
see section 1.08 of the APA Publication Manual.
Method
The method section of the paper follows the introduction. The purpose of this section is to tell
readers about your research: who was involved, the apparatus and materials used, and the actual
procedure used to collect data. After reading the entire method of an experiment, another
researcher should have enough information to replicate the study you are reporting. The method
section should not start on a new page; it should just go wherever the introduction section ends.
“Method” should be centered directly below the introduction, and the body of the paper should
follow. Each subheading (Participants or Subjects, Apparatus, Materials, Procedure) should be
justified to the left and italicized on its own line.
The first section of the method should focus on the participants or subjects involved in the study.
When humans are used, they should be referred to as participants; use “subjects” when the
research is conducted with animals other than humans. This section should describe the
participants (sex, age, number of participants) and any appropriate group characteristics
(socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity). You should identify the methods
used to select participants and assign them to the experimental conditions.
The next section, when needed, should describe the apparatus used in the experiment.
The third section is for describing the materials. Without losing the reader in details, describe
any materials used in the study. Examples of materials commonly used (and discussed in this
section) are scales and questionnaires.
The fourth and final section of the method is the procedure. This should include a detailed
account of each step of the research. It is acceptable to include subheadings in this section, but
only when they are really necessary. The procedure should give enough information for a reader
to accurately replicate your research, including recruitment of participants, administering of
materials, and data collection.
For more information about the method section, see section 1.09 of the APA Publication Manual.
Results
The results section is started right after the method ends, not on a new page, with “Results”
centered on its own line. Put simply, this section reports what you find. The results section
should include information on the statistical procedures used to analyze the data, any significant
relationships, and any patterns in the data. It is appropriate to report effect sizes, significant
levels, and other statistics in this section.
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For more information on what to include in the results section, see section 1.10 of the APA
Publication Manual.
Discussion
The discussion section begins with “Discussion” centered directly below the last line of the
results section. This is part of the paper where you should use fewer numbers and more words to
describe your data and its trends. The discussion should include a review of the hypothesis and
whether the results support it, implications of the findings, and limitations of the study. Often,
this section also includes ideas on ways to continue, improve, or expand the study through
further research.
Although a professional style should be maintained throughout the paper, the discussion section
allows for a more personal approach to the writing. Not only should you describe the data, you
should really discuss how it relates and either supports or does not support the hypothesis.
NEVER say that your hypothesis was PROVEN or that your experiment showed that one thing
CAUSED another. Instead, indicate that the data SUPPORTS the hypothesis, and that the study
identified a RELATIONSHIP between two or more variables.
For more information on the discussion section, see section 1.11 of the APA Publication Manual.
References
Despite the fact that it comes after the body of the paper, the reference section is a vital part of a
research paper. This is where other people will be able to see what research led you to your
current project, and gain insight to the full scope of the issue. Most articles include from 20-50
references, but this really depends on the topic and the type of study being reported. Sometimes,
an area of research is new enough that it’s nearly impossible to find 20 sources. The number of
references you should have depends on the topic and the scope of the experiment you are
reporting.
The results section begins on a new page, with “Results” centered in the top line. This section is
also double-spaced. The first line of each source reference should be against the left margin, but
subsequent lines should be indented. There are rules and guidelines for citing every type of
reference imaginable.
The type of reference we will deal with most is a journal article. This is what the format should
be: authors, year of publication, article title, journal name, volume and issue numbers, and page
numbers. Here is an example:
Mahiri, J., & Conner, E. (2003). Black youth violence has a
bad rap. Journal of Social Issues, 59(1), 121-140.
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The appropriate usage of punctuation is vital to constructing a reference list in accord with APA
guidelines. Note the placement of periods, commas, and parenthesis, and the use of capital letters
and italics in the above example.
For more information on the correct format to use with various types of sources, see section 1.13
of the APA Publication Manual.
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