Your Research Paper
Guidelines
Spectra of Science
Basic APA Guidelines
Type 12 font
Times New Roman
Double-spaced
1 inch margins all around
Parts of the Paper
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Title Page
Table of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
Background
Experiment
Materials
• Experiment
Methods
• Data Analysis
• Conclusions
• Appendix
• References
Title Page
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Title of Paper
Your Full Name
Period
Date Submitted
• Running Head
All Centered in
center of page
In header;
Table of Contents
• Includes the names
of all sections of
your paper
• Page number on
which the section
begins
Abstract
• This is a brief description of your
overall project and findings. The
purpose of an abstract is to provide a
summary of the project that will
inform interested individuals of the
contents.
• No more than 250 words.
Introduction
• This is a brief introduction to your
project. It should contain a description
of your problem, purpose, hypothesis
and experiment. Be sure to explain why
your project and its findings might be
important to you or others.
• 2-3 paragraphs
Background
• Discuss your research findings. What
did you need to learn more about to
better understand your project and
what did you find? (I.e. What is an
electrolyte? What is the structure of
a horse’s eye?)
• This is also the section where you will
do most of your citations.
• Minimum of 2 pages
In-Text Citation
Plagiarism is illegal!
What do I have to cite?
TO CITE:
• •ALL Quotations MUST
be cited•
• Any information,
thought, idea, or opinion
gathered from a source
must be cite
NOT TO CITE
• Common knowledge does
NOT need to be cited•
• Your own opinion does
NOT need to be cite
•Either quote the text verbatim and put the
quote in quotation marks
•Completely paraphrase the information
•It’s better to overcite than undercite.
(Jackson, 2011)
How do I cite it?
• Place in parenthesis at the end of the
sentence, in this order, separated by
commas:
– Author(s) last name
– Year of publication (if known)
– Page number (if known)
• If any of these is unknown (not given),
leave it off
• If any of these pieces are included in the
sentence itself, you do not need to cite it
at the end in parenthesis
Example 1
She stated, "Students often had difficulty
using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199).
("Owl purdue online," 2011)
Example 2
She stated, "Students often had difficulty
using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she
did not offer an explanation as to why.
("Owl purdue online," 2011)
Example 3
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had
difficulty using APA style, especially when it
was their first time" (p. 199).
("Owl purdue online," 2011)
Example 4
Jones's (1998) study found the following:
Students often had difficulty using APA
style, especially when it was their first time
citing sources. This difficulty could be
attributed to the fact that many students
failed to purchase a style manual or to ask
their teacher for help. (p. 199)
("Owl purdue online," 2011)
Example 5
APA style is a difficult citation
format for first-time learners
(Jones, 1998).
("Owl purdue online," 2011)
Experimental Materials
• List the materials you needed to
gather in order to complete your
experiment. It may be appropriate in
some cases to explain where certain
unfamiliar items can be obtained. This
may be a bulleted list.
• Includes what type, brand, how much
of each material and correct sizes
Experimental Methods
• Explain the Methods of your project
step by step. Give a detailed set of
instructions on how you carried out
your experiment. Include how you built
all involved mechanisms and
contraptions.
• Be Detailed and Specific!
Data Analysis
• Explain and discuss the data you
collected, quantitative and
qualitative.What trends or patterns
did you notice?
• You will want to refer to your charts
and graphs that appear in the
Appendix.
– See Figure 1 in the Appendix.
Conclusions
– Summarize your findings
– Return to your hypothesis and compare your
experiment results to your hypothesis. Are
they the same or different? Why do you
think?
– Draw a conclusion(s). Make sure you can
support these conclusions with your data.
– What did you learn from the experiment?
– Try to give a scientific explanation for what
occurred.
Conclusions Cont’d
– Return to your problem question and
determine if you have an answer. (Even if
the answer is: “I still do not have an
answer.”)
– Discuss errors that may have occurred that
could have affected the reliability of your
results.
– Explain why your findings are important.
– What is the next step?
Appendix
• This where you
place all your
charts, diagrams,
graphs, and/or
pictures.
• (Label each as
Figure 1, 2, 3, etc.)
• Minimum of 2
References
• In MLA it is called a “Bibliography”
• Cite all your sources where you found
information presented in your paper
using correct APA format.
Citing References
Plagiarism is illegal!
Reference Page
• Alphabetized
• Indent second line of same citation
• Use Citation Maker website:
http://citationmachine.net/
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Go to XHS library
Click research
Click Works cited
Click “Bibme”
Select APA format
(Lester, 2009)
For More Help…
1.
2.
3.
4.
Visit the OWL Writing Lab:
Go to our library page
Click the research tab
Click works cited
Click on OWL Writing Lab
References
Jackson, J. (2011, 10 04). Apa style workshop. Retrieved
from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/97996185/APACitation---PowerPoint
Lester, S. (2009). Sample reference page. In APA Style
Sample Reference Page (p. 2). Saint Joseph College,
Center for Academic Excellence. Retrieved from
http://ww2.usj.edu/PDF/CAE/apareferencepage_6th_ed.p
df
Owl purdue online writing lab. (2011). Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/