Writing a Research Report in
APA Publication Style
A Research Article
A concise description of
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Your logic
Relevant previous research
Your procedures and results
Your interpretation of the findings
Everything needed to evaluate your
thinking & your study
APA format simplifies writing process
Major Sections of Research
Article Manuscript
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Method
 Subjects
 Apparatus
 Procedures
Results
Discussion
References
Appendices (if
needed)
Tables
Figure Captions
Figures
Major Sections of Senior
Seminar Manuscript
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
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The world as it is
 Supporting research
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What is missing
Purpose Statement
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Project Description
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 Supporting research
The “Fix”
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How it fixes the problem
 Supporting research
Summary & Conclusion
leading to project
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Blueprint for action
Who, what, where, when,
how, how much, etc.
Tables & Figures if needed
References
Appendices (if needed)
Tables
Figure Captions
Figures
Title Page
Page header
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(1st 3-4 words of tile & pg. 1)
Running head: flush left top (below
header; max 50 characters)
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All caps
Concise Title (upper & lower case)
Authors & affiliations (no titles!)
Page Header
Activity Levels in Children
Running head: ACTIVITY LEVELS IN CHILDREN
Running Head
Title
Author
Affiliation
Activity Levels in Children
Kris A. Grappendorf
California State University, Bakersfield
1
Abstract
Center & type “Abstract”
No indentation (left justified)
A concise summary (max. of 960
characters; ~ 120 words) of research
project
Goes on a separate page (page 2)
Although the abstract is first, it is often
written last, after the paper is finalized
abstract is usually published in data bases
Activity Levels in Children
2
Abstract
The abstract is the second page in your paper.
It is flush left with no paragraph indent. It
should not exceed 120 words.
Introduction
Title of Paper (do not write “Introduction”)
Outlines for reader the logic of your study &
how your study relates to previous research
Usually ends w/ specific hypotheses tested in
your research study
Well written IF the hypotheses seem to
follow clearly from the material presented in
the introduction
Referencing Work of Others
Throughout paper, you should reference
ideas & work of others by author & date
using APA format as shown below
Compton (1994) argued that the results were an artifact of
a failure to control experimenter effects.
Some have argued the experimenter effects could have
accounted for the results (Jackson, 1994).
Several researchers (Jackson, 1994; Perkins & Brown,
1992; Rossberg, 1989) disagree with this interpretation.
Method
Includes a detailed description of subjects,
measures, & procedures
Previously published measures or
procedures should be referenced
Enough detail should be included so that a
knowledgeable researcher could replicate
exactly the procedure
Results
Should include a summary of the finding,
statistical tests, & summary statistics
 Descriptions of subjects
 Tests of the hypotheses
 Secondary analyses
May use tables & figures to help organize
the presentation
Reporting Statistics
APA format for reporting statistics
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Reporting t-tests
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Group A was significantly slower than group B, t(38) =
3.21, p < .01.
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Reporting ANOVAs
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There was a significant main effect for training, F(2, 63) =
4.01, p < .05.
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Reporting chi-squares
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Boys were significantly more likely to drop out of the
program than girls, X2(1, N=50) = 7.96, p < .01.
Tables
Tables are numbered consecutively & are
placed after the reference page
Title of table should be underlined
Tables should be referenced in text, but not
duplicated; if you describe everything in a
table in the text, the table is unnecessary
See next slide for an example table
Sample Table
Table 1
Average rate of program completion in each groupа
broken down by sex
Traditional
Enhanced
Basic
Males
58%
67%
82%
Females
67%
70%
73%
а
N = 21 males and 22 females.
Figures
Figures are numbered consecutively
(independently of tables)
Figures appear at the very end of the paper
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Camera-ready copies of figures should be
included when submitting a paper for
publication
Figure captions for all figures appear on a
separate page just before the figures
Sample Figure Caption
Figure Caption
Figure 1. Percent reporting improvement
during the week.
Sample Figure
100
80
60
Cognitive
Behavioral
Analytic
%
40
20
0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Discussion
You interpret the results of your study in this
section for your readers
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Summarize the findings
Relate the findings to your hypotheses
Relate the findings to previous research and the
hypotheses of others
Acknowledge weaknesses in your study
Discuss directions for further research
References
Every study mentioned in the paper must be
included in the references
Ordered alphabetically by author and date
Examples of reference format
Sagen, C. (1995). The demon-haunted world. New York:
Random House.
Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K. J., Jaycox, L. H., & Seligman,
(1995). Prevention of depressive symptoms in schoolchildren:
Two-year follow-up. Psychological Science, 6, 343-351.
Writing Style
Want to achieve good technical writing
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Precise
Concise
Well organized
Writing manuals can be helpful
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Strunk & White’s (1979) Elements of Style
Zinsser’s (1994) On Writing Well
Summary
Final step of any research project is
communicating the results
APA Publication Style
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Provides an organizational structure to facilitate
communication
Divides the report into sections
Provides sufficient information for the reader to
understand and replicate the study