
First, read the article! Take notes and try to answer the following questions about the study in your own words:
• What was the purpose of the study? The hypothesis?
• Who were the subjects? How were they selected? How many per group? How were they assigned to groups?
• What procedure was used to test the hypothesis?

Describe the operational definitions of the IV(s) and
DV(s), including the different levels of each IV.
• What were the results and conclusions?

Provide enough detail so that a reader who is unfamiliar with the article can understand the study, but avoid excessive detail.

Cite the source in APA format
• Learn how to use your APA Manual!!!


Do not plagiarize from articles OR from other students!

Review the academic honesty policy at:
• http://www.sjfc.edu/PDFs/AcademicHonesty.pdf

Complete the Plagiarism Tutorial on the Blackboard if you need more help

Be sure to cite your sources in APA format in the text of your paper (pp. 207-214) and in the References (pp. 215-281)
• Generally, you should cite a source once per paragraph
(unless you are discussing more than one source in the same paragraph, see p. 208 in APA Manual), and it is best to cite the source at or near the beginning of the paragraph.


One work by one author (section 3.94, pp. 207-208):
• Ponicki (1974) conducted an experiment to investigate…
• In a recent study of reaction times (Walker, 2000), researchers found…


Always cite both names (section 3.95, p. 208):
• Johnson and Cooper (1992) found that…
• One study has shown that cats are just too much trouble (Johnson & Cooper, 1992).


Cite all names the 1st time and later cite just the first author followed by et al. (section 3.95, p. 208)
• First time citing the source:
 Gardner, Phelan, and Beam (2004) did a study…

One study investigated whether people prefer cats or dogs (Gardner, Phelan, & Beam, 2004).
• Later, if citing same source again:
 Gardner et al. (2004) found…

One study found some people prefer cats to dogs
(Gardner et al., 2004).


Six or more authors (section 3.95, p. 209):
• Cite only the 1st author followed by et al.
the 1 st time as well as in later citations
 Doe et al. (2005) conducted a study….
 One study (Doe et al., 2005) found that…


Always type your writing assignments.
• Use 10-12 point standard font.
• Double-space all lines.

Refer to authors by last name only.

Do not mention titles of works.

Do not cite sources that you have not read (secondary sources).

Quotations should be rare – no more than one or two brief quotes per paper (and must be properly cited with source and page # in other classes).

Capitalize proper nouns (e.g., Stroop effect).

Do not capitalize names of disorders (e.g., bulimia) unless they involve proper nouns (e.g., Parkinson’s Disease).

Use past tense when describing studies that have been completed.

See Ch. 2 (pp. 31-76) of the APA Manual on Expressing Ideas and
Reducing Bias in Language.


Organize your paper so that it flows smoothly (sections 2.01-2.02).

Be as clear and concise as possible. Avoid wordiness, jargon, and redundancy (sections 2.03-2.04).

Use different strategies to improve your writing (see section 2.05)
• e.g., outlines, drafts/revisions, reading the paper out loud, having others read your paper, visiting the Writing Center or
Professor…

Avoid writing in an informal or indirect tone. Be formal and direct.
• Avoid: “In the article by…” OR “The study that I read…”
• Better: “Doe (2005) conducted a study to investigate….”
• Also avoid contractions (e.g., don’t
) and slang (e.g., ain’t
)

Use more active language.
• Avoid: “Participants were given a test…”
• Better: “Participants took a test…”


Avoid biased or unscientific language
• Never use the word prove or its variations
• Avoid words such as thought, felt, believed or said . Instead use words such as hypothesized, reasoned, found, investigated…
• Studies are designed to test hypotheses, not to prove or support hypotheses. Also, hypotheses are neither correct/right nor incorrect/wrong .
• However, the results may either support/be consistent with the hypothesis or fail to support/be inconsistent with the hypothesis.

Be sensitive to labels and avoid them if possible (pp. 63-76)
• Avoid: bulimics, alcoholics
• Better: “Women diagnosed with bulimia…”

Acknowledge participation
• Use participants, men, women when referring to humans
• Use subjects, males, females when referring to animals


See sections 3.42-3.49 (pp. 122-13) in APA Manual
• Numbers 0 to 9 are words
• Numbers that begin a sentence are always words
• Numbers 10 and up are digits (unless they begin a sentence)
• Units of measurement (e.g. age, time, etc.) are digits (unless…)


See descriptions in sections 1.06-1.15 (pp. 10-30)

Instructions for typing the paper are on pp. 296-302

Sample papers can be found on p. 306-320 of the APA Manual , and in Ch. 16 of the Gravetter and Forzano (2006) textbook

The major sections of an empirical paper (that we will be developing in our class) include:
• Title Page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Method
 Participants
 Materials or Apparatus
 Procedure
• Results
• Discussion
• References


Margins for entire paper should be 1” on all four sides, and all lines should be double-spaced

Page header (abbreviated title, no more than three words) and page number should be in upper right corner on every page, beginning with title page

Running head : located upper left at margin; actual running head is in capital letters and limited in length (see APA Manual, pp. 12
& 296)

Title : centered on page; summarizes the topic and main variables of the study; 10 – 12 words

Your name(s) and institution are below the title and centered

See sample papers in APA Manual and textbook for examples!


Formatting:
• It is on a page by itself just after the title page with the heading (Abstract) centered (no bold or italics)
• Do NOT indent the first paragraph
• It does not exceed 120 words
• All numbers are digits, except at the start of a sentence

See section 1.07 in APA Manual

The abstract should, as concisely as possible, summarize:
• the purpose and hypothesis of the study
• the method that was used to test the hypothesis (including brief descriptions of the participants and procedure)
• the results (include the p value but do not include the other statistics) and conclusions

 Should be written in “funnel” fashion, moving from the general to the specific

1 st paragraph should introduce topic in a general way
• Identify and define/explain the general topic under study
 Start by identifying a central theme (thesis) that connects the articles that you read as well as the study that you are about to describe

Define or explain the essential elements of the theme


Main body should review the relevant past literature (i.e., the articles you read) and use the articles to logically develop your hypothesis
• Do not simply paste together article summaries
• You want to build an argument!
• Briefly explain each article, but also indicate how the studies are related, similar to, and different from one another

Discuss how each article relates to your central theme

Highlight important similarities and differences


Last paragraph should contain a clear statement of the research purpose, hypothesis (or hypotheses), and variables
• How does the information in your introduction logically relate to the general purpose of your study? How is your study related to your central theme?
• State your hypothesis clearly
• Identify your IV(s) and DV(s)
• What type of research design was used to test your hypothesis?

Remember that you should use past tense to describe studies that have already been completed (including the studies in the articles and your own study)


Describes how your study was done in enough detail so that the reader can
• understand and evaluate your study
• replicate your study

Formatting
• New section with heading centered and capitalized but not underlined or italicized
•
Not a new page (should begin at end of Introduction)
• Subsections are named, italicized, and left justified

Participants : number of participants, age, gender, groups, and how they got into the groups

Materials or Apparatus : (if needed)

Procedure : Should describe details of your design (including the IVs and DVs and how they were operationally defined) and explain what was done, how, and where.


Who were they?
• Where were they from (e.g., college, city, state)?
• Include other important characteristics (e.g., gender, age range)

How many (total) and how were they selected?
 How did they get put into groups?
• If appropriate, state that participants were randomly assigned, but do not explain the procedure for random assignments (e.g., a coin toss)
• How many per group?


Describe any special equipment needed for study
• e.g., computers, special laboratory equipment

Describe any special materials need for study
• e.g., surveys, tests, particular websites (give URL)
 Do not include ordinary items such as pencils and paper


Include important details for understanding/replicating the procedure

Organize by describing the procedure step-by-step in chronological order
• Where did the procedure take place?
• What happened first? Then what happened next?

Be sure to identify and operationally define the variables by describing the manipulations and measurements
• What did the participants see, hear, and/or do at each step?
• How were the different levels of the IV manipulated?
• What was the DV? How was it measured?


Describes what data were analyzed and how, and provides results of statistical analyses

Formatting
• New section with heading centered and capitalized but not underlined or italicized
•
Not a new page (should begin at end of Introduction)
• Statistical symbols are italicized
 Be sure to include
• Descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations) for each DV.
• Inferential statistics

Types of statistical tests used and results of each test


Formatting: New section beginning immediately after results, with heading centered and not underlined or italicized (section 1.11)

Start with a clear statement of whether or not your results support your hypothesis, and explain the meaning of your findings.

In the next paragraph or two, discuss how your study and results compare with previous research:
• Compare your findings to the studies cited in your introduction, and discuss important similarities and/or differences and how they relate to your overall theme or thesis
• Do not simply repeat information from your introduction
• Organize your discussion so that it flows logically and smoothly

End the discussion with a paragraph or two highlighting:
• the major conclusions and implications of your study
• any important limitations of your study
• suggestions for further research


See Ch. 4, pp. 215-281 in APA Manual

Include only articles cited in the text of your paper (section
4.01). Likewise, anything cited in your paper must appear in the
References.
 Articles in the References list should be arranged in alphabetical order (section 4.04).
• Double-space all lines.
• Left justify the 1st line for each new reference.
• Indent subsequent lines for the same reference.

Pay careful attention to forms for different types of references such as articles, books, electronic sources, etc. (section 4.07).

Examples of references for journal articles are on pp. 239-241.

Examples of references for electronic sources (including online journal articles) can be found beginning on p. 268.

References
Doe, J. D., Ray, L. S., & Mee, T. P. (1997). The relationship between alcohol use and aggression. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 39, 206-218.
Doe, J. D., Ray, L. S., Mee, T. P., Fah, K. G., Sow, J. H., & Lah, D. Y. (1999).
The effects of alcohol on aggressive behavior in laboratory rats [Electronic version]. Journal of Animal Psychology, 9 , 6-12.
Smith, M. T. & Jones, R. S. (1994). Effects of alcohol on inappropriate behavior . Journal of Experimental Psychology, 35 , 176-183.