Research Methods; Ch. 15: APA style & format
If you wish to publish an article, the first question is:
"What portion of the science community do I want to read my article?"
What section is information on how the results support the hypothesis location?
discussion
What the results of the study mean is the focus of the ___ section
discussion
Only research articles that contain multiple experiments are likely to contain:
general discussion.
The Abstract
Summary of the ENTIRE article. -Written last even though it comes first -Summarizes in one paragraph (introduction, methods, results, and discussion)
According to the APA's publication style, in describing participants, gender refers to ____ whereas sex refers to ____.
social group, biological distinction
The changes in language proposed by the APA's publication manual is an attempt to be more:
specific.
"The Self-Stealer"
The writer "borrows" generously from his or her previous work, violating policies concerning the expectation of originality adopted by most academic institutions.
"The Photocopy"
The writer copies significant portions of text straight from a single source, without alteration.
"The Labor of Laziness"
The writer takes the time to paraphrase most of the paper from other sources and make it all fit together, instead of spending the same effort on original work.
"The Potluck Paper"
The writer tries to disguise plagiarism by copying from several different sources, tweaking the sentences to make them fit together while retaining most of the original phrasing.
"The Ghost Writer"
The writer turns in another's work, word-for-word, as his or her own.
Description of equipment used during a study should include:
- brand names, model numbers and instrumentation settings.
General Format of APA papers:
-Be typed, double-spaced -On standard-sized paper (8.5"x11") -1" margins on all sides -In 10-12 pt. Times New Roman or a similar font -Include a page header (short title & page number) in the upper right-hand of every page
Discussion
-Report major finding(s) first -Refer back to introduction -Your interpretation of the data -Potential lists of the study -Future directions
Results
-Reprot outcome of the Study -Report the statistical data -Report in terms of purpose/hypotheses -Include Tables & Figures
What does APA regulate?
-Stylistics -In-text citations -References
What format is a useful way of structuring a report:
-The hourglass format. (Movement from the beginning to the end of a text) (The shift in level of generality through the text, from the general to the specific and back to the general)
APA stylistics: Basics
-Use third person point of view rather than using the first person point of view or the passive voice. (ex. The study showed that..., NOT I found out that....) -The active voice rather than passive voice. (ex. The participants responded..., NOT The participants have been asked....)
Basic Outline of All APA papers:
1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Methods 4. Results 5. Discussion 6. References
Three reasons to cite a study:
1. Acknowledge facts 2. Direct reader to more information 3. Give credit where credit is due
Three Guidelines Pertaining to People:
1. Be specific (70-85 year olds, not "the elderly) 2. No labeling of individuals (Lesbian women, not "lesbians") 3. Acknowledge Participation Role (Participants better than "subjects", students/children/patients- be specific)
APA stylistics: Language
1. Clear: be specific in descriptions & explanations 2. Concise: condense information when you can 3. Plain: use simple, descriptive adjectives and minimize the figurative language
Three major guidelines for reducing bias:
1. Describe at the approbate level of specificity. 2. Found in the Publication Manual is to be sensitive to labels. 3. To acknowledge participation. This allows researches to be more specific. (pg 347)
Aristotle emphasized two parts of science:
1. Inquiry: For us to include the actual experiments or observations that generate the new facts. 2. Argument: Includes our responsibility to communicate our findings in oral or written form. (pg. 345)
Types of APA papers:
1. Literature Review: the summary of what The scientific literature says about the topic of your research-includes title page, introduction, list of references 2. Experimental Report: The description of your experimental research-includes title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references, appendices, tables & figures
What are the three Subsections of the Method portion?
1. Participants (side heading): -participants, number and type (#males, females, age range, etc.), method of selection, method of assignment to conditions 2. Materials (side heading): -apparatus, stimuli, instrumentation 3. Procedures: -written like a recipe. ANYONE who reads it should be able to replicate it. -Exactly what was done?-Instructions -Operational Definitions of the variables• -Nature of Data Collection• -Details of Scoring Scheme -Debriefing
Two types of audiences to whom we direct our communication:
1. Scientists: helps them consider new questions and replicate our results in their own labs. As scientist from around the world experience similar findings, the pervasiveness of a phenomenon becomes apparent. Formal communication between scientist is through published journal articles. 2. Nonscientists/psychologists: Whose findings may have direct bearing on how we relate to one another, interact with our children, ad understand ourselves. (pg. 345)
The Introduction- Five tasks
1. Tell what the research is about 2. Tell what past research was all about 3. Why more research is needed 4. State the purpose of the study 5. State hypothesis
The story of an experiment....
1. What is already known 2. Purpose of this research 3. Expected results 4. Description of what was done 5. Report of the Findings 6. Interpretation of findings 7. How the findings fit what was already know
A scientific article begins with:
A description of what is already known about the phenomenon in question.
References
Ahabetical List of all studies discussed in introduction (and other sections) -Similar to Works Cited, but use "References" instead as heading
"The Poor Disguise"
Although the writer has retained the essential content of the source, he or she has altered the paper's appearance slightly by changing key words and phrases.
What is APA?
American Psychological Association -Is the most commonly used format for manuscripts in the Social Sciences.
MLA Style vs. APA Style
MLA: works cited APA: references MLA: footnotes APA: citations in text MLA: not one continuous text APA: section headings -MLA style is NOT used in sciences -MLA style is typically reserved for writers and students preparing manuscripts in various humanities disciplines such as: (English Studies - Language and Literature) (Foreign Language and Literatures) (Literary Criticism) (Comparative Literature) (Cultural Studies)
Where should information about how research participants were selected be placed?
Method
If you write an article and place is on your webpage...
it should be marked as an unpublished paper or draft manuscript, it must be removed from the web paged if it is subsequently published, and may later be reduced by some journals for publication.
Which of the following is included in the discussion section
main results of the experiment, limitations of the experiment, and ways that your experiment relates to other similar experiments. NOT- statistical significance of the results
The section of the experimental report that is MOST important for permitting exact replication is
method
The section of the experimental report that is most analogous to a recipe is the ___
method
If an experiment used deception in her study, she ought to describe the debriefing of participants and follow up in the ___ part of article.
methods
Psychologists communicate their findings to other psychologists through
published journal articles, formal oral presentation at scientific events, and informal conversations with colleagues
Which of the following best describes the two types of audiences to which researchers communicate their research findings?
scientists and nonscientist
The final decision concerning publication of any journal article results with
the editor of the journal
