Introduction to Research Chapter 2

Abstract

You should write the abstract last because it provides a summary or over-view of the entire manuscript.

Abstract

A 150-250-word summarization of your entire article in block format.

Title page (Sections 2.01, 2.02, 2.03)

A title page includes a running head, page number, title, author name(s), and affiliations.

Why/how do you use an inverted triangle within the introduction?

It is helpful to use an inverted triangle approach when writing an introduction because it allows the reader to see why the study was conducted. This approach starts off broad and introduces readers to the general topics. Next, the introduction begins to narrow in focus by presenting the reader with a summary of previous research in the area. Finally, the introduction specifies how the current study will contribute to the literature and the predicted hypotheses.

American Psychological Association

Writing within the field of psychology follows a standard form developed by the

Referencing

___________________ the work or ideas of others is important.

Tables and Figures

often used to simplify results that would be difficult to present in the results sections.

Abstract (Section 2.04)

A 150-250-word summarization of your entire article in block format.

How do you decide when to use a direct quote within the text and when to use a block quotation format?

A direct quote is used when there are fewer than 40 words. However, when there are 40 or more words, a block quotation is used.

Hunt, A. B. (1992). Factors that predict academic success. Hunt, A. B. (1994a). American Indian academic challenges. Hunt, A. B. (1994b). Success rates of college students.

As in within-text citations, if the same first author is cited in more than one reference, the references are listed from earliest date of publication, and if the same first author has more than one reference with the same date of publication, suffixes following the date are assigned alphabetically by the first word in the title.

Journal Article

Author, A. A. (xxxx). Title of journal article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), pp-pp. Crawford, R. (1986). Why bother? Discipleship Journal (33), 41.

Specific Chapter within a Book

Author, A. B. (xxxx). Title of book chapter. In A. Editor and B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. XX-XX). Location: Publisher. Crawford, R. (1992). How to memorize large sections of scripture. In B. H. Wilkinson (Ed.), Almost every answer for practically any teacher! (pp. 127-129). Portland, OR: Multnomah Press.

Books and Book Chapters

Author, X. X. (xxxx). Title of book. Location: Publisher. Harris, R. J. (2009). A look at media influences. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State Press.

Why is it beneficial for the field of psychology (and most social sciences) to have an agreed-upon formatting style?

First, it is beneficial for the field of psychology and other social sciences to have an agreed-upon formatting style because it brings simplicity to reading the works of others. Second, by using a standard style, readers know what to expect and where to look for information.

Within-Text Citation

First, you can provide the last name of the author as part of the text, with the date of publication in parenthesis. A second option would be to give the author's last name, followed by a comma, and date of publication in parentheses at the end of a sentence or paragraph. A final approach is to give the date and author's name as part of the text. Appear throughout the content of your document, alerting the reader that the information you just presented is from another source

Morgan, A. D. (1998). Morgan, A. D., Bonds-Raacke, J. M., & Raacke, J. D. (1997).

If an author has a work published alone and is also the first author of another work with coauthors, the one author published work is listed first (even if multiple author work was published earlier).

If an author has a work published alone and is also the first

If an author has a work published alone and is also the first author of another work with coauthors, the one author work is listed first (no matter what the publication date).

Crawford, A. R. (2000). Crawford, A. S. (2015).

If two different authors have the same last name, you alphabetize by the initials of the first name. If the first initial happens to be the same for both authors, use the initial of the middle name for alphabetization.

References

List your references at the end of the manuscript. Should be double-spaced and follow the hanging indent format. For a hanging indentation, the first line of each reference begins aligned with the left margin, and any subsequent lines for that same source are indented. Is organized alphabetically by the last names of the authors. If there is more than one author, then alphabetize using the last name of the first author.

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Longer quotations, _____ or more words, are not included within the text. Rather, a block quotation format is used. • Option 1 The authors acknowledge the issue of the sample: This study is not without limitations. To begin, the primary demographics of users were traditional age, first-year college students. It could certainly be the case that the identified dimensions for this sample would not be the same for users of friend networking sites with varying demographics. (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2009, p. 25) • Option 2 Bonds-Raacke and Raacke (2009) acknowledge the issue of the sample: This study is not without limitations. To begin, the primary demographics of users were traditional age, first-year college students. It could certainly be the case that the identified dimensions for this sample would not be the same for users of friend networking sites with varying demographics. (p. 25)

Raacke, J. D., Bonds-Raacke, J. B., & Davis. S. (2010). College student perceptions of movies. College Student Journal, 4, 18-25.

Note that the same format is used with as many as seven authors. Commas are used to separate authors and to separate last names and initials. An ampersand is placed before the last author.

Writing Your Introduction

Outline of introduction 1. Introduction of Topic 2. Review of Previous Findings on Topic a. Chronological Order b. Topical Order 3. Explanation of Why Additional Research is Needed a. Problems/Inconsistencies b. Gaps in the Literature c. Tensions 4. Current Study a. How it Solves or Addresses Issues Brought Up in #3 b. Hypothesis(es) c. Overview of Methods

McIntry, J. D. (1989). Morgan, A. D. (1998).

Prefixes such as Mc should be listed alphabetically by the literal spelling.

The rules for writing in Psychology in America.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

Journal Article Online

Raacke, J. D., Bonds-Raacke, J. B., & Davis. S. (2010). College student perceptions of movies. College Student Journal, 4, 18-25. doi: 10.2000/456

Morgan, A. D., Bonds-Raacke, J. M., & Smith, J. D. (1997). Morgan, A. D., Raacke, J. D., & Thomas, R. P. (1997).

References with the same first author but different second author should be alphabetized by the last name of the second author.

Crawford, A. S. (CORRECT) Crawford, Amy Suzanne (INCORRECT)

Remember to use initials only for the first and middle names, as these are never written out in the reference list.

What are some important factors that your discussion section should address?

Some important factors that your discussion section should address are evaluation of hypotheses, relation of results to previous research, limitations of current design, and future research ideas.

Tables (Sections 5.07-5.19) and figures (Sections 5.20-5.25).

Tables and/or figures are located after the reference section and are a visual-representation of results not reported in the manuscript.

. What are the main parts of a manuscript?

The main parts of a manuscript are as follows: title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references, and tables/figures.

When citing a source within the body of a manuscript, you have three standard options to pick from. The first option is to provide the last name of the author in the text and the date of publication in parenthesis. What are the other two options?

The other two options for referencing a citation are to (a) give the author's last name, followed by a comma, and date of publication in parenthesis at the end of a sentence and (b) provide both the author's name and date as part of the text.

Introduction

The purpose of the introduction in a manuscript is to introduce the topic and place it in the context of research within the field.

Introduction (Section 2.05)

The purpose of the introduction in a manuscript is to introduce the topic and place the topic in the context of research within the field. An introduction follows an inverted triangle format by starting off broad in scope and becoming narrower.

Method

The purpose of the method section is to provide readers with information on how you conducted your study.

Method (Section 2.06)

The purpose of the method section is to provide readers with information on how you conducted your study. The method section includes information on the experimental design used, how the participants were selected, how the participants were assigned to conditions, a description of any controls features used such as counterbalancing, a paraphrased version of the instructions given to participants, and a step-by-step description of what participants did.

References (Section 2.11)

The reference section is a list of all the work cited in the manuscript.

Results

The results section allows you to present the findings of your study to readers

What are the two subsections of the method section?

The two subsections of the method section are the participants and the materials/procedure.

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There are _______ main sections to an APA-style manuscript: Chapter Two in the Publication Manual.

Results (Section 2.07)

This section allows you to present the findings of your study to readers. You present these findings by providing information on the descriptive and inferential statistics that were utilized.

Discussion (Section 2.08)

This section is the part of your manuscript where you restate the purposes of your study, evaluate your hypotheses, relate the results to prior research, and discuss any limitations to your work.

There are seven main sections to an APA-style manuscript:

Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References, Tables and Figures

References

Very important to reference the sources that contributed to your work. This practice is important because it gives credit to previous authors for their contributions. • References cited in the text must appear in the reference list. • References cited in the reference list must appear in the text. • Only include sources that you actually used in the text in the reference section. This is different from bibliographies. Bibliographies can include suggestions for further reading on a topic.

When referencing a journal, what elements of the reference are in italics?

When referencing a journal, the title of the journal and the volume number (not issue number) are in italics.

When you have three authors, how is the reference cited the first time and on subsequent citations?

When you have three authors, the last names of all three authors are listed on the first citation. However, on subsequent citations, only the last name of the first author followed by et al. is listed.

An author note

can also be included on the title page. An author note has many purposes but the main purposes are to provide readers with the contact information for one of the authors and provide acknowledgments.

Header

of the title page, you will find the running head and page numbers. The running head is contained in the header, aligned left, and appears on all pages of the manuscript. The running head is a shortened version of the title and should be no more than 50 characters. The page number appears in the header and is aligned right. The title page is page number 1.

Title

should provide readers with the main topic of the manuscript. It is recommended that titles contain meaningful terms, as it will be shortened for the running head, and be no more than 12 words. The title is centered on the upper half of the page in uppercase and lowercase letters.

Typical Sources

the most commonly cited types of sources are periodicals (i.e., journals, newsletters, and magazines) and books. You can either read journal articles from the original journal or retrieve them through an electronic database, for example, in a PDF format.

Quotations

use _____________ if you decide to replicate work from another author word for word. • Example 1 Bonds-Raacke (2009) stated that "couples taking college courses together reported an increase in satisfaction with college life" (p. 25). • Example 2 Results indicated that "couples taking college courses together reported an increase in satisfaction with college life" (Bonds-Raacke, 2009, p. 25).

semicolons

use _______________ to separate the references and list the works alphabetically by the first author's last name. Example Using social networking sites is related to self-esteem (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2007; Burns, 2006; Thomas, 2009).

On the line immediately following the title

you center the name of the author(s). The preferred format is first name, middle initial(s), and last name.

On the second line following the title

you list the affiliation of the author(s). The affiliation is typically a college or university.

Discussion

you should briefly restate the purpose of your study, evaluate your hypotheses, relate your findings to previous research in the field, addressing potential limitations and shortcoming of your study, and present readers with information regarding why your findings are important to the field (practical significance) and provide suggestions for future research.

Title Page

• A title page includes a running head and page number, title, author name(s), and affiliations.

Within-Text Citation 6 or more Authors

• Example 1 Bonds-Raacke and Raacke (2007a) found that using social net-working . . . • Example 2 Using social networking sites is related to self-esteem (Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2007b).

Within-Text Citation One Author

• Example 1 Raacke (2009) found that college students . . . • Example 2 It was found that college students study best at night (Raacke, 2009). • Example 3 In 2009, Raacke found that college students . . .

Within-Text Citation Two Authors

• Example 1 Raacke and Bonds-Raacke (2009) found that college students . . . • Example 2 It was found that college students study best at night (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2009). • Example 3 In 2009, Raacke and Bonds-Raacke found that college students . . .

Within-Text Citation 3-5 Authors subsequent references

• Example 1 Raacke et al. (2009) found that college students . . . • Example 2 It was found that college students study best at night (Raacke et al., 2009). • Example 3 In 2009, Raacke et al. found that college students . . .

Within-Text Citation 3-5 Authors

• Example 1 Raacke, Bonds-Raacke, and King (2009) found that college students . . . • Example 2 It was found that college students study best at night (Raacke, Bonds-Raacke, & King, 2009). • Example 3 In 2009, Raacke, Bonds-Raacke, and King found that college students . . .

Reference list

• Reference lists contain information to locate all sources cited in your manuscript. • Reference lists are organized alphabetically by the last name of the first author.

Tables and figures

• Tables and/or figures are located after the reference section and are a visual representation of results not reported in the manuscript.

Discussion

• The discussion section is the part of your manuscript where you restate the purposes of your study, evaluate your hypotheses, relate the results to prior research, and discuss any limitations to your work.

Journal Article

• The first letter of the author's last name and the first and middle initials are capitalized. The author's last name is followed by a comma with a period after each initial. • For the periodical article title (i.e., title of manuscript), you capitalize only the first word of the title, any proper nouns, and any word appearing after a colon. The title is followed by a period. • For the periodical title (i.e., title of journal), you capitalize important words in the name of the journal and italicize the name of the periodical. • The periodical title is followed by a comma and then the volume number of the journal, if there is a volume number, which is also in italics. In the example above, the periodical does not have a volume number, so one is not listed. It does have an issue number, so the issue number is listed. The issue number is provided when a new issue of a journal begins with page one instead of continuing the numbering sequence where the previous issue stopped. • Following either the volume, or the issue number if available, there is a comma. • The reference ends with the inclusive page numbers of the article and a period.

Books and Book Chapters

• The first letter of the author's last name and the first and middle initials are capitalized. The author's last name is followed by a comma with a period after each initial. • The publication date is given in parentheses and followed by a period. • For the book title, capitalize only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns. Place the title in italics and follow the title with a period. • Next, provide the location of the publishers. For within the United States, provide the city and state using official U.S. state abbreviations. For outside the United States, provide the city and country. After the state or country, use a colon. • Finally, give the name of the publisher. Words such as "Publishers" or "Company" do not need to be included. • Close the element with a period.

Specific Chapter within a Book

• The first letter of the author's last name and the first and middle initials are capitalized. The author's last name is followed by a comma with a period after each initial. • The publication date is given in parentheses and followed by a period. • For the chapter title, capitalize only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns and follow the title with a period. • Use the word "In" preceding the editors' names. When listing the editors' names, provide the initial for the first name, followed by a period, and provide the whole last name. Use (Ed.) or (Eds.) followed by a comma. • Place the title of the book in italics, capitalizing the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns. • In parentheses, use the abbreviation pp. and provide inclusive page numbers followed by a period. The pages numbers are not in italics. • Next, provide the location of the publishers. For within the United States, provide the city and state using official U.S. state abbreviations. For outside the United States, provide the city and country. After the state or country, use a colon. • Finally, give the name of the publisher. Words such as "Publishers" or "Company" do not need to be included. • Close the element with a period.

Typical sources

• The most commonly cited sources are periodicals and books. • Each type of source is cited using a standard format.

Introduction

• The purpose of the introduction in a manuscript is to introduce the topic and place the topic in the context of research within the field. • An introduction follows an inverted triangle format by starting off broad in scope and becoming narrower.

Method

• The purpose of the method section is to provide readers with information on how you conducted your study. • The method section includes information on the experimental design used, how the participants were selected, how the participants were assigned to conditions, a description of any controls features used such as counterbalancing, a paraphrased version of the instructions given to participants, and a step-by-step description of what participants did.

References

• The reference section is a list of all the work cited in the manuscript.

Results

• The results section allows you to present the findings of your study to readers. You present these findings by providing information on the descriptive and inferential statistics that were utilized.

Within-text citations

• There are three standard ways for citing a source within the body of a manuscript. • When you have a source with one or two authors, information on both authors is given at each citation. However, if there are three-five authors, information on all authors is provided only on the first citation. Finally, when there are six or more authors, information is provided only on the first author for all citations. • Direct quotations should be kept to a minimum and block quotes are used with longer quotes.

Referencing the work or ideas of others is important.

• Within-text citations • There are three standard ways for citing a source within the body of a manuscript. • When you have a source with one or two authors, information on both authors is given at each citation. However, if there are three-five authors, information on all authors is provided only on the first citation. Finally, when there are six or more authors, information is provided only on the first author for all citations. • Direct quotations should be kept to a minimum and block quotes are used with longer quotes.

Method-When describing the procedure, be sure to include the following:

• the experimental design used (e.g., identify variables and type of design); • information on how the participants were selected; • information on how the participants were assigned to conditions; • a description of any controls features used such as counterbalancing; • a paraphrased version of the instructions given to participants; • a step-by-step description of what participants did.