Fillable Printable Sample APA Paper Template
Fillable Printable Sample APA Paper Template
Sample APA Paper Template
Running head: APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 1
Introduction to APA Publication
Style for Research Reports in Psychology
Dawn M. McBride
Illinois State University
APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 2
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to describe and model APA-style of writing for research
reports. Each section of an APA-style paper is described and is written according to the
APA-style guidelines to allow you to use it as a model. The Abstract summarizes the
main points of the paper in 120 or fewer words. The Introduction should describe the
research topic and hypotheses and the support for these hypotheses. The Method is
written in subsections: Participants, Design, Materials, and Procedure. The study should
be described in enough detail to replicate it. The Results section describes the data and
any statistical tests used. The Discussion restates the hypotheses, giving evidence if they
are supported.
APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 3
Introduction to APA Publication
Style for Research Reports in Psychology
This paper is designed to help you understand the formatting and organization of
an APA style research report. Each section of the report is described in its appropriate
location within the report.
The first section of the main text of the report is the Introduction. The purpose of
the Introduction is to (a) describe the purpose of the study, (b) place the study in the
context of previous research on the topic, and (c) justify your hypotheses (Smith, 2006).
Each paragraph of the Introduction should bring the reader closer to understanding why
the study was done and what hypotheses you are making.
The first paragraph of the Introduction should introduce the general topic of the
study. Do not begin too generally (e.g., discussing all of psychology), but do not begin
too specifically either (e.g., by stating the hypothesis). Be sure to define any terms you
are using that are specific to the field of study. Indicate what your operational definitions
are.
In subsequent paragraphs, you should be building a case for your study. Explain
what has been found in previous research on this topic, describe what gap exists in this
literature, and explain how your study will fill the gap (i.e., provide a unique study that
will contribute new knowledge in the area).
Toward the end of your Introduction, you should briefly describe the design of
your study in such a way that it connects to the justification you’ve given for the purpose
of the study and leads to your hypotheses. Be sure to briefly review the justification for
APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 4
your hypotheses. Do not simply state your hypotheses and assume the reader will know
why you are making them.
Method
In the Method section, you should describe the details of how the study was
conducted. You should provide the reader with enough information to be able to replicate
your study. Details that are not important for replication should not be included (e.g.,
what type of pencils the participants used, etc.). The reader should also be able to
evaluate the appropriateness of your methods for the hypothesis you made. Method
sections may vary in the number of sections the authors include, but the most common
sections are described below. The entire Method section should be written in past verb
tense.
Participants
Describe who participated in your study. How many participants were in the study
and how were they selected/recruited? In what way were the participants compensated for
running in the study? Were any data sets deleted? If so, why were they deleted? Describe
any demographics of the participants that important to the study. If you’ve conducted an
experiment, indicate how many participants were assigned to each condition.
Design
The design may appear separately in a journal article or it may be combined with
another section (e.g., Materials section). Either way, it is important to explain the design
of the study. What variables were manipulated and/or measured? How were they
APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 5
manipulated/measured? If there are independent variables in the study, indicate the levels
of each variable and whether each variable was manipulated within- or between-subjects.
Materials
Describe the materials used in the study. What were the stimuli? How were they
developed? If appropriate, provide examples of the stimuli. Provide citations if the
stimuli have been used in previous research. If there are questionnaires or surveys,
describe them and relevant reliability and validity statistics.
Procedure
Describe the procedure of the study in chronological order. Explain what the
participants did in the order they did them. Summarize the instructions. What tasks did
they perform? In what order did they perform them? If different participants were
exposed to different conditions, explain the differences in the conditions.
Results
You should begin your Results section with a statement of you dependent
measure. In addition, in your results section you should describe the analysis conducted
on your data. Also report the outcome of the analyses (e.g., means, standard deviations, t
values, F values, etc.). Know the correct format for reporting statistics. Tables and figures
may accompany your results section. Use tables or figures when they more clearly
display results. Never include the same data in both a table and a figure (McBride &
Wagman, 1997).
Discussion
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The first part of your discussion should review the hypotheses you stated in the
introduction and you should state which hypotheses were supported by the data. State
which results provided the support for a particular hypothesis.
In the second part of the discussion section you should compare your results to
past studies, particularly studies discussed in the introduction. If the results are not the
same, discuss possible reasons for the difference.
Lastly, in your discussion section you should discuss the validity of your study.
Were there any possible confounding variables that could have affected your results? If
so, what were they and how did they specifically affect your data? You may also want to
propose future research.
The discussion section is less rigid than the other sections in format. You have
more freedom here to discuss any relevant issues pertaining to your study. Be sure to end
your Discussion section with a paragraph summarizing the contribution of your study.
See the Appendix for some additional APA-style writings tips.
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References
McBride, D. M., & Wagman, J. B. (1997). Rules for reporting statistics in papers.
Journal of APA Style Rules, 105, 55-67.
Smith, K. C. (2006). How to write an APA-style paper in psychology, Journal of APA
Style Rules, 114, 23-34.
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Appendix
Additional APA-style Writing Tips
______________________________________________________________________
8 1/2 X 11 inch good quality paper
Use 1 inch margins
All text double-spaced
Start References on new page
No low resolution printers
No handwritten corrections
Indent paragraphs five letter spaces (this can be more than five space bar strikes on a
word processor program)
No hyphenated broken words
Left margin justification for body of text
Do not right justify - leave right margin broken
Number all pages except figures in upper right margin with short title (see Appendix A)
Don’t forget to include a Running head on the Title Page
Include a separate page for figure captions
Correctly present numbers, including statistical copy
Use the metric system for all measurements
Use past tense to describe aspects of the study
Avoid sexist language
Spell check your work
APA STYLE FOR RESEARCH REPORTS 9
Appendix (continued)
Maintain correct subject-verb agreement
Do not underline words for emphasis (italicize them)
Know the proper procedure for citations
Carefully reference every work used in your paper
