1. APA Publication Manual is currently in its 6th version since 1929. APA manual presents rules for the preparation of manuscripts for publication. Some of the rules may seem arbitrary, but They provide a way to have clear and consistent communication to reviewers/readers In the APA manual, there’s a sample paper on p. 41

2. Page Numbers Used to identify the pages as part of your article if they get separated Your title page is page 1 All other pages have subsequent page numbers In Microsoft Word 2003, go to View, Header and Footer, and click on #. Justify right In the new version of Word, go to Insert, Header, Edit Header, and click on page #. Running head The R is capitalized; the h is not Then a colon Then an abbreviated title in all caps (less than 50 characters) Title of your paper, Your Name, Affiliation (Caldwell College) Double spaced in center of page Put your title on several lines if it’s long Note: The course name, professor’s name, and the date are NOT placed on the title page

3. Brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article Can be read on PsycINFO Do not add to what’s in the paper. Summarize. Number of words varies depending on journal – no more than 250 words Abstract for an empirical study: Problem under investigation Important characteristics of participants Most important and interesting features of your method Basic findings Conclusions, implications, applications Format On page 2 (with Running head) Type Abstract in bold, centered at top of the page. Type of the abstract itself as a single paragraph without indentation.

4. This is called the running head. The R is capitalized, and the h is not. Then comes the colon, a couple spaces, and an abbreviated title. If the title of your paper is short, sometimes the running head is identical. Notice that the abbreviated title is in ALL CAPS. This goes on every page. This is the title. It is centered on the page vertically and horizontally. It’s double-spaced, and the first letter of most of the words in the title are capitalized. Your name goes here. It’s double spaced under the title. The name of the affiliation goes here. It’s double-spaced under the title. Notice that the name of the class, your professor, and the date ARE NOT written anywhere on the paper. 1 Running head: CHOICE AND ON-TASK BEHAVIOR Effects of Choice on On-Task Behavior in Children with Autism Tina Sidener Caldwell College Page number – Use Header function in Word to Insert page numbers.

5. Put your title on the first line of page 3 Use headings and subheadings appropriate to the paper. If you had 3 levels of headings, they’d look like this… Method Participants and Setting Response Measurement and Data Collection On task. On schedule. Pre-experimental Procedures Imitation assessment. Preference assessment.

6. e.g., This means, “for example” i.e., This means, “that is” Example Reinforcers (e.g., Skittles, Bumbleball) This means that Skittles and Bumbleball were 2 examples of reinforcers, but there were other reinforcers Reinforcers (i.e., Skittles, Bumbleball) This means that Skittles and Bumbleball were the ONLY reinforcers that were used If you want to abbreviate a long term that you’re using, put the abbreviation in parentheses the first time you use it. Subsequently, only use the abbreviation (don’t switch back and forth) Example Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) was used to reduce problem behavior NCR was effective in reducing problem behavior for Joey

7. Incorrect: the learner makes their response Alternatives The learner makes the response Learners make their responses The learner makes his or her response The learner makes his response Alternate with his and her throughout text if you’re talking about more than 1 person

8. If you use an idea from another source, you must cite it (avoid plagiarism) 2 ways to do this…. As part of the text of a sentence According to Carr and Smith (2000), … In 2000, Carr and Smith evaluated… At the end of a sentence Research has shown that this technique is very effective (Carr & Smith, 2000). Research has shown that this technique is very effective (e.g., Carr & Smith, 2000).

9. The first time you cite a source, provide the entire citation Smith, Kelley, Balsam, and Cheney (2005) reported that… Reeve and Progar (2007) If you cite that source again in your paper, shorten it to Smith et al. (2005) concluded that… Reeve and Progar (2007) ---would stay the same Omit the year from subsequent citations after the first nonparenthetical citation within a paragraph. 1 st time – Sidener (2007); 2 nd time – Sidener Include the year in subsequent citations if first citation within a paragraph is parenthetical. 1st time – (Sidener, 2007); 2 nd time – Sidener(2007)

10. If you use the exact words from another source, you must Put them in quotes Provide the page number Shouldn’t need to quote unless you’re providing a definition or the person said something very eloquent or noteworthy 2 major ways to do this Within a sentence …is “the greatest invention of the 20 th century” (Reid, 2003, p. 394). At the end of a sentence Reid (2003) claimed that it’s “the greatest invention of the 20 th century” (p. 394).

11. If you are citing more than 1 article, list them in order alphabetically by last name and separate them with semicolons. Only two studies have evaluated this phenomenon (i.e., Carr & Smith, 2000; Tuttle & Kramer, 1996)

12. Type Reference or References in bold on the first line centered at the top of the page. Different types of sources are listed differently – you may have to look it up A good trick to know… To indent your references correctly in Microsoft Word, select the entire reference Then choose the hanging indent triangle in the ruler at the top of the page Move it to the right to 0.5” Journal Article Examples With digital object identifier – see www.doi.orgwww.doi.org See example of doi at http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/ Kline, A. H. (2004). Effects of reinforcement on student behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 576-578. doi:10.1037/02786133.24.2.255 Without doi Kline, A. H. (2004). Effects of reinforcement on student behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 576-578. Retrieved from http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/

13. Book Examples Entire book Kline, A. H. (2004). Reinforcement and its effects. Hillsdale, NJ: Context Press. Book chapter Cooper, L. S. (2006). Positive reinforcement. In A. H. Kline (Ed.), Reinforcement and its effects (pp. 200-249). Hillsdale, NJ: Context Press.

14. After your references page Caption is placed directly below the figure Should be a brief but descriptive phrase Single spaced (only use single-space for figs. & tables) Examples: Figure 1. Percentage of intervals with vocal stereotypy and motor stereotypy across conditions for Jenny. Figure 2. Vocalizations per session for Mark (top panel) and Jenny (bottom panel) during Experiment 1.

15. General Rule: Use figures to express numbers 10 and above Use words to express numbers below 10 Exceptions – Use figures for ALL numbers when they… Are grouped for comparison with numbers above 10 (e.g., 2 of the 20 responses) Immediately precede a unit of measurement (e.g., 10.54 cm) Represent statistical or math functions, time, dates, ages, numbers of participants, sums of money (e.g., multiplied by 5, 2-year-olds) Denote a specific place in a numbered series, parts of books or tables, and each number in a list of four or more numbers (e.g., Table 3) Exceptions – Use words for ALL numbers when they… Begin a sentence, title, or heading Are common fractions (e.g., one fourth) Have a universally accepted usage (e.g., the Fourth of July) Exceptions – Combine numbers and words to provide clarity 2 two-way interactions Ten 7-point scales Twenty 6-year-olds The first 10 items

16. The word data is plural. Correct: These data are interesting. Incorrect: This data is interesting. You model and children imitate. Hyphenation Hyphenate an adjective and noun combination when it precedes another noun (e.g., low-frequency words; 5-min session). Hyphenate a compound with a participle when it precedes the noun it modifies (e.g., role-playing techniques) Do not hyphenate a compound that includes an adverb ending in ly (e.g., widely used test) That and Which That clauses are essential to the meaning of the sentence (e.g., The children that met criterion began the new curriculum) Which clauses merely add further information (e.g., The discrimination programs, which had multiplied like flies, were strenuously edited)