Parts of APA Manuscript

The parts of an APA manuscript Title Page Abstract Body  Literature review  Method  Results  Discussion References Tables Figures Appendices

The Title Page - Review  Title Purpose:  Quickly identify the purpose/content of your article Formatting:  Centered in upper half of page  Title Caps  Line break at logical point if > 1 line long Content:  words  Stand alone: major variables/issues and their relationships

Abstract  Purpose: Quickly summarize the contents / findings of the article  Formatting: Next page after title page Center word “Abstract” at top of page (bold) Double-space and begin typing abstract (no indent)  Content: Cover all major sections of article 150 words Stand alone

Body  Purpose: The “meat” of your article. You want to share your experiences, knowledge, opinions with the world.  Formatting: Title centered at top of first page Double space, indent, and begin your text  Content: Discuss all necessary aspects of your topic {see next slide}

Body – Experimental / Research Paper  Introduction Purpose:  Identify previous work in the field relating to your topic / study Formatting:  NO heading (e.g., “Introduction”) to start  May use headings to separate sub-sections

Body – Experimental / Research Paper  Introduction (cont’d) Content  Lit review Cite previous scientific work related to your article Logical (usually not chronological) order  Purpose of study What are you trying to accomplish / investigate?

Body – Experimental / Research Paper  Introduction (cont’d) Content (cont’d)  Theoretical issues How does your article impact the field? How has previous work in the field influenced your article?  Definitions of variables What do you mean by, “depression” or “efficient time use”?  Statement of hypotheses What do you expect to find, given the previous work in the field and your own personal twist?

Body – Literature Review Paper  Introduction Content  Theoretical issues What previous work has been done in this topic? Is there any controversy / disagreement about this topic? What are the opposing view points?  Definitions of variables What do you mean by, “depression” or “efficient time use”?

Body – Experimental / Research Paper  Other Components of the Body Method Section Results Section Discussion Section

Body – Method Section Purpose:  To relate the procedures conducted and used to gather that data for the current study  Allows for replication of your work Content  Participants / Subjects  Materials, Appartus, and Measures  Procedures

Body – Results Section Purpose  To relate the findings of your research  Be succinct, concise, no imagination Guidelines  Report results of hypotheses tests in order  Describe size and direction of significant results  Include all necessary stats to support conclusions (no RAW data)  Report any ad-hoc tests as such

Body – Discussion Section Purpose  To summarize findings and discuss hypotheses (both supported and unsupported)  Place your findings in the larger context of the field. Content  Assessment of hypotheses results  Compare / contrast, connect with theory, acknowledge alternative interpretations, applications, future research  Limitations of study