APA Results & Discussion Psychology 290 January 19 – 21, 2015

APA Rules to Keep in Mind Write in Past Tense First-level headings are centered and bold Remember to follow other APA rules (page layout, font, etc.), as well as consult the manual on-line Check APA format for Number formatting All numbers zero through nine are written in word form unless they are followed by a unit of measure All decimal numbers and numbers greater than 10 are written in Arabic numerals Any number that begins a sentence must be in written form Back to back numbers are written in word and number form: Twenty 20 inch monitors

Results Results section is “all about the data” All data and results (even those that run counter to hypotheses) must be reported here Summarizes data collected and stats that were run Should begin with a description of the statistical test that was used May direct reader to Tables and/or Figures Do not interpret or discuss the results

Types of Results Descriptive Statistics Inferential Statistics Means, Standard Deviations, Ranges… Tables & Figures Inferential Statistics Results of Statistical Analysis e.g. ANOVA, t Test, Correlation, Chi Square …

Reporting Central Tendency & Dispersion Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion (e.g. means and standard deviations) are often given in the Results section If you are reporting a mean, it should always be accompanied by a measure of dispersion Often presented in Tables to simplify presentation and when there are too many values to reasonably relay (See Table 1) Example in text: The mean score for men on the verbal test was 23.6, with a standard deviation of 2.10.  Example following text: Women (M = 26.94, SD = 1.98) had a slightly higher score than men (M = 23.61, SD = 2.10) on the verbal test.

Inferential Statistics The type of statistical test that you will choose depends on: The type of data collected Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio The type of research design Experimental Differential Correlational

Reporting Inferential Statistics Degrees of Freedom t (81) = 2.598, p < 0.05 The letter of the test (t, F, r, etc. and p) and M and SD all need to be italicized but not the numbers or symbols (=, <, etc.) Statistics must be part of a sentence P value tells you if the test is significant or not Type of Test Obtained Valued

What is this “p” value thing? Every decision we make as the potential to be the wrong one (i.e. due to chance rather than our manipulation) The p value is our “acceptable risk” If we set α = .05 we accept a 1 in 20 chance of making the wrong decision, therefore: If the p value is less than (<) 0.05 the test is significant If the p value is more than (>) 0.05 the test is not significant

Experimental Design ANOVA ReactionTime   Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 41.363 2 20.682 3.835 .029 Within Groups 237.275 44 5.393 Total 278.638 46 A One-Way ANOVA was performed and significant differences were found between at least two groups, F(2,44) = 3.835, p < .030. Tukey’s post hoc test revealed that participants in the Alcoholic Beverage Condition (M= 63.75, SD= 7.19) and the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Condition (M= 53.13, SD= 7.93) had significantly longer reaction times (in ms) than participants in the Water condition (M= 39.33, SD= 16.68).

Differential Design An Independent Samples t-test was performed and participants who were going to wear a Halloween costume (M= 6.02, SD= 1.02) anticipated having significantly more fun than participants who reported that they were not going to wear a Halloween costume (M= 4.40, SD= 1.30), t(74) = -5.185, p < .001.

Correlational Design A Pearson correlation revealed a significant positive correlation between the amount of fun anticipated and number of alcoholic beverages participants intended to consume, r(74) = .466, p < .001. As number of alcoholic beverages consumed increased, so did the amount of fun anticipated and vice versa.

Tables and Figures Tables and Figures may be used to clarify data being presented in a Results section however they should never appear in the body of your text Tables are often used to report means and standard deviations Figures are used to represent interactions between variables and emphasize differences between groups Direct readers by adding (Table 1) or (Figure 1) at the end of sentences in your Results section They should not repeat information presented in the Results section

Tables Tables are used to present data when it would be unmanageable to present them in the results section (i.e. too many M & SD) Are presented in the a sans serif font (e.g. Arial) size 12 Contain no vertical lines Contain minimal horizontal lines Begin with a Table number and description Follow after References and Appendices

Non-alcoholic Beverage 53.13 (7.93) Water 39.33 (16.68) SAMPLE APA PAPER 13 Table 1 Response Time of Participants (ms) After Consuming Different Beverages. Condition M (SD) Alcoholic Beverage 63.75 (7.19) Non-alcoholic Beverage 53.13 (7.93) Water 39.33 (16.68) All in Arial font

Figures Greyscale (no colours) Label Axes but do not include a title Legends (if applicable) must fall within the axis lines Figure presented in a sans serif font (e.g. Arial) between size 8 - 14 Figure Caption presented in serif font (same as body of text) size 12 Goes below the figure and describes the what is being shown No gridlines or borders (the only lines will be the axes) Follow after References, Appendices, and Tables Figure should fill the width of the page If presenting means, SD or SEM should be included as error bars

SAMPLE APA PAPER 14 Figure 1. * Figure 1. A comparison of the amount of fun anticipated by participants either wearing or not wearing a costume on Halloween. (Error bars represent +/- SEM)

APA Format Discussion

APA Rules to Keep in Mind Past Tense First-level headings are centered and bold “Method”; “Results”, “Discussion” Remember to follow other APA rules (page layout, font, etc.), as well as consult the manual on-line

General Discussion Info In this section, the goal is to discuss and evaluate your results, and whether or not the results support your hypotheses. Relate your findings to literature from Intro. You may not introduce new sources; use only sources from your Intro Start Specific and end General

Discussion must include: A clear statement of support or non-support for your original hypotheses Note: You do not prove your hypotheses; you support or fail to support them Similarities and differences between your results and those of previous research Relate to research from Introduction

Implications Implication (noun): the conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated Evaluate and interpret the implications of the results with respect to your hypotheses Include a discussion of the theoretical, clinical or practical implications of your results Implication. (2005).  In Oxford Reference Online. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t140.e37617

Limitations Limitation (noun): a limiting rule or circumstance; a restriction; a condition of limited ability; a defect or failing Highlight the shortcomings of your study Suggest explanations to account for hypotheses that were not supported Methodological (examine methodology critically) Conceptual Sources of error or bias that may have affected the results Limitation. (2005). In Oxford Reference Online. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t140.e44028

Future Research Suggestions for future research should always be made Indicate future directions this research could take Indicate improvements to methodology that may benefit future attempts to replicate What problems remain unresolved or were raised as a result of your research?

Log into Moodle and check to see if any modifications need to be made to your SPSS data file from January 5 – 7th. Once you have made the necessary modifications you are free to go.