1. Contents and Format of APA Papers

2. Who is your audience?  Your audience is a group of colleagues.  Write your paper so that it could be understood by students in a research methods class at another university.  They will not have the exact background information that you do.  But, with sufficient explanation, they should be able to understand what you did and why.

3. Basics  12 pt Times Roman OR 12 pt Courier  Double-space everything  1” margins on all sides  Do not justify lines

4. “Content” sections Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion

5. Title Page CONTENT SECTIONS References Tables, if any Figures, if any Order of Sections

6. Example: Title Page 1 Deterrence of Marijuana Use 1 Running head: DETERRENCE OF ADOLESCENT MARIJUANA USE Legal and Social Factors in the Deterrence of Adolescent Marijuana Use David G. Peck Shippensburg State College

7. What goes on the Title Page  Title  Name(s) of author(s)  Affiliation - e.g. North Seattle Community College  Running head  Short Title/Page # (in header, on all pages)

8. Title of the Paper  10 to 12 words  needs to summarize main idea of paper (3 types) DESCRIPTIVE: Effect of Alcohol on Decision Making NATURE OF QUESTION: Does Alcohol Affect Decision Making? INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS: The Interfering Effect of Alcohol on Decision Making

9. Other Title Page Items  Running head: abbreviated title, no more than 50 characters, CAPITALIZED The words “Running head:” must precede and are NOT capitalized  Short Title: 2-3 words, shorter than running head, appears in header of each page (except figures)  Page number in upper right, 5 spaces from short title, appears in header of each page

10. Example: Title Page 2 Memory Impairment 1 Running head: RESISTANCE TO MEMORY IMPAIRMENT Similarity of Encoding Context and Resistance to Memory Impairment Following Misinformation Laura L. Bowman and Maria S. Zaragoza Kent State University

11. Example: Abstract Mode and Misinformation 2 Abstract Information presented after an event is often remembered as part of that event. Several theories involving processes such as encoding, storage, and retrieval have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Paivio (1986) has hypothesized that linguistic and sensory information are processed in separate sub-systems. Thus, whether or not the post-event information is processed by the same subsystem as the original information might determine whether the post-event information is remembered as part of the original event. In this experiment the mode (either verbal or pictorial) of presentation of both the original and post-event information was varied. The post-event information was more likely to be remembered as part of the original event when the post-event information was presented in the same mode as the original event than when the modes were different.

12. Abstract  Gets its very own page  Is not indented  Does not need to be very long (no more than 150 words)  Should include summary of: Goal of study Method Result Tie into theory

13. The Body of the Paper  Broad general statements  Progressively narrows to specifics of study  Broadens out to general considerations …can be described as an hourglass

14. Introduction answers the following questions:  What is the point of the study?  What are the theoretical hypotheses, and how were they derived?  What are the theoretical implications of the study, and how does the study relate to previous work in the area?  How do the hypothesis and the experimental design relate to the problem?

15. Example: Introduction Misinformation and Event Form 3 Memory of Original Event and Post-Event Information Presented in Verbal or Pictorial Form Information about events often comes from sources other than the events themselves. When remembering an event, people will often combine memories from the original event with memories from other sources. This is useful because it allows information from various sources to be used to form a more complete description of the event. However, it can also lead to confusion and inaccurate memories. For example, if there are two sources of memories of the same event, then one source may contribute information about a particular episode in the event that conflicts with information from the other source. Several effects of conflicting information from different sources on the recall of an event are possible. One possibility is that newly encoded information may replace the older memories causing the old information to be lost. If that were the case, then the person would remember the new information only and could not recall the original information. Another possibility is that information from both sources is stored in memory, and either may be recalled. If this is the case, then whether one or the other of the memories is recalled could depend on

16. Introduction- Mechanics & Style  Begins on a new page (page 3)  The word “Introduction” never appears  Title appears on top of first page (centered)  Remember to summarize, be careful not to PLAGIARIZE  Cite relevant research  Create transitions between topics of research.

17. Example: Method Misinformation Effect 14 the person would remember the new information only and could not recall the original information. Method Participants Thirty University of Washington students participated as a course requirement. The mean participant height was 177 cm, four participants were over 185 cm tall, and the maximum participant height was 194 cm. All participants were responsive to a 30 volt electric shock. Materials Words and clues were chosen at random from the New York Times crossword puzzle. The mask consisted of a row of ‘X’s the same size as the word they mask. All words were presented in white with a black background. Clues were given on a typed page. There was one clue per page. Apparatus A Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11/23 computer controlled the presentation of all computer generated displays. The CRT was a Hewlett Packard 1310A with a fast white P4 phosphor. Electric shocks were generated using a model 1994 Orwell 1000

18. Method  Starts right after Introduction (not on a new page)  Uses appropriate details so that others can replicate and evaluate the experiment.  6 possible sub-sections: Participants, Materials, Stimuli, Apparatus, Design, & Procedures  Sometimes sub-sections can be combined e.g. Stimuli & Apparatus  only use sub-headings relevant to your study

19. Results  Continues right after Method (not on own page)  Overall If any data were removed and why  Descriptive Statistics (TREND) comparison of means to show trends in data Use at least one figure/table, refer to it here  Inferential Statistics (RELIABILITY) Tell the reader which test you used Give BOTH the test value and EXACT p-value rounded to the nearest thousandth (when possible)

20. Results Section...  summarizes results in English  includes descriptive statistics  uses figures and tables to get information across  starts with central findings and then moves on to peripheral findings

21. Example: Statistics the difference was significant, t(28) = 4.1, p <.001. no difference was found, F(1, 28) = 4.3, p =.318.

22. Tables and Figures  Mention Figures and Tables in consecutive order in text (Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, etc) NOTE: Always capitalize them.  ‘Figure 1 shows the means for…’, ‘Mean RT was higher in the masked condition (see Table 1)..’  All the figures and tables should be attached AFTER the REFERENCES  all figures and tables NEED to be on SEPARATE pages (will be at end of paper)  Give titles, label & mark axes, indicate units

23. Example: Figures

24. Example: Tables Table 3 Proportion of items recognized by source, conflict condition, and type of presentation (slide or questions). ___________________________________________________________ Recognized _____________________ Items presented First Second Both Average ___________________________________________________________ Slides First Only.72 -- --.72 Second Only --.68.49*.68 Both First and Second.64.63. 37.63 Questions First Only.72 -- --.72 Second Only --.59.42*.59 Both First and Second.57.34.05.46 ___________________________________________________________ * Values that appear in the 'Second Only' row and the 'Both' column are estimates of mean number of cases in which both the first and the second items would be recognized using first and second only conditions as estimators and assuming independence.

25. Discussion  Continues after Results (not on own page)  Refer back to your results and give evaluations such as: “the results are consistent with the hypothesis that….” “there was a trend in the direction of” - if the differences were not significant and this is true  Connections between your results and your hypotheses: What do the results tell you? Does your theory best fit the data? Do other people’s theory fit best?/Other related findings? Do you have a new theory?

26. Discussion can include suggestions and improvements  What should be done to get further support for your theory?  What could be changed to improve your experiment? improve your materials change conditions (e.g. within to between subjects)  Future directions of inquiry?  Use your artistic license

27. References  Alphabetical order by first author  Chronological order for different papers from one author  Same author & same year: use a,b,c... after year

28. Example: References Don’t Forget 45 References Bekerian, D. A., & Bowers, J. M. (1983). Eyewitness testimony: Were we misled? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 9, 139- 145. Belli, R. F. (1989). Influences of misleading postevent information: Misinformation interference and acceptance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 118, 72-85. Christiaansen, R. E., & Ochalek, K. (1983). Editing misleading information from memory: Evidence for the coexistence of the original and postevent information. Memory & Cognition, 11, 467-475. Gibling, F., & Davies, G. (1988). Reinstatement of context following exposure to post-event information. British Journal of Psychology, 79(1), 129-141. Lindsay, S. D. (1990). Misleading suggestions can impair eyewitnesses' ability to remember event details. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16, 1077-1083.

29. In Text Citations  These cite the source of information in the body of your paper and are a reference for the reader to your References Page  The standard journal format permits you to cite authors in two ways.

30. Citations: Format 1 Enclose their last names and the year of publication in parentheses Example: Consent to perform a small favor increases a respondent’s susceptibility to perform a relatively large favor (Freedman & Fraser, 1966).

31. Citations: Format 2 By using their names in the sentence itself Example: Despite empirical evidence suggesting other dimensions, Brown and Levinson (1984) persist in their claim that power, social distance, and imposition are the only dimensions affecting politeness

32.  Don’t just randomly alternate between them.  In general, the first format is the most common and appropriate. The second format is used when you want to focus specifically on the authors or researcher, or go into more detail on their study. Citations: When to use which format?

33. Citations  After citing authors in one paragraph, you don’t need to give the date again in the same paragraph  More than 6 authors cite first author ‘et al.’  3-5 authors, cite all first, then subsequently can cite first author ‘et al.’

34. Final Individual Paper is due Friday, March 20 at the beginning of class.