Scribd
Upload
2 views12 pages

Lecture 16

The document outlines the structure and components of an APA-style research report, including the title page, abstract, introduction, literature review, method, results, discussions, references, and appendices. Each section has specific requirements, such as the title's clarity, the abstract's concise summary of the study, and the method's replicability. It emphasizes the importance of presenting research questions, methods, and findings in a clear and organized manner.

Uploaded by

m30985484
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2 views12 pages

Lecture 16

The document outlines the structure and components of an APA-style research report, including the title page, abstract, introduction, literature review, method, results, discussions, references, and appendices. Each section has specific requirements, such as the title's clarity, the abstract's concise summary of the study, and the method's replicability. It emphasizes the importance of presenting research questions, methods, and findings in a clear and organized manner.

Uploaded by

m30985484
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

Title Page and Abstract

An APA-style research report begins with a Title. The title is centred in


the upper half of the page, with each important word capitalized. The
title should clearly and concisely (in about 12 words or fewer)
communicate the primary variables and research questions. This
sometimes requires a main title followed by a subtitle that elaborates on
the main title, in which case the main title and subtitle are separated by a
colon.
some titles from recent issues of professional journals published by the
American Psychological Association.
• Gender Differences in Coping Styles and Implications for Depressed
Mood
• Effects of Aging and Divided Attention on Memory for Items and
Their Contexts
• Below the title are the authors’ names and, on the next line, their institutional
affiliation—the university or other institution where the authors worked when
they conducted the research. As we have already seen, the authors are listed in
an order that reflects their contribution to the research. When multiple authors
have made equal contributions to the research, they often list their names
alphabetically or in a randomly determined order.
• For articles that are being submitted for publication, the title page also
includes an author note that lists the authors’ full institutional affiliations, any
acknowledgments the authors wish to make to agencies that funded the
research or to colleagues who commented on it, and contact information for
the authors. For student papers that are not being submitted for publication—
including theses—author notes are generally not necessary.
The is a summary of the study. It is the second page of the
manuscript and is headed with the word Abstract. The abstract
presents the research question, a summary of the method, the basic
results, and the most important conclusions. Because the abstract is
usually limited to about 200 words, it can be a challenge to write a
good one.
Introduction
The begins on the third page of the manuscript. The heading at the
top of this page is the full title of the manuscript, with each
important word capitalized as on the title page. The introduction
includes three distinct subsections, although these are typically not
identified by separate headings. The opening introduces the
research question and explains why it is interesting, the literature
review discusses relevant previous research, and the closing
restates the research question and comments on the method used to
answer it.
The introduction, which is usually a paragraph or two in length,
introduces the research question and explains why it is
interesting. To capture the reader’s attention, researcher Daryl
Bem recommends starting with general observations about the
topic under study, expressed in ordinary language (not technical
jargon)—observations that are about people and their behaviour
(not about researchers or their research; Bem, 2003
Literature review

Immediately after the opening comes the , which describes relevant previous research on the
topic and can be anywhere from several paragraphs to several pages in length. However, the
literature review is not simply a list of past studies. Instead, it constitutes a kind of argument
for why the research question is worth addressing. By the end of the literature review, readers
should be convinced that the research question makes sense and that the present study is a
logical next step in the ongoing research process.
The closing

The closing of the introduction—typically the final paragraph or two—usually includes two
important elements. The first is a clear statement of the main research question or hypothesis.
This statement tends to be more formal and precise than in the opening and is often expressed in
terms of operational definitions of the key variables. The second is a brief overview of the
method and some comment on it appropriateness.
Method

The method is where you describe how you conducted your study. An important
principle for writing a method section is that it should be clear and detailed enough
that other researchers could replicate the study by following your “recipe.” This
means that it must describe all the important elements of the study—basic
demographic characteristics of the participants, how they were recruited, whether
they were randomly assigned, how the variables were manipulated or measured,
how counterbalancing was accomplished, and so on
Results

The result is that where you present the main results of the
study, including the results of the statistical analyses. Although
it does not include the raw data—individual participants’
responses or scores—researchers should save their raw data
and make them available to other researchers who request
them.
Discussions

The is the last major section of the research report.


Discussions usually consist of some combination of the following elements:
•Summary of the research
•Theoretical implications
•Practical implications
•Limitations
•Suggestions for future research
References
The references section begins on a new page with the heading
“References” centred at the top of the page. All references cited in the
text are then listed in the format presented earlier. They are listed
alphabetically by the last name of the first author. If two sources have
the same first author, they are listed alphabetically by the last name of
the second author. If all the authors are the same, then they are listed
chronologically by the year of publication. Everything in the reference
list is double-spaced both within and between references.
Appendices, tables, and figures

Appendices, tables, and figures come after the references. An is appropriate for supplemental
material that would interrupt the flow of the research report if it were presented within any of
the major sections. An appendix could be used to present lists of stimulus words,
questionnaire items, detailed descriptions of special equipment or unusual statistical analyses,
or references to the studies that are included in a meta-analysis.
after any appendices come tables and then figures. Tables and figures are both used to present
results.

You might also like