SCS 502: APA Style Guide Overview

This course requires the use of the publication format guidelines provided by the American
Psychological Association (APA) in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association, sixth edition.

This document provides specific information on how to use APA format for your writing
assignments in this class. An APA-style paper consists of the following elements:

1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Methods
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. References

For an APA-style template for use during this class, see the APA Style Template document.


Title Page

Running Header
The header on the top left of your title page should read, Running head: (ABBREVIATED
TITLE OF FINAL PROJECT). The words Running head should appear exactly as it does
here, with only the first letter capitalized. The words Running head should appear only
on the title page. Every other page should only have the compact form of the title, with
all letters capitalized, as the header in the top left corner.
In the top right corner of each page, with the exception of the title page, include the
page number (beginning with 2). According to APA style, all type should be in 12-point
Times New Roman.

Title
Your title should consist of four lines in the center of the page.
The first line should be the title of your paper. Titles should be simple and informative.
You can use the form exemplified here: The Effect of the IV (independent variable) on
the DV (dependent variable). Your title, however, should not be in quotation marks.
The second line should consist of the authors name (in this case, your own name).
The third line should state your institution (Southern New Hampshire University).
Finally, the fourth line should state the class and assignment number (SCS 502,
Assignment #___).


Abstract

The abstract should begin on a new page (after the title page) and is a summary of key
research components.


The abstract is limited to 150250 words and reads as a quick preview to the
information contained within.
The abstract belongs on its own page, with subsequent sections beginning on a new page.


Introduction

Review of Background Literature
When drafting an APA-style paper, one might think of the paper structure as shaped like
an hourglass. In keeping with that visual imagery, the first section of your paper should
begin very broadly by introducing basic concepts and previous research that relate to
your research study.
Briefly describe the studies or experiments in the past research, noting the procedures,
results, and, most importantly, how it relates to your own study (for example, explain
how your study could further develop the theories supported or observations recorded
in a previous study). If you are having trouble connecting past research to your current
study, think about the questions the past study raises. Is your study attempting to
answer one of them?

Defining Theories and Terms
You should also introduce and define any theories or terms that an intelligent layperson
(someone not familiar with the field of psychology) would not automatically know.
These terms include the ones in your textbook, as well as the theories/terms covered in
various modules.
Refer to your textbook for definitions of specific terms, but always remember to cite
your work.

Hypothesis
The introduction section of your research article should end with your hypothesis, which
acts as your thesis statement for your research.
The purpose of the introduction is to introduce your hypothesis gradually, going from
general psychological processes or theories to the specific assumption you are trying to
put forth (this creates the top of the hourglass).
A well-written introduction should be a roadmap to your hypothesis; the reader should
be able to get to your hypothesis and think, Well, of course thats what they were going
to study!


Methods

Participants
Discuss the participant group of your study.
Include the number of participants and the demographic information relevant to your
study, including age, gender, ethnicity/race, and geographical location.
Show these demographics as percentages or ratios instead of describing every
individual; do not include specific names.


Procedure
The procedure describes how you plan to perform the study; this is your methodology.
When explaining your research proposal, be specific and exact so that others could
possibly replicate your study procedure if they wanted to retest your findings.
Write the section in paragraph form, not as a list of steps.
Remember to identify the independent and dependent variable(s) and to give a sample
question if a questionnaire was used.
In order to ensure ethical parameters, remember to plan to give informed consent
and/or a debriefing statement at the studys end.


Results

This is where you state the anticipated results of your research.
Specify what statistical test you might use to calculate and interpret your results.
If drafting a test after your experiment was run, you would not interpret your results in
this section. You would interpret your results in the discussion section.


Discussion

Recall that this section will be slightly different in your final project because you are preparing a
proposal and your experiment has not yet been run. Normally, however, the discussion section
should contain these five main parts: hypothesis, previous research, limitations, future research,
and impacts. They are covered below, but your final project will include only the following topics
within your discussion section: ethical concerns, threats to internal validity, external validity
and generalization, and suggestions for study replication. Note that these sections do not need
to be written in that order, but you should try to devote at least a paragraph to each point.

Hypothesis
You should always begin your discussion by reiterating your original hypothesis, and
state whether your results supported the hypothesis.
You can go into some detail here. For instance, if your results did not support the
hypothesis but instead displayed a different pattern, you should discuss what you
actually found.
Never say that your results proved your hypothesis or a theory. In the behavioral
sciences, we do not prove a theory correct but rather disprove a theory by providing
enough opposing evidence.

Previous Research
Whether results supported the hypothesis or not, you should mention previous research
and compare results.
Keep in mind the differences between your methodology and that of other researchers.
What does your study contribute to the pre-existing literature on your topic?



Limitations
Discuss what aspects of your studys design and procedure could have been improved to
get better results, while still testing the same variables.
Keep these questions in mind when assessing limitations:
o Were your operational definitions precise? That is, did the variables you tested
really reflect the psychological process you wanted to study?
o Was your procedure consistent across conditions?
o Was there some aspect of the participant group that could have skewed results?
(For instance, would having an all-female, or all first-year participant group
influence findings?)
o Did the researcher give clear directions for how to perform the experiment?
Do not just list the limitations. Also discuss how they could be addressed in the future.

Future Research
In this section, you should discuss the What now? aspect of your experiment. You
should propose some suggestions for future research on your topic.
Suggestions should not just fix the limitations you have discussed in the previous section.
Rather, just as you thought about the questions raised in previous studies, think about
the questions that went unanswered in your study.
For instance, what would be the effect of changing one of your variables?

Impact
By now, you have made it to the bottom of the hourglass. Your discussion should then
focus on the impact of your results on the real world. You are encouraged to be creative
here. After all, whats the point of doing research if you cant use the results anywhere?
How do your results relate to individuals?
How could they be used to solve problems in the community?
How could these results be applied to things such as legislative policy or education?


APA References

Your reference page includes all the sources you used to write your final project,
including your textbook, and should begin on a separate page.
For a more detailed explanation of how to construct your reference page based on the
types of sources that you selected, refer to the APA manual (Section 6, pages 174180).