Business ethics

APAStyleWriting.pptx

Home >Business & Finance homework help >Economics homework help >Business ethics

APA Style Writing

American Psychological Association Introduction and Rules

Rules, Plagiarism,

And Before You Begin…

APA Rules

APA Style® was established to codify the many components of scientific writing to facilitate clear communication and has enabled psychologists and scholars in other social and behavioral sciences to enhance the dissemination of knowledge in their respective fields.

APA rules are drawn from an extensive body of psychological literature, from editors and authors experienced in scholarly writing, and from recognized authorities on publication practices

Plagiarism

Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due.

Quotation marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another.

Each time you paraphrase another author, you need to credit the source in the text.

Before You Begin

Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides.

You should use a clear font that is highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.

The Cover Page

The Set-Up and the Title of Your Research

Cover Page – The Title

A title should summarize the main idea of the manuscript simply and, if possible, with style.

It should be a concise statement of the main topic and should identify the variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship between them in your paper.

Cover Page – The Title, cont.

Includes the title, your name, (which is the name of the author), and the institutional affiliation of the author when the research was conducted.

Home Baked Cakes vs. Cake Mixes

Cynthia Oglesby

University of the Potomac

Cover Page

Include a page header (also known as the "running head") at the top of every page, insert page numbers flush right.

Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The running head is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation. Example:

Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER

Pages after the title page should have a running head that looks like this:

TITLE OF YOUR PAPER (notice the words “running head” are not here after the cover page)

The Title

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. APA recommends that your title be no more than 12 words in length and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose.

Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced and no more than 12’ font.

The Abstract

The Purpose & The Format

The Abstract

Begin a new page. Your abstract page should have the running head in caps only (not the words, “running head”).

On the first line of the abstract page, center the word “Abstract” (not bolded, not in italics, not underlined, or in “quotation marks”).

The abstract is 150-250 words! Any more or any less is not an abstract.

The Abstract, cont.

Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract should contain at least your research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and 250 words.

Headings

Correct APA Format

Headings

APA Style uses a unique headings system to separate and classify paper sections. There are 5 heading levels in APA. The 6th edition of the APA manual revises and simplifies previous heading guidelines. Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1. The format of each level is illustrated on the next slide:

APA Heading Levels

Level	Format
1	Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Headings
2	Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
3	Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period.
4	Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period.
5	Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin body text after the period.

The Introduction, Oops did I say that?

The Do’s and Don’ts of the Introduction

A look at Theses Statements

Questions to Consider

The Introduction – Thesis Statement

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:

Pollution is bad for the environment.

Example of a debatable thesis statement:

At least 25 percent of the federal budget should be spent on limiting pollution.

Thesis Statement, cont.

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis, the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad:

Drug use is detrimental to society.

Example of a narrow or focused thesis:

Illegal drug use is detrimental because it encourages gang violence.

Introduction

Do not label the first part of the paper, “introduction” because it is clearly identified by its position in the paper (Use the title of your paper)

Introduce the problem

A good introduction answers the following questions in just a few pages and, by summarizing the relevant arguments and the past evidence, gives the reader a firm sense of what was done and why.

Introduction Questions to Consider

Why is this problem important?

How does the study relate to previous work or what do we already know?

What are the hypothesis and objectives of the study?

How do the hypothesis and research design relate to one another?

The Body (In-text Citations)

Short Quotations

Long Quotations

Summary or Paraphrase

Say “NO” To Dropped Quotations

A dropped quotation—a quote that appears in a paper without introduction—can disrupt the flow of thought, create an abrupt change in voice, and/or leave the reader wondering why the quote is included.

Use appropriate signal verbs, such as: adds, argues, asserts, claims, confirms, describes, discusses, notes, observes, reports, suggests, states, and writes.

How to Avoid Dropped Quotations

Sample signal phrases:

Noted journalist John Doe proposed that “ . . . ” (14).

Experts from The Centers for Disease Control advise citizens to “ . . . ” (CDC).

“. . . ,” suggested researcher Jane Doe (1).

Did I Say, Avoid a Dropped Quotation?

Use an informative sentence to introduce the quotation:

Sample introductory sentences:

The results of dietician Sally Smith’s research counter the popular misconception that a vegan diet is nutritionally incomplete:

An experiment conducted by Dave Brown indicates that texting while driving is more dangerous than previously believed:

The Body (In-text citations)

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

The Body (In-text citations)

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words, or longer, in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Jones's (1998) study found the following: Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

The Body (In-text citations)

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners. APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

The Method & Results

How did you do it?

The Paramedic Method

Relevant Results

Method

Describes in detail how the study was conducted, including conceptual and operational definitions of the variables used in the study

Professional writers understand the need for clear, concise prose. An industry standard for helping workplace writers achieve user-centered, persuasive, and clear prose is the Paramedic Method. When you use the Paramedic Method, you will reduce your word count by eliminating unnecessary words.

The Paramedic Method also helps you activate your sentences by eliminating passive voice and redundancies. The Paramedic Method is an easy to learn, systematic way to make your sentences more persuasive and more user-centered.

The Paramedic Method

Circle the prepositions (of, in, about, for, onto, into)

Draw a box around the "is" verb forms

Ask, "Where's the action?"

Change the "action" into a simple verb

Move the doer into the subject (Who's kicking whom)

Eliminate any unnecessary slow wind-ups

Eliminate any redundancies.

Results

Summarize the collected data and the analysis performed on those data relevant to the discourse to follow.

Mention all relevant results, including those that run counter to expectation

Make sure that you reserve the implications of the results for the Conclusion section of your paper.

Let’s Discuss

Discussion/Conclusion

Tell them, tell them, tell them

Discussion/Conclusion

Conclusions wrap up what you have been discussing in your paper. After moving from general to specific information in the introduction and body paragraphs, your conclusion should begin pulling back into more general information that restates the main points of your argument. Conclusions may also call for action or overview future possible research. The following outline may help you conclude your paper:

Discussion/Conclusion, cont.

Restate your topic and why it is important,

Restate your thesis/claim,

Address opposing viewpoints and explain why readers should align with your position,

Call for action or overview future research possibilities.

Conclusion (Done, Complete)

Tell them what you're going to tell them (introduction).

Tell them (body).

Tell them what you told them (conclusion).

Experimental Report Format

The Proper Way to Write a Research Paper

Experimental Report

This structure follows the scientific method, but it also makes your paper easier to follow by providing those familiar cues that help your reader efficiently scan your information for:

Why the topic is important (covered in your introduction)

What the problem is (also covered in your introduction)

What you did to try to solve the problem (covered in your methods section)

What you found (covered in your results section)

What you think your findings mean (covered in your discussion section)

Experimental Report

An experimental report typically includes the following sections.

Title page

Abstract

Introduction

Method

Results

Discussion

References

Appendices(if necessary)

Tables and/or figures (if necessary)

The Reference Page:

How to Cite

When to Cite

Why to Cite

What to Cite

For the purposes of this PowerPoint, the references below are not double-spaced. Please remember that APA says that your writing must be double-spaced.

Reference Page (Basic Rules)

All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.

Authors' names are inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work for up to and including seven authors.

If the work has more than seven authors, list the first six authors and then use ellipses after the sixth author's name.

After the ellipses, list the last author's name of the work. Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.

For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.

Reference Page (Basic Rules), cont.

Present the journal title in full.

Maintain the punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its title. For example: ReCALL not RECALL or Knowledge Management Research & Practice not Knowledge Management Research and Practice.

Capitalize all major words in journal titles.

When referring to books, chapters, articles, or Web pages, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.

Reference Page (Basic Rules), cont.

Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.

Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

Please note: While the APA manual provides many examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not provide rules on how to cite all types of sources. Therefore, if you have a source that APA does not include, APA suggests that you find the example that is most similar to your source and use that format. For more information, see page 193 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 2nd printing).

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

Basic Form

APA style dictates that authors are named last name followed by initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of the website from which you are retrieving the periodical. (Example)

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

Article in Journal Paginated by Volume

Journals that are paginated by volume begin with page one in issue one, and continue numbering issue two where issue one ended, etc. (Example)

Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

Article in Journal Paginated by Issue

Journals paginated by issue begin with page one every issue; therefore, the issue number gets indicated in parentheses after the volume. The parentheses and issue number are not italicized or underlined.

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5-13.

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

Article in a Magazine

Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31.

Article in a Newspaper

Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page numbers for a newspaper reference in APA style. Single pages take p., e.g., p. B2; multiple pages take pp., e.g., pp. B2, B4 or pp. C1, C3-C4.

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.

Reference List: Books

Basic Format for Books

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.

Note: For "Location," you should always list the city and the state using the two letter postal abbreviation without periods (New York, NY).

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Reference List: Books

Edited Book, No Author

Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Edited Book with an Author or Authors

Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals. K. V. Kukil (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.