Evidence base practice
Michelle_Michy
Academic_writing__APA_style2.pptxAcademic writing & APA style
For Dummies
Why is it even important? (a.k.a. Why do I need to know this stuff?)
It signals to your reader that you understand the requirements of the discipline, establishing your discursive legitimacy
Put simply, it shows you know ‘the rules of the game’; you know your stuff and mean business
For exampal, wud u guize c me as a legit smart person if I wrote liek this fam?
How would you view a paper written with this font?
It shows your attention to detail and that your work is carefully considered
Imagine you are reviewing a manuscript looking to be published in a journal, and you find they have written 0.0062 instead of 0.00062 in their calculations, meaning their experimental bridge will collapse, or their experimental medication will actually poison people – how would you look at the rest of their manuscript?
What does good writing APA writing look like? (The easy stuff)
It is correctly formatted
Size 12 font (usually Times New Roman)
2.54 cm (1 in.) margins on all sides
Double spaced
Text aligned left
Indent for each new paragraph
It considers the effect of layout on readability
Headings if useful
Heading levels clear
Uses bullet points, numbered lists etc. if useful
All in-text citations match up with reference list (names, year, all information is correct)
The reference list complete and correctly formatted
Overall, the emphasis is on clarity and accuracy
What does good writing APA writing look like? (The hard stuff)
It is rigorously supported
Imagine an unsympathetic, cantankerous reader who is trying to disagree with you at every turn -> your job is to show them that your ideas are supported by the literature, and that your conclusions are reasonable and well argued based on the evidence you present
Do not rely on personal experience (e.g., well I ‘just know’ that x is a good instructional practice -> then why can’t your reader ‘just know’ that you’re wrong?)
It uses language extremely precisely
Don’t say “Many studies show that …” and then only give one citation -> your reader now expects to see ‘many studies’
Don’t use words carelessly; “X is a useful strategy for all teachers” -> your reader now expects you to argue that your claim applies to EVERY teacher; “this proves that” -> your reader now expects to see incontrovertible evidence of your claim
Even clumsy use of pronouns can be troublesome, like “We can therefore see…” -> who is we? The author and the reader? A team of authors? Someone else?
What does good writing APA writing look like? (The hard stuff)
It is current
Good writing draws on the most recent literature available
By the time a paper is finally published, the research can already be 2-3 years old
It does not rely on excessive use of quotations, or use one citation over and over again
Using too many quotations detracts from your own voice, your reader will think ‘why don’t I just go and read the original work?’
Overuse of a single source shows that you can’t engage thoroughly with the literature
So how do I write like this?
It is rigorously supported
Be critical of your own work, imagine your reader asking 'how do you know this?'
Draw extensively on the literature
Organise the research into themes (if possible)
It uses language extremely precisely
Be critical of your own work, make sure every word has a purpose
Don’t just write something because it sounds good
Hedge your writing where necessary
The literature suggests…
Some students may…
Strategy x could…
Be careful of attitudinal lexis
e.g. “This is a great strategy…”, “This is a fantastic tool for…” vs “Strategy X has a strong evidence base”, “The research suggests that using strategy x can lead to…”
So how do I write like this?
It is current
Use the most recent sources you can find
Older sources are still acceptable (especially for major works/ seminal papers), but your paper should mainly be using the most recent research available
It does not rely on excessive use of quotations, or use one citation over and over again
Paraphrase as much as possible -> this shows your interaction with and understanding of the themes of the research
Try to organise writing theme by theme if possible
For example “Sample text about idea 1 (Citation 1; Citation 2). Sample text about connection between idea 1 and idea 2 (Citation 3; Citation 4; Citation 5). Citation (6) also argues idea 3.
Plagiarism, paraphrasing, and referencing
What is plagiarism?
A common answer is ‘copying someone else’s work’ or ‘taking someone’s work as your own’ –> this can leave some people unsure about including the work/ ideas of others in their own writing (e.g., am I just stealing?)
This answer leaves many confused about ‘self-plagiarism’ -> how can I ‘steal’ my own work? Don’t I own it?
A more accurate way to describe plagiarism is ‘claiming unoriginal work as original’
If you don’t acknowledge the source of your ideas, your reader will assume they are your original ideas -> claiming unoriginal work as original
This is why ‘self-plagiarism’ is an issue; an author cannot just republish the same journal article, twice a year, every year, for 50 years, and say they have 100 publications -> they are claiming unoriginal work (the 99 times it was republished as new) as original
Plagiarism, paraphrasing, and referencing
So what do I when writing?
Acknowledge everything that is not your own work/ idea – this may be a LOT of your paper, that is ok!
Good research is an attempt to add a tiny piece of understanding to the collective knowledge of the discipline – this is why academic writing relies so heavily on citations and has massive reference lists; authors argue ‘here is what we know, here is an extra 0.0001% that I believe we can add’
Be careful with paraphrasing
Do NOT take sentences and try to change words around, replace with synonyms etc. -> instead draw out the implications of the paper overall and then state these in your own words
Do not be afraid to draw heavily on the literature – it represents as close as you can get to what we ‘know’, why wouldn’t you want to use this as much as possible when your job is to demonstrate your mastery of the knowledge?
Understand the purpose of assessments -> (in general) you need to demonstrate your engagement with the literature, and the ability to draw out the implications for your own practice
Worked examples – Text 1
Teaching is one of the most difficult but rewarding professions. In order to be an effective teacher, it is really important to have empirically-supported evidence based practices that are proven to be effective by research. Using evidence based classroom management practices is an excellent way to help students learn because it can keep them engaged and on task. This in turn leads to improved academic achievement.
Teaching is one of the most difficult but rewarding professions – Weak opening – difficult compared to what? Rewarding to whom? How can you claim this without evidence?. In order to be an effective teacher, it is really important to have empirically-supported evidence based practices that are proven to be effective by research – Clunky and repetitive writing. Using evidence based classroom management practices is an excellent way to help students learn because it can keep them engaged and on task – This is a bit better, the author is making a more reasonable claim, but without any evidence their argument falls flat. This in turn leads to improved academic achievement – The author’s rhetorical organisation is clear (i.e., good practices -> student engagement -> improved performance), but they have not argued convincingly for this position.
Worked examples – Text 2
An “evidence-based practice” is one which is “supported with methodologically sound, peer-reviewed studies” (Smith, 2015, p. 15). Using evidence-based practices has “been shown to improve on-task behaviour by up to 62%” (Brown, J. T., 2012, p. 8). We can see Beginning teachers can benefit from “integrating these practices” into their own classrooms, allowing for the “effective delivery” of content and improved academic outcomes. (Jones, pp. 247)
An “evidence-based practice” is one which is “supported with methodologically sound, peer-reviewed studies” (Smith, 2015, p. 15) – Clear definition, APA style is correct; but unnecessary quoting, this could have easily been paraphrased. Using evidence-based practices has “been shown to improve on-task behaviour by up to 62%” (Brown, J. T., 2012, p. 8) – The author is providing clear evidence for the claims, so they are beginning to build their argument; but an APA error and even more quotes. We can see beginning teachers can benefit from “integrating these practices” into their own classrooms, allowing for the “effective delivery” of content and improved academic outcomes. (Jones, pp. 247) – Compared to the previous example, the author’s conclusion feels earned. They have drawn out the implications from different pieces of research, and made a reasonable argument; however they have quoted unnecessarily and have issues with APA style.
Worked examples – Text 3
Evidence-based practices (EBPs) refer to classroom strategies and/ or interventions that are thoroughly supported by sound research (Smith, 2015). Using EBPs may allow beginning teachers to feel more confident within the classrooms by providing them with tools to maximise desirable behaviour, and decrease undesirable behaviour (Brown, 2012; Jones, 2011).
Evidence-based practices (EBPs) refer to classroom strategies and/ or interventions that are thoroughly supported by sound research (Smith, 2015) – The author has used the same source as text 2, but paraphrased it, allowing them to establish their own voice; APA style is correct. Using EBPs may allow beginning teachers to feel more confident within the classrooms by providing them with tools to maximise desirable behaviour, and decrease undesirable behaviour (Brown, 2012; Jones, 2011). – The author is able to show their engagement with the literature by drawing on multiple sources and paraphrasing the implications; they hedge their writing to ensure their claim is reasonable, and use APA correctly. Their economy of style lets them introduce more information in fewer words (cf. text 1, which has 4 sentences, compared to only 2 here)
