Thesis

APA—American Psychological Association

6th Edition

DISC 9515

Topics

• What is APA style? • Parts of a manuscript • Order of the manuscript pages • General instructions • Commas; Semicolons; Colons • Capitalization • Numbers

Topics – cont.

• Levels of headings • Tables and figures • Reference citations in text • Page numbers • Spacing and punctuation • Seriation • Quotes

What is APA Style?

• An effective means of communicating ideas and information

• Style encompasses uniform standards and formats for capitalization, punctuation, spelling, word division, use of terms, etc.

• Commonalities are established in a particular style of writing because the function of style is to facilitate communication by providing a common ground for understanding among members of a professional community.

Parts of a Manuscript

• Title Page • Abstract • Introduction--The introduction describes the

specific problem or research question and lays out the reasoning behind it. This reasoning is sometimes called a theoretical background. It justifies the study, in terms of a need for the information it will provide, in order to develop or test a theory or to understand, explain, or further describe an educational phenomenon.

Parts of a Manuscript – cont.

• Method--The method chapter should give sufficient detail about the methodology used that the study could be replicated. Sections in a Method chapter often include, but are not limited to, the following: participants, instruments, materials, procedure, and analysis. It describes in detail how the study was conducted, including conceptual and operational definitions of the variables used in the study.

Parts of a Manuscript – cont.

• Results--This chapter presents the results of the analyses, usually in order by research question. Results should be presented without interpretation. Summarize the collected data and the analysis performed on those data.

Parts of a Manuscript – cont.

• Discussion--Results are interpreted in light of the research questions and discussed in conjunction with other literature. After presenting the results, you are in a position to evaluate and interpret their implications. You examine, interpret, and qualify the results and draw inferences and conclusions from them. Limitations of interpretation and implications for further research may be presented.

Order of the Manuscript Pages

• Title page • Abstract • Text (body) • References • Appendixes • Author note • Footnotes • Tables • Figures

General Instructions for Preparing the Paper Manuscript

• Paper – 8 ½ x 11 in., heavy white bond paper • Typeface – 12-pt. Times New Roman • Spacing – Double-spacing ALL lines of the

manuscript • Margins – 1 inch at the top, bottom, left and right

of every page • Alignment – Flush-left style (ragged or uneven

right margin) • Paragraph Indention – Five spaces

Use a Comma

• Between elements (p. 88) • To set off a nonessential or nonrestrictive

clause, that is, a clause that embellishes a sentence but if removed would leave the grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence intact (p. 88)

• To separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction (p. 89)

• Any sentence that begins with As, If, or When

Use a Comma – cont.

• To set off the year in exact dates (p. 89) • To set off the year in parenthetical reference

citations (p. 89)

Use a Semicolon

• To separate two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction (p. 89)

• To separate elements in a series that already contain commas (p. 90)

Use a Colon

• Between a grammatically complete introductory clause and a final phrase or clause that illustrates, extends, or amplifies the preceding thought (p. 90)

Capitalize

• The first word in a complete sentence (p. 101) • The first word after a colon that begins a

complete sentence (p. 101) • Major words in title of books and articles

within the body of the paper (p. 101) • Proper nouns and trade names (p. 102)

Numbers

• Use figures to express numbers 10 and above and words to express numbers below 10 (p. 111)

Use Numerals to Express • All numbers 10 and above (p. 111) • All numbers below 10 that are grouped for

comparison with numbers 10 and above • Numbers that immediately precede a unit of

measurement (p. 111) • Numbers that represent time; dates; ages; sample,

subsample, or population size; exact sums of money (p. 112)

Use Words to Express

• Numbers below 10 that do not represent precise measurements and that are grouped for comparison with numbers below 10

• Any number that begins a sentence, title, or text heading (p. 112)

Levels of Headings

• Level 1: Centered, boldface, uppercase and lowercase heading

• Level 2: Flush left, boldface, uppercase and lowercase heading

• Level 3: Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

• Level 4: Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

• Level 5: Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

Tables and Figures • A table is a row-and-column arrangement of numbers, letters, or symbols. In

general, if it can be typed, it is a table, not a figure. • A figure is a graphic illustration such as a chart, graph, diagram, photograph, or

map. • Tables and figures of a half-page or less in length should appear on the same page

with the text, separated from the text. • If the table or figure exceeds a half-page in length, they should be placed on a

separate page. • Tables and figures are numbered in separate series. Each table and figure,

including any in the appendices, has a number in its own series. Each series is numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, e.g., Figure 10, Figure 11, Figure 12, etc.

• If a table continues to the following page, the top line should read “Table 10 (continued).”

• Captions, or descriptive titles of tables and figures, should be kept to one line, if possible.

• These captions will appear in the preliminaries as the List of Tables or List of Figures.

Reference Citations in Text

• Use the author – date method of citation • The surname of the author and the year of

publication

Page Numbers

• Number them consecutively, beginning with the title page

• Number all pages in Arabic numerals in the upper right-hand corner (p. 230)

• Running head: abbreviated title (maximum of 50 characters) – Appear flush left in all uppercase letters (p. 229)

Spacing and Punctuation

• Space ONCE after all punctuation: – Commas, colons, and semicolons; – After periods that separate parts of a reference

citation – After the periods of the initials in personal names

• Space TWICE after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence (pp. 87-88)

Seriation

• Separate paragraphs in a series are identified by an Arabic numeral followed by a period but not enclosed in or followed by parentheses.

• Separate sentences in a series are also identified by an Arabic numeral followed by a period; the first word is capitalized, and the sentence ends with a period or correct punctuation. (p. 63)

Seriation – cont.

• With a paragraph or sentence, identify elements in a series by lowercase letters in parentheses (p. 64)

• Within a sentence, use commas to separate three or more elements that do not have internal commas; use semicolons to separate three or more elements that have internal commas (p. 64)

Quotes

• Short quotations – quotations of fewer than 40 words should be incorporated into the text and enclosed by double quotation marks (“ ”) – Example: Patients … had “less … ventilated” (Byrd,

2008, p. 829).

• Long quotations – display quotations of 40 or more words in a double-spaced block with no quotation marks. DO NOT SINGLE-SPACE. Indent the block about ½ in. from the left margin.

Example of Block Quote

• Miele (1993) found the following: The “placebo effect,” which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner. Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again, even when reel drugs were administered. Earlier studies (e.g., Abdullah, 1984; Fox, 1979) were clearly premature in attributing the results to a placebo effect. (p. 276)