APA Assignment Essay

6 slides | 3 minutes, 16 seconds total

Note. The content being described by this descriptive text transcript includes uncommonly complex use of emphasis (i.e., boldface and italics don’t provide enough options because they have other purposes in APA Style). Therefore, in this transcript we also use highlight color and/or font to denote additional types of emphasis.

· Within this document, yellow highlight color indicates highlighted text in a text illustration.

· Within this document, Arial font indicates text in text illustrations.

Here is a test paragraph showing these additional forms of emphasis:

This test paragraph is formatted in Arial font. In this sentence, the word banana is emphasized with yellow highlight color.

For the best experience of this additional form of emphasis with a screen reader, use JAWS for Windows. In JAWS, to make sure that these attributes are announced, select the JAWS scheme called “Classic (attributes, fonts, colors)”. To select a JAWS scheme, use JAWSKey+Alt+S. Note that, due to how JAWS works, you need to reselect the scheme every time you launch JAWS.

Learn how to presenting statistics with sufficient information, including

· when to report statistics in the narrative or in a table or graph,

· when to use words rather than symbols, and

· how to format statistics according to agreed upon standards.

{TEXT ILLUSTRATION: An excerpt of text containing statistics}

Statistics are presented in text in a format that is consistent and easy for the reader to understand.

When you report statistics,

· provide sufficient information and choose the most effective presentation for your analysis,

· use words or symbols to represent statistical terms depending on the context, and

· format statistics according to standards of content and form agreed on in the field.

Let’s go through each of these guidelines one by one.

Adapted from “Negotiating Power: Agenda Ordering and the Willingness to Negotiate in Asymmetric Intergroup Conflicts,” by N. Kteily, T. Saguy, J. Sidanius, and D. M. Taylor, 2013, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, p. 984. Copyright 2013 by the American Psychological Association.

This credit applies to Slides 2 and 3.

{TEXT ILLUSTRATION: An excerpt of text containing statistics}

First, effective presentation.

What constitutes enough information depends on the analytic approach reported, but you can get a basic idea of what is needed by consulting other articles that used similar analyses.

{TEXT ILLUSTRATION: An excerpt demonstrating how to report sufficient data in text}

Report statistics either in the narrative or in a table or graph. In general, present three or fewer numbers in a sentence, and present four to 20 numbers in a table. For more than 20 numbers, a graph may be most effective. Choose the mode of presentation that optimizes the reader’s understanding of the data.

If you present statistics in a table, you do not need to repeat them in the text, but be sure to mention the table in text and emphasize any key points.

{TEXT ILLUSTRATION: Examples of reporting statistics in text and in a table}

From “The Meaning and Role of Ideology in System Justification and Resistance for High- and Low-Status People,” by J. L. Zimmerman and C. Reyna, 2013, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, p. 5. Copyright 2013 by the American Psychological Association.

{ILLUSTRATION: Four blocks with letters on them}

Second, when to use words and when to use symbols for statistical terms.

· Spell out the full statistical term when it is part of the narrative

· Use a symbol when it appears in conjunction with a mathematical operator, such as a plus sign or an equals sign.

· Make the symbol singular or plural, depending on the context.

{TEXT ILLUSTRATION: Examples of when to use words or symbols}

The mean was 2.03 not The M was 2.03

We conducted a chi-square test not We conducted a χ2 test

The total sample was assessed not The N was assessed

The control condition sample size was 45 not The control condition n was 45

Results were significant ( M = 2.03, SD = 0.27) not Results were significant (mean = 2.03, standard deviation = 0.27)

All participants ( N = 250) gave consent not All participants (total sample = 250) gave consent

Each condition ( n = 28) received interventions not Each condition (sample size = 28) received interventions

all ps < .05 not all p < .05

Finally, formatting statistics.

· In general, italicize symbols for variables.

· However, do not italicize Greek letters, subscripts and superscripts that function as identifiers—that is, those that are not variables—and abbreviations that are not variables.

{TEXT ILLUSTRATION: Examples of when to italicize statistics}

. . . treatment condition, F(1, 33) = 3.39, p = .075.

. . . the group means ( Mboys = 4.56, Mgirls = 3.99) differed by participant gender.

. . . demonstrating a statistically significant increase in activity (ηp2 = .17).

. . . results for the control group ( n = 8) are presented in Figure 2.

· Put one space on either side of a mathematical operator, such as the plus, minus, equals, less than, and more than signs.

{TEXT ILLUSTRATION: Examples of spacing around mathematical operators}

a + b = c not a+b=c

t(18) < 2.15, p < .05, d = 0.96, not t(18)<2.15, p<.05, d=0.96

Following these guidelines will ensure that you present statistics in text consistently and effectively in APA Style.

· Statistics should be presented in text in a format that is consistent and easy for the reader to understand.

· Provide enough information for your statistic, and choose the most effective presentation for your analysis that optimizes the reader’s understanding of the data.

· In general, present three or fewer numbers in a sentence, present four to 20 numbers in a table, and present more than 20 numbers in a graph.

· Format statistics according to standards of content and form agreed on in the field.

· Write out statistical terms used in the narrative, but use symbols in equations; be aware of whether symbols are intended to be singular or plural (e.g., “all ps < .05”), and add an “s” (not italicized) to create the plural when appropriate.

· Italicize variables and insert spaces around mathematical operators.

M = 5.09, SD = 1.33

a + b = c not a+b=c

n = 30