The APA Style Paper

Format and Documentation of a Research Study

Copyright 2003

The following fictional manuscript illustrates key features of a research paper reporting the results of an experiment as described by the American Psychological Association (APA) in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). The APA Publication Manual is not intended to apply in every case to the undergraduate paper. Students should always follow the particular options or standards designated by the professor of their specific course.

This material was prepared by Elizabeth F. Henderson, Thomas A. Looney, and Krista N. Gilley. (Copyright 2003)

We would like to thank Candace Todd and Elizabeth Farnsworth for their comments on an earlier draft. We welcome all comments. We are particularly interested in identifying errors and suggestions regarding how to improve clarity. (Send comments to Elizabeth F. Henderson, <henderson@lynchburg.edu>)

This PowerPoint presentation is designed to illustrate the basic elements of the APA style and guide one through the process of writing a research paper in this style. First you will see a diagram of the title page, the first page of your paper. This will be followed by an example of the title page to an APA style paper of a fictitious experiment. When you click on the mouse there will be notes about specific items on each page. Watch for the cartoon mouse that appears next to the component to which the note applies. When there is no cartoon mouse, that will be a general note that applies to the entire paper.
To get a paper copy of the slide presentation with the pop-up notes, print slides 1 through 20. On the Printer options box, click next to slides in the Print range section and type 1-20. From the Print what pull down menu, select Notes Pages

The Title Page

Page Header (5 spaces) Page number (1 inch margin)

Running Head:

right justified

complete title

Use a standard type font such as Times New AllRoman, 12 point size pages are numbered Keep 1 margins on all in sequence bold font Do not use beginning sides throughout the throughout

Title Name Institution

These items are centered & double-spaced!

with the title page for emphasis. paper. (excludes figure page).

Title Page Example

Schedule-Induced Attack 1

Running Head: SCHEDULE-INDUCED ATTACK IN MOUSE TRAPS Schedule-Induced Attack in Mouse Traps: Behavior Modification of Inanimate Objects Michael Maus Lunchburg College
The title should indicate the variables andabbreviated title, Running Head: This is an subjects/participants The name(s) of the author(s) is/are given, followed by the name studied (in this sample, the independent variable=schedule, Header:left at the2 or ofwords fromWrite out the words flush The first top 3 the page. the title, followed by of the institution at which the research was done. the dependent variable=attack, and theabbreviated title traps)edge. 5 spaces, then theas shown. Theflush right, 1 from the Running Head: page number, subjects=mouse is written Double space this section. Double space the title if more letters. line. in all capital than one

Schedule-Induced Attack 2 Abstract Although aggression has repeatedly been observed in mousetraps in the

field , the variable controlling the aggression has not previously been
identified. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether aggression in mouse traps could be induced by an intermittent schedule of reinforcement. The necessary condition for concluding that attack is schedule-induced is that more attack occurs during exposure to an intermittent schedule of reinforcement (e.g. food) than in its absence.

This section and throughout most of the manuscript that follow are double-spaced. The past tense is used the ones page in the paper. The abstract has 100-150-word summary of the purpose, its own The abstract is a brief, including presentation of results. included on this page. tense No other information is to be However, the present method, results, and the first line of the abstract. Also, do not indent conclusions of the study. is used when discussing results and presenting conclusions.

The intro is not labeled in the paper

Introduction
Schedule-Induced Attack 3

Complete title

Schedule Induced Attack in Mouse Traps: Behavior Modification of Inanimate Objects

The introduction begins on the page following the abstract. The introduction is never labeled. This is where you present the logic and background research that suggested this study. The general problem area is

mentioned in the first paragraph, followed by a brief review of the relevant

published findings. There are specific ways to cite previously published works (Miller, 1941).

When there are two or more authors, they are cited this way (Looney & Dove,
1978).
Continue to use double-spacing through-out the paper. to your study is described, similarities and differences This is citation 2-author in-text of a This is When one sectionfor a single-author work. page, a typical a typical stops inothers are citation. are between your study and the middle noted as Remember, each paragraph of name. when the & instead immediately. Indent the first line ofuse afterstartsfrom this point on. the next section the last and Notice the comma hypotheses/predictions you have regarding the citation in in-text citations. Also, (DO NOT start a newparenthetical. section!) initials are not usedis of yourfor each outcome page study.
Introduction: The topic of study is stated, research relevant

Schedule-Induced Attack

However, Wallace and Singer (1976) noted that facillima saepe non sunt optima accepit hoc. Also in similar studies it was observed that blah blah blah blah blah (Flory & Everist, 1977; Gentry, 1968; Killeen, 1979). Similarly, Flory (1969a) pointed out the problem of plures viri quam appellabant (p.384). Consistent with this view Schaal, Shahan, Kovera and Reilly (1998) note that babble babble babble pessimi copiis maius deum . For the present study I will look at

the phenomenon mentioned first by Flory (1969b).

When you citeauthors theone article bywork same author within the same List all more than first time a the is cited in you paper. When more than one work direct quotes sparingly; When use Use is cited in the same parenthetical reference, are mentioned as part publication year, the authors or more authors shouldof the text, Thereafter, worksthe lowercase letters to identify them in alphabetical with 3 be cited using the always order them alphabetically outthe last name of the first author. indicate the page byand. as shown. write bynumber order Example: (Schaal, et al., 1998) title. first author with et al after it.

Schedule-Induced Attack

Method
Subjects (Participants) Three household mousetraps purchased from Wal-Mart Super Store in Lunchburg, West Virginia served as subjects. They were housed together in a 35 x 45 x 10 cm drawer lined with No Bugs MLady shelf paper, summer floral design. They were deprived of any form of cheese, but roaches and silver fish were freely available. Apparatus

Each of three experimental chambers consisted of a 2 X 3 m room containing no

windows and painted institutional green. Food delivery and target presentation were accomplished via human hand. Each food presentation consisted of one 2 cm cube of Kraft's longhorn style Colby cheese. The targets were feral mice obtained from the Dempsey Dumpsters in back of Gouda Student Center at Lunchburg College. Use the term Subjects when non-human organisms were studied; The method information critical to the Apparatus: when the section provides studied humans. In either case, the Participantswhat equipment and material(s) were used in conducting the experiment has replication ofno equipment Method is centered above the section. study. If your study. was used, as in most well as the manner in subjects or participants studied are described, as survey studies, Each subsection label isbe labeled Materials. this section may left-justified and italicized. which they were chosen.

Schedule-Induced Attack

Procedure
Sessions were conducted in the dark since mouse traps are reportedly more active at night. Each subject was placed in an experimental chamber with food presentation occurring on a fixed time (FT) 6-hour schedule following the standard procedure for this variety of subject. The first food presentation occurred upon introduction of the subject into the experimental chamber. The target, a feral mouse, was then introduced into the chamber. Observation and recording of attacks upon the target were made at the end of each 6-hour interval. At that time, a new target animal was presented, if necessary. This phase of the experiment lasted for 10 days. Sessions were terminated after 18 hours during all phases of the experiment.

Procedure: this describes how the study was conducted,

i.e. what the researchers did and what the participants/subjects were asked to do did.

Schedule-Induced Attack The second phase of the experiment involved removal of the food schedule. The subject and the target were placed in the experimental chamber, but no food was presented. Again, observation and recording of attack were done every 6 hours. The phase of the experiment also lasted for 10 days. The third phase of the experiment was the reinstatement of the food schedule. Food was again presented on a FT 6-hour schedule for a period of 10

days.
This page is a continuation of the procedure subsection. You can see how one might explain how an experiment or study was conducted. Remember, in an actual paper, the next section would follow immediately, not begin on a new page.

Schedule-Induced Attack

Results
The data from a representative subject are shown in Table 1. Insert Table 1 about here The data are graphed in figure 1. As can be seen from this figure, the subject immediately exhibited high rates of attack upon the target which continued throughout the first phase. Insert figure 1 about here. When the food schedule was discontinued, the attack rate dropped to a very low level. When the food schedule was re-presented, the subject

again attacked at high rates.

This is how your page will look. or figure(s) for The you include table(s) If results section presents the data Actual collected, howare found tables and figures they were analyzed, clarity, insert the lines where the at the end of the paper of the analysis. and the outcome

information is discussed.

Schedule-Induced Attack
Discussion As the results indicate, the behavior of mouse traps does meet the criterion for schedule-induced attack The rate of attack in the presence of the food schedule clearly

exceeded that during its absence. Food presentation not only induced attack upon mice, but
also upon the experimenter whose fingers are still suffering from the effects of the viscous bites. The results of this study suggest that additional work in the field of inanimate

object behavior is warranted. Scott (1971; as cited in Moyer, 1976) discusses the
mechanism of stored energy with relation to aggressive behavior, while Pitts and Malagodi (1996) point out that blah bla bla.

The discussion section includes interpretation of your Scott was cited in Moyers work. You have not seen Scotts results in relationship to your hypotheses/predictions original article, so it will NOT appear in your list of and topresent references. in this section. flaws, studies. You The related tense is used should note any limitations, and alternate conclusions that have not been ruled out.

Schedule-Induced Attack

10

A similar avenue of research is suggested by recent work with blah blah bla (Schaal, et al., 1998). The results of this study are consistent with tristissiumus haec tibi scribo. Fundani nostri filia defuncta, qua puella nihil umquam festivus, amabilius, nec longiore vita (Calvillo, 1999).

The conclusions of this study are limited by vicibus inhaerebat ut

nos officio quemque studiose intelligenter qua patientia valetudinem tulit. Medicis obsequebatur, sororem, patrem adhortabatur; ipsamque se destitutam corpis viribus vigore. Recall that this citation was seen on p.4, therefore does not need each author listed again.

Start references on a new page!

Schedule-Induced Attack References

11

Calvillo, D. (1999). The theoretical development of aggression. Retrieved August 21, 2002 from: http://www.csubak.edu/~1vega/dustin2.html

Flory, R.K. (1969a). Attack behavior as a function of minimum inter-food

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior . 12, 825-828.

interval.

Flory, R.K. (1969b). Attack behavior in a multiple fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement. Psychonomic Science, 16, 383-386. Flory, R.K. & Everist, H.D. (1977). The effect of a response requirement on scheduleinduced aggression. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 9, 383-386. Gentry, W.D. (1968). Fixed-ratio schedule-induced aggression. Journal of the Experimental

Analysis of Behavior 11, 813-817.

The first line of each citation is left-justified; subsequent lines If you The word References is centered at the thanof a new page. In this are indented. have more top one work section, do not write and If you cite more than one work from an author, Individual order by citation. List citations in by the same author in &. same year, ABC web always use last name, between authors names; pageauthorsthe numbers Journal names in chronological order (i.e. by date) page the earliest first. ; list them and volume numbers are italicizedby title of the article. list in alphabetical order with followed by initials for first and middle names. arent.

Schedule-Induced Attack

12

Killeen, P. R. (1979). Arousal: Its genesis, modulation, and extinction. In M. Zeiler & Harzen (Eds.), Advances in the experimental analysis of behavior

P.

(pp.31-78). New York:

Wiley.

Looney, T.A. & Dove, L.D. (1978). Schedule-induced attack as a function of length of exposure 322. Moyer, K.E. (1976) The psychobiology of aggression. New York: Harper and Row Publishers. Miller, N. E. (1941). The frustration-aggression hypothesis. Psychological Review 48, 337-342. Chapter in is the standard format for citing a from the This a book with two editors different book. author of the chapter. to a fixed-time 90-sec schedule. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 12, 320-

Schedule-Induced Attack

13

Pitts, R.C. & Malagodi, E.F. (1996). Effects of reinforcement amount on attack induced under fixed interval schedule in pigeons. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 65, 93-112. Article number A18506179. Retrieved 11 June, 2001 from Expanded Academic ASAP/InfoTrac database. Schaal, D., Shahan, T., Kovera, C., & Reilley, M. (1998). Mechanisms underlying the effects of unsignaled delayed reinforcement on key pecking of pigeons under variable-interval schedules. [Electronic Version] Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 69, 103-122. Wallace, M. & Singer, G. (1976). Schedule-induced behavior: A review of its generality, determinants, and pharmacological data. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 5, 483-490.

Article titles are written in sentence format. The first word Online journal article that is identical to the of the title, proper nouns, and the first letter Everything in are capitalized. (See above for example). must be cited in available print version.. after a colon this section are listedretrievedthe paper; Remember, all the authors article in citations in the Online journal through

Everything cited in subscriptionmust be in this section; the paper database the rolling reference section. Last names precede withinitials. URL. Library No additional items are to be included.

Schedule-Induced Attack Author Note This research was supported in part by grants from the Mouse Trap Research Institute and from the Richard E. Rodent Foundation. I would like to thank Melissa A. Mousse and Patrick S. Perfect for their assistance in conducting this study. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michael

14

Maus, Department of Psychology, Lunchburg College, 1501 Velveeta Drive,

Lunchburg, West Virginia, 20542. E-mail: maus@lunchburg.edu

The author note identifies each authors departmental affiliation, Identify any funding sources for your this paragraph. identify research. Provide correspondencebe double-spaced. Center Next,Give the This section should information in the words provides acknowledgements, disclaimers, & possiblethere are of colleagues whoaddress (writing out state names). You may include provided significant assistance. If conflicts any complete mailing and indent the first line of each paragraph. author note interest, and providese-mailconflicts at thefor interested readers. special circumstances or address of interest, note them here. an contact information end.

Schedule-Induced Attack Table 1 Attacks by Subject Per Each 6 Hour Time Period
Condition
Session

14

Cheese

No Cheese

Cheese

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Subject 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1

Subject 2 2 0 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 2 1 2 1

Subject 3 1 2 0 2 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 1 2 1 1 1 2

Schedule-Induced Attack
Figure Caption

15

Figure 1. Average number of attacks across subjects during periods of food presentation and no food presentation.

Figure captions describeone figure, If you have more than the figures all captions withon one page. you include are your paper.

5 4 Average # 3 of Attacks 2 1 0

3.9
Cheese Series1 No Cheese Series2

0.2 1 Condition

Note that there is no header, page number, or title on the page with the figure.

When your paper is finished,

open the checklist link on the

Instructional Services page as a

Word document. Print it out and use it to check that all the

elements of your
paper are in the proper format.

Additional Resources
The primary source for this presentation was the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (2001) 5th edition. Additional resources consulted were as follows:
American Psychological association. 2003, January 7) Electronic references. APAstyle.org. Retrieved January 22, 2003, from www.apastyle.org/ elecref.html
Harnack, A. & Kleppinger, E. (2001) Online! Retrieved August 21, 2002, from www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/ Rosnow, R.L. & Rosnow, M. (2003) Writing papers in psychology: A student guide to research reports, essays, proposals ,posters, and brief reports (6th ed.) Belmont, CA: Thompson/Wadsworth.

For assistance with the process of writing the APA style paper, the authors recommend Szuchman, L.T. (2002) Writing with style: APA style made easy. (2nd ed.) Belmont, CA: Thompson/Wadsworth.