The APA Style Sheet is a concise guide to using the style of the American Psychological Association in writing

research papers. It is based on the current fifth edition of the APA Publication Manual. The latest version is at

www.docstyles.com. The Style Sheet is routinely updated; it is the product of many contributors. This version was

· Abbreviations

· Biased Language

· Capitalization

· Compound Words

· Emphasis (Italics-Quotes)

· Numbers

· Punctuation & Lists

· Quotations

· Terminology

· Text Details

· Title & Text pages (graphic)

· Headings & Subheadings

· References & Tables (graphic)

· Tables (notes)

· Text Citations

· Reference Lists

· Anonymous Works

· Books & Chapters

· Conference Papers

· Journal Articles

· Newspapers & Magazines

· Reference Works

· Reports & Papers

· Web Pages

APA style is the style of writing used by journals published by the American Psychological Association (APA). The

style is documented in the APA Publication Manual (5th ed., 2001). APA style is the widely recognized standard for

sheet is no substitute for the 440 page APA Manual, which should be purchased by any serious student of

psychology or education. The APA Manual can be found in almost any college bookstore, as well as in many large

The APA Manual draws a distinction between final manuscripts such as class papers, theses, and dissertations, and

copy manuscripts to be submitted for review and publication. The APA Style Sheet follows the instructions given in

· Spacing. "Double-spacing is required throughout most of the manuscript. When single-spacing would improve

· Figures, tables, and footnotes. "In a manuscript submitted for publication, figures, tables, and footnotes are

The most notable additions and changes to fifth edition of the APA Manual (2001) include:

· Electronic sources require new formats in references. The formats previously featured on the APA Web site

have been superseded. Several formats are included in the Style Sheet.

· Italics or underline? "Use the functions of your word-processing program to create italic, bold, or other special

fonts or styles following the style guidelines specified in this Publication Manual" (APA, 2001, p. 286).

· Hanging indents. "APA publishes references in a hanging indent format. . . . If a hanging indent is difficult to

Acknowledgements are noted at the end of the Style Sheet. The APA Style Sheet can be freely distributed, but not

people who have offered suggestions. The APA Style Sheet has benefited greatly from their insight and expertise.

The more comprehensive Student Guide to APA Psychology is avialable free at http://www.docstyles.com.

These Style Notes cover details commonly encountered when drafting a research paper. These are also the details

· Avoid abbreviations (acronyms) except for long, familiar terms (MMPI).

· Explain what an abbreviation means the first time it occurs: American Psychological Association (APA).

· If an abbreviation is commonly used as a word, it does not require explanation (IQ, LSD, REM, ESP).

· Do not use the old abbreviations for subject, experimenter, and observer (S, E, O).

· The following abbreviations should NOT be used outside parenthetical comments:

cf. [use compare]

e.g. [use for example]

etc. [use and so forth]

i.e. [use that is]

viz. [use namely]

vs. [use versus]

· Use periods when making an abbreviation within a reference (Vol. 3, p. 6, 2nd ed.)

· Do not use periods within degree titles and organization titles (PhD, APA).

· Do not use periods within measurements (lb, ft, s) except inches (in.).

· Use s for second, m for meter.

· To form plurals of abbreviations, add s alone, without apostrophe (PhDs, IQs, vols., Eds).

· In using standard abbreviations for measurements, like m for meter, do not add an s to make it plural (100

· Do not use the abbreviation "pp." for magazine or journal citations; just give the numbers themselves. Do use

· Use two-letter postal codes for U.S. state names (GA).

the APA Manual: "sexual orientation rather than gender accounted for most of the variance in the results; most gay

Race/Ethnicity. In racial references, the manual simply recommends that we respect current usage. Currently both

· Capitalize Black and White when the words are used as proper nouns to refer to social groups. Do not use

· The terms Hispanic, Latino, and Chicano are preferred by different groups. The safest procedure is use

Age. In referring to age, be specific about age ranges; avoid open-ended definitions like "under 16" or "over 65."

Avoid the term elderly. Older person is preferred. Boy and Girl are acceptable referring to high school and younger.

For persons 18 and older use men and women.

· Capitalize formal names of tests (Stroop Color-Word Interference Test).

· Capitalize major words and all other words of four letters or more, in headings, titles, and subtitles outside

· Capitalize names of conditions, groups, effects, and variables only when definite and specific. (Group A was

· Capitalize the first word after a comma or colon if, and only if, it begins a complete sentence. For example,

· Capitalize specific course and department titles (CU Department of Anthropology, Anthro 101).

· Do not capitalize generic names of tests (Stroop color test). "Stroop" is a name, so it remains capitalized.

· Capitalize nouns before numbers, but not before variables (Trial 2, trial x).

· Do not capitalize names of laws, theories, and hypotheses (the law of effect).

· Do not capitalize when referring to generalities (any department, any introductory course).

Compound words are two or more words that work together in a specified order. This order cannot be reversed or

“With frequent use, open or hyphenated compounds tend to become closed (on line to on-line to online). Chicago’s

Full-time compound words are hyphenated whatever their role in a sentence—as an adjective or a noun. “The courtmartial

hearing is set for 1000 hours. The hearing will determine whether a court-martial is warranted.” Courtmartial

Conditional compounds are hyphenated as adjectives, but not when used as nouns.

1. Adjectival compound. “The counselor suggested a role-playing technique to reduce the stress of encounters, but

cautioned that role playing alone would not solve the problem.” Role-playing is a compound adjective, but not

2. Add a hyphen to any prefix attached to a proper noun, capitalized abbreviation, or number. For example, the

post-Freudian era, the pre-1960s civil rights movement, the many non-ASA journals in sociology.

3. Fractions. “When . . . a fraction is considered a single quantity, it is hyphenated [whether it is used as a noun or

as an adjective]” (CMS 2003, p. 383). One-fourth the audience was comprised of former refugees. A twothirds

4. Made-up compound. A compound may be of the made-up-for-the-occasion variety: “The up-to-date figures

word was made up for the occasion. “The unadjusted figures were up to date.”

5. Serial compounds. When two or more compound modifiers have a common base, this base is sometimes

6. Do not hyphenate a compound term using an adverb ending in -ly. “The widely used term was not yet in the

Avoid confusion! A re-creation is not the same as recreation. Does “the fast sailing ship” refer to a ship

that was designed for speed, or one that is making an unusually fast passage? If the former, then it is a fast sailing

ship. If it is the latter, then it is a fast-sailing ship (CMS 1993, p. 203).

Through long usage most common prefixes do not require a hyphen: aftereffect, antifreeze, cofounder, Internet,

microwave, oversight, preempt, reexamine, supermarket, unbiased, underground. There are many exceptions.

1. Same two letters. If the prefix puts the same two letters together, a hyphen is sometimes inserted. For example,

2. Superlatives-diminutives. Some prefixes, best-, better-, ill-, lesser-, little-, well-, are hyphenated when they

3. Weird terms. If the prefix creates an unfamiliar or weird term, a hyphen may improve clarity. The Turabian

Guide offers these examples: pro-ally, anti-college instead of proally, anticollege (1976, p. 101).

The following prefixes always require a hyphen.

Italicize or underline the titles of books, species names, novel or technical terms and labels (the first time only),

· Add emphasis to a word or short phrase by putting it intalics (the first time only). Use this sparingly!

· Add emphasis to a word or phrase in a quotation with italics, followed by the note [italics added] in brackets.

· Note a word used as a word, or a foreign term, with italics, for example, hutte means hut in German.

· Introduce a keyword or technical term (the neoquasipsychoanalytic theory), or identify endpoints on a scale

(poor to excellent) with italics.

· Do not italicize foreign words that have entered common usage (et al., a priori, laissez-faire, arroyo).

· odd or ironic usage the first time--the “outrageous” use of social security funds to finance the deficit.

· article and chapter titles cited in the text but not in the reference list. (In Smith's (1992) article, "APA Style

· Do not use a colon or other punctuation after an introduction which is not a complete sentence such as

· Use a dash (an em dash or double hyphen) when there is a sudden interruption like this one--zoiks!--in the

· Use parentheses to introduce an abbreviation, for example, the galvanic skin response (GSR).

· When enumerating a series of topis or subjects: (a) introduce each topic with a letter in parenthese, (b)

· When listing separate paragraphs in a series, use a number and a period, not parentheses and letters.

Space once after all punctuation, including:

· after commas, colons, and semicolons;

· after punctuation marks at the ends of sentences;

· after periods that separate parts of a reference citation

· after periods of the initials in personal names (e.g., J. R. Zhang).

No bullets? The APA Publication Manual makes no mention of using bullets in research papers. There are

· Spell out common fractions and common expressions (one-half, Fourth of July).

· Spell out numbers beginning sentences (Thirty days hath September . . .).

· Spell out numbers which are inexact, or below 10 and not grouped with numbers over 10 (one-tailed t test,

· To make plurals out of numbers, add s only, with no apostrophe (the 1950s).

· When numbers below 10 must be mixed with numbers above 10 in the same sentence they should be written as

· Use words and numerals with two numbers in series (five 4-point scales).

· Use combinations of numerals and written numbers for large sums (over 3 million people).

· Use numerals for exact statistical references, scores, sample sizes, and sums (multiplied by 3, or 5% of the

· Use metric abbreviations with figures (4 km) but not when written out (many meters distant).

· Use the percent symbol (%) only with figures (5%) not with written numbers (five percent).

· Put a leadin zero before decimal fractions less than one (e.g., 0.25 km), unless the fraction can never be greater

than one as in probabilities (e.g., p < .01).

· Ordinal numbers follow the same rules as other numbers. Spell out ordinals below 10: first, second, . . . ninth.

referring to centuries, the twentieth century.

· Reproduce a quote exactly. If there are errors, introduce the word sic italicized and bracketed—for example,

“the speaker stttutured [ sic] terribly”—immediately after the error to indicate it was in the original.

· When the author is introduced in the text the page number follows the quotation, but the date follows the

· Without an introductory phrase, the author, date, and page are placed together. For example, It was reported

· If a quote begins in what is mid-sentence in the original, the first word may be uppercased to open a sentence.

· Expand or clarify words or meanings in a quotation by placing the added material in quotes. For example,

· Use three dots with a space before, between, and after each (ellipsis points) when omitting material, four if the

· “The punctuation mark at the end of a sentence [in a quotation] may be changed to fit the syntax [without

· Double quotation marks may be changed to single quotes, and the reverse, without indicating the change.

· Add emphasis in a quotation with italics, followed by the note [italics added] in brackets.

quotation after the first. Add the citation after the final punctuation in a block quote.

Despite dictionary advice to the contrary, APA style insists that data is the plural form of datum. Preferred forms of

appendix (appendixes not appendices) phenomenon (phenomena is plural)

datum (data is plural only!) schema (schemas is plural)

matrix (matrices not matrixes)

· disc This usage is reserved for optical storage media, as in Compact Disc or CD; digital versatile disc or DVD.

· disk This usage is reserved for rewritable storage media—hard disks and floppy disks.

· e-mail The hyphenated form is found in the AMA, APA, CMS, and MLA style manuals! The e is never

· Internet [Net] Internet is a proper noun.

· electronic mailing list [listserv] The APA manual notes that Listserv is a trademarked name for an electronic

mailing list (the term it prefers instead).

· Web This is a proper noun. When Web is used in an open compound term (or with a hyphen when used as an

adjective), as in Web page, Web is uppercased. When the compound term is closed, Web is spelled

lowercased, as in webmaster.

· Web based [Web-based] This term was found in the APA manual, spelled open as a noun. It was found in

Wired Style spelled with a hyphen used as an adjective (1999, p. 173).

· Web page [Web page] This term is spelled open. When a compound term is spelled open (without a

hyphen), or as a compound adjective (with a hyphen), as in Web page, Web-page design, then Web is

· Web site [Web site] This term is spelled open.

· webmaster, web. . . Most Web terms (except Web ring) are spelled lowercased and closed (without a

hyphen): webcam, webcast, webhead, webmail, webzine, etc. (then again, there’s also WebTV). But some of

these terms should probably be spelled open in formal writing— Web cam, Web cast, Web mail, Web TV.

The APA Manual notes that "the size of the type should be one of the standard typewriter sizes (pica or elite) or, if

· Abstracts are limited to 120 words (APA, 2001, p. 13).

· Double space the text, but single space within block quotes, references, and the abstract. This is suggested in

chapter 6 of the APA Manual, “Material Other then Journal Articles” (see “Read Me” at the beginning of the

· Footnotes are rarely used in APA papers, except for author affiliation and contact information--the author

note. If you need to add an explanatory note make it an endnote.

· Hyphenation should not occur at the end of lines, only between words when necessary. Right justifying a

paper can introduce ambiguities with uncertain hyphenation, a ragged right margin is preferred in research

· Indent paragraphs, block quotes, and hanging indents one-half inch (1.25 cm or five to seven spaces).

· Keyword emphasis requires the use of italics, but only the first time a term is used. If the intent is to indicate

· Margins should be at least 1" all around (about 2.5 cm).

· Page numbers are required on every page: Number pages consecutively.

· The page header summarizes the title in a few words. The header and page number go inside the margin space,

· Word processor features—such as bold and italic fonts and hanging indents—should be used as appropriate.

Title/Abstract Page. The APA Manual offers no instructions for formatting the title page of a research paper for

with an exclamation point or question mark. Do not begin a paper with the heading Introduction, this is understood.

2001, p. 326). This directive applies only to research papers presented as final manuscripts. See “Read Me.”

Introduction. All papers begin with an “introduction.”

go alphabetically (Alt, 2001; Baca, 1999; Car 2004).1

Run-in paragraph heading. Use sentence caps, in

1Footnotes go inside the margins!

Level C heading: Indented, italicized, sentence caps. These paragraph or

run-in headings end with a period (or other punctuation); are not complete sentences.

of the American Psychologist or other APA journals for more complex table layouts. "Tables are efficient, enabling

· Place tables close to where they are first mentioned in your text, but do not split a table across pages. (Tables

· Label each table beginning with the table number followed by a description of the contents in italics.

· Horizontal rules (lines) should be typed into tables; do not draw them in by hand.

· Each row and column must have a heading. Abbreviations and symbols (e.g., "%" or "nos.") may be used in

· Do not change the number of decimal places or units of measurement within a column. "Use a zero before the

decimal point when numbers are less than one" (APA, 2001, p. 128). Write "0.23" not ".23" unless the number

is a statistic that cannot be larger than one, for example a correlation r = .55, or a probability p < .01.

· Add notes to explain the table. These may be general notes, footnotes, or probability notes.

· General notes follow the word Note: (in italics) and are used to expalin general information about the table,

· Footnotes are labeled "a, b, c, etc." and set in supercript. They explain specific details.

· Probability notes are indicated by asterisks and other symbols to indicate statistical significance. This is

asterisks from table to table within your paper, such as *p < .05 and **p < .01; the larger [greater] probability

· You may both single space and double space within a table to achieve clarity. Tables in papers submitted for

Allport, G. W. (1979). The nature of prejudice.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 59, 11–19.

The craft of research. Chicago: University of

New York Times, pp. D1, D9.

infectious diseases. Emerging Infectious Diseases,

1(1). Retrieved October 10, 1998, from

Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of

social psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 599–658).

Wilson, E. O. (1998, March). Back from chaos. Atlantic

Monthly, 281, 41–62

Race Populationa Homicides Rateb

Blackc 29,986 12,114 40.5*

Totald 248,710 24,932 10.0

Note: Data developed from the Statistical Abstract of the

aPopulation in 1000s. bRate per 100,000 persons in the

population. cThe rate for Black males was 69.2, for White

males 9.0. dAbout one-half the “Other” category was

*p < .05, two-tailed test. **p < .01, two-tailed test.

table: general notes (indicated by the word Note in

Use the author-date format to cite references in text. For example: as Smith (1990) points out, a recent study

No Author (Short Title, 2004) (“Short Title,” 2004) Chapter (APA, 2001, chap. 6)

1 Author (Smith, 2005) (Smith, 2005, p. 123) Data File (Corporate Author, 2002

2 Authors (Smith & Jones, 2004, pp. 123-126) In Press (Adams, in press)

3/5 Authors (Smith, Jones, and Garcia, 2003)

Message/E-Mail (A. B. Smith, personal communication,

6 Authors+ (Smith et al., 2002, pp. 123-456) Multiple (Adam, 2003; Baca, 2004; Burton, 2002 )

· If the author is unknown or unspecified, use the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title), for

· List three to five authors names in the first citation, then just cite the lead author plus et al., e.g., Smith, Jones,

· For six or more authors, cite the lead author et al. the first time.

· The first time "et al." is used in a citation the year is included. If the citation is repeated in the same paragraph,

· Always cite page numbers after quotations. For example, the author stated, "The effect disappeared within

· If there are two or more citations that shorten to the same lead author and date, give as many additional names as

· Join names in a multiple-author citation with and (in text) or an ampersand (&) in reference lists and

· When citing multiple works by the same author, arrange dates in order. In general, use letters after years to

· If a group is readily identified by its initials, spell it out only the first time. For example, "The report found

· For older works and translations cite the original and or the modern copyright dates if both are known, for

the most recent last.

1. Use prefixes if they are commonly a part commonly part of the surname (e.g., de Chardin comes before Decker,

MacGill comes before McGill. But do not use von (e.g,, write: Helmholtz, H. L. F. von).

2. Disregard apostrophes, spaces, and capitals in alphabetizing; D'Arcy comes after Daagwood, Decker comes

after de Chardin. Single-author citations precede multiple-author citations (Zev, 1990 then Zev et al., 1990).

chapters or articles in edited books, but not in journal or magazine article citations, where numbers alone are used.

chap. chapter No. number Pt. part Trans. translator

ed. edition [Rev. ed. revised] p. (pp.) page (pages) Suppl. supplement Vol. volume (as in Vol. X)

Ed. (Eds.) editor(s) para. paragraph Tech. Rep. technical report vols. volumes (as in xx vols.)

1. Authors & editors. List up to six authors to a work, if more than six add et al. Invert all authors’ names, using

2. Character Spacing. Space once after all punctuation except inside abbreviations, ratios, and URLs where no

3. City, State. Include the country or state except with the following cities: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los

4. Date. Use the month-day-year format for full dates, but see the sample references for newspapers.

5. E-documents. When quoting electronic documents without page numbers, cite paragraph numbers if given, after

the paragraph symbol or abbreviation para. (e.g., Smith, 2000, ¶ 17). If there are no paragraph numbers, cite the

6. E-mail and other "unrecoverable data" are cited as a personal communication, for example: (A. B. Carter,

7. Titles of Works. All titles require sentence caps (all words lowercase except for the first word, first word after a

Caffeine linked to mental illness. (1991, July 13). New York Times, pp. B13, B15.

American Psychiatric Association. (1990). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.).

Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (1995). The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago

Beers, M. H., & Berkow, R. (1999). Mood disorders. In The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy (17th ed.,

Stephan, W. G. (1985). Intergroup relations. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social

psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 599–658). New York: Random House.

Friedman, H. S. (Ed.). (1990). Personality and disease. New York: Wiley.

Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (1979). The elements of style (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.

Ebbinghaus, H. (1913). Memory (H. A. Rueger & C. E. Bussenius, Trans.). New York: Teachers College.

programming. In: J. A. Foster, E. Lutton, J. Miller, C. Ryan, & A. G. Tettamanzi (Eds.), Genetic

programming (pp. 182-91). EuroGP 2002: Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Genetic

August). Significance tests—Should they be banned from APA journals? Symposium conducted at the

Citation: (Shrout et al., 1996). APA references list up to the first six authors to a work. If there are more add et

al. (and others) to the list of names. In text citations give just the lead author, et al.

Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group. (2002). Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) in major

depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 287, 1807–1814.

Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group. (2002). Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) in major

depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial [Electronic version]. JAMA, 287, 1807–1814.

Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group. (2002). Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) in major

depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 287, 1807–1814. Retrieved July 7, 2002,

Kortepeter, M. G., & Parker, G. W. (1999). Potential biological weapons threats. Emerging Infectious Diseases,

5(4). Retrieved January 20, 2003, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/kortepeter.htm

paragraph symbol or the abbreviation para. and the paragraph number to the citation (e.g., Kortepeter & Parker,

field: Older and wiser? Dialogue, 16(2), 14-15.

O'Neill, G. W. (1992, January). In support of DSM-III [Letter to the editor]A. PA Monitor, 4-5.

Gardner, H. (1991, December). Do babies sing a universal song? Psychology Today, 70-76.

Goleman, D. (1991, October 24). Battle of insurers vs. therapists: Cost control pitted against proper care. New

York Times, pp. D1, D9.

Markoff, J. (1996, June 5). Voluntary rules proposed to help insure privacy for Internet users. New York Times.

Montomery (Managing Editor), Encyclopedia of sociology (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 546-553). New York:

Croatia. (1991). In The new encyclopedia Britannica: Micropaedia. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Merriam-Webster collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Kotz, S., Johnson, N. L., & Read, C. B. (1982–1988). Encyclopedia of statistical sciences (10 vols.). New York:

Middleton, J., & Rassam, A. (Eds.). (1995). Encyclopedia of world cultures: Vol. IX. Africa and the Middle East.

Bureau of the Census. (1993). Higher education price indexes: 1965–1991. In Statistical abstract of the United

States: 1993 (113th ed., Table 277). Washington, DC: US GPO.

Downey, D. B. (1992). Family structure, parental resources, and educational outcomes. Ph.D dissertation,

Research and Training Center on Independent Living. (1993). Guidelines for reporting andwriting about people

with disabilities (4th ed.) [Brochure]. Lawrence, KS: Author.

National Institute of Mental Health. (2002). Breaking ground, breaking through: The strategic plan for mood

disorders research of the National Institute of Mental Health (Publication No. 0507-B-05). Retrieved

Taylor, B. N. (1995a, April). Guide for the use of the International System of Units (SI) (NIST Special

Taylor, B. N. (1995b, April). Guide for the use of the International System of Units (SI) (NIST Special

Dewey, R. A. (2002). Psych Web. Retrieved January 25, 2003 from http://www.psywww.com/

Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2003). Using American Psychological Association (APA) format

The APA Style Sheet is built upon the venerable APA Crib Sheet (see below). The sections on compound words,

1

A SUMMARY OF APA FORMAT (5^{TH EDITION)}

There are several steps to consider when writing a paper, be it a research paper or laboratory report. The more papers you write, the more you will develop an approach that works best for you. This booklet is a resource that may help you as you become a more proficient writer. The materials in this booklet are from the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (5th ed.) (2001).

This document itself is not written in APA format. It is also important to note that the templates outlined in this manual are guidelines. Your professor/instructor may request a slightly different format than what is presented here. It is the student’s responsibility to identify the specific format required for a course.

There are several steps involved in writing a paper. When you receive your assignment, make a realistic schedule for yourself to follow. If you begin your process early, you can get help as you encounter problems. If you do not get started until the day before your paper is due, you will have no recourse if you run into problems (e.g., library books are out, computer crashes, printer dies, misunderstand the material, wish to change topics, etc.).

You should get started early if you can. On a calendar, write in deadlines for completion of: doing a library search, getting books and articles, reviewing the material, making an outline, writing first draft, meeting with professor (if necessary), having someone proofread your paper, and completing the final draft. Plan to have your final draft completed a couple of days before it is due to be handed in.

2

In most cases, you will be given the opportunity to select your own topic for a research paper. When selecting a topic, there are some important factors to consider.

1. 􀂄 Pick a topic that interests you. You will find it easier to research and write a paper if you have some interest in the subject matter. If you are stuck for ideas, browse through textbooks or chat with your professor.
2. 􀂄 Read first. Find out a little bit about the topic. Perform a library search to find out if there enough material on your topic.
3. 􀂄 Narrow or expand your topic to allow for sufficient support material. If your topic is too broad, it will be difficult to write a strong paper that is not vague and general. If your topic is too specific or obscure, you may not find enough supporting material. You may need to modify your scope of research after you start writing your paper. Be flexible, but ensure that topic changes/modifications meet the approval of the professor/instructor.

The support materials you will use include research articles and books. A research article is a piece of research (a research study) that is published in a journal. A journal is a collection of research articles that are bound together. Journals have volumes and numbers. The volume usually refers to an entire year of issues, and the number refers to different issues within a year.

Example:

Fornetti, W. C., Pivarnik, J. M., Foley, J. M., & Fiechtner, J. J. (1999). Reliability and validity of body composition measures in female athletes. Jounal of Applied Physiology, 87(3), 1114-1122.

At the University level, supporting evidence in papers consists mostly of research articles. Information from textbooks can also be useful. In textbooks, there are reference lists of research

Number (include if paginated by issue)

3

articles on which the textbook was based. If you find a textbook that discusses your topic, you may find a collection of research article references on your topic at the back of the book. There is a lot of material available on the web, and not all of it is good. Be wary when using web-based information. Find out whether it is appropriate to use web based sources for your course.

At the library homepage, you have the option of looking up the library catalogue (list of books and journal titles on the shelves of the library) or the article index (lists of research articles in various journals that the library may or may not have on the shelves).

BOOKS & JOURNALS – On the library homepage, click on ‘catalogue’. In the search bar, type in key words that pertain to your research topic, and then click ‘title’, ‘subject’, or ‘search everything’. To find out if the library has copies of a specific journal, type the title of the journal in the search bar, click ‘exact’ and then ‘periodical title’. The search result page will display the call number and the floor on the library where the item may be found.

RESEARCH ARTICLES – On the library homepage, click on ‘article indexes’. Most of the searches you will do will be in the SportDiscus database. To get to the database, click on ‘key’ next to the word ‘Kinesiology’. On the SportDiscus page, click ‘connect’ and you will be asked to enter your User ID (first 9 digits of the barcode on the back of your student ID card) and PIN number (6 digit student ID number). In the search field, enter key words pertaining to your topic. If you find a suitable article, write down the name of the journal, the volume, the issue, and the page numbers of the article (one volume of a journal will have several issues (for example, there may be 12 issues per year), and you can find the article you are looking for by going to the journal volume, finding the issue, then finding the page). Once you have identified research articles that you would like to use for you research, you must determine if the library has the journal that the article is published in. For this, search for the journal title in the ‘catalogue’ search. If the library does not have the journal, you may order the article through Document Delivery Services (library home page → services → order documents).

Once you have your research material, you can get started on your paper. Depending on the type of paper you are writing, your approach may be slightly different. The following sections outline some ideas for various kinds of papers that you will encounter.

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A good paper must be clearly written and well organized. Writing style can be the main difference between A-papers and C-papers. Proper organization begins with the outline. Present thoughts in a logical sequence that will make sense to the reader. Provide enough background information so that the reader understands the topic before you present arguments.

Be concise when you write; wordiness can cause problems. By saying only what you need to say, you do not confuse or irritate the reader with ‘filler’. If you are struggling to write a ten-page paper because you only have seven pages of solid material, do not try to produce three pages of filler to meet your page quota. Instead, look for areas that you may strengthen the paper with more research support. It is obvious to the marker when you adjust page margins and fonts, or add unnecessary ‘filler’ to meet page quotas. The priority to the marker is the quality of the work (seven pages of quality is better than ten pages of babble).

Part of being concise is the avoidance of ‘extra’ words. For example, "…based on the fact that … could be "…because …; "…there were several students who completed … could be "…several students completed …; and "…at the present time … could be "…now … (p. 35 APA Manual). Sentence length should vary between short and long. Concise sentences are important, but too many short sentences produce choppy and boring paragraphs (p. 36 APA Manual). You should avoid redundancy in your writing. Phrases such as, "…a total of 68 participants … and "…summarize briefly … should become "…68 participants … and "…summarize …, respectively (p. 36 APA Manual). If you notice that you tend to use one particular word repeatedly, you may use the ‘thesaurus’ function in Microsoft Word to try to find a suitable alternative.

Say what you intend to say; choose words that reflect exactly what you mean. For example, saying, "…we feel … can substitute for "…we think … or "…we believe … (p. 37 APA Manual). (*Note: keep in mind that for scientific papers, the use of the Fist Person pronouns (I and We) is not generally accepted). Sloppy pronoun use can also lead to confusion for the reader. Using "this, that, these, and

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those" too often may cause the reader to search previous sentences to find out what, in particular, you are talking about (p. 37 APA Manual). Instead, identify the subject, such as "…this study …" or "…those books …".

There are so many potential grammar errors, they cannot possibly be listed here. Commonly, mistakes are made in the following areas: subject-verb agreement, shifting verb tenses, parallel structure, punctuation, and proper use of nouns in scientific papers.

1. 􀂃Subject-verb agreement refers to the subject (e.g., the reports, they, it) agreeing with the verb with which it is associated. For example, "The percentage of correct responses as well as the speed of the responses increase with practice" should read "The percentage of correct responses as well as the speed of the responses increases with practice" (p. 44 APA Manual).
2. 􀂃Be sure that once you have selected a verb tense (past, present, or future), that you maintain it throughout the paper.
3. 􀂃Parallel structure refers to presenting items similarly within a sentence. For example, "He preferred to bike, run, and swim" is more suitable than "He preferred to bike, running, and swimming".
4. 􀂃With respect to punctuation, many errors occur with comma, semi-colon, and period use. Sentence fragments and run-on sentences often occur when commas, semi-colons, and periods are misplaced. Use a comma to separate independent clauses only if it is followed by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, so, yet). Commas separate items in a series of three or more. Commas also surround non-essential clauses ("a clause that embellished a sentence but if removed would leave the grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence intact") (p. 78 APA Manual). A semi-colon separates two independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction. A colon is used "between a grammatically complete introductory clause (one that could stand as a sentence) and a final phrase" that amplifies the preceding thought (p. 79 APA Manual). There is helpful information on the web regarding grammar and writing skills (e.g., http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/).

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1. 􀂃Referring to a subject, table, or figure: The word Subject should be capitalized when it is used as a proper noun. (i.e., ‘The results for Subject 1 indicated…, as opposed to ‘Each subject in this study was asked to…). Similarly, when referring to a table or figure in text, the words ‘Table’ and ‘Figure’ should be capitalized (i.e., ‘Subject characteristics are displayed in Table 1’, and ‘The two techniques were significantly different (see Figure 2). Referring to a Subject: The word Subject should be capitalized when it is used as a proper noun. (i.e., ‘The results for Subject 1 indicated…, as opposed to ‘The subjects in this study were….))

Plagiarism refers to representing someone else’s ideas or words as one’s own. It is a serious academic offence that may result in consequences from a failing grade on the paper to expulsion from the University. The University of Calgary calendar clearly describes the definitions of, and sanctions for, plagiarism

(http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/How/HOW_LB.htm).

As noted on the University Calendar web page, plagiarism exists when:

(a) the work submitted or presented was done, in whole or in part, by an individual other than the one submitting or presenting the work (this includes having another impersonate the student or otherwise substituting the work of another for one’s own in an examination or test),

(b) parts of the work are taken from another source without reference to the original author,

(c) the whole work (e.g., an essay) is copied from another source, and/or,

(d) a student submits or presents work in one course which has also been submitted in another course (although it may be completely original with that student) without the knowledge of or prior agreement of the instructor involved.

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Most undergraduate papers in the Faculty of Kinesiology will conform to the American Psychological Association (APA) (2001) 5^{th edition guidelines. A format is basically a detailed layout of how a paper should look. APA guidelines specify where written items should be included, the size of the font and margins, and the way in which resource material is reported. You may wish to visit the Frequently Asked Questions link on the APA web-site for some tips (www.apastyle.org).}

The font specification for an APA paper is 12-point in size, and the preferred typeface/fonts are Times New Roman or Courier. Margins are one-inch (2.54 cm) on all sides. The page number and header fall within the margin (0.5 inch, or 1.25 cm). All text and references must be double-spaced. (You cannot make the spacing smaller or larger in order to meet your page quota). No more than 27 lines of text should be present on a page. Single space between each sentence end and next sentence start. Also single space between an author’s initials (i.e., Alleyen, R. L.).

The order of the sections in an APA paper is as follows: title page, abstract, introduction, methods (participants, materials, procedure), results, discussion, references, appendices, author note, footnotes, tables, figure captions, figures. Some of the sections may not be required by your instructor – it is the student’s responsibility to find out.

The title should be a concise statement of the main topic, and should identify the variables or issues under investigation and the relationship between them (p. 10 APA Manual). Each word of the title is capitalized. Below the title, the author’s name should appear, and below that, the name of the University. Professors may specify that you also include your student ID number, the name of the faculty, the name of the course, their name, and the date, since instructors must be able to verify that a paper came from a specific course and date (see sample title page in

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Appendix C). Items should all be centered and double-spaced, in 12-point font. Also on the title page, there is a line at the top of the page, flush-left, indicating the ‘Running Head’ of the paper (maximum of 50 characters). This is basically a shortened version of the title and is in all-caps. The ‘header’ of the paper contains the abbreviated ‘running head’ line as well as the page number (refer to Appendix B as an example). The title page is numbered as page 1. *Note: For KNES 203, 375, and 473, a running head is not necessary because it is really needed for publication purposes only. Clarify with your instructor.

The abstract is a summary of the contents of the paper. The heading for this page is ‘Abstract’ (centered, uppercase and lowercase heading). The abstract should be concise and specific. In the abstract, numbers should be typed in numerical form (not in text form) unless they begin a sentence. The abstract should not exceed 120 words and is in block format (not indented). For most undergraduate papers, you will not be asked to write an abstract.

On the third page of the document, the title of the paper is typed and centered. Below the title of the paper, the written text begins, normally with the introduction. The word ‘introduction’ is not written as a heading for this section. The text should flow continuously; there should not be a new page for each new heading. You must create logical headings and sub-headings that lead the reader through your argument/evidence.

HEADINGS – Throughout the paper, you will create organization by introducing headings and sub-headings as appropriate. In APA format, there are 5 levels of headings, but the style of the headings depends upon how many levels of headings you have in your paper (p. 113 APA Manual).

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If you have five levels, the first level becomes CENTERED UPPERCASE HEADING and the following four levels are the same as the four-levels model.

REFERENCING IN TEXT – You must give credit to authors whose ideas or words you use in your paper. There are several ways to refer to other works in text (pp. 208-209 APA Manual):

1. •Smith & Wesson (1998) reported that…or …in 1998, Smith and Wesson showed that…
2. •…as supported by others (Furley et al., 1998; Johnson & Davis, 1999; MacDonald, 2000).

When a work has two authors: always cite both names every time the reference occurs in text.

When a work has three, four, or five authors: cite all authors the first time the reference occurs; in subsequent citations, include only the name of the first author followed by ‘et al.’ (with a period after the ‘al.’).

Wasserstein et al. (1994) found…[use as subsequent first citation per paragraph thereafter]

Wasserstein et al. found…[omit year from subsequent citations after first citation within a paragraph]

When a work has six or more authors: cite only the surname of the first author followed by ‘et al.’ and the year for the first and subsequent citations. In the reference list, however, provide the initials and surnames of the first six authors, and shorten any remaining authors to ‘et al.’. If two references with six or more authors shorten to the same form, cite the surnames of the first authors

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and of as many of the subsequent authors as necessary to distinguish the two references followed by a comma and ‘et al.’. For example:

In text, these would be cited, respectively, as:

Personal Communication: includes personal interviews, telephone conversations, letters, memos, e-mail, etc. This refers to a source of information that is not reproducible (meaning, you cannot just go and get a hard copy of the information from a library). A conversation you have with your professor may be considered a personal communication. If you choose to use this information in a paper, it is cited in text only (you do not include it in your reference list at the end of your paper). In text, the citation would look like this (include initials and surname, and date):

Direct Quotation: Material directly quoted from another author’s (or one’s own) published work, material duplicated from a test item, and verbatim instructions to participants should be reproduced word for word. Incorporate a short quotation (fewer than 40 words) into text, and enclose the quotation with double quotation marks (p. 117 APA Manual). When quoting directly, always provide the author, year, and a specific page citation in the text, and include a complete reference in the reference list (p. 117 APA Manual). To insert material by someone other than the original author within a direct quote, use brackets, not parentheses to enclose the material (see example 2). In text, a quotation may look like one of these:

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Use of ‘&’: In text, the word ‘and’ is used to join the names of a multiple-author citation. In parenthetical material, tables, captions, and in the reference list, join the names with an ampersand (&).

This is perhaps one of the most important sections you write. Most instructor marking papers are very picky about the references – you will probably lose marks if you have a misplaced comma or period, or even improper capitalization or italicization. The reference list should be started on a new page. The word ‘References’ is the heading for this page (centered, uppercase and lowercase). One way to ensure that your reference list is complete is to create a page break at the end of your document to start your reference page and add in new citations to this page as you refer to them in text. Each item in the reference list should have a hanging indent (the first line is flush-left, the next lines are indented). The items in a reference differ depending on the type of source, but generally include a combination of: author(s), publication year, title of article/chapter, source (title of journal/book), volume and journal number, pages of article/chapter, publication city and state/province (and country if outside the United States), publisher. *Note: Canadian provinces are not abbreviated; U.S. states utilize the two-letter abbreviation (if you do not know the abbreviation, go to: http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviations.htm). If the city is very famous (e.g., New York) the state need not be included. If two or more publisher locations are given, give the location listed first in the book or, if specified, the location of the publisher’s home office. (*Note: When you only use a few pages from a book, reference the entire chapter of the book. If taking information from more than one chapter, include these as separate references).

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The citations in the reference list appear in alphabetical order starting with the first author’s surname and proceeding with the other authors’ names if necessary (pp. 220-221 APA Manual). In the alphabetical list below, observe the order according to surname, initials, year, and title when applicable:

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Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1994). Title of article with only the first word and proper nouns capitalized. Title of Periodical/Journal Uppercase and Lowercase, xx, xxx-xxx.

Author, A. A. (1994). Title of work with first word and proper nouns capitalized. City, ST: Publisher.

Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (1994). Title of chapter with first word and proper nouns capitalized. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book with first word and proper nouns capitalized (pp. xxx-xxx). City, ST: Publisher.

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2000). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx. Retrieved month day, year, from source.

Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work. Retrieved month day, year, from source.

Journal article:

Mellers, B. A. (2000). Choice and the relative pleasure of consequences. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 910-924.

Klimoski, R., & Palmer, S. (1993). The ADA and the hiring process in organizations. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 45(2), 10-36.

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Journal supplement:

Regier, A. A., Narrow, W. E., & Rae, D. S. (1990). The epidemiology of anxiety disorders: The epidemiologic catchment area (ECA) experience. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 24(Suppl. 2), 3-14.

Magazine article:

Kandel, E. R. & Squire, L. R. (2000, November 10). Neuroscience: Breaking down scientific barriers to the study of brain and mind. Science, 290, 1113-1120.

Daily newspaper article, discontinuous pages:

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.

Abstract as an original source:

Woolf, N. J., Young, S. L., Fanselow, M. S., & Butcher, L. L (1991). MAP-2 expression in cholinoceptive pyramidal cells of rodent cortex and hippocampus is altered by Pavlovian conditioning [Abstract]. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 17, 480.

Secondary source (cited work discussed by someone else):

The in text citation would look like this: Seidenberg and McLelland’s study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, atkins, & Haller, 1993) reported…The reference list entry would be:

Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-608.

Textbook book, multiple editions:

Mitchell, T. R., & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1987). People in organizations: An introduction to organizational behavior (3^{rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.}

Chapter in book:

Myers, J. N. (1996). Cardiopulmonary responses to exercise. Essentials of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (pp. 1-35). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

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Chapter in an edited book:

Bjork, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory. In H.L. Roediger III & F.I.M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of memory & consciousness (pp. 309-330). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Book, second edition:

Zoolander, D. (2002). Modeling as a lifestyle (2^{nd ed.). Hollywood, CA: Zoolander Institute.}

Book, group author (government agency) as publisher:

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1991). Estimated resident population by age and sex in statistical local areas, New South Wales, June 1990 (No. 3209.1). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Author.

Edited book:

Gibbs, J. T., & Huang, L. N. (Eds.). (1991). Children of color: Psychological interventions with minority youth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Book, no author or editor:

Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Internet document created by a private organization:

Greater New Milford (CT) Area Healthy Community 2000, Task Force on Teen and Adolescent Issues. (n.d.). Who has time for a family meal? You do! Retrieved October 5, 2000, from http://www.familymealtime.org

*(n.d.) means ‘no date’ was on the web page indicating when it was created. ‘Retrieved’ refers to the date the researcher (you) found the information on the web. Note: APA does not underline website links.

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The appendices contain detailed information that would be too distracting to have in the actual body of the paper (p. 28 APA Manual). This section may contain raw data, calculations, detailed descriptions of pieces of equipment, etc. Include an appendix only if it helps the reader understand your paper better. An appendix should be double-spaced and should begin on a new page with the heading ‘Appendix’ centered at the top. Regular page numbers continue throughout the appendix. The appendices may be identified as A, B, etc. in the order in which they are mentioned in the text (i.e., Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.) (p. 299 APA Manual). *Note: The instructor may choose to place the appendices at the end of the document rather than at the end of the references.

Chances are you will not need this section unless you are publishing a paper. This section identifies the departmental affiliation of each author, identifies sources of financial support, provides a forum for authors to acknowledge colleagues’ professional contributions to the study and personal assistance, and tells whom the interested reader may contact for further information concerning the article (p. 29 APA Manual).

This section is unlikely to become part of your undergraduate papers. It is a section that further explains something identified in the text of the paper.

Tables are numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text and are identified by the word ‘Table’ and an Arabic numeral (e.g., Table 2). The title of the table is italicized and the first letter of non-conjunctive words is capitalized. Tables are double-spaced and each table belongs on a separate page (although some instructors will request that you put more than one table per page in order to save paper). The title goes above the table. There are no vertical lines in tables, only horizontal lines framing the heading row and at the bottom of the table (as shown in the sample document Appendix B).

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For each figure you have, type all of the figure captions, with their numbers (i.e., Figure 1, etc.), double-spaced starting on a separate sheet. However, for the purposes of KNES 203, 375, and 473, you do not require a Figure Captions page. Instead, you may apply the figure caption below the figure on the same page as the figure (Appendix B, p. 14).

Figures are also numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Use the word ‘Figure’ and an Arabic numeral (e.g., Figure 1, etc.). The word ‘Figure’ and its numeral are italicized and the first word of the title of the figure and any proper nouns are capitalized. The title ends with a period. Axes labels should be parellel with their corresponding axes (i.e., do not stack letters on the y-axis). Figures are black and white – no colour (unless approved by instructor). If your professor omits the figure captions page, the title goes below the figure.

Use medium lines for the vertical and horizontal axes. Keep the lines clean and simple and eliminate extraneous detail. The best aspect ratio of the graph may depend on the data. Choose the appropriate grid scale. Consider the range and scale separation to be used on both axes and the overall dimensions of the figure so that plotted curves span the entire illustration. In line graphs, a change in the proportionate sizes of the x units to the y units changes the slant of the line. Thus, for example, disproportionately large units on the vertical axis will exaggerate differences. Be sure the curve or slant of the line accurately reflects the data (pp. 195-196 APA Manual).

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Before you make an outline for your paper, review some of the materials you have acquired. By doing this, you will increase your knowledge base of the subject matter and may become aware of specific arguments or ideas that you would like to discuss in your paper. Make a list of the major headings you plan to have in your paper. Under each main heading identify the main points you wish to address. If need be, create sub-headings to keep the paper organized.

[Try this: Write the author and article title on a cue card. Go through the article and note information you would like to use, and write down the page the information is on. Do this for each article you have. Once you have your article notes on cue cards, you can save time by flipping through cards instead of piles of articles.]

The logical presentation of your information is key to writing a decent paper. Once you have made your outline and identified the areas you wish to cover, think about the structure of your paragraphs. You have written the headings and subheadings you intend to use, and based on these, you must present a topic sentence for each paragraph/section that introduces the reader to each new idea. After the topic sentence, present your supporting information in such a way that there is a smooth transition into the next idea.

Most papers follow the format: introduction, body, conclusion. Some professors will specify more headings that they require from students. For example, some professors may request the format: background, review of literature, implications of research, future directions, summary. In most scientific research papers and laboratory reports, the following text sections will be included:

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Most undergraduate papers will not require you to write an abstract. However, if you are asked to produce an abstract, it needs to be dense with information but also readable, well-organized, brief, and self-contained. It is a brief but comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper, but there are to be no references in the abstract. If you are writing a laboratory report, the entire paper, including the abstract, is written in the past tense and in the third person (no use of I, we, us, or names of individuals). The abstract summarizes the main findings of the paper. It includes a statement of the purpose of the experiment and the methods (briefly summarize the subject characteristics and procedures). The subject characteristics can be averaged (mean ± SD) if more than a single subject’s data were used. The abstract also includes main results, and one or two concluding sentences. No new information should be introduced in the abstract (if it is not in the paper, do not mention it here). *Reminder: the APA word limit for an abstract is 120 words.

Papers start with an introduction. This portion of the paper is not titled ‘Introduction’, but rather the title of the paper begins the text section. The introduction presents and describes the problem or issue that the paper will discuss (p. 16 APA Manual). It will address what the problem is and why it is important. Developing background on the issue involves discussing previous research in the area. One approach is to review research historically (i.e., the progression of what has happened in the area over the years). In the introduction, you do not support or justify your position, you are merely informing the reader of necessary information. The introduction should end with a thesis statement, hypothesis, or purpose. This is where you what you intend to show, or what you expect to happen and why.

This section describes in detail how the study was conducted (p. 17 APA Manual). There are usually subsections which break down the methods into participants, materials, and procedure.

Participants: Here you must identify the general characteristics of the group; who they are, where they are from, how many there are, health status, age, height, weight, sex, etc. *Note: You may refer reader to a table if the list of characteristics is extensive.

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Materials: Here you describe the equipment you used, who made it, how it worked, where it came from, etc.

Procedure: Here you describe what you did; what steps you took, how you used the materials and what you did to the participants, what measurements you took (and to what degree, e.g., 0.1 cm), etc. This section tells what you did and how you did it to such a degree that someone else could take your paper and replicate what you did.

This section summarizes the data you collected and the statistics you did on them (p. 20 APA Manual). Generally, when writing a results section, it is a good idea to revisit the purpose of your investigation. What is the main thing you were trying to find out? Before you write this section, make a list of all your findings, and order them in a manner that makes sense. The first item reported is usually a reference to a table of subject characteristics. Generally, the order in which you write your results is the order in which you should discuss them. Write the result in words, and then include any pertinent number values. For example, ‘There was a significant difference between bench press means for males and females (100 kg and 50 kg, respectively; p<.001).’ In this section, you state main findings and trends. Refer to tables and figures in the results section. Instead of typing out a bunch of numbers that will confuse the reader, present the information in a table or figure and refer to it. If you are describing a trend, it may be wise to refer the reader to a figure that gives a visual representation of the trend. Remember, the results tell the reader what happened, not why.

This is probably the most difficult section to write well. Most students lose marks here because they do not understand how to write a discussion. In a discussion, you must evaluate and interpret the findings, and discuss their implications – what do they mean?

A discussion usually begins with a brief review of the purpose of the study. If you had a hypothesis in the beginning, state whether or not it was supported by the data you collected. Start with the first result you reported in the results section. State the finding you are about to discuss: Did it agree with what is generally found in the literature/was the finding expected? How is it

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similar/different? If the result is different, can you explain why? What the result means in practical terms? What might be some potential factors that influenced the data? For each finding, you should work through this process to explain and interpret each result. Do not be too wordy, just answer the questions as clearly and concisely as you can. The discussion section usually ends with a concluding paragraph or two. What is the big picture? What is the big message you want the reader to take home with them? What was the point?

Too often marks are lost because the student failed to proofread the paper. Once you print your paper: check to be sure that you do not have a heading at the bottom of the page with its corresponding text beginning on the next page, check page numbers, ensure that the sections of your paper are in order, ensure that every reference listed in text is in your reference list, check your reference list carefully to ensure that each item is entered correctly (watch for periods, commas, capitals, and italicization), make sure that tables have no vertical lines, etc.

Proofreading can be boring, and since you are the one who wrote the paper, you may miss things because you have seen them a thousand times. It may be better to ask another person to proofread your work.

Presentation is a very important part of your paper. If your paper conforms to the format, is well organized, and is written clearly, concisely, and in logical sequence, you should do well. Remember, the person marking the paper is not stupid, so do not try to fool him/her.

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1. 􀂃General writing and grammar information:

http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

The following list of web sites can be found at: http://www.kin.ucalgary.ca/courses/knes611/

1. 􀂃How to write a research paper and common pitfalls students encounter:

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html

􀂃Research guide for students, including information on formats and presentation tips:

http://www.aresearchguide.com/index.html

1. 􀂃Tips for writing an effective research paper, including five exercises to improve your paper:

http://spsp.clarion.edu/mm/RDE3/C14/C14.html

1. 􀂃Guide to scientific writing:

http://www.an.psu.edu/jxm57/sciwrit.html

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24 Individual Differences 1

Individual Differences 2

Individual Differences 3

Individual Differences 4

Individual Differences 5

Individual Differences 6

American Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 47, 1597-1611.

Brown, H., & Milstead, J. (1968). Patterns in poetry: An introductory anthology. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

Cohen, G. (1975). Hemishpere differences in the effects of cuing in visual recognition tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1, 366-373.

Dunn, B. R., Gould, J. E., & Singer, M. (1981). Cognitive style differences in expository prose recall (Tech. Rep. No. 210). Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois, Center for the Study of Language Processing. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 205 922)

Howell, W. L. (1980). Expository prose recall by young, hospitalized schizophrenics (Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University, 1989). Dissertation Abstracts International, 41, 1011B.

Hymes, J. T., Dunn, B. R., Gould, J. E., & Harris, W. (1977, February). Effects of mode of conscious processing on recall and clustering. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Hollywood, FL.

Individual Differences 7

Author Note

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Individual Differences 8

Individual Differences ⁹

Individual Differences 10

Individual Differences 11

Individual Differences 12

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Individual Differences 13

608010012014016018020005101520Time (min)Heart Rate (beat·min-1)406080100120140160Ventilation (L·min-1)Heart RateVentilation

38 Individual Differences 14

608010012014016018020005101520Time (min)Heart Rate (beat·min-1)406080100120140160Ventilation (L·min-1)Heart RateVentilation

Blood Parameters 1