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This detailed guide provides essential instructions for crafting a research report in APA format. Covering all necessary components, including the title page, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, references, and author notes, this resource emphasizes clarity and precision in academic writing. Each section outlines key elements, such as participant selection criteria, statistical analysis, and adherence to ethical standards, guiding researchers in presenting their findings effectively. Following these guidelines ensures compliance with APA standards and enhances the overall quality of the research report.
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Research Report Chapter 15
Research Report – APA Format • Title Page • Running head – BRIEF TITLE, positioned in upper left corner of no more than 50 characters in length including letters, spaces, and punctuation. • Full title of article, centered on the 1st page and typed in both lower and upper case letter. • Authors typed in lower and upper case letters, centered below full title.
Research Report - Abstract • Page number and very short title appears in upper right-hand corner of every page except for pages containing figures. • Abstract – about 120 words, summarizes objective, methods, procedures, results, and conclusion/implications.
Research Report - Introduction • Starts out for general and becomes increasingly specific to your question. • Intro leads into statement of the variables to be studied in this study. • Cite relevant and not tangential literature. • Cover topics specifically related to your methods. • State purpose of your study & hypothesis.
Research Report - Introduction • What is the question? • What has been done? • What will you do? • What do you expect (hypothesis)?
Research Report - Methods • Detailed description of your methods and procedures. • Research design • Participants – selection procedure & inclusion/exclusion criteria • Measures • Procedures • Statistical analytical plan • Enable reader to evaluate the validity of your study.
Research Report - Methods • Participants: • Sample size you aimed for • Inclusion criteria • Exclusion criteria • Recruitment procedure (including how consent obtained) • Anything you did to help ensure retention of participants.
Research Report – Measures or Apparatus • Apparatus – model and where bought it from • Measure – references, brief reliability & validity data • Custom-made equipment should be fully described and a drawing or picture of the apparatus included.
Research Report - Procedure • Details from moment of first contact with participant to last contact. • Experimental instructions • When and how measures conducted • Control techniques • E.g., randomization procedure
Research Report - Results • Participant characteristics, participation rate, and attrition rate unless these were reported in the methods. • Descriptive statistics • Results related to hypotheses • Inferential statistics • Include statistical values of test and p values. • Decide on tables, figures to be included
Research Report - Results • Figures & tables • Explain main findings of the figures and tables in text format • Tables that include means should also include variance index and cell sample size. • Evidence in support of internal/external validity of the study. • Can also be presented as tables or figures
Tables & Figures • Why show a figure? • Tell us more about our data – distributions • Tell us more about our results • Helps communication
CIDS: Quality of Life Outcomes -Certainty of Surviving VT/VF ANVOVA - treatment effect p < 0.0001 Linear time by group, p < .05
Research Report - Discussion • Hypotheses confirmed or not • Interpret and evaluate research findings. • Integrate findings with other relevant published research • Report of interpretation of important data that speak to the internal/external validity. • Evaluate significant short comings of study • Next steps for follow-up research
Research Report - References • List all citations used in the paper in the reference section. • Follow APA format for publications in APA journals.
Research Report – Author Notes • Printed on separate page • Authors and their affiliations • Funding information when relevant • Special circumstances (e.g., dissertation) • Acknowledgements • Address of corresponding author
Research Report - Footnotes • Typed on separate page • Typed in order they appeared in the report • Each footnote is preceded by the appropriate superscript arabic numeral.
Writing Style • Be precise • Avoid jargon, wordiness, and redundancy • Generally do not refer to yourself as “I” • Avoid plagiarism • However, present other’s findings in your own words (don’t quote).
Language • Avoid demeaning attitudes and biased labels • Use precise language (e.g., gender is better than sex). • Avoid pejorative or stereotypical labels, including subjects • Use active voice rather than passive voice
Writing Style • Use abbreviations sparingly and define them before using them, and try to use only abbreviations that are familiar to the reader (e.g., IQ). • Do not start a sentence with a number and use the word rather than the number for numbers less than ten. • Measurements are expressed in metric
Manuscript – Order of Sections • Title page • Abstract • Text • References • Author notes • Footnotes • Tables • Figure captions & then Figures
Common Failings in Published Research Papers • Data collection procedure not carefully controlled • Design weaknesses • Lack of description of study limitations • Research design did not address the research question • Inappropriate method of sample selection
Common Failings in Published Research Papers • Results not clearly presented • Inappropriate statistical analyses • Poorly written • Assumptions upon which the study was based was unclear • Method used to conduct the study was not clearly described or described at all.
