APA Format

1
APA Format

• APA Publication Manual is currently in its 6th
  version since 1929.
• APA manual presents rules for the preparation of
  manuscripts for publication.
• Some of the rules may seem arbitrary, but
• They provide a way to have clear and consistent
  communication to reviewers/readers
• In the APA manual, theres a sample paper on p. 41

2
Title Page (Section 2.01)

• Page Numbers
• Used to identify the pages as part of your
  article if they get separated
• Your title page is page 1
• All other pages have subsequent page numbers
• In Microsoft Word 2003, go to View, Header and
  Footer, and click on .
• Justify right
• In the new version of Word, go to Insert, Header,
  Edit Header, and click on page .
• Running head
• The R is capitalized the h is not
• Then a colon
• Then an abbreviated title in all caps (less than
  50 characters)
• Title of your paper, Your Name, Affiliation
  (Caldwell College)
• Double spaced in center of page
• Put your title on several lines if its long
• Note The course name, professors name, and the
  date are NOT placed on the title page

3
Abstract (Section 2.04)

• Brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of
  the article
• Can be read on PsycINFO
• Do not add to whats in the paper. Summarize.
• Number of words varies depending on journal no
  more than 250 words
• Abstract for an empirical study
• Problem under investigation
• Important characteristics of participants
• Most important and interesting features of your
  method
• Basic findings
• Conclusions, implications, applications
• Format
• On page 2 (with Running head)
• Type Abstract in bold, centered at top of the
  page. Type of the abstract itself as a single
  paragraph without indentation.

4
Running head CHOICE AND ON-TASK BEHAVIOR
1
This is called the running head. The R is
capitalized, and the h is not. Then comes the
colon, a couple spaces, and an abbreviated title.
If the title of your paper is short, sometimes
the running head is identical. Notice that the
abbreviated title is in ALL CAPS. This goes on
every page.
Page number Use Header function in Word to
Insert page numbers.
Effects of Choice on On-Task Behavior in
Children with Autism Tina Sidener Caldwell College
This is the title. It is centered on the page
vertically and horizontally. Its double-spaced,
and the first letter of most of the words in the
title are capitalized.
Your name goes here. Its double spaced under
the title.
The name of the affiliation goes here. Its
double-spaced under the title. Notice that the
name of the class, your professor, and the date
ARE NOT written anywhere on the paper.
5
Headings (Section 3.03)

• Put your title on the first line of page 3
• Use headings and subheadings appropriate to the
  paper. If you had 3 levels of headings, theyd
  look like this
• Method
• Participants and Setting
• Response Measurement and Data Collection
• On task.
• On schedule.
• Pre-experimental Procedures
• Imitation assessment.
• Preference assessment.

6
Abbreviations (Section 4.22)

• e.g.,
• This means, for example
• i.e.,
• This means, that is
• Example
• Reinforcers (e.g., Skittles, Bumbleball)
• This means that Skittles and Bumbleball were 2
  examples of reinforcers, but there were other
  reinforcers
• Reinforcers (i.e., Skittles, Bumbleball)
• This means that Skittles and Bumbleball were the
  ONLY reinforcers that were used
• If you want to abbreviate a long term that youre
  using, put the abbreviation in parentheses the
  first time you use it.
• Subsequently, only use the abbreviation (dont
  switch back and forth)
• Example
• Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) was used to
  reduce problem behavior
• NCR was effective in reducing problem behavior
  for Joey

7
Gender issues Singular vs. Plural

• Incorrect the learner makes their response
• Alternatives
• The learner makes the response
• Learners make their responses
• The learner makes his or her response
• The learner makes his response
• Alternate with his and her throughout text if
  youre talking about more than 1 person

8
Citations in Text (Section 6.11)

• If you use an idea from another source, you must
  cite it (avoid plagiarism)
• 2 ways to do this.
• As part of the text of a sentence
• According to Carr and Smith (2000),
• In 2000, Carr and Smith evaluated
• At the end of a sentence
• Research has shown that this technique is very
  effective (Carr Smith, 2000).
• Research has shown that this technique is very
  effective (e.g., Carr Smith, 2000).

9
Citations in Text (Section 6.11)

• The first time you cite a source, provide the
  entire citation
• Smith, Kelley, Balsam, and Cheney (2005) reported
  that
• Reeve and Progar (2007)
• If you cite that source again in your paper,
  shorten it to
• Smith et al. (2005) concluded that
• Reeve and Progar (2007) ---would stay the same
• Omit the year from subsequent citations after the
  first nonparenthetical citation within a
  paragraph.
• 1st time Sidener (2007) 2nd time Sidener
• Include the year in subsequent citations if first
  citation within a paragraph is parenthetical.
• 1st time (Sidener, 2007) 2nd time
  Sidener(2007)

10
Quotes (Section 6.03)

• If you use the exact words from another source,
  you must
• Put them in quotes
• Provide the page number
• Shouldnt need to quote unless youre providing a
  definition or the person said something very
  eloquent or noteworthy
• 2 major ways to do this
• Within a sentence
• is the greatest invention of the 20th century
  (Reid, 2003, p. 394).
• At the end of a sentence
• Reid (2003) claimed that its the greatest
  invention of the 20th century (p. 394).

11
Citations in Text (Section 6.11)

• If you are citing more than 1 article, list them
  in order alphabetically by last name and separate
  them with semicolons.
• Only two studies have evaluated this phenomenon
  (i.e., Carr Smith, 2000 Tuttle Kramer, 1996)

12
Reference Page (Section 6.27)

• Type Reference or References in bold on the first
  line centered at the top of the page.
• Different types of sources are listed differently
  you may have to look it up
• A good trick to know
• To indent your references correctly in Microsoft
  Word, select the entire reference
• Then choose the hanging indent triangle in the
  ruler at the top of the page
• Move it to the right to 0.5
• Journal Article Examples
• With digital object identifier see www.doi.org
• See example of doi at http//seab.envmed.rochester
  .edu/jaba/
• Kline, A. H. (2004). Effects of reinforcement
  on student behavior. Journal of
  Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 576-578.
  doi10.1037/02786133.24.2.255
• Without doi
• Kline, A. H. (2004). Effects of reinforcement
  on student behavior. Journal of Applied
  Behavior Analysis, 23, 576-578.
  Retrieved from http//seab.envmed.rochester.edu/
  jaba/

13
Reference Page (Section 6.27)

• Book Examples
• Entire book
• Kline, A. H. (2004). Reinforcement and its
  effects. Hillsdale, NJ Context
  Press.
• Book chapter
• Cooper, L. S. (2006). Positive reinforcement.
  In A. H. Kline (Ed.), Reinforcement and
  its effects (pp. 200-249). Hillsdale, NJ
  Context Press.

14
Figures (Section 5.20)

• After your references page
• Caption is placed directly below the figure
• Should be a brief but descriptive phrase
• Single spaced (only use single-space for figs.
  tables)
• Examples
• Figure 1. Percentage of intervals with vocal
  stereotypy and motor stereotypy across conditions
  for Jenny.
• Figure 2. Vocalizations per session for Mark
  (top panel) and Jenny (bottom panel) during
  Experiment 1.

15
Using Numbers (Section 4.31)

• General Rule
• Use figures to express numbers 10 and above
• Use words to express numbers below 10
• Exceptions Use figures for ALL numbers when
  they
• Are grouped for comparison with numbers above 10
  (e.g., 2 of the 20 responses)
• Immediately precede a unit of measurement (e.g.,
  10.54 cm)
• Represent statistical or math functions, time,
  dates, ages, numbers of participants, sums of
  money (e.g., multiplied by 5, 2-year-olds)
• Denote a specific place in a numbered series,
  parts of books or tables, and each number in a
  list of four or more numbers (e.g., Table 3)
• Exceptions Use words for ALL numbers when they
• Begin a sentence, title, or heading
• Are common fractions (e.g., one fourth)
• Have a universally accepted usage (e.g., the
  Fourth of July)
• Exceptions Combine numbers and words to provide
  clarity
• 2 two-way interactions
• Ten 7-point scales
• Twenty 6-year-olds
• The first 10 items

16
Other Interesting Tidbits

• The word data is plural.
• Correct These data are interesting.
• Incorrect This data is interesting.
• You model and children imitate.
• Hyphenation
• Hyphenate an adjective and noun combination when
  it precedes another noun (e.g., low-frequency
  words 5-min session).
• Hyphenate a compound with a participle when it
  precedes the noun it modifies (e.g., role-playing
  techniques)
• Do not hyphenate a compound that includes an
  adverb ending in ly (e.g., widely used test)
• That and Which
• That clauses are essential to the meaning of the
  sentence (e.g., The children that met criterion
  began the new curriculum)
• Which clauses merely add further information
  (e.g., The discrimination programs, which had
  multiplied like flies, were strenuously edited)