Guide for Preparation 1

1Running Head: GUIDE FOR PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT (APA, 5.06)

A Guide for the Preparation of Research Manuscripts

According to American Psychological Association (APA) Format1

Clarksig A. Freudhull

Barat College of DePaul University (APA, 1.06)

1
This Guide is based on information provided by the Department of Psychology, Loyola

University Chicago (1991) and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological

Association, Fifth Edition (2001).

 Guide for Preparation 2

Abstract (APA, 1.07)

The abstract is typed, double-spaced as a single paragraph without paragraph

indentation. It should describe succinctly and clearly -- in 100 to 120 words (960

characters, including spaces) -- the a) problem, b) subjects, c) method, d) results, and

e) conclusions of the research. Because the abstract is to be a concise summary of the

contents of an article, it should be written last, after the body of the manuscript has been

written. A well-written abstract permits a reader to understand the essential or critical

points of the article without investing the time required to study the entire article. The

abstract is self-contained and meaningful without reference to the body of the

manuscript. The words which appear in the upper right-hand corner five spaces from

the page number (termed the running head) are taken from the first two or three

meaningful words of the title and are used on each page (except figure pages) in this

position to identify the manuscript in case the pages are separated; a manuscript is

never stapled. At the top of the title page (only) the words Running Head: appear for

publication purposes. The running head should be a maximum of 50 characters,

counting letters, punctuation, and spaces between words.

 Guide for Preparation 3

A Guide for the Preparation of Research Manuscripts According to

American Psychological Association Format (APA, 5.17)

Page three of the manuscript is commonly termed the introduction and begins

with the title (centered, typed in uppercase and lowercase letters above the first line of

the introduction). The title of the research article should be carefully chosen since it

often will be the criterion by which a person decides whether to read or not to read the

article. The title should be no longer than 12-15 words and identify the major topic as

well as mention the major variables or treatments employed. Use a “regular” 12-point

font to type all manuscripts.

The introduction (APA, 1.08) is just that. This section introduces the research by

(a) explaining the rationale for the research, (b) reviewing briefly the results or

implications of related research, and (c) indicating what particular hypotheses are to be

considered. The introduction to the research article, however, is not intended to provide

an exhaustive review of related research, and, therefore, the author must choose

carefully from among relevant articles in order to provide the most appropriate

introduction to the research.

A research manuscript reports the results of a scientific project and a so-called

"literary style" is not appropriate (see Tone - APA, 1.05). The author must attempt to

write the manuscript in a clear and objective manner. The "scientific style" aided by the

use of words with precise meaning, by the orderly presentation of ideas, and by
 Guide for Preparation 4

employing a writing style characterized by smooth transitions and carefully controlled

flow of ideas. The use of the first person (e.g., statements using the pronoun I) is not

entirely inappropriate but should be kept to a minimum. Avoid language that can be

construed as biased (APA, 2.12-2.17). Type every page of a manuscript with a 1-inch

(2.54 cm) margins on all sides. Do not “justify” the right edge of the manuscript (e.g.,

leave the edge ragged).

An attempt to write in a scientific fashion should not lead the writer to overuse

technical words or to write in a manner that is uninteresting. A well-written research

paper tells a story, beginning with questions raised (Introduction) and a description of

the plan (Method) to answer these questions. It ends with a summary of the answers

obtained (Results) and a consideration of these answers (Discussion) in light of the

original questions and others yet to be answered (APA, 5.0). A well-written introduction

should end by having lead the reader to and then stating the researchers’ experimental

hypotheses.

Method (APA, 1.09)

Materials

Reading test. The method section generally follows the introduction and is

identified by the centered heading as shown above. The use of headings (APA, 3.31;

5.10) serves to organize the manuscript and certain headings are commonly

encountered in most research articles. The most commonly used headings are (a)
 Guide for Preparation 5

centered main headings (as Method above), (b) flush side headings (as Materials

above), and (c) indented paragraph headings (as Reading test above), although there is

no required number of heading types. The first letter in all key words in a centered or

flush heading is capitalized. Only the first word of an indented paragraph heading is

capitalized and this is followed by a period. Flush side headings and indented

paragraph headings are underlined. As was seen above (on page 3), a heading is not

used for the introduction; the manuscript title serves this purpose. A centered main

heading is typically used to begin the method, results, and discussion sections. Side

headings may be used in each of these sections. Examples of flush side headings are:

Materials, Procedure, and Subjects. There are no particular headings which must be

used, nor is there a requirement regarding the order in which the headings are used.

Specific headings and their order should be chosen by the author to fit the needs of the

manuscript; to tell that specific story.

In many articles only two types of headings are used: centered main headings

and flush side headings. A lengthy or complex paper may require the use of three types

of headings, and, in this case, indented paragraph headings would be used with the

other two types of headings. Paragraph headings begin a paragraph and the first

sentence of the paragraph follows the heading on the same line.

The primary rule for writing the method section is to provide enough information

to allow someone to reproduce the exact procedures, materials, and treatments used in
 Guide for Preparation 6

the research. Thus, all essential features of the methodology are reported. What is

considered as essential rests on the author's judgment. Clearly, anything which might

have some bearing on the particular results of the research must be reported; however,

trivial details (e.g., "the data were recorded on standard paper") should be avoided.

Subjects

In this section the author should inform the reader as to who participated in the

research, how many participants there were, and how they were selected. The total

number of participants and the number assigned to each experimental condition should

be identified. In this section the author should also explain how subjects were assigned

to various treatment conditions, as well as describe certain characteristics of the

subjects (e.g., age, sex, residence, etc.) to the extent that these details are relevant. It

may be noted that the word subjects is not to be abbreviated as S's. (The words

experimenter and observer are also not to be abbreviated.) If another term better

describes the participants, then that term, rather than the term subjects should be used

(e.g., participants, children, students, patients, laboratory rats, etc.).

Results (APA, 1.10)

In the results section, the author first should report what was found by

summarizing the data with appropriate descriptive statistics. Then the outcome of

specific statistical tests carried out on the data should be reported. The actual (or "raw")

data are rarely included in the results section and data appear only in summarized form.
 Guide for Preparation 7

The reporting of results should include statements telling the reader what the results

mean in terms of the particular treatments or conditions employed (e.g., "the

experimental group showed more errors than the control group"). The outcome of a

statistical test is never reported by itself; it is accompanied by a statement as to its

meaning. In the results section data are interpreted, but not discussed. Data reported

in other sections should not be repeated here, e.g., subjects’ age, number of individuals

assigned to condition, etc.

Tables (APA 3.62-3.74) and graphs may be used if appropriate. Refer to tables

as "tables" and graphs as "figures” (APA 3.75-3.86). When a table or figure is used to

report results, the author has the responsibility to summarize briefly what the table or

figure contains and to point to critical aspects of the results as they might be seen in the

table or figure. Tables and figures are numbered using Arabic numerals and appear on

separate pages at the end of the manuscript (see Table 1). The actual table will be

inserted into the text of the manuscript by the publisher, not by the author.

Statistical terms (APA, 3.57; 5.14) and names of statistical tests should be either

italicized or underlined as you will also do in the reference section: F, t, z, SD, df, n, r, p,

etc. The reporting of statistical tests should be done by presenting the obtained value,

appropriate degrees of freedom (df), and the proper significance level: “Response times

for children in the small room were not affected by confederates, whereas response

times for children in the large room depended in the number of confederates, F(2, 8) =
 Guide for Preparation 8

21.50, p < .01" or “Children's response times in the large room were affected by the

number of confederates, F(2, 8) = 21.50, p < .01, while the response times for children

in the small room were not, F(2, 8) = 0.50, ns" or "Time to exit was related to the

number of confederates, but only for children in the large room, F(2, 8) = 21.50, p < .01"

(see Figure 1).

Use words to represent the numbers zero through nine and numbers for values

10 and above. There are exceptions to this rule. When a number must begin a

sentence it should be written out. Arabic numerals are always used when a number

precedes a unit of measure (4 ft., 6 mm, 8 days), when reporting times (8:00 a.m.),

identifying page numbers (page 3), expressing ratios (6:2) or percentages (4%), when

numbers less than 10 appear in a series with numbers 10 and above (44, 16, 7, and

19), and when numbers nine or less appear in groups of four or more (6, 7, 9, 8, and 5).

The metric system should be used whenever possible in referring to physical

measurements. A period is not used with metric and non-metric abbreviations, except

with the abbreviations for inch (in.).

Discussion (APA, 1.11)

The elements of a good discussion are a) a brief restatement of the problem and

hypotheses (from the Introduction), b) interpretations of the results in light of the original

hypotheses and data obtained, and c) discussion of the results as they relate to the

problem in general and other relevant hypotheses, theories, or empirical findings. In

 Guide for Preparation 9

this section the author attempts to "bring it all together". What was found? What

conclusions are possible? What are the implications of the present findings for further

research? The author should anticipate and defend, if possible, likely criticism

regarding research findings or the conclusions.

In writing the manuscript it will usually be necessary to cite the findings of other

researchers or to identify the sources of hypotheses or theories that are tested. The

reference format for these citations is simple and involves the author's last name and

year of publication for the citation (APA 3.94-3.103). Names cited in the text are

followed by the date of publication in parentheses: "Smith (1994) found that...". Names

appearing in parentheses are followed by a comma and date: "It was recently

discovered (Smith, 1994) that...". Two or more names are connected by "and" in the

text or by an ampersand (&) in parentheses: "Smith and Jones (1996) gave rats

buttermilk" or "In a recent study (Smith & Jones, 1996) buttermilk was given to rats".

The order of the authors’ names is the same as it was in the published article. Different

authors cited at the same point in the text are arranged alphabetically (not by year of

publication): "Buttermilk usually makes rats sick (Guernsey, 1992; Wilson, 1999)".

References to two authors always include both names. When a reference to three or

more authors (e.g., Smith, Jones, & DeSoto, 1993) is repeated, the second and

subsequent citations should be cited with the first author's name followed by "et al."

(e.g., Smith et al., 1993). More than one reference to the same author requires that
 Guide for Preparation 10

years of publication be arranged in chronological order separated by commas: "Smith

(1996, 1998, 1999) showed that ...". Avoid the use of secondary citations unless

absolutely necessary.

Footnotes (APA, 3.87; 5.20) in the text of the manuscript are numbered

consecutively with superscript Arabic numerals. However, footnotes should generally

be avoided and inserted only when a clarification or amplification of text material is

necessary and cannot be served by introducing the information directly into the text.

Footnotes are typed consecutively on a separate page under the centered heading

Footnotes. Acknowledgments (e.g., aid given in the collection of the data or writing the

article, financed by grant or other support) and/or the author's affiliation and address

where requests for reprints should be typed on another page under the centered main

heading Author Note (APA 1.15) (see Appendix A for Manuscript Order).
 Guide for Preparation 11

References (APA, 5.18; 4.02 – 4.16)

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.

Backman, C. W., & Secord, P. F. (Eds.). (1966). Problems in social psychology. New

York: McGraw-Hill.

Funder, D. C. (1994, March). Judgmental process and content: Commentary on

Koehler on base-rate [9 paragraphs]. Psycoloquy [On-line serial], 5(17). Available

FTP: Hostname: princeton.edu Directory: pub/harnad/Psycoloquy/1994.volume.5

File: psycoloquy.94.5.17.base-rate.12.funder

Hilgard, E. R., & Atkinson, R. C. (1967). Introduction to psychology (4th ed.). New

York: Harcourt, Brace, & World.

Johnson, W. J., Brouchard, T. J., Jr., Segal, N. L., Keyes, M., & Samuels, J. (2003).

The Stroop Color-Word Test: Genetic and environmental influences; reading,

mental ability, and personality correlates. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95,

(1) 58-65.

Knotwon, I. (1942, May). Clinical psychologists and their problems. Paper presented at

the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Lightborn, L. T. (1951). The relation of critical fusion frequency to age. Unpublished

doctoral dissertation, University of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ.

 Guide for Preparation 12

Wood, A. (1965). The reinforcement of anxiety. In J. T. Kelly (Ed.), Theories of

psychopathology (pp. 742-785). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

Note: The primary rules guiding internet citations are to provide author credit
and to allow others to gain access the same information and/or files.
 Guide for Preparation 13

(APA, 1.06-1.15)

Outline of a Research Manuscript using APA Format

(Single spacing is used to condense to one page – ALWAYS USE DOUBLE SPACING)

Title Page

Abstract

Title of Paper
Introduction includes:
– rationale for research
– review of relevant literature
– statement of experimental hypotheses

Method

Subjects
– essential characteristics of subjects
– selection procedure
– number per treatment

Materials
– instruments, tests, materials, etc.
– design, treatments, procedures

Results

– Statistical summaries; begin with descriptive measures like M, SD, then report
appropriate inferential statistics like F, t, and any appropriate graphs or figures.

Discussion

– Restate experimental hypotheses

– Interpret results based on hypotheses
– Discuss implications of results
– Describe potential extraneous variables
– Draw conclusions of current research and its contribution to the area
– Propose future research
 Guide for Preparation 14

Appendix A

Manuscript Order (APA, 5.05):

Title Page (A "running head" is used for editorial purposes and is a compressed title

and page number that first appears on the cover page and then consecutive pages.)

Abstract (begin on separate page, numbered page 2)

Text (body of manuscript): Title and Introduction (begin on separate page, numbered

page 3); Methods; Results; and Discussion

References (begin on separate page)

Appendixes (begin each on a separate page beginning with the first as Appendix A,

and so forth; each has a running head and page number)

Author note (begin on separate page)

Footnotes (list together, beginning on a separate page)

Tables (begin each on a separate page)

Figure Captions (list together, beginning on a separate page; includes a running head

and page number)

Figures (place each on a separate unnumbered page; write “Figure 1" etc on back in

light pencil; do not put a running head and page number on any figure).

To settle all disputes regarding APA format, consult the Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association (Fifth Edition), 2001.

 Guide for Preparation 15

Author Note (APA, 1.15)

Address all reprint requests to Clarksig A. Freudhull, Psychology Department,

Barat College of DePaul University, 700 E. Westleigh Rd., Lake Forest, IL 60045. The

author would like to acknowledge the Psychology Department at Loyola University

Chicago for allowing us access to this manuscript preparation guideline.

Tables (APA, 3.62 - 3.74; 5.21)

An example of a table follows closely. Note that it stands alone on a single page

and contains a running head.

Figures (APA, 3.75 - 3.86; 5.22)

A figure is included in this sample manuscript as an example of how one might

use and cite a figure in the text of a paper. When a figure is included in a manuscript it is

necessary to prepare the figure on a separate page. The figure page is not numbered

(has no running head) and appears as the last page of the manuscript. Immediately

preceding the figure is a page that is numbered as usual (does have a running head)

and has at the top of the page the centered heading Figure Captions. The captions for

each figure are listed consecutively. Underline Figure and number, and type each

caption flush left. Write the figure number lightly in pencil on the back of each figure

included in the manuscript (e.g., Figure 1).

 Guide for Preparation 16

Table 1

Mean Attribution Scores as a Function of Predicted Life Plan

Life Plan

Group Marriage Compromise Career

Teachers 48.6 14.6 1.4

Nurses 7.2 92.1 12.6

Cowboys 10.1 84.0 77.7

Note. The higher the score, the greater the attribution.

 Guide for Preparation 17

Figure Captions

Figure 1. Effect of fire drill training on children's reaction time to leave a room filling with

smoke.

Figure 2. Etc...

(If there was a Figure 2, Figure 3, etc., their captions would be listed on this same page
as shown above. They should be separated by a regular double space as shown
above. The figures themselves are generally placed on separate pages and are
individually labeled on the back, lightly in pencil.)
 Guide for Preparation 18

Time to Exit Smoke-Filled Room

Legend
4-year-olds
100 6-year-olds
8-year-olds
80

60

40

20

0
Pre-Training Post-Training
Fire Drill Training Condition