Submitted To; Sir Zafar
Submitted By: Hira Imtiaz
Roll No: 111
Subject -Advanced Research
ADCP -1 Morning
APA Style for Research Proposal
The structure of a scientific paper and some other crucial APA features your paper
should contain.
Main sections of your research paper
Whereas a literature review summarizes the most important experimental and
qualitative studies that have been conducted in a specific are of interest, the
experimental report is the most common form, one that you will employ when
reporting the results of your own thesis or study.
Its structure reflects the scientific method and the steps relate to the course your
research project follows. It helps interested readers to quickly find the section they are
looking for and as it is universally determined by the APA guidelines, it is easy to
memorize since you will always have to follow the same structure. Thus, your paper
should cover the following areas of interest:
The Title Page
The title page should contain the following important parameter:
Should include a running head (an abbreviated title, no more than 50
characters long and is in all capital letters)
page number, title,
Author name(s), and affiliation – all double-spaced (should not include
instructor’s
name, name of the course, etc.)
Title – centered about half-way down page
o Example: “Correctly Using APA Format in a Research Paper”
Name – centered under titled
o Example: “Jane smitch”
Affiliation – school you are attending; centered under name(s)
o Ex: “University of North Dakota”
Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page.
APA recommends that your title be no more than 12 words in length
It should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose.
Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your
paper, should be double-spaced.
All subsequent pages of your article should contain a running head that indicates the
title of your paper in the left column of the page.
2.The abstract
Beginning a new page after the first one introducing your research, your abstract page
should already contain the above mentioned running head.
On the first line of the abstract page, center the word “Abstract” (no bold, no
formatting, italics, underlining, or quotation marks).
Beginning with the next line, write a concise summary of the key points of your
research.. (Do not indent)
Your abstract should contain at least your
research topic,
research questions,
participants,
methods, methods
data analysis,
conclusions.
Moreover, it should be a single paragraph double-spaced with a normal lenght of
somewhat between 150 and 250 words.
You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract.
To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords:
(italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers
find your work in databases.
3.The introduction
After having briefly described your entire research conducted in your paper, you can
now focus on a more detailed presentation of the theoretical background of your
research topic. Never forget to refer to the authors you received the theoretical
information from and to enlist them later on in the reference list.
Introduction – Should include:
Clear and explicit introduction of the construct being investigated
All constructs should be accurately and clearly defined
Literature review conveys what is known about the construct under
investigation
Literature used in review is appropriate (i.e., from a professional journal)
Literature used in review is accurate in ideas
Logical presentation of ideas (i.e., no illogical jumps or omissions)
Research proposed is discussed in the context of what is already known
Hypotheses are stated
. The Method
Should provide sufficient information to allow reader to easily replicate study,
including:
Participants
Describe how many (N=), gender, race/ethnicity, mean age, etc. (any
demographic information that may be relevant to the study) as well as how
participants were recruited
Materials
Describe measures or apparatus used, include information about the scale
of any measures as well as validity and reliability if available
Procedure
Describe the process of conducting the study (e.g., signing of informed
consent, the order of procedures – or questionnaires, if or how participants
were compensated for their time, any debriefing procedure, etc.)
Results - Should include:
Appropriate statistics
o This will depend on the design of your study; see your instructor with
questions pertaining to the appropriate statistical test to use
o The exact value is reported, for instance p = .02, NOT p < .05
Appropriate presentation of statistics
o An example of appropriate presentation for an ANOVA is given below;
consult the APA Manual (or your instructor) regarding appropriate
presentation for differing statistics (i.e., how to present a t-test vs. an
ANOVA)
Appropriate interpretation of statistics
o Be sure you are interpreting the meaning of your results accurately (e.g.,
p= .04 = significant result); know what the numbers mean
Discussion – Should include:
A clear statement of support or nonsupport of the original hypotheses
An exploration of the similarities and differences between the present findings
the work of others, including relating findings to applicable theory
A description of limitations and alternative explanations
Comments on the importance and implications of the findings
References
Should be in alphabetical order, see examples of different forms of references
The examples are of journal articles
Consult the APA Manual for other forms of referencing (e.g., internet
sources, edited books)
Appendices (if you have any)
9.Tables and/or figures
(if you have any that have been too large to insert already in the result section)
References
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington DC: Author.
