The document provides an overview of the APA style format for research papers. It discusses the key sections including the title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Each section is described in detail outlining the formatting and content requirements. Examples are provided for how to structure tables, write in-text citations, and reference list entries according to APA style guidelines. The document serves as a guide for writing research papers in APA format.

1. Directed By:
Dr. Santosh Vishwakarma
Coordinator
(Department of Psychology)
Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar (India)
Presented By:
Anvesh Chauhan
M.Sc Clinical Psychology
(I Sem)

2. Style manuals are books that illustrate
how to correctly format and record
information.
They are most frequently consulted for
information on formatting citations, but
they also include a variety of other
information that is useful for research,
including where to find information for the
bibliography, general rules of punctuation,
formatting footnotes, spacing, indention,
form of author's name, etc.
Using the right citation style is an
important part of learning to do research
in your field.
Style Manuals

3. Where do you find Style Manuals?
•Bookstores
•Reference section of academic libraries
•The reference section of some public libraries
•Online
There are several different styles used in
research with style manuals for each style.
For example:
 MLA (Modern Language Association)
 APA (American Psychological Association)
 TURABIAN

4. “Research report is a research
document that contains basic aspects of
the research project”.
 Research report is the systematic,
articulate, and orderly presentation
of research work in a written form.
Research report involves relevant
information on the research work
carried out. It may be in form of hand-
written, typed, or computerized.
Research report

5. The main goal of APA is to promote psychology as a
science and profession while improving the well-
being, mental health, and education of people.
What is APA?
APA Style is a writing style and
format for academic documents such
as scholarly journal articles and books.
It is described in the style guide of
the American Psychological
Association (APA), which is titled
the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological
Association.

6. There are seven main sections in an APA-
style research report manuscript:
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References
There are many guidelines to follow.
For example, Specific instructions govern margins,
line spacing, the content of each section, and how to
present information in tables and figures.
WRITING AN APA-STYLE RESEARCH
…REPORT

7. APA Research Paper Formatting Guidelines
Text should be typed on standard 8.5" x 11"
white paper.
The APA style requires using an easy-to-read
font, recommending size 12, Times New Roman
font.
Double spacing is required on both the title page
and throughout the paper.
Margins should be 1" on all sides of the page.
Paragraph indentation should be set to one-half
inch from the left side of the page.
A special page header consisting of the page
number and the running head, typed in all capital
letters.
 The running head is a shortened version of
your title having no more than 50 characters
(including punctuation and spaces).

8. Title Page
 The title page includes :
• Your running head and page number (on
the title page remember to type the words
“Running head” as part of the page’s
running head).
• Title of your paper
• Author name
• The author’s institutional affiliation
• Any author notes.
 Everything on the title page should be
double-spaced.

9. 1. The title of the paper should be placed in the center
of the title page.
2. The recommended length for a title is no more
than 12 words.
3. Capitalize the first letter of the first word and of all
subsequent words (except for articles, prepositions
of three letters or less, and conjunctions).
4. Avoid using words that add little to the
meaningfulness of your title (e.g., “An Experimental
Investigation of . . .” and “A Correlational Field
Study of . . .”).
For Example:
 Too long: An Experimental Study of the Effect of Delay
of Reinforcement on Discrimination Learning in White
Rats
 Too short: The Effect of Reinforcement on Learning
 Just right: Effect of Delay of Reinforcement on
Discrimination Learning in Rats
TITLE

10. Sample Title Page

11.  The name of the author should be written beneath the title. The
author’s name should not include any formalities (such as Mr.,
Ms., Dr.) or degrees (B.A., M.A., Ph.D., M.D., etc.) only include
the first and last names.
Author name
Affiliation
 The name of the institution or college or university from which
you are writing the paper should then be included. Its name
appears one double-spaced line below yours on the title page,
centered between the margins.
THE RUNNING HEAD
 The running head contains a capitalized short name of the title.
Then the header of the title page has the words ‘Running Head’
followed by a colon and the shortened title.
 These straightforward rules demand careful adherence to the
format of your APA paper.

12. Technical Requirements: The abstract page begins
with the word "Abstract" centered to the page and in
12-pt Times New Roman font. In most cases, the
length of your abstract will be between 150 and 250
words (APA, 2010, p. 27) that summarizes the
research paper’s main points with any key terms
italicized. Do not indent the first line of the abstract.
Include a list of keywords, centered immediately
below your abstract
Abstract
In an APA paper, you must include an abstract. The
purpose of the abstract is to serve as the following:
•An introduction to the author’s ideas
•A brief summary of the research the author conducted
•Define any abbreviations and terminology.

14. Other Requirements:
The APA manual defines four qualities that make for a good
abstract :
First, your abstract must be accurate. This means that the
information in your abstract reflects what is in the body of your
paper. Do not include any information in the abstract that does not
appear in your paper.
Second, your abstract should be non-evaluative. You should report
on your study and avoid adding any comments on what is in your
paper.
Third, your abstract should be coherent and readable. Write your
abstract using clear and concise language. Generally, write in the
active rather than passive voice and write in the present tense (except
when describing specifi c manipulations or results).
Fourth, Remember, you have a limited number of words, so make
them count.

15. The Introduction
The text of the paper begins with the introduction. The
primary function of the introduction is to describe the
problem studied and your basic research strategy.
Before writing your introduction, the APA manual
suggests asking yourself the following questions (APA,
2010, p. 27):
1. Why is the issue studied important?
2. How does your study relate to previous research in the
area and how does it differ from other studies on the
same issue?
3. What are the hypotheses and objectives of your study
and how do they relate to relevant theory (if they do)?

16.  Formatting the Introduction
Begin the introduction on a new page with
your running head and page number (page
3) at the top of the page.
Next, center the title of the paper at the
top of the page and start the introduction
immediately below the title.
 The title is the same one you used on the
title page.
 Do not type the heading “Introduction.”
In addition, neither your name nor your
affiliation appears on the first page of the
introduction.

18. The Method Section
The method section is divided into subsections to
improve organization and readability. APA style
permits considerable flexibility in how you divide and
label the various subsections.
The most common format contains the following
subsections:
•Participants (or subjects if you used animals)
•Apparatus (or materials if this descriptor is more appropriate
•Procedure.
If you consider it necessary, you also may include a design
subsection to clarify your design for your readers.
A design section is particularly useful when your study used
an unconventional or complex design.

19. • The method section begins immediately
after the end of the introduction (do not
necessarily start it on a new page).
•Center the word “Method” (not “Methods”).
• On the next double-spaced line, type the
word “Participants” beginning at the left
margin.
•Again, move down a double-spaced line,
indent, and start the first paragraph of the
participants (or subjects) subsection.
•Follow the same format you used with the
participants subsection for the apparatus (or
materials) and procedure subsections..

20. Participants or Subjects
If humans participated as subjects in your study,
describe them in a Participants Subsection:
In this section, you specify the nature and size of the
sample.
Specify the number of participants and provide
information on relevant demographic variables (such as
sex, age, race, ethnicity),
Also, report any special characteristics of your
participants, such as mental impairment, psychopathology,
or special abilities.
 If your subjects were animals, describe them in a Subjects
subsection:
 Describe the genus, species, strain, information about supplier,
the number of animals used in the study and their sex, age,
weight, and physical condition.

21. Apparatus or Materials
If you used primarily equipment (e.g., slide
projectors, operant chambers, computers),
describe that equipment in an apparatus
subsection .
 If you used primarily written materials (e.g., a
questionnaire, summaries of criminal cases, or
rating scales), describe them in a materials
subsection .
In either case, the level of detail necessary in
your description depends on the nature of the
equipment or materials used.

22.  Procedure
Describe the conditions to which subjects were exposed or
under which they were observed, what behaviors were
recorded, how the behaviors were measured or scored, when
the measures were taken, and any debriefing procedures.
 If you used animal subjects, describe the following: how you
handled the animals, the length of the experimental sessions,
any special deprivation schedules, and to what manipulations
the subjects were exposed.
 If humans were used, include details about the instructions
they received, informed-consent procedures, procedures for
assigning subjects to conditions, and how the experimental
manipulations were introduced.

23.  The Results Section
 You should present all relevant data summaries and analyses.
 Outline for the reader which statistical tests you applied and in
what order.
Report any data transformations that you applied to your data.
Include values of any descriptive (e.g., means and standard
deviations) and inferential statistics (e.g., t-tests, analyses of
variance) that you calculated, along with the relevant p values.
Do not interpret or discuss your findings in the results section
(APA, 2010).
Formatting the Results Section
• The results section begins immediately after the method
section on the same page as the end of the method section, if
there is room.
•Center the heading “Results” (Level 1 heading), double-space,
and indent to start the first paragraph of your new section.

24. Presenting the results
Report the results of a statistical test in sentence
format.
The sentence states the effect being evaluated,
whether or not the difference between treatment levels
was statistically significant, the critical statistic used,
the degrees of freedom, the value obtained for the
statistic, the level of significance achieved, the
measure of effect size used, and the effect size.
Next, you provide examples of how to report the
results from an analysis of variance in the body of
your paper

25. Abbreviations used for common statistics:

26. The Discussion Section
In the discussion section , you interpret your results, draw
conclusions, and relate your findings to previous research or
theory
In APA Style, The structure of your discussion section,
reverses that of the introduction; rather than moving from
general to specific, it moves from specific research findings
to general implications.
• Begin your discussion section with a brief restatement of your hypotheses.
• Next, briefly indicate whether your data were consistent with your pre-
experimental hypotheses.
• Use the remainder of the discussion section to integrate your findings with
previous research and theory.
•Discuss how consistent your findings are with previous work in the area.
•Finally, indicate what implications your research has for future research in the
area.
• Point out any specific areas that need to be investigated further.

27. In APA style, in-text citations are frequently utilized. Such citations are
placed in parentheses with the author`s name and year of their work’s
publication. This information must match what you provide in the
reference list at the end of the paper.
The reference list or bibliography should be formatted in the
following manner:
References should be indented one-half inch from the left margin.
References should be listed alphabetically by author’s last name up
to seven authors by listing their last name and their first name’s initial.
The year of the publication should immediately follow the authors'
names in parentheses.
Next, the name of the reference is cited.
Then the volume or page numbers are put in parentheses.
Lastly, indicate where the source’s origin.

28.  The Reference Section
Type the word “References” (not in boldface) on
the line after your running head and page
number.
For a journal reference, italicize the title of the journal, volume number,
and associated punctuation marks. Do not italicize the page numbers,
however. Remember to leave a single space after all punctuation marks in
a reference. Also include the DOI system number (digital object identifi er)
if provided.
Schmiege, S. J., Broaddus, M. R., Levin, M., & Bryan, A. D. (2009).
Randomized trial of group interventions to reduce HIV/STD risk and
change theoretical mediators among detained adolescents. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 38–50. doi: 10.1037/a0014513
A specific reference would look like this:

29. Journal Article:

31. Book Article:

34.  SUMMARY
 Psychological research is reported using APA style (or a close variant
of it), which specifies how a paper must be prepared.
An APA-style paper consists of a title page, an abstract, an introduction, a
method section, a results section, a discussion section, and a reference list, plus
additional pages for author notes, footnotes, tables, and figures.
In a well-prepared report, ideas must be clearly expressed, organized, and
presented in a visually pleasing way.
Clarity of expression requires grammatically correct sentences, properly
chosen words, and economical expression. Ideas can be obscured by
grammatically incorrect sentences ,poorly chosen words, and wordy sentences.
Poor organization, like unclear expression, can obscure important points in
your paper.
 Use quoted material and reference citations to support your ideas, not to
present them.
The written report establishes a permanent record of your results that
is less susceptible to misunderstanding and misinterpretation than is a
presentation.

35. • https://apastyle.apa.org/products/4200067
• https://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/apa-format/
• https://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit08/credit08_06.phtml
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6ed)
• https://papersowl.com/blog/research-paper-in-apa-format
• Research Design and Methods A Process Approach -Bordens & Abbott
 LINK TO DOWNLOAD BOOK -
• https://epdf.pub/research-design-and-methods-a-process-approach-8th-edition.html