Writing an APA Research Paper(Literature Review)

Dr. Steve BroskoskeCollege Misericordia

http://www.misericordia.edu/users/ted121/paper.html#presentations

Modified by I. C. Sumaya, April 2006

What is the goal of a Research Paper?

For you to learn about an area of Psych that is of interest to you based on scientific information

• Scholarly paper in which you review articles• State the position of the authors…not your opinion•Your opinion is shown by the way you compile your paper…and in the discussion section • Helpful to begin with a premise or thesis statement and then support it with the literature

Every journal article begins with a literature review

What is a Research Paper/Literature Review?

Writing a Research Paper Is Like Being a Lawyer in a Court Case

1. Frame the case

2. Search out evidence

3. Present the evidence

4. Make a closing argument

1. Define your topic

2. Perform research

3. Write the paper

4. Draw a conclusion

Frame Your Court Case(Define Your Topic)

• Too general:– Distance Learning

– Exam Anxiety

– Single Parent Homes

• Can be defended:– Is Distance Learning Effective in Teaching/Learning?

– Using Relaxation Techniques in the Classroom for test anxiety

– Do children from single parent households experience more stress?

Step 1

Ensure Sufficient Information Exists

• Ensure there are sufficient sources to support your topic.

• If not:– Adjust your topic.

• What kinds of articles are you finding on your topic?

– Change your topic.

Search Out Evidence(Research Sources)

• Perform searches on your topic:– Ebsco Host – Library– Online journals

• Search for articles that will support your case

• If you find articles to the contrary, be responsible and report on those too

Step 2

Present the Evidence(Body of the paper)

• You present evidence by writing about and citing sources in the text of the paper– Smith and Rogan (2004) argue that…– McCann and Garcia (2005) found that…– It has been reported that…– (Walker & Jones, 2006)

Step 3

• Empirical Articles…Expert Witness!!!

Draw a Closing Argument (Discussion)

• Begin by briefly reviewing the entire case.• Based on all of the evidence you presented, draw

a conclusion.

– Did you prove your court case?

– What are the implications for the future?

Step 4

What is APA?

What Is APA?• At CSUB, the faculty require that all

papers, and other research activities should be formatted according to APA standards. But what does APA mean?

What Is APA?• APA refers to the American Psychological

Association.

• The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association– Over 300-page book.– Many researchers use APA format for

preparing papers for publication– Colleges use the guidelines for all

academic papers

Main Points of APA Manual

1. How to prepare a printed manuscript• Designing title page, using fonts, listing name and

affiliation, numbering pages, setting margins and spacing, and much more (EVERYTHING!!!!).

2. How to cite the work of others• How to cite the work or ideas of others, and thus

avoid plagiarism.• Plagiarism refers to using someone else's original

work or ideas within your own printed (or online) work and claiming (or giving the impression) that those ideas are your own original work.

Citing Works

• When you refer to someone else's ideas or words, you must cite them in 2 places:

1. Text of paper.

2. Reference section (bibliography) at the end of the paper.

Citing Works (cont’d)

• To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit in a paper whenever you:

– Use another person's idea, opinion, or theory.– Refer to facts, statistics, graphs, drawings, etc.

that are not common knowledge.– Quote another person's actual spoken or

written words (not allowed for your paper).– Paraphrase another person's spoken or written

words.

Preparation for Writingthe Research Paper

Develop an Outline

1. Identify themes you find in the articles you research.

2. Place the articles in categories, based on their themes.

3. Use these categories to develop your paper outline.

Developing an OutlineIdentify Themes

• When research distance learning, articles were about the following things:– Definitions and descriptions of what DL is.

(can be non empirical)– Technologies used in DL.– Various practices used in DL (some articles

mentioned good practices, others poor).

Developing an OutlineDraw Up the Outline

• Introduction– Introduce the topic of the paper, the case that you will attempt to

make, and introduce the topics (the outline) that will be covered. • What is Distance Learning?

– Define and introduce the topic. • Technologies Used in Distance Learning

– This section was determined after reading the articles. Summarize literature you have researched in this topic area.

• Good and Poor Practices in Distance Learning– This section was determined after reading the articles. Summarize

literature you have researched in this topic area. • Conclusion

– Briefly summarize the entire paper. Review the purpose of the paper, and its main points. Draw a conclusion.

Tips for Reading Articles

1. Read the abstracts then categorize

2. Scan the article & identify:(a) research question

(b) specify hypothesis(c) findings

(d) how results were interpreted

3. Read the easier articles first

4. Read, re-read & mentally digest

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How to List Sourcesin APA Format

Journals in Print

• Author (year of publication). Title of the article. Journal name, volume, (issue), page numbers.

Cumming, J. & Maxwell, G. (1999). Contextualising authentic assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 6 (2), 177-193.

Let’s get a close-up look…

Cumming, J. & Maxwell, G. (1999). Contextualising authentic assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 6 (2), 177-193.

Author’s last name, first initial.Multiple authors separated by &.

Year of article inparentheses,

followed by a period.

Articletitle iswrittenlike a

sentence.

Journal title is written withcapital letters, and

is Italicized.

Page numbers of he article are listed.

Online References

Ebsco Host (Online Journals)

• Author (year of publication). Title of article [Electronic version]. Journal Name, volume, (issue).

• Use with documents retrieved from Ebsco Host.

Cumming, J., & Maxwell, G. (1999). Contextualising authentic assessment [Electronic version]. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 6 (2).

Same as before, just addthis element.

Online References

Internet-only Journal

• Author (year). Title of article. Journal Name, volume, (issue), page numbers. Retrieved month day, year, from source.

Cumming, J., & Maxwell, G. (1999). Contextualising authentic assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 6 (2). Retrieved September 30, 2004, from http://www.articleplace.org/84567.html

Addthis

element.

Your Research PaperAt least 5 pages (body), plus title, abstract and

reference pagesDivided into sections

(Introduction/Background, Body, Discussion)Use at least 9 empirical articlesFollow APA publication guidelinesSources should be recent articles (2000 & up)

Your Research PaperIntroduction/Background

Introduction to research topic or questionWhat is it? Why is it worth investigating?Basic info about topic (other sources, stats)First two paragraphs

- last sentence of intro briefly outline organization of the rest of the paper

“recent articles on …..will be examined….”“In this review studies investigating….”

Your Research PaperBody of Paper

Summaries of studies reviewedEvery summary should include these basic components: Authors…Smith & White (2006) investgated IV& DV (do not write “IV” & “DV”)Subjects? Males, females, rats, age, how many?Methods: how did the collect their data?Results: What did they find?

No more than 2 paragraphs for each summary

TIP: Transition phrases…compare to previous study…

Your Research PaperDiscussion (evaluate the work)Remind reader of your original topic or question

(first paragraph)

Compare and contrast articles: based on your comparisons, evaluate the work done in your topic area

- strengths- weaknesses

Taking all studies together what can you say aboutthe current state of your topic

- what remains to be done

Research at least 9 Sources

• Selecting more than 9 sources is a good idea. Then you have more to write about.

• Don’t go too far, though. 20 sources is a bit too much!

I wish I had researched more

sources. I don’t have much to write about.