Running head: AN ABBREVIATED TITLE OF UP TO 50 …



Summarize the Main Idea of the Paper in Twelve Words or Less

Jane Q. Author

Buffalo State College

Abstract

The abstract should be approximately 150 words in length and consist of a brief and comprehensive summary of your paper. Begin with a one sentence statement of the problem under investigation. Identify the participants as well as the method, your findings and conclusions. Care should be taken in developing an abstract that is clear and concise. Often the abstract will determine if a reader will spend the time to read your entire paper. The paper should be typed with one-inch margins and doubled spaced. Be sure to follow all of the guidelines listed in the Publication Manual.

Summarize the Main Idea of the Paper in Twelve Words or Less

The introduction will set the stage for the entire paper. In this section the you will justify the purpose and value of the research. The introduction typically includes a literature review of the topic and a description of the hypotheses you will test. Do not include an exhaustive historical review. Assume that the reader has some knowledge of the field of which you are writing. Also, do not just summarize one research article after another. You should integrate previous work and demonstrate how it logically leads to the goal of your paper. Explain how your study will contribute to the understanding of the topic under investigation. Every sentence and paragraph should flow into the next.

You must acknowledge the sources of the ideas you discuss. You will need to refer to the publication manual for a more detailed discussion of author citation but typically you will include the authors and year of publication. The citation can be part of a sentence (e.g., "Kerry and Jones (1995)”) or included in parentheses (e.g., "(Kerry & Jones, 1995)"). If two or more works by different authors are cited within the same parentheses, list the works in alphabetical order by the first author's surname (e.g., "(Jinnerwisky, 1992; Kerry & Jones, 1995; Rosewall, 1978)"). All citations that appear in your paper must appear on the reference list and only references that you cite in the text may appear on the reference list. I would encourage you to avoid quotations, but, if you must include one, limit it to fewer than 40 words. "The quotation is enclosed in double quotation marks and will include the page number of the source of the quotation" (Rosewall, 1978, p. 239).

Method

Participants

Here you will identify the participants. Identify the number of participants and how they were obtained. Include all relevant characteristics such as age and gender.

Materials

Briefly describe the apparatus or materials that were used. You should describe each measure in enough detail that others will be able to evaluate or replicate your study. For this description, include details on the content, scoring, reliability, and validity of each of your materials.

Procedure

Here you will summarize each step you followed in the execution of your research. Describe how subjects were assigned to conditions, the instructions they were given and any special experimental manipulation. Be sure to address any ethical considerations. The Method section should tell the reader what you did and how you did it so that your study could be replicated. Note that these three subsections are standard for papers describing one experiment. You may need to add additional sections, such as Research Design, for more complex studies. Be sure to consult the Publication Manual for guidelines.

Results

This section will summarize the data collected and statistical analysis. You should justify the analysis performed. List your analyses in the order of your hypotheses. Do not fail to report results simply because the results are nonsignificant. Be sure to use headings to organize your results.

You can often summarize the results in a table. Tables are economical on space, are precise, and can often be more easily understood by the reader. Table 1 is an example of what a table may look lie which presents a summary of the descriptive statistics. When you report inferential statistics (e.g., t-tests, F tests. etc... ) include enough information to allow the reader to corroborate the analysis. State your main findings and include information about the obtained magnitude of the test, the degrees of freedom, the level of significance, and the direction of the effect. At this point do not present the implications of the results. Report results like this, t (75) = 2.19, p = .04, (2 = .06, or this, F (1, 46) = 540.32, p < .001, (2 = .16..

Discussion

This section builds on the results by interpreting them and relating them to the information you presented in the introduction especially with respect to your hypotheses. Begin with a clear statement of the support or nonsupport of your original hypotheses. Do not just restate the statistics. This is where you bring it all together. Each statement should contribute to your position and the reader's understanding of the problem. You want to convey what the study has contributed, how it has resolved the original problem, how these results relate to any prior research, any limitations of the study, and what conclusions or theoretical implications can be drawn from the study.

References

Jinnerwisky, P. 0. (1992). Dynamic of life. In H.P. Richards (Ed.) The life and times of a lost

planet (pp. 89-100). Oakdale, CA: Hopkins, Inc.

Kerry, R. Y., & Jones, T. P. (1995). So you want to be a psychologist: The highs and lows of

messing with gray matter. Journal of Developmental Matter, 25, 444-467. doi:

10.1037/00963345.134.2.258

Rosewall, T. P. (1978). The answers to it all (3rd ed.). New York: Marshall.

Table 1

Summary of Descriptive Statistics of Test Scores

Males Females

Lecture Style M SD n M SD n

Lecture 98 .07 20 99 .04 23

Video 85 .03 26 81 .50 25

Self Taught 75 .09 23 79 03 27

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