For general formatting of research papers, requires the adoption of the American Psychological Association (APA) Formatting and Style Guide. The APA is the most commonly used citation guide within the social sciences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Objective 1 Format the four major sections of a formal research paper.
Objective 2 Apply proper APA formatting throughout the entire research paper.
Objective 3 Format a cover page.
Objective 4 Adopt a unique academic writing style.
Delores Patton
Lecture Notes
Writing, even for professionals, is always a challenge. It takes time, patience, and effort. Allowing yourself enough time for writing is a must. The quality of your writing will reflect the time and preparation you put into it.
Start with a first draft but remember that your first draft is not going to be your final paper. You should plan on writing multiple drafts and revisions. You will find that when writing your drafts, you may still have holes that you need to fill with additional research.
Do not let coherence be your objective in writing the first draft. Coherence is very important but it will not come until after several revisions. Even when you have all the information you need, your writing will not be perfectly clear the first time around.
If you have your organizational structure in place, the task of filling in the content will be much smoother. Don’t worry about perfection at this time. Do your best with regard to grammar, spelling, or forming complete sentences at this point. You can fine tune your paper later. At this point, the most important thing to focus on is getting your thoughts down and in their proper places in the paper.
Style of Prose
Even as you create your first draft, be mindful of your style of prose. Consistency is key, in order to have your report flow smoothly. Make a habit of following the APA guidelines right from the start, as this will help you learn the discipline. For example, the APA prefers that in writing your report you complete the following:
1. Use the active voice rather than the passive voice. See example below.
Active: Jones surveyed the participants.
Passive: The participants were surveyed by Jones.
2. Use the past tense for literature review but present tense for presenting conclusions.3. Use first person reference when appropriate instead of third person. For example:
First person: I analyzed the data.
Third person: The researcher analyzed the data.
4. Refer to people in the study in a more personal manner, as in participants, individuals, students or respondents versus the generic term subjects.
Source: Leedy, P. D. & Ormond, J. E. (2005). Practical Research: Planning and Design (8th ed.) New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Heading levels
Levels indicate the hierarchy of importance and scope of each heading and subheading. The extent of using the different levels depends on the length and complexity of the paper. Usually, short papers or articles use two to three levels, but longer papers necessitate up to five levels. Level 1 encompasses a broader topic and levels 2 to 5 cover narrow to more detailed topics.
There are five levels of headings in APA Style:
Level 1 Section heading
Level 2 Subsection heading
Level 3 Subsection of a subsection heading
Level 4 Subsection under a subsection of a subsection heading
Level 5 Subsection under the three subsections heading
Guidelines:
No heading is needed for the first part of a paper as it is already assumed as the introduction.
Headings and subheadings are not accompanied by letters or numbers.
Use as many levels as required in your paper to present the most organized structure.
The same level of heading or subheading should be of equal importance regardless of the number of subsections under it.
Use at least two subheadings for each section and subsection, or use none.
Start with level 1 through 5.
Paragraph begins below levels 1 and 2, whereas for levels 3-5, the paragraph begins in line with the headings.
Capitalize each word for levels 1 and 2.
For levels 3-5, the headings are indented and end with a period.
Only the first word is capitalized for levels 3-5.
To give you a clearer picture, here is the recommended format and example for the heading levels:
Level Format
1 Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
Paragraph begins below with indention just like a regular paragraph.
2 Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase, and Lowercase Heading
Paragraph begins below with indention just like a regular paragraph.
3 Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Paragraph begins in line with the headings.
4 Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period. Paragraph begins in line with the headings.
5 Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.Paragraph begins in line with the headings.
Retrieved on April 27, 2014 from: http://apaformat.org/apa-headings-and-subheadings/
Margins
According to apastyle.org, it is best to set “uniform margins of at least 1 in. (2.54 cm) on the top, bottom, left, and right of every page. Use your word-processing software to add a header that will appear at the top of every page that includes the running head and the page number. The header appears within the top margin, not below it.”
Additional guidance is offered about how information should be presented as shown below:
Lists
Lists, such as numbered lists and bulleted lists, may be used in APA Style. Each item on the list is punctuated at the end by a comma, semicolon, or period depending on the grammatical structure of the list. Numbers are followed by periods and are not in parentheses. In running text, a series of items is designated by letters in parentheses: (a) first item, (b) second item, and (c) third item.
Tables
Tables can help you present a large amount of material efficiently. Table layout needs to be logical and easy for readers to understand. Here are some guidelines on formatting your table:
Place each table on a separate page at the end of your manuscript, after the reference list.
If font size and style are not specified by the organization for which you are writing (e.g., publisher, university), the suggested font is 12-point Times New Roman.
Margins depend on the size of the table but must be at least 1 in. (2.54 cm).
Tables may use single-spacing or one-and-a-half spacing.
Information necessary for understanding the table and definitions of abbreviations used within the table appear in a table note.
Figures
Many types of figures can help you present data to the reader, including graphs, charts, maps, drawings, and photographs. A good figure is easy to read with elements large enough to be read easily. Here are some guidelines on creating figures:
Place each figure on a separate page at the end of your manuscript, after any tables (or after the reference list, if there are no tables).
Place a caption below each figure describing its contents and defining any abbreviations used in the figure.
Read more, including how to format the running head and title page, at: http://www.apastyle.org/learn/quick-guide-on-formatting.aspx.
Also refer to the following sources for additional formatting guidance:
APA Basics tutorial: http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx
Quick guide to references: http://www.apastyle.org/learn/quick-guide-on-references.aspx
APA Style Blog: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/01/asking-the-right-question-how-can-the-reader-find-the-source.html
PowerPoint Lecture Notes
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HE490 Healthcare Capstone: Research Studies
Directions: Be sure to save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling, and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be double‐spaced; refer to the “Format Requirementsʺ page for specific format requirements.
This section prepares you to complete this assignment successfully. Please follow these instructions to complete and submit the assignment.
1. Create a Word document for your responses and save.
2. Be sure to include a title page that includes your name, student ID number, course code, course name, and submission date.
3. When you are ready to submit the assignment, attach the document to your assignment and submit it to Ashworth College through the Assignments tool located on the left-hand navigation bar.
Submit the following:
1. Apply the APA Style Guide and Format to the body and conclusion sections of your current draft including the bibiliography. Consult the Lecture Notes on these sections to guide you.
2. Submit the APA formatted version of your draft.