Abstract
An abstract is a single paragraph, without indentation, that summarizes the key points of the manuscript in 150 to 250 words. For simpler papers in Paul Rose’s classes, a somewhat shorter abstract is fine. The purpose of the abstract is to provide the reader with a brief overview of the paper. When in doubt about a rule, check the sixth edition APA style manual rather than relying on this template. (Although I prefer only one space after a period, two spaces after a period are suggested by the sixth-edition APA manual at the top of page 88.) This document has a history that compels me to give credit where it’s due. Many years ago I downloaded a fifth-edition template from an unspecified author’s web site at Northcentral University. I modified the template extensively and repeatedly for my own purposes and in the early years I shared my highly-modified templates only with my own students. By now, I have edited this document so many times in so many ways that the current template bears virtually no similarity to the old Northcentral document. I want to be clear, however, that I am in debt to an unknown author who spared me the inconvenience of having to create my own templates from scratch.
This is where the body of your paper begins. Note that the title of your paper appears at the top of your introduction even though other sections begin with headings like “Method”, “Results” and so on. The rest of the text in this template provides hints about properly generating the parts of your APA-formatted paper. Notice that there is no extra spacing between the paragraphs or sections.
The major components of your paper (abstract, body, references, etc.) each begin on a new page. These components begin with centered headings at the top of the first page. (You can see how major components of text get divided in this freely available sample document: http://www.apastyle.org/manual/related/sample-experiment-paper-1.pdf ). Some papers have multiple studies in them so the body could have multiple sections and subsections within it.
Sections can have subsections with headings. For example, a Method section might have Participants, Materials, and Procedure subsections if there are enough details to explain to warrant such headings. The sixth edition of the APA manual, unlike earlier editions, tells you to bold some headings. Below are examples.
Introduction
Participants in this study included 100 women from the ages of 18 to 35 years of age. Participants were recruited online through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and e-mail via a post describing the survey and a link to the survey. The use of differing online platforms to recruit participants was used in order to get a large sample size of the demographic being studied. All participants were volunteers.
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Materials
The participants took part in a survey that was created through Qualtrics. The survey was accessed via the internet through the use of cellphones, computers or tablets. Before the survey began, participants were given a brief, informing participants of the purpose of the survey and asking for consent to use the information for research purposes, in which they chose “Yes” to continue if they desired to be a part of the study.
The survey consisted of two parts. The first part of the survey contained 10 questions regarding the demographics and social media use habits of each individual taking the survey (see Appendix A). The first two questions asked participants to verify their age group and educational level. The following eight questions gathered information on how often one uses social media, for what reason they use social media and which types of social media platforms they engage in.
The second portion of the survey used the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) to determine each participants level of self-esteem (see Appendix B). This scale is 10 question 4-point Likert scale. Answers range from strongly agree to strongly disagree. In order to score this scale a certain number of points has been assigned to each item. The highest number of points possible is 30. A score lower than 15 indicates a lower self-esteem.
Design and Procedure
This study was a non-experimental correlational study, looking for a link between time spent online and levels of self-esteem among women, ages 18 to 35. A link to the survey was posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and through e-mail with a description of the demographics we were targeting as well as a brief description stating that those interested could take a quick survey for research by clicking on the link provided. Those who chose to click on the link were taken to a page describing the purpose of the survey and given the choice to continue on from there or not. Those who continued on then completed a 20-item survey that consisted of two parts. The first 10 questions they answered were measuring the amount of time they spent on social media. The second part contained 10 questions that were measuring their self-esteem. Once the survey was complete participants were shown a prompt thanking them for their time.
Results
Check your assigned reading materials for rules about citations (which occur within the text of the paper) and references (which are listed in their own separate section at the end of the paper). Remember that you can find a lot of answers to formatting questions with a careful search. When you’re looking at information online, check the source, and consider whether the information might refer to an older edition of APA format. When in doubt, follow the latest edition of the APA manual.
References
- Ajournalarticle, R. H., Spud, P. T., & Psychologist, R. M. (2016). Title of journal article goes here. Journal of Research in Personality, 22, 236-252. doi:10.1016/0032-026X.56.6.895*
- B’Onlinesourcesareconfusing, S. O. (2010). Search for answers at apastyle.org and include issue numbers after volume numbers when there is no DOI. Journal of Articles Without Digital Object Identifiers, 127 (3), 816-826.
- Cmagazinearticle, B. E. (2009, July). Note the last names on this page: Each source type has to be formatted in a different way. [Special issue]. Prose Magazine, 126 (5), 96-134.
- Dbookreference, S. M., Orman, T. P., & Carey, R. (1967). Google scholar’s “cite” feature is usually accurate and time-saving. New York, NY: Pearson.
- O’encyclopedia, S. E. (1993). Words. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (vol. 38, pp. 745-758). Chicago, IL: Penguin.
- Pchapter, P. R., & Inaneditedvolume, J. C. (2001). Scientific research papers provide evidence of frustration with giant style manuals. In P. Z. Wildlifeconservation, R. Dawkins, & J. H. Dennett (Eds.), Research papers are hard work but boy are they good for you (pp. 123-256). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
- Qosenberg, Morris. (1994, September 11). This is how you cite an online news article that has an author. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/dir/subdir/2014/05/11/a-d9-11e3_story.html
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