III. Writing a scientific paper
- 1. to add to scientific knowledge
- a) as it relates to prior knowledge
- b) as it provides new knowledge
2. to convey information clearly and concisely
- a) clarity of presentation
- b) conciseness of presentation
B. Types of articles and representative journals
2. Reviews of prior findings
3. "Archival" data
- a) studies that are worth publishing
- b) broad band
- c) narrow field
4. Methodology
C. Conventional Styles
2. American Psychological Association journals-- APA style
- a) Sections of an APA style paper (with links to M. Plonsky's guide to the APA style)
- (1) Title page
- (a) title
- (b) author(s)
- (c) affiliation
- (d) running head
- (2) Abstract
- (3) Introduction
- (a) review of previous work
- (b) theoretical questions being examined
- (c) overview of study
- (4) Method
- (a) enough information to allow someone to replicate the study if they chose to do so
- (b) Subjects/participants
- i) who were they
- ii) how were they chosen
- iii) what special characteristics do they have
- (c) Apparatus
- i) any special equipment or forms
- (d) Procedure
- i) what was said by the experimenter
- ii) what was asked of the participant
- (5) Results
- (a) any finding worth discussing is introduced here
- (b) references are made to tables and figures
- i) (insert table X about here)
- ii) actual tables and figures appear later in manuscript
- (6) Discussion and Conclusion
- (a) what do the results mean
- (b) how do the results relate to the original hypotheses?
- (c) implications for further study
- (7) References
- (8) Tables
- (9) Figure Captions
- (10) Figures
- b) Stylistic considerations
- (1) general style of writing
- (2) specific requirements
- (a) partially meant for the ease of editing
- (b) margins and spacing
- (c) levels of headings
- (d) running heads
3. Writing an APA Style paper -- further notes on grading
- a) APA style considerations considered and to be followed
- (1) see APA style manual
- (2) see additional handout and APA_Tutor file
- (3) insert Figure 1 type message at end of paragraphs
- b) General style considerations
- (1) overall
- (a) Remember what is important in each paragraph and each section.
- (2) minor comments
- (a) data are plural!
- (b) no unnecessary words
- (c) complete sentences
- (d) tense
- c) Abstract 100-150 words
- (1) problem
- (2) number of subjects
- (3) specific variable tested
- (4) methods and special controls
- (5) results
- d) Introduction
- (1) Style
- (a) no unnecessary words
- (b) tense should be consistent
- (2) Content
- (a) state the problem being examined. Why does someone care about this? What is the big issue?
- (b) how is this study similar to previous studies
- (c) how does this study differ from other studies
- e) Method
- (1) are the procedures clear enough to allow for a replication?
- (a) was the experiment done on a group or individual
- (b) computer display, vocal, overheads, memory drum?
- i) if a computer display, then what kind?
- (1) (different machines have different pixel ratios)
- ii) if an EEG, then what brand
- (1) so someone can replicate on the same equipment
- (2) subjects/participants
- (a) how many, how chosen, any special characteristics
- (b) any loss of subjects? If so, why?
- (3) materials
- (a) word lists can be included in an appendix
- (b) if taken from another study, this can be mentioned
- (c) why are the stimulus materials so important?
- i) Are the effects due to characteristics of the words or something else?
- ii) if a conceptual replication doesn't work, then maybe it is a materials effect
- (4) procedures
- (a) what was said, what was done
- (b) how many trials were presented?
- (c) how were the materials presented?
- (d) Mentioning of counterbalancing is adequate, don't need to spell out how it was done unless it was particularly tricky
- i) e.g., counterbalanced by a latin square
- (e) If it is completely obvious, then it is not necessary to say.
- f) Results
- (1) tests done
- (a) value of test (F(2,18) = 2.4 p <.05)
- (2) means if just 2, otherwise table
- (3) insert table about here goes at end of a paragraph
- (4) Report a result and if it is tabled, then say (Table x).
- (5) styles keep changing
- (a) when ANOVA was first introduced, everyone spelled out their entire table, now people tend to just report the critical test done and report the means in a table.
- g) Discussion
- (1) what were the main findings
- (2) what do they mean?
- (3) where do we go from here?
- h) references
- (1) spell out journal names, do not abbreviate (note that this is a change)
- i) tables
- (1) 1/page
- (2) don't report the raw data, merely summary means that are relevant
Part of a course in Research Methods in Psychology (Psychology 205) at Northwestern University, developed by William Revelle.
Back to the course syllabus.
Revised April 16, 2002