Why Use APA Guidelines?
•
APA (American Psychological Association)
formatting is the best option for writing
papers in the Social Sciences, such as Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology.
•
Parenthetical citation format and References pages allow the reader to quickly and clearly
access the sources you have used. APA does not recommend the use of footnotes or endnotes.
•
By citing all sources you have used in a standard and clear format, you protect your work
from accusations of plagiarism.
•
Using APA formatting gives your paper instant credibility in the academic world.
Types of APA Papers
Literature Reviews
• In a Literature Review, you are taking vast quantities of information presented by experts in the
form of scientific literature, and summarizing your findings in a unified, concise package.
• Usually, you will be assigned a topic or question to research, and you will be turned
loose to locate peer-reviewed articles in databases and other print and web publications.
Experimental Reports
• In an experimental report, you will be asked to design and conduct original experimental
research and record your findings in minute detail and logic. APA formatting is used in
this type of paper.
• Your experimental report should be broken down into the following
sections that answer specific questions:
1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction Section:
–
Why is the topic important?
–
What is the problem your experiment is addressing?
4. Methods Section:
–
How did you try to solve this problem?
5. Results Section:
–
What did you find while conducting your research?
6. Discussion Section:
–
What do you think your findings mean?
7. References
8. Appendixes (optional)
9. Tables and Figures (optional)
APA Guidelines Cheat Sheet
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