APA Publication Manual is currently in its 6th version since 1929.

APA manual presents rules for the preparation of manuscripts for publication.

Some of the rules may seem arbitrary, butThey provide a way to have clear and

consistent communication to reviewers/readersIn the APA manual, there’s a sample paper on

p. 41

Page Numbers Used to identify the pages as part of your article if they get separated Your title page is page 1 All other pages have subsequent page numbers In Microsoft Word 2003, go to View, Header and Footer, and click on

#. Justify right

In the new version of Word, go to Insert, Header, Edit Header, and click on page #.

Running head The R is capitalized; the h is not Then a colon Then an abbreviated title in all caps (less than 50 characters)

Title of your paper, Your Name, Affiliation (Caldwell College) Double spaced in center of page Put your title on several lines if it’s long

Note: The course name, professor’s name, and the date are NOT placed on the title page

Brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article

Can be read on PsycINFODo not add to what’s in the paper. Summarize.Number of words varies depending on journal – no more

than 250 wordsAbstract for an empirical study:

Problem under investigation Important characteristics of participants Most important and interesting features of your method Basic findings Conclusions, implications, applications

FormatOn page 2 (with Running head)Type Abstract in bold, centered at top of the page.

Type of the abstract itself as a single paragraph without indentation.

This is called the running head. The R is capitalized, and the h is

not. Then comes the colon, a couple spaces, and an

abbreviated title. If the title of your paper is short, sometimes the running head is identical.

Notice that the abbreviated title is in ALL CAPS. This goes on

every page.

This is the title. It is centered on the page

vertically and horizontally. It’s

double-spaced, and the first letter of most

of the words in the title are capitalized.

Your name goes here. It’s double spaced

under the title.

The name of the affiliation goes here. It’s double-spaced under

the title. Notice that the name of the class, your professor, and

the date ARE NOT written anywhere on the paper.

1Running head: CHOICE AND ON-TASK BEHAVIOR

Effects of Choice on On-Task Behavior in

Children with Autism

Tina Sidener

Caldwell College

Page number – Use Header function in Word to Insert page numbers.

Put your title on the first line of page 3Use headings and subheadings appropriate to the paper. If you

had 3 levels of headings, they’d look like this…

MethodParticipants and Setting

Response Measurement and Data Collection

On task. On schedule.

Pre-experimental Procedures Imitation assessment.

Preference assessment.

e.g., This means, “for example”

i.e., This means, “that is”

Example Reinforcers (e.g., Skittles, Bumbleball)

This means that Skittles and Bumbleball were 2 examples of reinforcers, but there were other reinforcers

Reinforcers (i.e., Skittles, Bumbleball) This means that Skittles and Bumbleball were the ONLY reinforcers that

were used

If you want to abbreviate a long term that you’re using, put the abbreviation in parentheses the first time you use it.Subsequently, only use the abbreviation (don’t switch back and

forth)Example

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) was used to reduce problem behavior

NCR was effective in reducing problem behavior for Joey

Incorrect: the learner makes their responseAlternatives

The learner makes the responseLearners make their responsesThe learner makes his or her responseThe learner makes his response

Alternate with his and her throughout text if you’re talking about more than 1 person

If you use an idea from another source, you must cite it (avoid plagiarism)

2 ways to do this….As part of the text of a sentence

According to Carr and Smith (2000), … In 2000, Carr and Smith evaluated…

At the end of a sentence Research has shown that this technique is very

effective (Carr & Smith, 2000). Research has shown that this technique is very

effective (e.g., Carr & Smith, 2000).

The first time you cite a source, provide the entire citationSmith, Kelley, Balsam, and Cheney (2005) reported

that…Reeve and Progar (2007)

If you cite that source again in your paper, shorten it toSmith et al. (2005) concluded that…Reeve and Progar (2007) ---would stay the same

Omit the year from subsequent citations after the first nonparenthetical citation within a paragraph.1st time – Sidener (2007); 2nd time – Sidener

Include the year in subsequent citations if first citation within a paragraph is parenthetical. 1st time – (Sidener, 2007); 2nd time – Sidener(2007)

If you use the exact words from another source, you mustPut them in quotesProvide the page number

Shouldn’t need to quote unless you’re providing a definition or the person said something very eloquent or noteworthy

2 major ways to do thisWithin a sentence

…is “the greatest invention of the 20th century” (Reid, 2003, p. 394).

At the end of a sentence Reid (2003) claimed that it’s “the greatest invention of the

20th century” (p. 394).

If you are citing more than 1 article, list them in order alphabetically by last name and separate them with semicolons.Only two studies have evaluated this

phenomenon (i.e., Carr & Smith, 2000; Tuttle & Kramer, 1996)

Type Reference or References in bold on the first line centered at the top of the page.

Different types of sources are listed differently – you may have to look it up

A good trick to know… To indent your references correctly in Microsoft Word, select the entire

reference Then choose the hanging indent triangle in the ruler at the top of the page Move it to the right to 0.5”

Journal Article Examples With digital object identifier – see www.doi.org

See example of doi at http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/

Kline, A. H. (2004). Effects of reinforcement on student behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 576-578. doi:10.1037/02786133.24.2.255 Without doi

Kline, A. H. (2004). Effects of reinforcement on student behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 576-578.

Retrieved from http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/

Book Examples Entire book

Kline, A. H. (2004). Reinforcement and its effects. Hillsdale, NJ: Context Press.

Book chapterCooper, L. S. (2006). Positive reinforcement. In A. H. Kline (Ed.),

Reinforcement and its effects (pp. 200-249). Hillsdale, NJ: Context Press.

After your references pageCaption is placed directly below the figure

Should be a brief but descriptive phraseSingle spaced (only use single-space for figs. &

tables)Examples:

Figure 1. Percentage of intervals with vocal stereotypy and motor stereotypy across conditions for Jenny.

Figure 2. Vocalizations per session for Mark (top panel) and Jenny (bottom panel) during Experiment 1.

General Rule: Use figures to express numbers 10 and above Use words to express numbers below 10

Exceptions – Use figures for ALL numbers when they… Are grouped for comparison with numbers above 10 (e.g., 2 of the 20

responses) Immediately precede a unit of measurement (e.g., 10.54 cm) Represent statistical or math functions, time, dates, ages, numbers of

participants, sums of money (e.g., multiplied by 5, 2-year-olds) Denote a specific place in a numbered series, parts of books or tables, and

each number in a list of four or more numbers (e.g., Table 3) Exceptions – Use words for ALL numbers when they…

Begin a sentence, title, or heading Are common fractions (e.g., one fourth) Have a universally accepted usage (e.g., the Fourth of July)

Exceptions – Combine numbers and words to provide clarity 2 two-way interactions Ten 7-point scales Twenty 6-year-olds The first 10 items

The word data is plural.Correct: These data are interesting. Incorrect: This data is interesting.

You model and children imitate.Hyphenation

Hyphenate an adjective and noun combination when it precedes another noun (e.g., low-frequency words; 5-min session).

Hyphenate a compound with a participle when it precedes the noun it modifies (e.g., role-playing techniques)

Do not hyphenate a compound that includes an adverb ending in ly (e.g., widely used test)

That and WhichThat clauses are essential to the meaning of the sentence

(e.g., The children that met criterion began the new curriculum)

Which clauses merely add further information (e.g., The discrimination programs, which had multiplied like flies, were strenuously edited)