One way is to select

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Paper 1 Guidelines

Lab in Psychopathology

Most Important Things to Remember

  Exercise in form rather than content   All about APA (latest edition) -  Do not copy formatting from original article -  Purdue Online Writing Lab

  Write the paper based on your data only

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APA – General Formatting

  Double-spaced   Times New Roman 12-point font   Stapled hard copy due in class on “Draft due

date” (see syllabus)

APA – Essential Elements

  Title page with running head   Abstract   Introduction   Method   Results   Discussion   References   Tables

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Title Page

  Make up your own title -  Short but informative -  Include most important variables

  Running head -  Two or three word ‘summary title’ -  Appears as header on all pages of paper -  Words “Running Head” appear on title page only

Abstract

  Short summary of paper (approx. 200 words) including research questions, variables, hypotheses, results.

  No need to include statistics.   Best to write this once you have finished writing

the paper itself.

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Introduction   Provide wider context   Review relevant literature (use the original paper as

guidance)   Define all specialized terms/concepts

-  E.g., psychopathy, instrumental violence, etc.

  ‘Lead up’ to your research questions by pointing out relevant gaps in literature

  Give a (very) short summary of methods to provide the research context and explain operationalization of variables

  Clearly state your hypotheses

Method

  Describe methods relevant to your data only   Include at least 3 subsections -  Participants (Who are they? How many? Where

from? Gender? Age?) -  Materials (PCL-R, Prison documentation) -  Procedure (What was involved in diagnosis of

psychopathy? How were the crimes coded?)

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Results

  In words: were your hypotheses supported or not?

  In numbers: APA format for chi-square:

χ2 (1, N = 77) = 12.9, p < .0005

  Refer reader to your tables (e.g., see Table 1)   But do not include actual tables in results

section (they go on separate pages at the end of the paper)

Discussion

  Reiterate the goal of your study.   Briefly reiterate your hypotheses.   Did your results support them? If so/not, why?   How do your results fit with prior findings in the

literature? Include references   What are the broader implications of the study and

your results?   What might be some limitations? (Hint: think of the

kind of data you had)   Based on these limitations, what future research

directions could be taken?

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References

  As many as needed to include in your introduction and discussion -  General rule: if you make a claim, you must back it

up with a reference   Can be taken from the original article or through

search on PsychInfo   Separate page

Tables

  Separate pages for each table   One table for each chi-square analysis   Specific APA formatting   Use the following slides as guides

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Tables

  Example: testing the relationship between depression and attitudes toward exercise

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Start with a regular table in Word and use menu functions to format, e.g., •  Center vertically and horizontally •  Cell merging •  Row height adjustment •  Gridlines (Table Borders)

To center cell content   Select cell content   Click on “Align center” icon (see next slide) OR   Go to Table menu

-  Click Table Properties -  Click Cell -  Click Center under ‘Vertical Alignment’

  Go to Format menu -  Click Paragraph -  Click Centered in ‘Alignment’ menu

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To merge cells

  Select cells to be merged (for example, the cell containing ‘Depression Status’ and the cell next to it).

  Click on “Cell merge” icon (see next slide) OR   Go to Table menu

-  Click Cell merge

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  You can also merge: -  the cell that contains “Attitude Toward Exercise”

and the one below -  the cell that contains the chi-square symbol and the

one below

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To adjust the height of rows   Select rows you want to adjust (e.g., first two rows)   Go to Table menu

-  Click Table Properties -  Click Row -  Click Specify Height -  Play with height until the rows are equal

  See next slide to see table after having adjusted first two rows

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Delete vertical gridlines and any unneeded horizontal gridlines

  Select cells   Play with gridlines icons in toolbar to remove/add

gridlines -  There are different ways of doing this. One way is to select

all cells and clear all gridlines; then re-select cells that require gridlines and add them one-by-one. (See next few slides).

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Adjust borders according to APA rules

Italicize according to APA rules

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Final formatted table