WritingaresearchreportinAPA-style.ppt

Writing a research report in APA-style Vesalius College SOC-203 Scientific research Main features of the scientific method Control External (intermediating) variables are excluded OR kept constant in order to understand causes ofobservations Operational definitions Terms defined by operations required to measure them improves communication, minimal ambiguity Replication Reliability of results: does replication lead to the same results? (inter-group, inter-subject, intra-subject, …) Operational definitions Not-operational Hunger Good salesman Fear Operational 8h without food Sells a lot, provides client with correct information, helpful, … Answers to fear questionnaire, Galvanic Skin Response, Amount of droppings in rats Goals of science DESCRIBE (ex Piaget, Freud) EXPLAIN (antecedents and causes) PREDICT (ex “weather”, “succeeding in college”) CONTROL (trigger wanted phenomena by manipulation of causes) Scientific method Problem identification – Hypothesis formation Make research problem “researchable” Experimental design control / measurement of all relevant variables Execution of experiment participants, instructions, staff, debriefing, data Hypothesis testing “suitable” data-analyse, interpretation of results Communication of results scientific publication Research process and research report A report in APA-style Title page Abstract Body (introduction, method, results, conclusion) References Tables and Pictures Extras: content / index, appendix, … APA-formatted references Journal articles Roy, A. (1982). Suicide in chronic schizophrenia. British Journal of Child and Family Studies, 141, 171-177. Book Struck, W., Jr., White, E. B. (1979). The elements of style (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan. Web page, no author, no date GVU’s 8th WWW user suvey. (n.d.) Retrieved September 19, 2001, from /gvu/user_surveys/survey-1997-10/ APA-formatted figure APA-formatted table Information LINKS Publication manual of the APA American Psychological Association (2001).