APA research analysis papers require students and researchers to use the American Psychological Association style guidelines for citing sources and formatting papers. The American Psychological Association developed these guidelines to help establish a standard format for scholarly research papers within the social sciences. In this article, we will explore key elements of formatting and composing an APA research analysis paper including: the components of the paper, organizing and formatting guidelines, APA style citations, and tips for writing an analysis.
Components of an APA Research Analysis Paper
There are key components that must be included in an APA research analysis paper in order to meet the basic requirements. The main sections are:
Title Page: The title page should contain a running head, page number, title of the paper, author’s name, and school affiliation. The running head is a shortened version of the title in all caps and flushed left with the page number flushed right.
Abstract: The abstract provides a brief overview of the research paper by stating the purpose, scope, methods, and conclusions. It is usually 150-250 words and is written in block format without indentations.
Introduction: The introduction provides background information on the topic and states the specific purpose and research question or hypothesis. It incorporates citations to situate the paper within the larger body of scholarly work.
Method: The method section details how the research was conducted including information on participants, design, instruments, and procedures. It provides enough information to allow other researchers to replicate the study.
Results: The results section presents the data findings of the study in an objective manner. Data is shown through tables and figures with interpretation kept to a minimum.
Discussion: The discussion section provides interpretation of the results and connects them back to the existing literature on the topic. It evaluates how well the results supported or did not support the hypotheses.
References: The references section lists all in-text citations alphabetically by author’s last name in accordance with APA style guidelines.
Organization and Formatting Guidelines
APA formatted papers have very specific guidelines for spacing, pagination, headings, citations, and references that must be followed to present research in a scholarly, credible manner:
Papers are double-spaced throughout including titles, headings, block quotes, references, and figure captions. No additional spaces are used between paragraphs.
Pages are numbered consecutively starting with the title page as page one. The page number is placed in the top right header of each page.
Levels of headings (e.g. Level 1, Level 2, etc.) are used to organize sections of the paper. Level 1 headings are centered and boldfaced. Subsequent levels are indented and boldfaced or italicized.
Block quotes of more than 40 words are indented 0.5 inches from the left margin and double-spaced. They do not require quotation marks but must include the author, date, and page or paragraph number.
In-text citations include the author’s last name and date. Direct quotations also require the page number. Two author names are joined by an ampersand in the narrative but by “and” in parentheses.
References are ordered alphabetically by author’s last name. References from the same author are ordered by year of publication with the oldest source appearing first.
APA Style Citations
Proper citations allow readers to locate sources easily and demonstrate academic integrity by giving credit to other authors’ work and ideas. APA style citations have very specific formatting guidelines:
Parenthetical citations include the author’s last name, publication year, and page number if quoting: (Smith, 2020, p. 172).
For two authors, use “and”: (Johnson & Smith, 2020). For three-five authors, cite all authors the first time then use “et al.” in subsequent citations: (Johnson et al., 2020).
For sources with no author, use the title in italics and year: (“Achieving Greatness”, 2020). For organizations as authors, spell out the full name: (World Health Organization, 2020).
References include all elements that appear in the parenthetical citation in a specific order such as author, date, title, source, etc. The reference list entry is double-spaced and has a hanging indent.
Tips for Writing the Analysis
The analysis section synthesizes and interprets the results instead of just restating them. Consider the following tips when writing the analysis:
Explain how the results relate to and either support or contradict the original hypothesis or research question. Do not just restate but provide analysis.
Interpret the practical or real-world significance of the findings. Discuss implications, applications, and why the results matter beyond just answering the research question.
Compare and contrast results to previous studies in the literature. Were results consistent or different? Explain agreements and disagreements between studies.
Acknowledge limitations and shortcomings in the research methodology that may impact interpretation of results. Offer suggestions for how future studies could improve.
Conclude by clearly stating how the study added to the body of knowledge on the topic and suggest avenues for future research on open questions.
Following APA style guidelines precisely ensures research analysis papers are presented in a clear, readable format acceptable within the social sciences. Having a well-formulated analysis that interprets instead of just reports findings is the hallmark of scholarly study.
Andrew Stroud