Introduction
The American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for social science research papers. This style guide provides writers with a set of standards for reference citations and formatting papers. When writing research papers in the APA style, it is important to follow the specific guidelines on formatting, in-text citations, headings, layout, and more. This article will provide an example of what an APA style research paper from 2012 looks like with sections, headings, citations, and references in 2012 format.
Abstract
The abstract is an important section that appears immediately after the title page. The abstract provides readers with a brief yet comprehensive summary of the paper. According to the APA publication manual, an abstract should be between 150-250 words. For example:
“This paper examines the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance in college students. Participants included 100 undergraduate students from a large public university. Data collection involved surveys measuring sleep quality, stress levels, and self-reported GPA. Results showed that students reporting poor sleep quality tended to have lower GPAs than students with good sleep quality. Students with high levels of stress reported worse sleep than less stressed students. Implications and future directions are discussed.”
Introduction
The introduction section comes after the abstract. The introduction should contain a thesis statement, briefly introduce the topic, provide background information, review previous literature, state the importance and goals of the current study. For example:
“Sleep is essential for optimal health and daytime functioning. Previous research has shown that inadequate sleep is associated with poorer academic performance in students (Kelly, Kelly, & Clanton, 2001; Curcio, Ferrara, & De Gennaro, 2006; Jenni & Carskadon, 2004). Few studies have directly examined the relationship between measured sleep quality and self-reported grade point average (GPA) in college students. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether objectively measured sleep quality predicts self-reported GPA in a sample of undergraduate students while also considering stress levels as a potential mediator.”
Method
The method section should provide detailed information about the research design, participants, materials, and procedure used in the study. Include information needed to replicate the study. For example:
“Participants were 100 undergraduate students recruited from a large public university. There were 62 females and 38 males, with a mean age of 19.7 years (SD = 1.2). Participants were recruited through the psychology department research participation pool and received course credit for their involvement. Materials included a demographic questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; Buysse, Reynolds, Monk, Berman, & Kupfer, 1989), a visual analog scale assessing stress levels over the past month, and a self-report of cumulative college GPA. Participants arrived to the lab and provided informed consent. They then completed surveys on a computer in a private room. At the end, they were debriefed and awarded credit.”
Results
The results section should provide statistical analyses and main findings without interpretation. Present data in figures or tables if needed for clarity. For example:
“A linear regression analysis was conducted with PSQI global sleep quality score as the predictor variable and self-reported GPA as the outcome variable. Stress level was entered in the second step as a potential mediator. PSQI score significantly predicted GPA, B = -0.12, t(98) = -2.34, p = .02, with poor sleep associated with lower GPA. When stress was added to the model, it also significantly predicted GPA, B = -0.15, t(97) = -3.01, p = .003, and the PSQI effect was reduced, B = -0.09, t(97) = -1.78, p = .08. Sobel’s test confirmed stress significantly mediated the relationship between sleep and GPA (z = 2.01, p = .04).”
Discussion
The discussion section should interpret the results, relate the findings to prior literature, acknowledge limitations, and suggest future directions. For example:
“The current results supported our hypothesis that poorer measured sleep quality predicts lower self-reported college GPA. This is consistent with previous work linking inadequate sleep to academic problems (Curcio et al., 2006). Furthermore, we found stress partially mediated this relationship, suggesting that stress may be one way sleep impacts grades. One implication is that targeting sleep and stress issues could help improve student success. A limitation was reliance on self-report for GPA. Future studies should obtain official transcripts. Additionally, examining specific dimensions of sleep quality may provide more targeted insights.”
References
The reference section lists all sources cited in the text in alphabetical order by author’s last name. References follow APA’s specific formatting guidelines. For example:
Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28, 193–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4
Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10, 323-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2005.11.001
Jenni, O. G., & Carskadon, M. A. (2004). Spectral analysis of the sleep electroencephalogram during adolescence. Sleep, 27, 774-783. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/27.4.774
Kelly, W. E., Kelly, K. E., & Clanton, R. C. (2001). The relationship between sleep length and grade-point average among college students. College Student Journal, 35, 84-86.
Conclusion
This sample 2012 APA style research paper provides an example of the key sections including title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion and references section. Key elements illustrated include in-text citations, section headings, formatting of references according to APA guidelines, use of statistical analyses in results, and interpretation and limitations discussion. Following guidelines like these can help students become familiar with writing research papers in APA format.
Andrew Stroud