Introduction to APA Style Research Papers
The American Psychological Association (APA) style guide is commonly used for citing references in research papers, especially in the social sciences field. Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (Owl) provides a wealth of resources for learning APA style. This article examines various elements of APA style research papers through examples from Purdue Owl’s website.
Setting up the Title Page
The title page includes important details such as the paper title, author name, and school affiliation. The basic format is:
The title of the paper should be centered in the upper half of the page. It should not be bolded, underlined, or italicized. The title should clearly but concisely convey what the paper is about.
Your name should be centered beneath the title. Your name does not need to be bolded, underlined, or italicized either.
Below your name should go your institution affiliation, which is typically your university or college name. It should be centered on the page and not bolded, underlined, or italicized.
The page header (also known as the “running head”) should be on the title page as well. The running head consists of the shortened version of the title in all caps at the top left of the page. It should not exceed 50 characters including spacing.
The title page is numbered as page 1. The page number is inserted at the top right corner of the page. Note that the title page counts in the overall page count but does not list the page number on the title page itself.
Constructing Section Headings
APA style uses five heading levels to separate and classify different sections of a research paper. Here are the five heading levels and their required formatting:
Level 1 headings are centered, bolded, and in title case (first letter of each word capitalized). They should appear at the top of the introduction, literature review sections, and any new sections.
Level 2 headings are left-aligned, bolded, and in title case. They serve as subsections within a Level 1 heading section.
Level 3 headings are left-aligned, boldfaced, and only the first letter of the first word capitalized. They provide further subsections within Level 2 headings.
Level 4 headings are left-aligned, boldfaced and italicized, with the first letter of the first word capitalized. Level 4 headings precede very short subsections or stand-alone sections.
Level 5 headings are left-aligned, italicized, with the first letter of the first word capitalized. They further break down Level 4 subsections to an even more granular level.
In-Text Citations
APA style uses the author-date method of citation, which means any reference to outside sources in the body of the paper are cited by author’s last name and the date published. Some examples of in-text citations:
According to Jones (1998), student engagement is the basis for effective learning.
In a recent study, Smith et al. (2003) found that class clowns perform better academically than their peers.
Several scholars have argued student-centered learning leads to higher cognitive development (Doe, 2012; Williams, 2014; Thomas, 2016).
When directly quoting from outside sources, include the author, date, and page number like so:
As Doe (2017) stated, “Parental involvement directly correlates to higher test scores” (p. 42).
Reference List
The reference list is placed at the end of the paper on a new page with the centered header “References.” The list contains only the sources cited within the paper, arranged in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names. If no author is present, alphabetize based on the source title. Some examples of reference list entries:
Book with single author:
Doe, J. (2016). Pedagogy in practice. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
E-book:
Thomas, S. (2012). Social learning theory in the digital age [Ebook]. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10/9780199940055.001.0001/acprof-9780199940055
Journal article with multiple authors:
Williams, M., Smith, C., Jones, Z., (2020). Student engagement across disciplines. Journal of Educational Research, 13(4), 178-190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13398-014-01737
Newspaper article:
Johnson, A. (2019, May 17). Local schools receive state grant. The Times. http://www.thetimes.com
Website with no author:
Purdue University Global. (n.d.). Online Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/
Conclusion
The American Psychological Association style provides a standard format for research papers across academic disciplines. Purdue University’s Owl website offers numerous research paper examples for citing sources, setting up title pages, organizing references, and properly formatting headings using APA style. Carefully following these stylistic guidelines ensures research papers are presented uniformly and sources are accurately attributed. Owl Purdue’s APA style resources are invaluable aids in writing high-quality papers adhering to standard conventions.