APA Written Assignment Psyc 2314

1. APA Written AssignmentPsyc 2314

2. Summarize the article, but exclude the Results section • Paraphrase- write in your own words • Explain & Interpret • No direct quotations • Write in PAST tense because it already happened • http://facultyweb.wcjc.edu/users/hutchinsonj/SampleAPAPaperGoodCorrelational.pdf • http://facultyweb.wcjc.edu/users/hutchinsonj/SampleAPAPaperGoodExperimental.pdf Purpose of the Paper

3. Overview of experiment: • Discussion of previous research found within the Introduction section of the article • Do NOT cite the source within YOUR source • Previous studies, prior research, other researchers • What is the hypothesis? • Explain the hypothesis • What type of experiment (correlational or experimental- be sure to explain why it is that type of article) • What are the variables examined? What you need write about

4. Citing rising obesity rates, school districts are increasingly faced with decisions about limiting the sale of soft drinks to students. Recently, some national beverage companies have agreed to end sales of all sodas in elementary schools and limit sales in high schools to only diet sodas and other low calorie beverages by the year 2010.1 Yet, excessive consumption of certain sodas, including diet sodas, also means increased caffeine intake. Caffeine, the only licit psychoactive drug available to minors, may have a harmful impact on students’ health, academic performance, and personal adjustment. This pilot study investigated naturalistic patterns of youth caffeine intake and potential negative psychological correlates (ie, depression, anxiety) of caffeine use. Both elementary and high school students were included to examine how caffeine use and its effects differed across ages that may have quite different levels of autonomy over and understanding of caffeine use. • Despite growing concern of child and teen obesity and potential unhealthy effects of excessive caffeine use among school age youth, caffeine consumption among elementary and high school age students continues to grow. Because of this concern, it is important to examine side effects of caffeine use among elementary and high school age students (Lubee & Bell, 2009). Paraphrasing

5. A hypothesis = a testable prediction • A statement • The aim of the study • Purpose of study • H1, H2, H3 • Where is it at? • Usually within the last 1-2 paragraphs before the Method section • What if I have Research Questions? • Make them into statements • What if I have more than one hypothesis? • “As such, we hypothesized that the younger cohort would demonstrate lower overall quantities of use and lower rates of symptoms associated with dependence.” • Elementary age children consume less caffeine and have fewer frequency of caffeine dependence than high school age children. What is the Hypothesis?

6. Check out the hypothesis and confirm in Method/Procedure section • Correlational • Predicting presence and strength of Relationships/Associations • Variables • Hypothesis may cite positive or negative correlation. • The greater _______, the more likely _______ will occur • Lower incidences of _______ will lead to lower incidences of ______ • Experimental • Anticipating cause and effect • Independent and Dependent Variables • Manipulation • Experimental Group and Control Group • Placebo What type of study is it?

7. Method section • what is the population • who were the participants (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.) • how were they selected, what were the measurements used (data collection methods) • clarify any terms related to the study (operational definitions) • procedure (what was done-surveys given, observations, etc.) What you need to write about

8. Population = all • Sample = a hopefully representative section • Who is identified within the hypothesis? • Who are the participants? • Total number • Demographic information • Interpret the percentages • For 10th graders, 88% reported their ethnicity as Caucasian, 3% Asian American, 3% Hispanic/Latino, 1% American Indian, and 5% multiracial or other. On average, 34% of students in the 3 school districts are enrolled in the free lunch program. • An overwhelming majority of 10 grade participants identified as Caucasian ethnicity. Additional ethnicities included Asian American, Hispanic, American Indian, and multiracial. About a third of the 10th graders met income requirements for the free lunch program at school. Population vs. Sample

9. Discussion section- • General discussion of the results • conclusions that are made- was the hypothesis true, null, or undetermined? • what do the results mean (basic explanation)? • How can this study be applied to the bigger picture (the population and others)? • What were the limitations of the study? • How can it be improved in the future (these areas will likely be addressed within the article) What you need to write about

10. Must cite source when • Use direct quotes (but no direct quotations allowed for our assignment) • Paraphrase • Only cite the source you read Citation

11. If using only one source, can cite at end of paragraph • Format is: • One author = (Author’s Last Name, Year) • (Williams, 2013) • Two authors = (Last Name & Last Name, Year) • (Jones & Smith, 2012) • 3-5 authors • First paragraph= (Last Name, Last Name, Last Name, Year) • (Waters, Burton, & Andrews, 2011) • Paragraphs after that = (Last Name et. al., year) • (Waters et. al., 2011) • 6+ authors = (First author’s last name et. al., year) for every paragraph • (Jackson et. al, 2010) In Text Citation

12. Check out these two links for the formatting for the APA reference page: • http://www2.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm • ^This link is my first recommendation for learning reference page formatting • http://www.wcjc.edu/Students/Library/documents/APAstyle6th-Sam-Houston-Univ.pdf • ^this link is good too and it shows the in-text format from the previous slide Reference Page