APA Style Simplified

Bernard C. (Barney) Beins, Ph.D., is professor and chair of psychology at Ithaca College. He is author of about 150 articles, chapters, books, and pedagogical material. He recently received the Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award from the American Psychological Foundation. He is author with his daughter Agatha of Effective Writing in Psychology: Papers, Posters, and Presentations, 2nd Edition (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012) and Research Methods: A Tool for Life (2008). He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Eastern Psychological Association.

''As with previous editions Browne et al have provided a comprehensive, contemporary and focussed A2 textbook which directly applies to the AQA specification. Via attention to the demands of the specification and reference to exam style questions the book is thoroughly usable and gives the reader clarity of purpose concerning the material. A balance is achieved between classic Sociology and up to date material, giving students the opportunity to recognise the relevance and importance of sociological investigations in today's society.''David Morton, King Edward VI College, Stourbridge and examiner for AQA''This is an magnificent text. It won’t just be another text on A2 Sociology for students but will serve as the leader in the area. It has key concepts but with inspirational examples. It’s the best textbook I have ever read for AQA A2 for Sociology.''Jason L. Powell, Coventry University''This is an outstanding addition to the range of resources now available to sociology students. Ken Brown and his colleagues represent the very best in sociology teaching and this text, now in its long-awaited second edition, should be on the shelves of all aspiring sociology students and their teachers.''Dr Gerry Czerniawski, University of East London, A-level examiner and National Teaching Fellow

• Preface viii Acknowledgments xi1 Writing Professionally 1How Does Professional Writing Differ From Other Kinds of Writing? 2Using APA Style 3Making a Credible Argument 5Different Types of Communication 6Effective Communication 8Establishing Good Writing Habits 9Ethical Writing 102 Elements of Style 15Recognizing the Importance of Good Grammar and Style 16Choosing Effective Wording 17Using Inclusive and Appropriate Language 19Deciding on the Use of Technical Language 20Avoiding Common Problems 21Verb Forms 24Spelling 25Specific Word Use 253 The Introduction Section 32Introducing the Topic 33Different Approaches to Starting the Introduction 34How to Begin 38Reviewing the Literature 38Introducing Your Research: Generating a Hypothesis 404 The Method Section 43Participants and Subjects 44Materials and Apparatus 52Procedure 56Design 585 Communicating Statistics 59Why Do We Use Statistics? 60What Point Are You Trying to Make? 61Understanding Your Numbers 63Helping Readers Understand Your Statistics 65Differentiating Results and Interpretations 686 The Results Section 69Your Hypothesis 70Deciding What to Present 71APA Style and Presentation of Your Results 74Creating Tables 77Creating Figures 82The Connection Between the Text and the Tables and Figures 87The Difference Between Results and Discussion Sections 87Some Final Points About Presenting Results 887 The Discussion Section 91Summarizing Your Results 92Connecting Different Aspects of Your Results 94Dealing With Nonsignificant Results 95Comparing Your Results With Those of Others 96Stating the Importance and Implications of Your Results 97Acknowledging the Limitations of Your Study 988 References: Citations in the Text and the Reference List 100Citing References in the Text 101Order of Citations in the Reference List 105Using Your Word-Processing Program to Create the Citation 105Examples of How Different Types of References Should Be Laid Out 1069 Final Touches: The Abstract and Formatting Details 114The Abstract 115Formatting Your Manuscript 11610 Creating Poster Presentations 135Differentiating Visual and Written Communication 135Reducing the Amount of Information 136Visual Style 137Your Behavior: The Ethic of a Poster Session 142Creating Your Poster Using PowerPoint® 14411 Giving Oral Presentations 152The Difference Between Oral and Written English 152Adapting APA Style to Oral Presentations 156Preparing for Your Talk 157Creating Graphics for Your Presentation 159Giving the Presentation 16012 Sharing Your Work Electronically 163New Capabilities in Electronic Sharing 164Using a Word Processor to Create Manuscripts for the Internet 165Advantages of Internet Publishing Software 167Publishing Your Poster on the Web 169Uploading Your Manuscript to the Internet 169Revisiting the Concept of Plagiarism 170Appendix A: Example of APA-Style Manuscript withCommon Errors 171Appendix B: Corrected APA-Style Manuscript 179References 188Name Index 195Subject Index 198