Your Research Paper Guidelines

Your Research Paper Guidelines

Spectra of Science

Basic APA GuidelinesBasic APA GuidelinesType 12 font

Times New RomanDouble-spaced

1 inch margins all around

Parts of the Paper• Title Page• Table of Contents• Abstract• Introduction• Background• Experiment

Materials

• Experiment Methods

• Data Analysis• Conclusions• Appendix• References

Title Page• Title of Paper• Your Full Name• Period• Date Submitted

• Running Head

All Centered in center of page

In header;

Table of Contents• Includes the

names of all sections of your paper

• Page number on which the section begins

Abstract• This is a brief description of your

overall project and findings. The purpose of an abstract is to provide a summary of the project that will inform interested individuals of the contents.

• No more than 250 words.

Introduction• This is a brief introduction to your

project. It should contain a description of your problem, purpose, hypothesis and experiment. Be sure to explain why your project and its findings might be important to you or others.

• 2-3 paragraphs

Background• Discuss your research findings.

What did you need to learn more about to better understand your project and what did you find? (I.e. What is an electrolyte? What is the structure of a horse’s eye?)

• This is also the section where you will do most of your citations.

• Minimum of 2 pages

In-Text CitationIn-Text Citation

Plagiarism is illegal!

What do I have to cite?TO CITE:• •ALL Quotations MUST

be cited•• Any information,

thought, idea, or opinion gathered from a source must be cite

NOT TO CITE• Common knowledge

does NOT need to be cited•

• Your own opinion does NOT need to be cite

• Either quote the text verbatim and put the quote in quotation marks

• Completely paraphrase the information

• It’s better to overcite than undercite.(Jackson, 2011)

How do I cite it?• Place in parenthesis at the end of the

sentence, in this order, separated by commas:– Author(s) last name– Year of publication (if known)– Page number (if known)

• If any of these is unknown (not given), leave it off

• If any of these pieces are included in the sentence itself, you do not need to cite it at the end in parenthesis

Example 1

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

("Owl purdue online," 2011)

Example 2

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

("Owl purdue online," 2011)

Example 3

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

("Owl purdue online," 2011)

Example 4

Jones's (1998) study found the following: Students often had difficulty using APA

style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

("Owl purdue online," 2011)

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998).

Example 5

("Owl purdue online," 2011)

Experimental Materials

• List the materials you needed to gather in order to complete your experiment. It may be appropriate in some cases to explain where certain unfamiliar items can be obtained. This may be a bulleted list.

• Includes what type, brand, how much of each material and correct sizes

Experimental Methods

• Explain the Methods of your project step by step. Give a detailed set of instructions on how you carried out your experiment. Include how you built all involved mechanisms and contraptions.

• Be Detailed and Specific!

Data Analysis

• Explain and discuss the data you collected, quantitative and qualitative.What trends or patterns did you notice?

• You will want to refer to your charts and graphs that appear in the Appendix. – See Figure 1 in the Appendix.

Conclusions– Summarize your findings– Return to your hypothesis and compare

your experiment results to your hypothesis. Are they the same or different? Why do you think?

– Draw a conclusion(s). Make sure you can support these conclusions with your data.

– What did you learn from the experiment? – Try to give a scientific explanation for what

occurred.

– Return to your problem question and determine if you have an answer. (Even if the answer is: “I still do not have an answer.”)

– Discuss errors that may have occurred that could have affected the reliability of your results.

– Explain why your findings are important. – What is the next step?

Conclusions Cont’d

• This where you place all your charts, diagrams, graphs, and/or pictures.

• (Label each as Figure 1, 2, 3, etc.)

• Minimum of 2

Appendix

• In MLA it is called a “Bibliography”• Cite all your sources where you

found information presented in your paper using correct APA format.

References

Citing ReferencesCiting References

Plagiarism is illegal!

Reference Page• Alphabetized• Indent second line of same citation• Use Citation Maker website:

http://citationmachine.net/– Go to XHS library– Click research– Click Works cited– Click “Bibme”– Select APA format

(Lester, 2009)

For More Help…For More Help…

Visit the OWL Writing Lab:1. Go to our library page2. Click the research tab3. Click works cited4. Click on OWL Writing Lab

ReferencesJackson, J. (2011, 10 04). Apa style workshop. Retrieved

from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/97996185/APA-Citation---PowerPoint

Lester, S. (2009). Sample reference page. In APA Style Sample Reference Page (p. 2). Saint Joseph College, Center for Academic Excellence. Retrieved from http://ww2.usj.edu/PDF/CAE/apareferencepage_6th_ed.pdf

Owl purdue online writing lab. (2011). Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/