The methods section of a research paper provides the information by which a study’s validity is judged. Therefore, it requires a clear and precise description of how an experiment was done, and the rationale For example, arterial oxygen tension is a dependent vari- · Revised on April 13, The methods section of an APA style paper is where you report in detail how you performed your study. Research papers in the social and natural sciences often follow APA style. This article focuses on reporting quantitative research methods. In your APA methods section, you should report enough information to understand and replicate your study, including detailed
How to write the Methods section of a research paper | Editage Insights
Published on February 5, by Pritha Bhandari. Revised on April 13, The methods section of an APA style paper is where you report in detail how you performed your study. Research papers in the social and natural sciences often follow APA style. This article focuses on reporting quantitative research methods.
In your APA methods section, you should report enough information to understand and replicate your study, including detailed information on the samplemeasures, and procedures used. Table of contents Structuring an APA methods section Participants Materials Procedure Example of an APA methods section Frequently asked questions about writing an APA methods section. Subheadings within this section are left-aligned, boldfaced, methods section of research paper example, and in title case.
You can also add lower level headings within these subsections, as long as they follow APA heading styles. Note that not all of these topics will necessarily be relevant for your study. The APA also provides specific reporting guidelines for different types of research design.
These tell you exactly what you need to report for longitudinal designsreplication studies, experimental designsand so on. If your study uses a combination design, consult APA guidelines for mixed methods studies. Begin the methods section by reporting sample characteristics, sampling procedures, and the sample size. Specify all relevant demographic characteristics of your participants. This may include their age, sex, ethnic or racial group, gender identity, education level, and socioeconomic status.
Depending on your study topic, other characteristics like educational or immigration status or language preference may also be relevant. Be sure to report these characteristics as precisely as possible. This helps the reader understand how far your results may be generalized to other people.
Outline how the participants were selected and all inclusion and exclusion criteria applied. Appropriately identify the sampling procedure used.
For example, you should only label a sample as random if you had access to every member of the relevant population. Of all the people invited to participate in your study, note the percentage that actually did if you have this data.
Additionally, report whether participants were self-selected, either by themselves or by their institutions e. Identify any compensation e. Detail the sample size per condition and statistical power that you hoped to achieve, as well as any analyses you performed to determine these numbers. Additionally, state whether your final sample differed from the intended sample. Your interpretations of the study outcomes should be based only on your final sample rather than your intended sample.
Learn more. Write up the tools and techniques that you used to measure relevant variables. Be as thorough as possible for a complete picture of your techniques. Define the primary and secondary outcome measures that will help you answer your primary and secondary research questions. Specify all instruments used in gathering these measurements and the construct that they measure. These instruments may include hardware, software, or tests, scales, and inventories.
A general knowledge test appropriate for adults was created using materials from a previous study see supplementary materials. The test consisted of 20 multiple choice questions with medium difficulty. Describe any covariates—these are any additional variables that may explain or predict the outcomes.
This tells the reader how similarly each response was rated by multiple raters. Report all of the procedures applied for administering the study, processing the data, and for planned data analyses. Data collection methods refers to the methods section of research paper example mode of the instruments: surveys, interviews, observations, focus groups, neuroimaging, cognitive tests, and so on.
Summarize exactly how you collected the necessary data. Describe all procedures you applied in administering surveys, tests, methods section of research paper example, physical recordings, or imaging devices, with enough detail so that someone else can replicate your techniques. If your procedures are very complicated and require long descriptions e. To report research design, note your overall framework for data collection and analysis.
Also note whether a between-subjects or a within-subjects design was used. Describe whether any masking was used to hide the methods section of research paper example assignment e, methods section of research paper example. Using masking in a multi-group study ensures internal validity by reducing bias.
Explain how this masking was applied and whether its effectiveness was assessed. Participants were randomly assigned to a control or experimental condition. To begin, methods section of research paper example, all participants were given the AAI and a demographics questionnaire to complete, followed by an unrelated filler task. In the control conditionparticipants completed a short general knowledge test immediately after the filler task.
In the experimental condition, participants were asked to visualize themselves taking the test for 3 minutes before they actually did.
For more details on the exact instructions and tasks given, see supplementary materials. Methods section of research paper example the between-subjects experimental design, the independent variable was whether the visualization intervention was applied and the dependent variable was the difference in test scores between conditions. Data diagnostics Outline all steps taken to scrutinize or process the data after collection. To ensure high validity, you should provide enough detail for your reader to understand how methods section of research paper example why you processed or transformed your raw data in these specific ways.
The methods section is also where you describe your statistical analysis procedures, but not their outcomes. Their outcomes are reported in the results section. These procedures should be stated for all primary, methods section of research paper example, secondary, and exploratory hypotheses. This annotated example reports methods for a descriptive correlational survey on the relationship between religiosity and trust in science in the US.
Hover over each part for explanation of what is included. Example of an APA methods section Methods. The sample included adults aged between 18 and Ethics approval was obtained from the university board before recruitment began. Participants were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk MTurk; www.
We selected for a geographically diverse sample within the Midwest of the US through an initial screening survey. A sample size of at least was deemed necessary for detecting a correlation coefficient of ±. The primary outcome measures were the levels of religiosity and trust in science. Religiosity refers to involvement and belief in religious traditions, while trust in science represents confidence in scientists and scientific research outcomes.
The secondary outcome measures were gender and parental education levels of participants and whether these characteristics predicted religiosity levels. Religiosity was measured using the Centrality of Religiosity scale Huber, The Likert scale is made up of 15 questions with five subscales of ideology, experience, intellect, public practice, and private practice.
The internal consistency of the instrument is. Trust in Science. Four Likert scale items were assessed on a scale from 1 completely distrust to 5 completely trust. Potential participants were invited to participate in the survey online using Qualtrics www. The survey consisted of multiple choice questions regarding demographic characteristics, the Centrality of Religiosity scale, an unrelated filler anagram task, and finally the General Trust in Science index.
The filler task was included to avoid priming or demand characteristics, and an attention check was embedded within the religiosity scale. For full instructions and details of tasks, see supplementary materials. For this correlational studywe assessed our primary hypothesis of a relationship between religiosity and trust in science using Pearson moment correlation coefficient.
The statistical significance of the correlation coefficient was assessed using a t test. To test our secondary hypothesis of methods section of research paper example education levels and gender as predictors of religiosity, multiple linear regression analysis was used, methods section of research paper example.
In your APA methods sectionyou should report detailed information on the participants, materials, and procedures used. In a scientific paper, the methodology always comes after methods section of research paper example introduction and before the resultsdiscussion and conclusion.
The same basic structure also applies to a thesis, dissertationor research proposal. Depending on the length and type of document, you might also include a literature review or theoretical framework before the methodology, methods section of research paper example.
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Say goodbye to inaccurate citations! Have a language expert improve your writing. Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes. Do the check. Generate your APA citations for free! APA Citation Generator. Home Knowledge Base APA Style 7th edition How to write an APA methods section. How to write an APA methods section Published on February 5, by Pritha Bhandari. Methods Participants The sample included adults aged between 18 and Materials The primary outcome measures were the levels of religiosity and trust in science.
How to Write a Methods Section
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The methods section of a research paper provides the information by which a study’s validity is judged. Therefore, it requires a clear and precise description of how an experiment was done, and the rationale For example, arterial oxygen tension is a dependent vari- · Revised on April 13, The methods section of an APA style paper is where you report in detail how you performed your study. Research papers in the social and natural sciences often follow APA style. This article focuses on reporting quantitative research methods. In your APA methods section, you should report enough information to understand and replicate your study, including detailed
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