About Writing Research
Steps to Paper
Find a topic of interest Consider different perspectives Develop new ideas Formulate a research hypothesis
Parts of a Paper
Title Page Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion References Figures/Tables
Title Page
Title should indicate the variables of interest Title should be informative and, if possible, interesting Title page also provides information about author and authors affiliation
Sample Titles
Source memory in older adults: An encoding or a retrieval problem? Parental attachment and romantic relationships: Associations with emotional disturbance during late adolescence
Abstract
Very condensed summary of entire paper One strategy is to summarize each major section in a single sentence
Sample Abstract
In this study, the authors examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between late adolescents' parental attachment and emotionaldisturbance. Specifically, they investigated whether associations between parental attachment and emotional disturbance were less strong for adolescents with romantic partners, and whether the quality and duration of romantic relationships were related to adolescents' emotional disturbance. Data were collected from 568 adolescents, ages 1519, interviewed in 1994 and 1997. Cross-sectional analyses showed significant associations between parental attachment and emotional disturbance, but no systematic longitudinal relationships were found. Links cross-sectionally, but not longitudinally, parental between attachment and emotional disturbance were less strong for youths with romantic partners. Neither the quality nor the duration of romantic relationships was related to emotional disturbance in this age group.
Introduction
Start with title, centered Statement of problem to address Statement of hypothesis about problem Justification for hypothesis
Past research
Description of approach for evaluating hypothesis
Differences from past research How the approach addresses the hypothesis
Method
Description of methods of investigation In empirical paper
Subjects Materials Design Procedure Data Analysis (optional)
In review paper
Sources Constraints on selection
Results
Descriptive summaries of results Summary report of statistical evaluations
report statistic used, df, value of statistic, significance
F(2,18) = 4.22, p < .05
Other results
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