Before getting started on the research process, let’s learn a little more about formatting and structuring papers. Scholarly research within communication studies typically uses American Psychological Association format, or APA. APA style provides scholars with a uniform way to present and understand research. While it takes some time to learn, this formatting style will help you keep your papers organized and most importantly, will aid you in properly citing your sources in order to avoid plagiarism. This chapter will walk you through a series of exercises intended to familiarize you with APA style. First, we will briefly discuss the general structure of a paper written in APA format. Then we' will practice in-text citations and reference list citations. As you complete these exercises, make sure you have your APA manual handy. You may also find the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/ helpful, as this site stays current on APA formatting as well.
Paper Structure
The structure for a literature review is somewhat standard and involves several components, which are listed in Figure 2. While exercises following this chapter will walk you through writing each section, we're going to give you a quick explanation of what each paper section entails.
"Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein."
-Zora Neale Hurston
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Literature Review Paper Structure
Title Page
The title page is the first page of your paper. As illustrated in your manual and the APA sample paper provided on Purdue OWL at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media...013008_560.pdf, the title page should include a header, page number, the paper title, your name, and your school name. You may also include an author note, but some instructors may not require this. For a demonstration on how to format your header, please click on the button below:
Video \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Introduction
The introduction informs the reader on what your topic of inquiry is. You give the reader background information on your topic such as definitions or statistics illustrating the significance of your topic. Here, you describe what the purpose of your paper is. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 1 to 3 paragraphs.
Abstract
The abstract is placed on the page after the title page and provides a brief summary of the whole paper along with keywords used in your library source searches. Since it's a summary of your whole paper, it should be the last part of the paper you write. This section is typically 5 to 7 sentences.
Literature Review
Your literature review section should be an overview of research that has already been conducted on the topic you are researching. This is the main section of the paper and is intended to give the reader an idea of what the state of knowledge is on the topic. It's important to remain objective and rely solely on your sources for information. Make sure you leave personal observation and personal knowledge out of your literature review. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 4 to 6 pages.
Analysis and Discussion
This section is where you discuss the literature you just reviewed and summarized. What does it all mean? Identify patterns and ideas that your sources seem to agree on. Were there any discrepancies or contradictions? What did your sources miss, and what questions still need to be answered regarding your topic? After identifying this information, you will need to suggest future research possibilities and what scholars should investigate next. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 1 to 3 pages.
Conclusion
Your conclusion will wrap everything up by restating the purpose of your paper and reiterating your main points. For an 8 to 10 page paper, this section is typically 1 to 3 paragraphs.
References
This section is where you cite all of the sources you used in your paper. Make sure you have your APA manual handy as you complete your citations.
Citations
Avoiding Plagiarism
We provide citations in academic works in order to let the reader know that our information and claims are supported by evidence and to avoid plagiarism. Whenever you share information or an idea that is not your own, the source of that information must be cited. Please see the list below from the University of Pittsburgh (2008) to get a better understanding of what plagiarism is and what types of plagiarism exist:
- Copying text "as is" without quotation marks and with no citation or source.
- Reordering the elements of the source text without citation.
- Copying pieces (sentences, key phrases) of the source text without citation.
- Paraphrasing without citation. o Reproducing information that is not common knowledge or self-evident without citation.
- Incorporating an idea heard in conversation without citation.
- Using your own past material or another student's material as a new idea without citation.
- Paying for another to contribute to your work without citation.
- Using software or online translators to translate material without citation.
- Paying someone else to do your work, purchasing material, or translating from someone else's material (Calvano, 2011, p.1).
In-text Citations
The in-text citations you provide in your written work help the reader understand where your information came from and ensure that the informatoin you are sharing is credible. Below are some examples of common in-text citation styles you will use in your paper. For these examples, we'll use the following citation:
Stiles, M., & Hand, L. (2017). APA format: You can do it. Kennesaw State Journal, 3(1), 1-10. doi: 10.3920958039
Paraphrasing
--There are two ways to do this.
According to Stiles and Hand (2017), APA format can be a little complicated and takes time and practice to learn.
APA format can be a little complicated and takes time to time and practice to learn (Stiles & Hand, 2017).
Direct Quotes
--There are two ways to do this.
According to Stiles and Hand (2017), "APA formatting is nuanced and consists of many rules, and fully learning this format takes time" (p. 2).
"APA formatting is nuanced and consists of many rules, and fully learning this format take time" (Stiles & Hand, 2017, p. 2).
More Than 3 Authors
--List all names in the first citation then use "et al." for all other following citations.
What the first citation would look like:
According to Stiles, Hand, and Smith (2017), APA formatting highlights publication dates because recent research is important in social science disciplines.
APA formatting highlights publication dates because recent research is important in the social sciences (Stiles, Hand, & Smith, 2017).
Citations following the first citation:
Stiles et al. (2017) claim that APA takes time to learn.
APA takes time to learn (Stiles et al., 2017).
According to Stiles et al. (2017), "APA formatting takes consistent practice to fully learn" (p. 3).
"APA formatting takes consistent practice to fully learn" (Stiles et al., 2017, p. 3).
Reference List Citations
These types of citations are listed in the references section of your paper. As you complete your work, you may find the checklist at https://www2.indwes.edu/APA/APAStyleChecklist.pdf helpful. Please see the list below from Purdue OWL (2018) for basic rules on constructing a references list.
- All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
- Authors' names are inverted (last name first); give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work for up to and including seven authors. If the work has more than seven authors, list the first six authors and then use ellipses after the sixth author's name. After the ellipses, list the last author's name of the work.
- Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
- For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
- Present the journal title in full. o Maintain the punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its title. For example: ReCALL not RECALL or Knowledge Management Research & Practice not Knowledge Management Research and Practice.
- Capitalize all major words in journal titles.
- When referring to books, chapters, articles, or Web pages, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
- Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.
- Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.
Scholarly Journal Article Citation Example
Stiles, M., & Hand, L. (2017). APA format: You can do it. Kennesaw State Journal, 3(1), 1-10. doi: 10.3920958039
Scholarly Book Citation
Sichler, K., & Ryan, E. (2018). The joys of APA format. New York, New York: Cengage
References
Calvano, B. (2011). Plagiarism in higher education. Retrieved from http:// www.examiner.com/adult-education-in- pittsburgh/plagiarism-higher- education
Purdue Online Writing Center (2018). Reference list: Basic Rules. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/
University of Pittsburgh. (2008). Undergraduate plagiarism policy. Retrieved from http://www.frenchanditalian.pitt.edu/undergrad/about/ plagiarism.php
APA Format Source Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Let's practice. Conduct a quick search on your library's website. Use the key words "media", "effects", and "cultivation theory". Find one scholarly article and one scholarly book. List their information in the form below to the best of your ability. Use this form to keep track of your sources and to ensure your citations include all required information.
Scholarly Journal Article
Author name(s):
Publication date:
Title: Publication/journal name:
Volume number:
Edition number:
Page numbers:
Doi number or url:
Full Citation:
APA Format Source Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Scholarly Book
Author name(s):
Publication date:
Title: Publication/journal name:
Volume number:
Edition number:
Page numbers:
Doi number or url:
Full Citation:
