Research Paper:
Your paper will contain the following sections:
• Title Page (paper title, your name)
• Abstract (you may place keywords just below the abstract, if you wish)
• Introduction (start beginning of next page after the abstract, WITHOUT a heading)
o General introduction to topic, prior to first heading
o Heading 1, such as theory and/or empirical results of first major topic
o Heading 2, such as theory and/or empirical results of second major topic
o Heading 3, such as how first and second major topic should interact
o Etc.
• Method (with subheadings such as)
o Participants (or Subjects)
o Design
o Materials
o Procedure
• Analysis (in lieu of a results section)
• Limitations (in lieu of a discussion section)
• References (no limits; about 20 is typical)
You may include Figure, Table, and Appendix sections, if you wish, but these sections are not
required. For example, you might provide a figure outlining the theory behind your study or an
appendix with copies of psychological tests or a table with hypothetical results. Typical papers
will be about 20 pages long, excluding references. There is no upper or lower page limit. Please
follow APA style for references, headings, and structural paper elements.
Key features of a strong paper:
• organizational structure that guides the reader
o tells a coherent story
o ordering of major headings and topics is logical
o introduces sub-topics as needed to tell a story
• rationale for conducting the study is extremely clear
• it is obvious that the new study is needed
• motivation for the study is supported by existing literature
• sufficient details are provided that researchers can replicate the study
o each aspect of methodology requires its own degree of detail, which will vary
across studies
o discriminate which aspects of methodology are key to achieving your goal