PAPER FORMAT

When writing the paper, imagine that it is being submitted to an editor for possible publication. Part of this is that papers should all have the same format and look. Editors expect papers to arrive following their guidelines. Another part is to proofread carefully: make sure all sentences are complete, watch for misspellings (including ones spell-checkers may miss) and other issues. The last goal is to be brief and state your points clearly.

Parts of the Paper:

1) Title page: i. Title: In all caps and centered. ii. Author: Spaced below title and centered iii. Keywords: Include 3 to 5 keywords that describe your paper iv. Acknowledgments: At bottom of page. Acknowledge anyone who helped you with your study or reading over your paper to help find spelling and grammar errors (give name and how they helped you).

2) Section headings: Titles of all headings should be in caps, not indented. 3) References: Alphabetical listing of all references cited in the paper. Everything

here should be in text and vice versa. Does not count towards page limit. 4) Figures and Tables: Refer to in text, but include on separate sheets at the end of

the paper. Each must have a legend explaining what they show. Do not include vertical lines in Tables. Do not number these pages. These also do not count towards page limit.

5) Formulas and Equations (if applicable): Include in text and number each in order.

More Format Information:

1) Must not be shorter than 4 pages or longer than 6 pages. 2) Double space all material / Standard margins / Left justification / 12 point font. If

paper gets too long, edit. 3) Page numbering: Start with page 1 at the Introduction. Place bottom center. 4) Footnotes: Try to limit use, if you use any. Number sequentially through paper.

Words to be careful with:

1) Prove – We cannot ‘prove’ things with survey data. Data suggest, indicate, etc. 2) Significant – Make sure you only use this when you have done a test for

significance.

A GUIDE TO WRITING PAPERS

Here are some guidelines for putting your paper together. Essentially, the paper should follow along with the steps of a study like we did at the start of the course. A suggested strategy is outlined below.

Introduction: Introduce and explain your problem. Give any basic background needed to understand the issues. Get across why answering the problem is important, and what people or groups will benefit from the answer.

Literature Review: Keep this really brief, but it would be best to note a couple of studies that looked at problems at least similar to yours. If the studies helped you design yours, be clear on how. Make clear how your study goes beyond what has been done.

Survey / Hypotheses: Discuss the design of your survey and the key questions needed for your problem. State briefly methods you used to get people to fill it out. Go over your hypotheses: what do you expect results to be? Remember these are about before you examine the data!

Results: Present the most interesting findings from your survey results, putting special emphasis on ones directly relating to your problem statement. Discuss these in detail and relate to your hypotheses (if your findings are different than your hypotheses, suggest why that might be).

Conclusion: Recap the major findings and return to why the study was important and what it all means. Do not introduce any new material. Discuss the limitations of your study, and suggest possible extensions that could be done to make it better.