Abel Scribe PhD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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APA Research Style Crib Sheet

General Guidelines for Statistics

- Most symbols for statistics are placed in italics (exceptions are very rare).
- Place a space before and after all arithmetic operators and signs ( = , < , > , - , + , etc.).

Common Statistical Symbols:

M = mean , SD = standard deviation, Mdn = median, SS = sum of squares

Descriptive statistics give summary information about a sample or population, such as the
average (mean) or standard deviation of some characteristic. For example, "Abigail Scribe has a
GPA of 3.65, which is below the average for students accepted at Ivy and Oak University (M = 3.85,
SD = 0.21)." Descriptive statistics may be presented in the text with the appropriate syntax (e.g., "a
GPA of 3.85"). When referred to indirectly they are set in parentheses, as with (M = 3.85, SD =
0.21).

Inferential statistics reason from a sample to the characteristics of a population, often expressed
as a probability. For example, "Abbie Scribe has a chance of being accepted at Ivy and Oak
University (p < .15), but counselors advise her that her odds are not great based on last year’s
applicants, X2(2, N = 2247) = 2.81, p < .15 (one-tailed)."

Inferential statistics are presented in the text (no parentheses) with "sufficient information to allow
the reader to fully understand the results of the analysis. . . . [Which] depends on the analytic
approach selected" (APA, 2001, p. 138).

Example from the APA Manual (2001):

"t(60) = 1.99, p = .03 (one-tailed), d = .50.

The first number in parentheses is degrees of freedom of the analysis.

Confidence Intervals:
 We are 95% confident that mean caloric intake of infants of low-income mothers receiving
WIC assistance is 80 to 200 kcal per day greater than that of infants of low-income
mothers who do not receive assistance.
 OR Infants of low-income mothers receiving WIC assistance have a greater mean daily
caloric intake than infants of low-income mothers not receiving assistance (95%CI: 80 to
200 kcal).
http://statistics-help-for-students.com/
How_do_I_report_independent_samples_T_test_data_in_APA_style.htm

(see also one on reporting paired samples t-tests in APA style)

1. Test type and use

 You want to tell your reader what type of analysis you conducted. If you don’t,
your results won’t make much sense to the reader. You also want to tell your
reader why this particular analysis was used. What did your analysis tests for?

 Example
 You can report data from your own experiments by using the template below.
 “An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare (your DV measure)
_________ in (IV level / condition 1) ________and (IV level / condition
2)________ conditions.”
 If we were reporting data for our example, we might write a sentence like this.
 “An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare memory for words in
sugar and no sugar conditions.”

 2. Significant differences between conditions

 You want to tell your reader whether or not there was a significant difference
between condition means. You can report data from your own experiments by
using the template below.
 “There was a significant (not a significant) difference in the scores for IV level 1
(M=___, SD=___) and IV level 2 (M=___, SD=___) conditions; t(__)=____, p =
____”

 Just fill in the blanks by using the SPSS output

 Let’s start by filing in the Mean and Standard Deviation for each condition.
 Now we’ll finish up by filling in the values related to the T-Test. Here we enter the
degrees of freedom (df), the t-value (t), and the Sig. (2-tailed) value (often
referred to as the p value).

 Once the blanks are full…

 You have a sentence that looks very scientific but was actually very simple to
produce.
 “There was a significant difference in the scores for sugar (M=4.2, SD=1.3) and
no sugar (M=2.2, SD=0.84) conditions; t (8)=2.89, p = 0.020.”

 3. Report your results in words that people can understand

 You have to admit, the previous sentence is pretty intimidating. It might be hard
for someone to figure out what that sentence means or how it relates to your
experiment. That’s why it’s a good idea to report you results in an easy to
understand language, after you have stated them scientifically. Imagine that you
 were trying to explain these results to a family member or friend who does not
know much about science.

 Example
 You might write something like this for our example.
 “These results suggest that sugar really does have an effect on memory for
words. Specifically, our results suggest that when humans consume sugar, they
remember more words.”
 This sentence is so much easier to understand than the one will all of the
numbers in it.

 All together now

 When you put the three main components together, results look something like
this.
 “An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare memory for words in
sugar and no sugar conditions. There was a significant difference in the scores
for sugar (M=4.2, SD=1.3) and no sugar (M=2.2, SD=0.84) conditions; t (8)=2.89,
p = 0.20. These results suggest that sugar really does have an effect on memory
for words. Specifically, our results suggest that when humans consume sugar,
their memory for words increases.”
 Looks pretty good huh? This isn’t so hard after all.