The body of the manuscript has several parts to separate the text into distinct sections. Each article will have multiple section that will contain all the text. The basic sections of a scholarly paper are the introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. Additional sections can be included if specified by an instructor or journal editor.
The first line of the body of the paper should be the title from the title page.
Introduction:
(Section 2.05, p.27-29 & Figure 2.1, p.41-58)
Introduce the problem.
- The introduction should begin on a new page, identifying it with the running head and page number 3.
- The introduction to a manuscript does not carry a heading that labels it as the introduction. The first part of any article is assumed to be the introduction.
- Type the title of the article in upper and lowercase letters, centered top of page, double space then start typing the text.
- The remaining sections follow without a break (do not start a new page when a new heading occurs).
The body of the article opens with an introduction that presents specific problems under study in the paper and describes the research strategy. The introduction to a manuscript does not carry a heading that labels it as the introduction. The first part of any article is assumed to be the introduction.
A good introduction considers the answers to the following questions:
- Why is this problem important?
- How does the study relate to previous work in the field?
- What are the primary and secondary hypotheses and objectives of the study and do they link to theory?
- How do the hypotheses and research design relate to one another?
- What are the theoretical and practical implications of the study?
In addition the introduction should explore the importance of the problem and tell why the problem deserves new research. Describe relevant scholarship without including an exhaustive historical account. Be sure to cite relevant literature and demonstrate the logical continuity between previous and present work. State hypotheses and their correspondence to research design to solve the problem.
Methods: (Section 2.06, p.29-32 & Figure 2.1, p.41-58)
Describes in detail how the study was conducted.
The methods section presents a detailed description of your conceptual and operational definitions of the variables used in the study. A complete description provides the reader with information to determine the appropriateness of the method and reproduce the results if desired.
Begin this section with a heading (Section 3.02, p.62-63 & Table 3.1 in Section 3.03, p.62) called 'Methods' and is commonly divided into several labeled subsections for description of subjects and procedures used in the study. Additional subsections can be used for complex studies to help the reader find information easily. Subsections should provide enough detail to allow readers to replicate the study.
Participant Characteristics. This section should provide detailed identification of participant information including inclusion and exclusion restrictions based on demographic characteristics. Describe the sample used, selection criteria, and detail demographic characteristics used for generalizing findings, making comparisons or creating groups (stratification).
Sampling Procedures. Describe the procedures for selecting participants, including the sampling method, the percentage of the sample approached that participated, and the number of participants who selected themselves into the sample. Describe the setting and location of data collection and any agreements or payments made to participants. Include information about agreements with IRB, ethics board, ethical standards and safety monitoring.
Sample size, power and precision. State the intended power of the study, size of the sample, and number of individuals meant to be in each condition (if applicable). State how the intended sample size was determined, describing methodology and results. See page 30-31 for more details.
Measures and covariate. Include information that provides definitions of all primary and secondary outcome measures and covariate, including measures collecte but no included in the article.
Research Design. Specify the research design used to conduct the study. If multiple treatments or conditions existed be sure to explain how and why each participant was assigned. Information for all studies that involved experimental manipulation or interventions should be reported.
See Table 2 in Appendix, Module A of the APA 6 Manual, page 248-250. Be sure to use appropriate reporting method for the design used.
Experimental manipulations or interventions. If interventions or manipulations were used, describe their specific content. Include details of the intervention/manipulation including control groups and describe how and when they were actually administered. If the instructions are are not brief or interfere with the readability of the article, include them in an Appendix or online supplemental archive, not in the body of the paper.
Results: (Section 2.07, p.32)
Summarize the collected data and analysis performed.
Report the data in sufficient detail to justify your conclusions. Mention all relevant results, including those that do not support your hypothesis or conclusion. Do not hide uncomfortable results by omissions. Present all data either in tables in the article or in an online archive for readers to access. Be sure to include discussions of recrutement and data analysis.
Recruitment. Provide dates about the periods recruitment and follow-up. Include primary sources of potential subjects and dates of contact.
Statistical and data analysis. Accurate, unbiased, complete and insightful reporting of the analytic treatment of data must be a component of all research reports. Assume your readers have a professional knowledge of statistical methods. Do not review basic concepts or cite commonly used statistical procedures. Be sure to report missing data and what techniques were used to address or replace the data. Be sure to identify if the data is missing at random or not at random and the method used to address missing data.
See page 32-35 for details on each type of statistical method and what to include in results section.
Here are some additional items to consider when constructing the Results section:
Ancillary analyses. Report any analyses performed, including subgroup and adjusted analyses. Describe which were exploratory and which were pre specified. Discuss the implications, if any, of the ancillary analyses for statistical error rates.
Participant flow. For experimental and quasi-experimental designs there must be a description of the flow of participants through the study.
Intervention or manipulation fidelity. If interventions or experimental manipulations were used, provide evidence on whether they were delivered as intended.
Baseline Data. Be sure that baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of each group are provided.
Statistical and data analysis. In studies reporting the results of experimental manipulations or interventions, clarify whether the analysis was by intent-to-treat. Give a rationale for the choice.
Adverse events. In interventions were studied, detail all important adverse events and/or side effects in each intervention group.
Discussion: (Section 2.08, p.35-36)
After presenting the results, evaluate and interpret their implications, especially with respect to your original hypothesis.
Open the discussion section with a clear statement of the support or nonsupport for your original hypotheses, distinguished by primary and secondary hypotheses. Similarities between your work and the work of others should be used to contextualize, clarify and confirm your conclusions. Be sure to discuss sources of potential bias, overlap among tests, effect sizes of observed and limitations or weakness of the study. Discuss validity, and generalizability of your findings.
Conclusion:
End the discussion section with a reasoned and justifiable commentary on the importance of your findings.This section may be a brief part of the text body or extensive under a separate subheading. In this section consider briefly return to a discussion of why the problem is important, what larger issues might hinge on the findings and what propositions are confirmed or disconfirmed by the extrapolation of the findings. Also consider the theoretical or clinical implications of the findings and what problems remain unanswered or arise anew because of the findings.
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