Student Guidelines for Empirical Study

(PGPM Batch 2017-2018)

By way of better achieving the institute’s mission of creating business ready managers,
an empirical study (ES) requirement was introduced in May 2007. By enabling every
student to do a theoretically-driven industry project under a faculty member's guidance,
we will be able to utilize our excellent faculty resources more effectively. Acquiring a
thorough and firsthand understanding of a topic will make a student more attractive and
valuable to organizations.

These guidelines elaborate and modify what is outlined in the student handbook. They
provide a structured format for successfully completing the project.

This project will be done in groups of three students jointly, will count as six credits
(equivalent to two 3-credit courses), and will require not less than 120 hours of input per
student. The expected outcome of the study is a paper coauthored by the students with
their faculty guides, to be submitted to a refereed journal or conference.

All coordination with respect to this empirical study will be handled by the Great Lakes
Center for Management Research.

Doing joint work with faculty is an important form of education for students in higher-level
academic institutions all over the world. And the most practical benefit of writing an
empirical article is that one learns how to actually persuade and convince others—by
culling out relevant information, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting the output
to support one's stand and attain one's goals (for example, changing an institutional rule,
mobilizing support for a new project, or getting valuable resources). The skill of
persuading others is among the best predictors of success in life.

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 1. FINALIZE TOPIC AND GUIDE (DUE 25 July 2017)

Most students are likely to benefit by choosing their theoretically-driven industry project
such that it complements their proficiency in their major horizontal (functional area like
marketing) and uses data from organizations in their major vertical (industry sector like
manufacturing). The empirical study is an excellent means to achieve the mission of Great
Lakes to develop business-ready managers, by enhancing real-life exposure to a
particular vertical and complementing their proficiency in their major horizontal.

Students will identify a potential faculty guide from the list of past guides and current
faculty of the institute, choose a topic that will be of mutual interest, and then email the
title and a brief synopsis of not more than 300 words to the chosen faculty guide with a
copy to es@greatlakes.edu.in as soon as possible. If you wish to choose someone as
your faculty guide who has not been associated with Great Lakes in the past, please
contact the Director of Research Center with a copy of the latest resume of the concerned
person.

The first step in identifying the topic of your study is to choose a managerial or
organizational phenomenon of interest to you. The phenomenon could be a problem
managers or organizations face currently, a possible new way of enhancing managerial
or organizational functioning, etc. Define the phenomenon in a measurable manner. This
is the first variable in your study (a variable is something that varies and on which you
can normally say A is more than B, like for example, happiness; a broad domain like for
example, organizational behavior is not a variable since you cannot say A is more than B
on organizational behavior). The second step is to choose at least one factor that is
related to your first variable— something that affects your first variable or is affected by
your first variable. Reading a standard textbook that covers your first variable should be
of help in this regard. Or your guide may also help at this point. This is your second
variable. You could similarly choose a third variable, etc. The proposed study should
ideally include three variables (minimum is two) clearly defined. The synopsis should
clearly describe all the variables and justify why they are worth studying together.

Frame the title of your study very carefully. A title should summarize the main idea simply,
and, if possible, with style. It should be a concise statement of the main topic and should
identify the variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship
between them. An example of a good title is “Effect of Transformed Letters on Reading
Speed. “A title should be fully explanatory when standing alone. Although its principal
function is to inform readers about the study, a title is also used as a statement of article
content for abstracting and reference purposes in databases. Titles are commonly
indexed and compiled in numerous reference works. Therefore, avoid words that serve
no useful purpose; they increase length and can mislead indexers. For example, the
words “method” and “results” do not normally appear in a title, nor should such terms as
“A Study of “or “An Experimental Investigation of. ”Avoid using abbreviations in a title. It
is better to avoid mentioning your intended sample, industry or organization as part of

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your title, since that would unnecessarily limit the perceived generalizability and
significance of your study. The length for a title should not be more than 12 words.

The exploring of a faculty guide and a mutually acceptable topic will happen through email
and the study topic and guide should be finalized as early as possible. Faculty members
are likely to decide on their choice of students to guide, on a first-come-first served
basis. You may not get your choice of guide if you take too much time to decide
your topic of study. A faculty guide will normally guide a maximum of 10 studies.

Change of topic and change of guide not possible. The final synopsis should be submitted
to es@greatlakes.edu.in, with a copy to the faculty guide (and to the other group
members), as early as possible, as but no later than 25 July 2017. Roll numbers and
names in ascending order of roll number should be the subject of the email. Except under
unforeseen and exceptional circumstances, no change will be allowed after this
finalization.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW (DUE 15 September 2017 - 20% Weight)

Your paper should have the following four sections:

(1) Theory and Hypotheses;

(2) Method;
(3) Results; and
(4) Discussion.

Use Heading 1 or first level heading (Centered Uppercase Heading) for each of the four
sections of the paper. The heading “2. LITERATURE REVIEW (DUE 15
SEPTEMBER)”above is an example of Heading 1 or first level heading.

The first step after deciding the topic of study is to know how people before you have
studied this topic; without knowing that you will be unnecessarily trying to reinvent the
wheel. You have to do a literature review of your topic. Using EBSCO, etc., might be the
best alternative to start your search. Once you catch hold of any recent piece of academic
writing, you can thence proceed backward chronologically by looking at the references
listed therein. The objective is to summarize the existing body of knowledge about the
variables and hypothesize relationships between them. Cite all the sources from where
you have drawn your materials; otherwise, it may amount to plagiarism. Use past tense
(e.g., “Smith showed”) or present perfect tense (e.g., “researchers have shown”) for the
literature review.

The review should normally cover three distinct things— construct (defining the variable
and its components), causes (all other variables that affect this variable), and
consequences (all those variables that are affected by this variable). Distinguish between

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review articles (theoretical or conceptual pieces) and empirical articles (actual studies). It
is expected that you will read and cite at least 30 empirical articles published in refereed
academic journals for the study.

Content of Review

Discuss the literature but do not include an exhaustive historical review. Assume that the
reader is knowledgeable about the field for which you are writing and does not require a
complete digest. A scholarly review of earlier work provides an appropriate history and
recognizes the priority of the work of others. Citation of and specific credit to relevant
earlier works are part of the author’s scientific and scholarly responsibility and are
essential for the growth of a cumulative science. At the same time, cite and reference
only works pertinent to the specific issue and not works of only tangential or general
significance. If you summarize earlier works, avoid nonessential details; instead,
emphasize pertinent findings, relevant methodological issues, and major conclusions.
Refer the reader to general surveys or reviews of the topic if they are available.

Demonstrate the logical continuity between previous and present work. Develop the
problem with enough breadth and clarity to make it generally understood by as wide a
professional audience as possible. Do not let the goal of brevity mislead you into writing
a statement intelligible only to the specialist.

Controversial issues, when relevant, should be treated fairly. A simple statement that
certain studies support one conclusion and others support another conclusion is better
than an extensive and inconclusive discussion. Whatever your personal opinion, avoid
animosity and ad hominem arguments in presenting the controversy. Do not support your
position or justify your research by citing established authorities out of context.

Hypotheses

After you have introduced the problem and developed the background material, you are
in a position to explain your approach to solving the problem. At this point, a formal
statement of your hypotheses gives clarity to the paper. Bear in mind the following
questions in closing the section: What variables did I plan to study? What results did I
expect, and why did I expect them? The logic behind “Why did I expect them?” should be
made explicit.

Clearly develop the rationale for each hypothesis.

Choose any of your variables as your Variable 1. First, read and summarize the literature
on Variable 1. Use Heading 2 or second level heading (Flush Left, Italicized, Uppercase
and Lowercase Side Heading) for first variable and for each other variable. The heading
(“Hypotheses”) above is an example of Heading 2 or second level heading.

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Use paragraph headings (indented, bold, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending
with a period) to organize your review. Use only two levels of heading (Heading 1 &
Heading 2) besides paragraph headings throughout the paper.

Then, read and summarize the literature on Variable 2. Then, include a section on the
relationship between Variable 1 and Variable 2, and include hypotheses linking Variable
1 with Variable 2. Every hypothesis has to be justified. Justification could be done by citing
relevant opinions or findings and by your own arguments.

If you are studying more than two variables, complete literature review for all the variables,
include hypotheses linking two variables at a time and all the variables together.

All possible relationships must be hypothesized. This completes the "Theory and
Hypotheses" section (first of the four sections) of the paper. Use Heading 1 or first level
heading (Centered Uppercase Heading) for each of the four sections of the paper.

Reference Citations in Text

Document your study throughout the text by citing by author and date the works you used
in your research. This style of citation briefly identifies the source for readers and enables
them to locate the source of information in the alphabetical reference list at the end of the
article. The surname of the author and the year of publication are inserted in the text at
the appropriate point.

When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs
in text. When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time the
reference occurs; in subsequent citations, include only the surname of the first author
followed by “et al.”(not italicized and with a period after “al”) and the year. When a work
has six or more authors, cite only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”(not
italicized and with a period after “al”) and the year for the first and subsequent citations.
(In the reference list, however, provide the initials and surnames of the first six authors,
and shorten any remaining authors to “et al.”).

List of References

Add a list of references at the end with a first-level heading “References” similar to the
headings for the four sections of the paper. There should be a one-to-one
correspondence between sources cited in the text and the entries in the list of references.
All sources cited in the text and only those should be included in the list of references.
The reference list must be double-spaced, and entries should have a hanging indent.

Given below are examples of a book, a chapter in an edited book, a journal article, and
an unpublished paper presented at a meeting. More examples are available at
http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/apa-referencing-guide.

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Bass, B. M. (1998). Transformational leadership: Industrial, military, and educational
impact. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership: A response to

critiques. In

M. M. Chemers & R. Ayman (Eds.), Leadership theory and research: Perspectives and
directions (pp. 49-80). New York: Academic Press.

Waldman, D. A., Ramirez, G. G., House, R. J., & Puranam, P. (2001). Does leadership
matter? CEO leadership attributes and profitability under conditions of perceived
environmental uncertainty. Academy of Management Journal, 44 (1), 134-143.

Whittington, J. L., & Goodwin, V. L. (2001, August). Transformational leadership, goal

difficulty, and task design: Independent and interactive effects on employee outcomes.
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Washington,
DC.

Sources on the Internet. Direct readers as closely as possible to the information being
cited— whenever possible, reference specific documents rather than home or menu
pages. At a minimum, a reference of an Internet source should provide a document title
or description, a date (either the date of publication or update or the date of retrieval), and
an address (a URL).

Whenever possible, identify the authors of a document as well. Join the names in a
multiple-author citation in running text of your paper by the word “and.” In parenthetical
material, in tables and captions, and in the reference list, join the names by an amperes
and (&).

Email your paper as a Microsoft Word file to your faculty guide with a copy to
es@greatlakes.edu.in (and to the other group members in the case of a joint ES). Roll
numbers and names in ascending order of roll number should be the subject of the email.

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 3. PROPOSAL (DUE 05 October 2017 – 20% Weight)

Data Collection

Introduce a separate section (second of the four sections) termed “Proposed Method”
after the "Theory and Hypotheses" section. Detail the plans for data collection. Provide
justification for whatever you propose to do. Include the data collection instruments that
will be used. Justify why you wish to use them and not some other instruments, and cite
sources.

Include all possible demographic data items also, at the end of the questionnaire. Include
the questionnaire as an appendix in your paper, starting on a fresh page, after your list of
references.

Executive Summary

Prepare an executive summary of your proposal to sell your study and get an organization
to support it. The summary should ideally be around one page long. It should first
introduce the study in a few sentences, and then elaborate the usefulness of the study
for the organization and the various benefits the organization will derive if they gave you
permission to conduct your study. Finally, the summary should briefly list your
requirements in terms of desired sample, the time that each respondent will take to
answer your study questions, etc. Maintain the executive summary as a separate file.

Send updated files, which include all work done till now. Your submission at this point
should include two files— (1) your main file in Microsoft Word format consisting of title
page (page 1), "Theory and Hypotheses" section (including literature review on all the
variables, and all hypotheses), “Proposed Method” section, “References” list, and your
complete questionnaire for data collection as “Appendix”; and (2) the executive summary
of your proposal as a separate Microsoft Word file. Email your two files to your faculty
guide with a copy to es@greatlakes.edu.in (and to the other group members in the case
of a joint ES). Roll numbers and names in ascending order of roll number should be the
subject of the email.

4. COMPLETE DATA COLLECTION (DUE 22 November 2017)

Complete data collection as soon as possible. For survey method, an effective minimum
sample size of 100 is needed. To get that effective size after allowing for loss of data on
account of missing values, plan on collecting data from a sample of at least 120 people.
If your study is going to use secondary data, at least 250 data points will be needed. If
you are going to do a laboratory or field experiment, at least 120 subjects will be needed.
If you are going to do a case study, firsthand interaction of at least 60 minutes each with

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at least 30 respondents is needed. A particular sample should not be used for more than
one empirical study. Student samples should be avoided, unless your study pertains
specifically to students.

"Method" Section

Complete data entry. Data entry is best done in Microsoft Excel, and then transported to
statistical analysis software. Calculate Cronbach Alpha to test for scale reliability for each
multi-item scale. Calculate demographic details of sample. Change the “Proposed
Method” section containing future tense into "Method" section containing past tense, and
complete the section (second of the four sections of your paper). Use Heading 1 or first
level heading (Centered Uppercase Heading) for “Method” section and for each of the
four sections of the paper.

The “Method” section describes in detail how the study was conducted. Such a
description enables the reader to evaluate the appropriateness of your methods and the
reliability and the validity of your results. It also permits experienced investigators to
replicate the study if they so desire.

Appropriate identification of research subjects and clientele is critical, particularly for

assessing the results (making comparisons across groups); generalizing the findings; and
making comparisons in replications, literature reviews, or secondary data analyses.
Present the detailed procedure by summarizing each step in the execution of the
research. Remember that the “Method” section should tell the reader what you did and
how you did it in sufficient detail so that a reader could reasonably replicate your study.

Use past tense throughout the method section. Report range and median for each
demographic variable. Describe the organization surveyed in terms of its core activities,
culture, size, geographic spread, nature of functioning, etc. Provide details about the
profile of respondents in terms of their hierarchical levels, reporting relationships, etc.
Describe each questionnaire used by providing dimensions, number of items, scoring
scale (e.g., "0=not at all; 1=Once in a while..."), etc.

Send updated files, which include all work done till now. Your submission at this point
should include three files— (1) your main file in Microsoft Word format consisting of title
page (page 1), "Theory and Hypotheses" section (including literature review on all the
variables, and all hypotheses), “Method” section, “References” list, and your complete
questionnaire for data collection as “Appendix”; (2) your raw data in Microsoft Excel
format, along with a key mentioning which column corresponds to which item in the
questionnaire; and (3) the statistical output file for reliability, demographics, etc., in html
or text format. Email your three files to your faculty guide with a copy to
es@greatlakes.edu.in (and to the other group members in the case of a joint ES). Roll
numbers and names in ascending order of roll number should be the subject of the email.

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 5. COMPLETE “RESULTS” SECTION (DUE 22 December 2017– 20%
Weight)
Prepare data for analysis by creating variables. A variable is usually created by taking the
mean of the relevant items. Do appropriate analyses of variables. The Results” section
(third of the four sections of your paper) summarizes the data collected and the statistical
or data analytic treatment used. Use Heading 1 or first level heading (Centered
Uppercase Heading) for “Results” section and for each of the four sections of the paper.
Report the data in sufficient detail to justify the conclusions. Mention all relevant results,
including those that run counter to the hypothesis. Use past tense (e.g. “anxiety
decreased significantly”) to describe the results. Discussing the implications of the results
is not appropriate here.

Tables.

Tables are efficient, enabling the author to present a large amount of data in a small
amount of space. Use tables for presenting crucial data that are directly related to the
content of your paper and for simplifying text that otherwise would be dense with numbers.

Every study that uses quantitative data should present a correlation matrix as the first
table in the “Results” section. Include Cronbach Alpha along the diagonal in parentheses
for each multi-item scale in the correlation matrix. Vertically align decimal points in table
columns. Identify statistically significant correlations, proportions, and inferential statistics
such as t, F, and chi-square with asterisks, and provide the probability values in a
probability footnote; avoid columns of probability values. Use the following notation to
indicate p-values or sig values: †= p < .10. * = p < .05. ** = p < .01. *** = p < .001, and
not the star notation SPSS, etc. might use.

Report findings, whether hypothesized or not. Use exactly two decimal points for numbers
at all places including tables throughout your paper. Complete the "Results" section (third
of the four sections) of the paper.

Send updated files, which include all work done till now. Your submission at this point
should include three files— (1) your main file in Microsoft Word format consisting of title
page (page 1), "Theory and Hypotheses" section (including literature review on all the
variables, and all hypotheses), “Method” section, “Results” section including tables,

“References” list and your complete questionnaire for data collection as “Appendix”; (2)
your raw data in Microsoft Excel format, along with a key mentioning which column
corresponds to which item in the questionnaire; and (3) the statistical output file for all
analyses done, in html or text format. Email your three files to your faculty guide with a
copy to es@greatlakes.edu.in (and to the other group members in the case of a joint ES).
Roll numbers and names in ascending order of roll number should be the subject of the
email.

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 6. COMPLETE PAPER (DUE 01 March 2018- 40% Weight)

"Discussion" Section

Create a new section termed "Discussion" (last of the four sections of the paper). Use
Heading 1 or first level heading (Centered Uppercase Heading) for “Discussion” section
and for each of the four sections of the paper. Use the present tense (e.g., “the results
indicate”) to discuss the results and to present the conclusions. By reporting conclusions
in the present tense, you allow readers to join you in deliberating the matter at hand.

After presenting the results, you are in a position to evaluate and interpret their
implications, especially with respect to your original hypothesis. You are free to examine,
interpret, and qualify the results, as well as to draw inferences from them. Emphasize any
theoretical consequences of the results and the validity of your conclusions.

Open the discussion section with a clear statement of the support or nonsupport for your
original hypothesis. Similarities and differences between your results and the work of
others should clarify and confirm your conclusions. Do not, however, simply reformulate
and repeat points already made; each new statement should contribute to your position
and to the reader’s understanding of the problem. Acknowledge limitations, and address
alternative explanations of results.

End the Discussion section with a reasoned and justifiable commentary on the importance
of your findings. This concluding section may be brief or extensive, provided that it is
tightly reasoned, self-contained, and not overstated. In this section, you might briefly
return to a discussion of why the problem is important (as stated in the introduction); what
larger issues, those that transcend the particulars of the subfield, might hinge on the
findings; and what propositions are confirmed or disconfirmed by the extrapolation of
these findings to such overarching issues.

You may also consider the following issues:

(1) What is the theoretical or practical significance of the outcomes, and what is the basis
for these interpretations? If the findings are valid and replicable, what real-life phenomena
might be explained or modeled by the results? Are applications warranted on the basis of
this research?

(2) What problems remain unresolved or arise anew because of these findings?

The responses to these questions are the core of the contribution of your study, and justify
why readers both inside and outside your own specialty should attend to the findings.

Your readers should receive clear, unambiguous, and direct answers. Analyze the
implications and use of your findings. To the discussion of results, add limitations of your

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study, suggestions for future researcher, and a conclusion. This completes the
"Discussion" section.

Abstract (Page 2)

Include an abstract (page two of your paper) at the beginning of the paper. Repeat the
title mentioned on page 1 before the abstract on page 2. This title and abstract on your
page 2 will be published on our website. Since this will be a permanent record of your
work presented to the outside world, write your abstract very carefully.

An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper. A well

prepared abstract can be the most important paragraph in your paper. Readers frequently
decide on the basis of the abstract whether to read the entire paper. The abstract needs
to be dense with information but also readable, well organized, brief, and self-contained.
Type the abstract as a single paragraph. Ensure that the abstract correctly reflects the
purpose and content of the paper. Make each sentence maximally informative, especially
the lead sentence. Be as brief as possible. Abstracts should not exceed 120 words.

Begin the abstract with the most important information (but do not waste space by
repeating the title). This may be the purpose of thesis, or perhaps the results and
conclusions. To conserve characters, use digits for all numbers, except those that begin
a sentence (consider recasting a sentence that begins with a number). Use the active
rather than the passive voice (but without the personal pronouns I or we). Use the present
tense to describe results with continuing applicability or conclusions drawn; use the past
tense to describe specific variables or tests. Abstract should describe (a) the problem
under investigation, in one sentence, if possible; (b) the sample, specifying pertinent
characteristics, such as number, type, age, and sex; (c) the method, including the data-
gathering procedures and test names; (d) the findings, including statistical significance
levels; and (e) the conclusions and the implications or applications.

Introduction (Page 3)

Repeat the title mentioned on page 1 and page 2 at the top of page 3. After the title on
page 3, add a paragraph or two before the "Theory and Hypotheses" section introducing
this study and highlighting its importance. The body of a paper opens with an introduction
that presents the specific problem under study and describes the research strategy.
Because the introduction is clearly identified by its position in the paper, it is not labeled
(i.e., no separate heading termed “Introduction”). Before writing the introduction, consider

1. What is the point of the study?

2. How do the hypothesis and the study design relate to the problem?
3. What are the theoretical implications of the study, and how does the study relate to
previous work in the area?
4. What theoretical propositions are tested, and how were they derived?

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A good introduction answers these questions in a paragraph or two and, by
summarizing the relevant arguments and the data, gives the reader a firm sense of what
was done and why.

Final Submission

Send updated files, which include all work done. Your submission at this point should
include three files— (1) your main file in Microsoft Word format consisting of title page
(page 1), abstract (page 2), introductory paragraphs (starting on page 3), "Theory and
Hypotheses" section (including literature review on all the variables, and all hypotheses),
“Method “section, “Results” section including tables, “discussion” section, “References
“list, and your complete questionnaire for data collection as “Appendix”; (2) your raw data
in Microsoft Excel format, along with a key mentioning which column corresponds to
which item in the questionnaire; and (3) the statistical output file for reliability,
demographics, and for all analyses done, in html or text format. Email your three files to
your faculty guide with a copy to es@greatlakes.edu.in (and to the other group members
in the case of a joint ES).

Roll numbers and names in ascending order of roll number should be the subject of the
email. If you do not submit your final version before the deadline, your previous
submission shall be deemed to be the final version. Late submissions will not be
accepted for the final deadline of 01 March 2018.

GRADING

The grade for the empirical study will be calculated by giving 10% weight for the course
(which will include your attendance, assignment) and 90% weight for the paper. All
submissions for the 90% component should be made through email to the concerned
faculty guide with a copy to es@greatlakes.edu.in. Roll numbers and names in ascending
order of roll number should be the subject of the email.

The paper will be graded by the concerned faculty guide on the regular grading scale of
the institute just like any course. There will be continuous assessment of the submissions
by the faculty guides. Each of the first four submissions (Literature Review; Proposal;
Complete Data Collection; and Complete “Results” Section) will get a 20% weight, and
the final submission (Complete Paper) will get a 40% weight.

Total penalty for late submissions will be deducted from the score given by the
faculty guide to arrive at the final score for the paper. The penalty for late
submission will be 0.2% per day of delay for each of the first five deadlines,
irrespective of the reason for the delay. The maximum delay permissible is one
week (with a penalty of 0.2% per day). If a component is not submitted latest by one

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week after the deadline, the group would be marked down three grades. If groups
submit more than one component late by more than one week, they would be
marked an F.

Late submissions will not be accepted for the final deadline 01 March 2017. The final
time of receipt of email with all required attachments by es@greatlakes.edu.in will be the
basis for calculating the penalty.

Important Dates Weight

Finalize Topic and Guide (Due 25 July 2017)
Literature Review (Due 15 September 2017) 20%
Proposal (Due 05 October 2017) 20%
Complete Data Collection (Due 22 November 2017)
Complete “Results” Section (Due 22 December 2017) 20%
Complete Paper (Due 01 March 2018) 40%
Total 100%

APPENDIX 1: WRITING STYLE

Use A4 (210 x 297 mm) as paper size and double spacing throughout. Double-space
between all lines. Leave uniform margins of 1 in. (2.54 cm) at the top, bottom, left, and
right of every page. Do not justify lines. Instead, use the flush-left style, and leave the
right margin uneven, or ragged. Indent the first line of every paragraph by ½ inch or 1.27
cm The final paper should be in Microsoft Word format and normally not exceed 8,000
words in size, including title page (page 1), abstract (page 2), references, appendixes,
tables, and figures. It should follow the APA Publication Manual instructions very strictly.
APA Style Resources are available at http://www.psywww.com/resource/apacrib.htm.

Language: Whatever you write should be devoid of language errors. Use the U.S.
English for spelling. The general rule is to use figures to express numbers 10 and above
and words to express numbers below 10. Make sure you do a thorough grammar;
punctuation and spelling check before your email anything to your guide.

Smoothness of expression: If you find that your writing is abrupt, more transition from
one topic to another may be needed. Possibly you have abandoned an argument or
theme prematurely; if so, you need to amplify the discussion. Abruptness may result from
sudden, unnecessary shifts in verb tense within the same paragraph or in adjacent
paragraphs.

By being consistent in the use of verb tenses, you can help ensure smooth expression.
Past tense (e.g., “Smith showed”) or present perfect tense (e.g., “researchers have

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shown”) is appropriate for the literature review and the description of the procedure if
the discussion is of past events. Stay within the chosen tense.

Verbs: Verbs are vigorous, direct communicators. Use the active rather than the passive
voice, and select tense or mood carefully. Prefer the active voice. The passive voice is
acceptable in expository writing and when you want to focus on the object or recipient of
the action rather than on the actor. Use the past tense to express an action or a condition
that occurred at a specific, definite time in the past, as when discussing another
researcher’s work and when reporting your results. Use the present perfect tense (e.g.,
“have used”) to express a past action or condition that did not occur at a specific, definite
time or to describe an action beginning in the past and continuing to the present. Use the
subjunctive (e.g., “if the experiment were not designed this way”) to describe only
conditions that are contrary to fact or improbable; do not use the subjunctive to describe
simple conditions or contingencies. Use “would” with care. “Would” can correctly be used
to mean “habitually” or to express a conditional action. Do not use “would” to hedge; for
example, change “it would appear that” to “it appears that.”

Punctuation: Use a comma between elements (including before “and “and “or”) in a
series of three or more items, and to set off the year in parenthetical reference citations.
Use the dash to indicate only a sudden interruption in the continuity of a sentence;
overuse weakens the flow of material. Do not use a slash when a phrase would be clearer
(e.g., “each child handed the ball to her mother or guardian “and not “each child handed
the ball to her mother/guardian”). Avoid using a slash for simple comparisons; use a
hyphen instead (e.g. “test-retest reliability “and not “test/retest reliability”).

Spacing: Space once after all punctuation as follows: (a) after commas, colons, and
semicolons; (b) after punctuation marks at the ends of sentences; (c) after periods that
separate parts of a reference citation; and (d) after the periods of the initials in personal
names (e.g., J. R. Zhang). Do not space after internal periods in abbreviations (e.g., a.m.,
i.e. U.S.) or around colons in ratios. Use no space before or after hyphen, em dash, and
en dash.

For the minus sign, use a hyphen with a space on both sides (e.g., a - b). For a negative
value, use a hyphen with a space before but no space after (e.g., -5.25).

Gender: Sexist bias can occur when pronouns are used carelessly: when the masculine
pronoun he is used to refer to both sexes. The use of man as a generic noun or as an
ending for an occupational title can be ambiguous and may imply incorrectly that all
persons in the group are male. Be clear about whether you mean one sex or both sexes.
There are many alternatives to the generic he, including rephrasing, using plural nouns
or plural pronouns, replacing the pronoun with an article, and dropping the pronoun.
Replacing he with he or she or she or he should be done sparingly because the repetition
can become tiresome.

Combination forms such as him/her or (s) he are awkward and distracting. Alternating
between he and she also may be distracting and is not ideal; doing so implies that he or

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she can in fact be generic, which is not the case. Use of either pronoun unavoidably
suggests that specific gender to the reader.

Capitalization: Use capitals only where necessary. Do not use capitals for variable
names. Arbitrary use of capitals is distracting and gives a poor impression of your work.
Capitalize the first word after a colon that begins a complete sentence. Capitalize nouns
followed by numerals or letters that denote a specific place in a numbered series (e.g., as
shown in Table 2”). Do not capitalize effects or variables unless they appear with
multiplication signs.

Styles: Use only "Body Text" as the "style" for all paragraphs ("styles" are sets of
predefined formatting rules used by word processing software). This paragraph and all
other paragraphs in this file are in “Body Text “style. Use only two levels of heading for
the paper, besides paragraph headings. Use only "Heading 1" and "Heading 2" as the
"styles" for first level and second-level headings respectively.

Use first level heading (Centered Uppercase Heading) for each of the four sections of the
paper (Theory and Hypotheses; Method; Results; Discussion), the “references “list, and
“Appendix “containing your questionnaire. The heading "1. FINALIZE TOPIC AND GUIDE
(DUE 25 JULY)" in this file is an example of first level heading. Use second level heading
(Flush Left, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Side Heading) for first variable and for
each other variable. The heading "Content of Review" in this file is an example of second
level heading. Use paragraph headings (indented, bold, italicized, lowercase paragraph
heading ending with a period) to organize your review. The heading "Styles" for the
previous paragraph is an example of paragraph heading.

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