Style Guide

In manuscript preparation, please adhere to requirements in this Style Guide. Otherwise, follow the guidelines on format, style, and ethics provided in the Publication Manual (5th ed.) of the American Psychological Association.

The manuscript should adhere to the following format...

TITLE PAGE

Include the title of the manuscript, the name(s) of the author(s) and affiliation(s), and the street address, telephone, fax, and electronic mail numbers of the corresponding author.

SYNOPSIS

Written in lay English, the Synopsis should follow this outline in a single paragraph with the four sections clearly labeled. Objective. Normally a one-sentence description of the motivation for the study. Design. Provides essential information on the sample (including the N of participants), what was done, and how. Results. Summarize the main findings succinctly. Conclusions . The take-home message for the reader.

INTRODUCTION

The title of the paper, but not the names of the author(s), should appear on the first page of the text.

METHODS

Participants or Sample

Procedures

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

AFFILIATION(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)
(only in final version accepted for publication)

Corresponding author: Whole name, full mailing address, e-mail address. Names and affiliations of coauthors (if any) follow.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

APPENDIX (if applicable)

HEADING ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT
There are five possible levels of subhead, although most articles do not have 5 levels of subheads. If an article has:

        ... 5 levels of subheads, use all 5;

        ... 4 levels of subheads, use  levels 1, 2, 3, and 5;

        ... 3 levels of subheads, use levels 1, 3, and 5.

Follow the principle that the highest level of subhead in an article must be the level 1 head and the lowest level in a paper must be the level 5 head. Levels 2, 3, and 4 are added as needed. Use level 4 only if an article has all 5 levels of subheads in it.

Level 1: INTRODUCTION

All caps...bold...centered...text following flush left.

Caps and lowercase...italic...paragraph indent, followed by a period, and run into the text that follows, with a regular space between the period and the text that follows.

Thus:

INTRODUCTION

Parenting Children

          Parenting children is important. Parenting children is important because, if parents do not assume this responsibility, who will?

LISTS
Standardize "listings" throughout the manuscript.

For paragraphs:

(1) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

(2) YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

(3) ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

For short lists in the text, numerical in parentheses:

(1) xxxx, (2) yyyy, and (3) zzzz.

AGES OF CHILDREN
Wherever possible, provide ages of children in lieu of or in addition to grade; ages and times appear in numerical format: 4-year-olds, 6 min.

SOME CONVENTIONS

USAGE

• "relation" for mathematical or variable associations; "relationship" for familial or interpersonal associations
• "while" implies temporal coextension; "whereas", "even if", "although" as appropriate otherwise
• "since" implies temporal quality; "because" expresses causal relation
• "rear" for children; "raise" for animals
• A series of three (or more) items has commas after each item in the series: X, Y, and Z.
• "datum" is singular; "data" are plural.
• Dates: 1950s.
• "Variety" and "series": Each mass noun takes a singular verb: a variety is, a series is.
• Spell check the manuscript.
• cf. means "compare," rather than "see."
• Verify quotations and provide page numbers.  Quotations longer than 500 words must have permission in order not to violate "fair use." 
• Put spaces around hyphens, statistical symbols, and so forth instead of cramming them together.

SEXISM IN LANGUAGE
Avoid sexism in language; use plural phrases as, "children and their toys" for "a child and his toy." 

FOOTNOTES
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Important information should be incorporated into the text.  Footnotes should be numbered consecutively in the text as superscripts, but the material to be footnoted should be double-spaced and included on separate pages at the end of the manuscript.

STATISTICS (t, r, F, and the like)
Normally statistics are reported to 2 places (after the decimal point). Specify the p level to 2 or 3 places only.

• Statistics are set off from the text with commas (not parentheses).

• Statistics should specify degrees of freedom.

• Correlations: r(df) = .xx, p < .0x: begin with .xx (not a leading zero, 0.xx)

For appropriate terminology, the journal follows Cohen, J. & Cohen, P. (1983) Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed., p. 61). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates:
"Conventional magnitudes of r corresponding to small, medium and large ES [effect sizes] that have been suggested as appropriate at least for many areas of psychological investigation, are r =.10, .30, and .50, respectively."

• Range: like other descriptive statistics (M, SD), range should be italicized and followed by = (not a colon :).

• N for whole sample size, n for subsample sizes.

• Means should be accompanied by a measure of dispersion (SD).

•Mediator-Moderator:

For a formal discussion, see Baron, R.M. & Kenny, D.A. (1986) The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.