Drafting Methods Section for Research Paper

Guidelines for Writing Methods Section

Your assignment is to draft a methods section for your paper. You should refer to your APA manual to ensure that you are following the guidelines correctly. (Note that the manual has a guideline for just about everything!) Remember, the goal of a methods section is to provide enough detail that another person would be able to replicate your study.

Instructions:
• Use the guidelines below to write each part of your method section.
• Do NOT write with bullet points. Instead, write in paragraph format with appropriate headings, just as you will for your final paper.
• See the APA manual and “Other Resources” online for examples of how the methods section should look.
• Include Appendices (one appendix for each variable) with your materials.
• Include an APA style reference page with all cited articles.
• Although you are working on your project with a group, this method section must be written independently.
• Be sure to avoid plagiarism! Do not copy and paste text from any source. 
• Submit via Turnitin on eCampus.

Your assignment will be graded on clarity and following the correct format.

1. Participants. This subsection describes who participated in the survey.
i. Describe how many participants completed the study. How many males vs. females?
ii. Describe the age range of the participants, as well as the mean and SD of ages.
iii. Describe how participants were recruited. (From where? Convenience sample?) Why did the participants take part in your study?

Note: You will not yet have the numbers you need (e.g., number of participants, ages). For now, write this section with “<##>” in place of the numbers. Just be sure to fill in this info when it becomes available!

2. Materials: This subsection describes any materials you used in the study. Clearly list your variables, and how they were measured. Start with a paragraph on the IV, and then follow with a paragraph on the DV.

For The Variable(s) You Created:
i. If you have an individual question that you're going to use to create a variable, then provide the exact question and the exact response choices and how they were coded. You then report what higher numbers reflected and what lower numbers reflected (for example, “Stress was measured on a 1 (not at all) to 10 (a lot) scale with higher numbers reflecting greater stress levels)." 

ii. For the multi-item scale your group created, state how many questions were used to create the variable, and point readers to the Appendix for all the questions. Also provide 1-2 example questions here, and discuss the response options and how the data were coded. Be sure to indicate how you combined the questions into a single IV score.

For The Variable Based On The Validated Scale:
Cite the scale you used. State how many questions the scale includes, and point readers to the Appendix for all the questions. Also provide 1-2 example questions here and report the response options and how it was coded. If it is available, you include any statistical information on the reliability and validity of your instrument. For example…

"Stress was measured by the Ryff (2010) stress scale that consists of 10 questions assessing the daily stress of college students (see Appendix 1 for all questions). An example question is as follows “How much stress do feel regarding your school work”. Participants responded on a 1 (not at all) to 10 (a lot) scale. All responses were averaged so that higher scores reflected higher levels of stress."

3. Design and Procedure: This subsection describes the step-by step process you took to complete your study. 
i. State that this was a cross-sectional research design.
ii. Describe how information was collected (paper/pencil; as part of a larger survey).
iii. Describe the general instructions given to participants.
iv. Indicate that debriefing was not necessary.
v. Provide the approximate time it took the average person to complete the standardized scales and questionnaire (you may base this on how long it took you).

4. Data Analysis: On a future assignment...

Remember: You must also include an APA-style reference page with cited articles, and your Appendices.