Writing with Style: APA Style for Social Work » (3rd Edition)

Dr. Lenore Szuchman is a developmental psychologist who earned her Ph.D. at Florida International University. As an undergraduate, Dr. Szuchman majored in comparative literature at Brandeis University, and then went on to receive an M.A. in special education from the University of Texas at Austin. Today, at Barry University, Dr. Szuchman teaches writing-intensive courses, specifically Experimental Psychology and Advanced Experimental Psychology, that help students make the transition from other types of college writing to the writing required of scientific psychologists. In her classes students conduct experiments, write APA-style manuscripts, and develop independent research proposals. Dr. Szuchman also advises on master theses and senior projects. Feedback from her students called attention to the need for the exercises in this book.

Dr. Barbara Thomlison is a professor in the School of Social Work and director of the Institute for Children and Families at Risk at Florida International University. She obtained her Ph.D. in social work from the University of Toronto. Her academic experiences involve various undergraduate and graduate programs, where she teaches advanced clinical practice and family intervention courses. Her research interests include parenting programs, children at risk of maltreatment, family and youth violence, foster care, and early childhood interventions. Dr. Thomlison's extensive publications include articles, chapters, and books in the areas of child maltreatment interventions, parenting for effectiveness, family assessment, risk and resilience, foster care, APA style, forensic assessment, intervention in child sexual abuse, evidence-based internships, and designing evidence-based intervention search strategies. Dr. Thomlison is actively involved as a board member in local and national child welfare, foster care, and family service organizations. Her lengthy interdisciplinary practice history also includes services to children and families, as well as policy services research.

This workbook for social work students outlines the basic elements of the American Psychological Association (APA) style for writing scholarly papers and identifies commonly made errors. The second edition corresponds with the Publication manual of the APA, 5th ed. and expands the materials on Internet issues. Perforated pages. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Preface     XI
Writing With Style     1
The Stylistic Distinction     1
Getting Started     3
An Exception     6
Ethics and Writing     7
Using Exact Words and Sentence Structure     8
Changing Words and Sentence Structure     9
Changing the Format     11
Borrowing and Recycling Ideas     12
Technical Phrases and Attribution     13
The Internet     14
General Writing Techniques     15
Referring to Other Authors     15
Words and Phrases to Collect     17
Words and Phrases to Avoid     19
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     31
Grammar and Punctuation Matters     33
Parallel Construction     33
Half-Empty Comparisons     34
Agreement     35
Run-on Sentence or Comma Splice     36
Punctuation     38
Important Differences Between People and Things     39
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     43
Writing an Introduction     45
What Was Done and Why     46
Relevance of the Research Question     48
Looking Back and LookingAhead     53
Writing the Literature Review     55
What Has Been Written or Researched?     56
Reviewing the Empirical Literature     57
Appraising the Literature     59
Synthesizing the Literature     60
Organizing the Literature Review     61
Use Headings     63
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     68
Writing the Method Section     71
Organization     71
Participants     72
Materials and Measures     76
Procedure     78
Remember Your Audience     79
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     87
Writing the Results Section     89
Statistics     89
Tables and Graphs     93
Useful Rules     96
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     104
Writing the Discussion Section     109
Discussion of the Results     111
Implications for Theory, Research, and/or Practice     111
Limitations and Directions for Future Research     112
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     120
Writing the Abstract     123
Contents     124
Style      125
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     132
Listing References     133
Word Processing Tips     134
Alphabetizing     134
Journal Article Reference     135
Chapter in an Edited Book     136
An Authored Book     138
Electronic References     138
Historical and Archival References     139
References in the Body of the Manuscript     140
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     144
Preparing the Title Page and Formatting Your Manuscript     147
Writing a Title     147
Elements of the Title Page     149
Formatting     150
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     153
Polishing the Paper     155
Rewrite and Revise     155
Edit and Rewrite     159
Proofread (Not a Rewrite)     159
Final Touches     161
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     161
Preparing a Presentation     163
Poster Presentations     163
Oral Presentations     170
Looking Back and Looking Ahead     173
Appendixes
Sample Research Report/Proposal Outline     176
Sample Theoretical/Concept Review Paper Outline     177
Sample Title Page for a Journal Manuscript     178
Sample Abstract Page     179
Summary of Steps in Conducting an Internet Search for a Literature Review     180
References     183
Index     785