16.4 Submitting a manuscript for publication
After you have prepared your research report, you are ready to submit the manuscript for publication in a scientific journal. Recall that communicating your research to the scientific community makes your finding public, which is necessary in the realm of science. The Publication Manual provides detailed information for preparation and submission of a manuscript for publication and you can access a checklist for manuscript submission in section 8.07 of the Publication Manual or at www.apa.org/journals/authors/manuscript_check.html. However, the following three steps will help you get a good start.
1. First, select a journal that is appropriate for the topic of your research report. Most journals focus on a few special topics. A journal’s website describes what kinds of manuscript are appropriate for that journal (Figure 16.8). In addition, there are a few journals that exclusively publish undergraduate research papers. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research and Modern Psychological Studies are such journals.
2. Consult the journal’s Instructions to Authors for specific submission requirements. Instructions to authors are typically found on the journal’s website. Be sure to identify whether the manuscript is to be submitted electronically (and if so, in what format) or if a hard copy is to be mailed (and if so, be sure to include the number of additional photocopies required by the journal). Instructions for submitting manuscript for all APA journals can be found at www.apa.org/pubs/authors/instructions.aspx
3. Enclose a cover letter to the journal editor along with the manuscript. Detailed information concerning the contents of the cover letter can be founded in section 8.03 of the Publication Manual.
When a manuscript is received by a journal editor, the editor usually informs the author of its receipt and distributes copies of the manuscript to reviewers. The reviewers are selected on the basis of their expertise in the research area of your manuscript. Reviewers provide the editor with an evaluation of the manuscript, but, ultimately, the editor makes the decision to accept it, reject it, or request its revision. Note that most manuscript are rejected for publication; only the best of the best get published.
16.5 Writing a research proposal
Although we have identified writing a research report as Step 9 in the research process, researchers often do some writing earlier. Before conducting a study, many researchers write a research proposal. A research proposal is basically a plan for a new study. As outlined in the research process (see Chapter 1), before data are collected, you must (1) find a research idea, (2) form a hypothesis and a prediction, (3) define and choose your measures, (4) identify and select the individuals for your study, (5) select a research strategy, (6) select a research design, and make a plan for analyzing and interpreting the data (discussed in Chapter 14). A research proposal is a written report that addresses these points.
Why Write a Research Proposal?
Research proposals are commonly used in the following situations.
• Researchers submit research proposals to government and local funding agencies to obtain financial support for their research.
• Researchers develop proposals for their own use to help develop and refine their thinking, and to remind themselves to attend to details they might otherwise overlook.
• Undergraduate honors thesis students and graduate students submit proposals to their thesis and dissertation committees for approval.
• Undergraduate students are asked to write research proposals for the purposes of research methods classes (even when they are not required to conduct the actual study).
In each case, the research proposal is evaluated, feedback is provided, and suggestions for modification are made. Like the research report, the basic purpose of a good research proposal is to provide three kinds of information about the research study.
1. What will be done. The proposal should describe in some detail the step-by-step process you will follow to complete the research project.
2. What may be found. The proposal should contain an objective description of the possible outcomes. Typically, this involves a description of the measurements that will be taken and the statistical methods that will be used to summarize and interpret those measurements.
3. How your planned research study is related to other knowledge in the area. The research proposal should show the connections between the planned study and past knowledge.
Definition: A research proposal is a written report presenting the plan and underlying rationale of a future research study. A proposal includes a review of the relevant background literature, an explanation of how the proposed study is related to other knowledge in the area, a description of how the planned research will be conducted, and a description of the possible results.
How to Write a Research Proposal
Writing a research proposal is very much like writing a research report. First, the general APA style guidelines discussed in section 16.2 are identical, with the exception of verb tense. In a research proposal, always use the future tense when you describe your study. You will need to do this (1) at the end of the introduction when you introduce your study (for example, “The propose of this study will be”); (2) in the method section (for example, “The participants will be” or “Participants will complete”); and (3) in the results/discussion (for example, “It is expected that the scores will increase”). In a research proposal, unlike in a research report, the study has not been conducted yet and, therefore, it does not make sense to refer to it in the past tense.
Second, the content of each part of the manuscript body discussed in section 16.3 is identical, with these exceptions.
1. An abstract is optional in a research proposal.
2. The literature review in the introduction is typically more extensive than the review in a research report.
3. The results and discussion sections are typically replaced either by a combined Results/Discussion section, or a section entitled Expected Results and Statistical Analysis or Data Analysis and Expected Results. Regardless of its heading, this final section of the body of the research proposal should describe (1) how the data will be collected and analyzed, (2) the expected or anticipated results, (3) other plausible outcomes, and (4) implications of the expected results.
16.4 Submitting a manuscript for publication
After you have prepared your research report, you are ready to submit the manuscript for publication in a scientific journal. Recall that communicating your research to the scientific community makes your finding public, which is necessary in the realm of science. The Publication Manual provides detailed information for preparation and submission of a manuscript for publication and you can access a checklist for manuscript submission in section 8.07 of the Publication Manual or at www.apa.org/journals/authors/manuscript_check.html. However, the following three steps will help you get a good start.
1. First, select a journal that is appropriate for the topic of your research report. Most journals focus on a few special topics. A journal’s website describes what kinds of manuscript are appropriate for that journal (Figure 16.8). In addition, there are a few journals that exclusively publish undergraduate research papers. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research and Modern Psychological Studies are such journals.
2. Consult the journal’s Instructions to Authors for specific submission requirements. Instructions to authors are typically found on the journal’s website. Be sure to identify whether the manuscript is to be submitted electronically (and if so, in what format) or if a hard copy is to be mailed (and if so, be sure to include the number of additional photocopies required by the journal). Instructions for submitting manuscript for all APA journals can be found at www.apa.org/pubs/authors/instructions.aspx
3. Enclose a cover letter to the journal editor along with the manuscript. Detailed information concerning the contents of the cover letter can be founded in section 8.03 of the Publication Manual.
When a manuscript is received by a journal editor, the editor usually informs the author of its receipt and distributes copies of the manuscript to reviewers. The reviewers are selected on the basis of their expertise in the research area of your manuscript. Reviewers provide the editor with an evaluation of the manuscript, but, ultimately, the editor makes the decision to accept it, reject it, or request its revision. Note that most manuscript are rejected for publication; only the best of the best get published.
16.5 Writing a research proposal
Although we have identified writing a research report as Step 9 in the research process, researchers often do some writing earlier. Before conducting a study, many researchers write a research proposal. A research proposal is basically a plan for a new study. As outlined in the research process (see Chapter 1), before data are collected, you must (1) find a research idea, (2) form a hypothesis and a prediction, (3) define and choose your measures, (4) identify and select the individuals for your study, (5) select a research strategy, (6) select a research design, and make a plan for analyzing and interpreting the data (discussed in Chapter 14). A research proposal is a written report that addresses these points.
Why Write a Research Proposal?
Research proposals are commonly used in the following situations.
• Researchers submit research proposals to government and local funding agencies to obtain financial support for their research.
• Researchers develop proposals for their own use to help develop and refine their thinking, and to remind themselves to attend to details they might otherwise overlook.
• Undergraduate honors thesis students and graduate students submit proposals to their thesis and dissertation committees for approval.
• Undergraduate students are asked to write research proposals for the purposes of research methods classes (even when they are not required to conduct the actual study).
In each case, the research proposal is evaluated, feedback is provided, and suggestions for modification are made. Like the research report, the basic purpose of a good research proposal is to provide three kinds of information about the research study.
1. What will be done. The proposal should describe in some detail the step-by-step process you will follow to complete the research project.
2. What may be found. The proposal should contain an objective description of the possible outcomes. Typically, this involves a description of the measurements that will be taken and the statistical methods that will be used to summarize and interpret those measurements.
3. How your planned research study is related to other knowledge in the area. The research proposal should show the connections between the planned study and past knowledge.
Definition: A research proposal is a written report presenting the plan and underlying rationale of a future research study. A proposal includes a review of the relevant background literature, an explanation of how the proposed study is related to other knowledge in the area, a description of how the planned research will be conducted, and a description of the possible results.
How to Write a Research Proposal
Writing a research proposal is very much like writing a research report. First, the general APA style guidelines discussed in section 16.2 are identical, with the exception of verb tense. In a research proposal, always use the future tense when you describe your study. You will need to do this (1) at the end of the introduction when you introduce your study (for example, “The propose of this study will be”); (2) in the method section (for example, “The participants will be” or “Participants will complete”); and (3) in the results/discussion (for example, “It is expected that the scores will increase”). In a research proposal, unlike in a research report, the study has not been conducted yet and, therefore, it does not make sense to refer to it in the past tense.
Second, the content of each part of the manuscript body discussed in section 16.3 is identical, with these exceptions.
1. An abstract is optional in a research proposal.
2. The literature review in the introduction is typically more extensive than the review in a research report.
3. The results and discussion sections are typically replaced either by a combined Results/Discussion section, or a section entitled Expected Results and Statistical Analysis or Data Analysis and Expected Results. Regardless of its heading, this final section of the body of the research proposal should describe (1) how the data will be collected and analyzed, (2) the expected or anticipated results, (3) other plausible outcomes, and (4) implications of the expected results.
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