APA Dissertation Style Manual for 5th Edition

Lauren and Randy’s APA Dissertation Style Manual th Edition* SDSU Ed.D Program 1st Edition, December 2009 *Initial draft working title Title will change as our classmates contribute additional information, and who knows, this might even become something “official”! This draft, unofficial guide is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), Fifth Edition, which specifies the formatting required for the 2007 cohort of the San Diego State University (SDSU) Doctorate in Education The guide is not comprehensive and is not an official university document It is designed to provide guidance for Ed.D students based on the experiences of those in the program who have completed dissertations, and much of the information contained herein came from the helpful feedback provided by SDSU Thesis Reviewer Amanda Carpenter This guide is intended to be modified by users, and shared freely with all cohorts in the program Updates that are disseminated should include the date of modification, and should be made available to all doctoral program students who could benefit from this information Please feel free to make changes and corrections as necessary APA Dissertation Specific Information Chapter Six of the APA manual covers the differences between manuscript preparation (for journal publication) and dissertation preparation Compared to the APA formatting that we used for papers in our courses, there are a few important differences for dissertations: • Left margins must be ẵ inches, others inch ã Spacing must be double for the document text, but single-spacing can be used in cases where it would improve readability (6.03) This can be useful for long tables The choice of spacing must be consistent throughout the document, however (if one table is single-spaced, all similar tables should be single-spaced) • Note that this program does not follow the SDSU Thesis and Dissertation Manual in terms of formatting The template found on the SDSU thesis website should not be used for Ed.D dissertations Amanda reviewed the APA manual, and provided the following guidance: Is it a requirement to include the IRB in the Appendix: It is not a requirement to include the IRB in the Appendix, but if you would like to then you may What should the List of Tables/Figures look like? I have been unable to find any reference to the formatting of an APA List of Tables or Figures Therefore, I will only check that the formatting of those pages is uniform and matches the formatting of the table of contents (spacing, font size etc)(See sample) Is there a requirement that there must be text between two headings? I wondered if this was a requirement in APA (it is for the SDSU DTM) but I was unable to find any evidence that it is 4 How many levels of headings should be used: While you were in the office, we briefly discussed how many levels of headings you should use in each chapter I took a moment to check again in the manual and the most definitive answer is in section 3.30 on page 112 which confirms that you should find the chapter that divides into the greatest number of levels and apply that number of headings to the entire document (Note: Randy’s chapter had four levels of headings, so the dissertation followed the APA manual four-level guidelines [3.32, pg 115] even for the other chapters, which only had three levels of headings) How should definitions be formatted? Again, I was unable to find any definitive rules regarding the inclusion of definitions Therefore, I will just be checking for uniformity Is it allowable to insert a table into the middle of a paragraph? Again, I was unable to find a rule regarding where and when to insert a table into the text Sample Pages and General Comments/Corrections These are presented in the order they appear in the dissertation, whenever possible The sample pages contained in the first edition are from Randy Barnes’s dissertation; feel free to replace as better examples are found A few important differences between manuscript and dissertation formats should be noted: • No running heads Page numbers should be in the upper right-hand corner • As mentioned previously, 1/2” left margin • Chapter begins with page (does not continue with numbering from introductory pages) • See the following sample pages for cover, signature pages, tables of contents, etc Consistency is important DELETE THE INTRO LINE (ITALICS) WHEN MEASURING MARGINS! • Helpful hint: a long dash — can be made by pressing the ctrl-alt-dash (minus sign) keys simultaneously Useful in the Table of Contents • References: follow the APA manual (chapter 4), and check to make sure your web links are still active The guidance we have received in our classes has been helpful, and Amanda had no changes to my (Randy’s) reference list • Feel free to replace Randy’s examples as better examples become available! Sample cover page Community College Learning Communities: Impact on Student Success in Developmental English by Randall A Barnes A dissertation submitted to the faculty of San Diego State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Educational Leadership October 29, 2009 Sample signature page Spell out Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY The Undersigned Faculty Committee Approves the Dissertation of Dr Randall A Barnes Community College Learning Communities: Impact on Student Success in Developmental English William E Piland, Chair Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education Ron Jacobs Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education Kenneth Fawson National University _ Approval Date Sample copyright page Copyright © 2009 by Randall A Barnes Sample abstract (incomplete) ABSTRACT This investigation was a case study to measure the effectiveness of the linked course learning community model in developmental English courses at an urban community college This study used student demographic and course outcome data to quantify the extent to which learning community participation could contribute toward remedying the historically low success, retention, and persistence rates among diverse student populations in community colleges The learning communities in this study consisted of developmental reading and writing courses linked in pairs at the same level, considered to be one and two levels below college level English A primary goal of this study was to determine whether students who took developmental English courses in the learning community format were more successful and had higher retention and persistence rates than students who took the same courses outside of learning communities The researcher found a limited number of references in the literature that included concrete examples of quantitative outcomes for learning communities in community colleges Although learning communities have been considered an effective practice for improving community college student success, evidence of this was mostly anecdotal or based solely on qualitative studies or on studies of learning communities at universities Compared to universities, community colleges have historically served a student Sample Table of Contents Note Amanda’s correction, which was made in the final document Also note subheadings in Chapter TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT iv LIST OF TABLES viii LISTS OF FIGURES x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION 12 Background to the Problem 14 Local Setting 18 Problem Statement 24 Research Questions 25 Hypotheses 26 Purpose of the Study 26 Definition of Terms 27 Conceptual Framework 29 Significance of the Study 37 Delimitations/Limitations 40 Organization of the Study 42 CHAPTER 2—LITERATURE REVIEW 44 The Relationship Between Developmental English and College Success 45 The Role of Student Involvement in Student Success 54 Factors Affecting Community College Student Success 59 Learning Communities and Student Success 68 Continued CHAPTER 4—RESULTS 105 Findings… Descriptive Statistics for the Sample Learning Community Retention and Persistence Success Rates in Developmental English Courses Summary 106 107 108 118 132 Sample list of tables LIST OF TABLES Table Descriptive Statistics for Students 92 Table Recoded Ethnicity, Gender, and Learning Community Status For English 042 and 043 107 Table Recoded Ethnicity, Gender, and Learning Community Status For English 051 and 056 108 Table Retention for Developmental English Courses by Learning Community Status 110 Table Retention Rates for English 042 and 043 Courses, by Learning Community Status and Grouped Ethnicity 111 Table Retention Rates for English 042 and 043 Courses, by Learning Community Status and Gender 111 Table Retention Rates for English 051 and 056 Courses, by Learning Community Status and Grouped Ethnicity 112 Table Retention Rates for English 051 and 056 Courses, by Learning Community Status and Gender 112 Table Persistence Rates for English 051 and 056 Courses, by Learning Community Status, Fall 2007 to Spring 2008 114 Table 10 Persistence Rates for Developmental English Courses, by Learning Community Status, Fall 2008 to Spring 2009 114 Sample list of figures LIST OF FIGURES Figure Prerequisites for Developmental English Courses 93 Figure English Placement and Course Sequence 97 Figure Summary of Impacts of Learning Communities on Student Outcomes 135 Figure Summary of Significant Differences among Means for Learning Communities 136 Sample Acknowledgements page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge those who worked tirelessly for many years to establish the Doctor of Educational Leadership program at San Diego State University Their hard work and dedication to the development of community college leaders will benefit countless learners, directly and indirectly The dedicated faculty and staff in the program have also greatly contributed to making this not only possible, but very worthwhile I would particularly like to thank my Dissertation Chair, Dr William Piland His guidance, patience, and expertise not only helped me to complete this program, but also made me a better educator I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr Ron Jacobs and Dr Kenneth Fawson, for their advice and guidance I truly appreciate your commitment to student success My faculty, staff, and administrative colleagues in the learning community within this program are responsible for the success of countless community college students Your commitment to improving educational opportunities for the “top 100%” of students we serve is remarkable I look forward to working with you on many more student success initiatives in the future Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank my family for their patience and support during my time spent in this program, and my cohort colleagues for their support, guidance, and collaborative spirit Without your support this dissertation would not have been possible Sample Chapter intro, with Amanda’s page number correction Note that I began with a long quote CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION Since their inception, community colleges have been at the forefront in educating and training many of the nation’s most underserved citizens For large numbers of Americans, therefore, they have provided a stepping-stone to a better life However, the persistent achievement gaps involving those traditionally underserved by higher education—particularly students of color and those from low-income families—clearly demonstrate that too many students are being left behind As some have said, the open door too often becomes a revolving door Community colleges are increasingly recognizing the need to revise or, in some cases, to wholly redesign students’ educational experiences so that more students will have a success story to tell [italics added] (McClenney & Greene, 2005, p 2) Community colleges have attracted a student body of incredible diversity, and have served a population of students who, for myriad reasons, chose community colleges over other institutions by virtue of desire, necessity, or lack of other options Community colleges, according to Cohen and Brawer (2003), are institutions that “help individuals Sample of definition headings Be consistent! Student attrition: From 1995 to 2004, approximately 40% of first-time freshman students who enrolled in the fall term did not enroll in the subsequent spring term (San Diego Community College District, 2004) Course completion: In Fall 2006, over 35% of students never attended, dropped or withdrew from all classes before the end of the semester Academic and progress probation: In spring 2008, 6.2% of students were on academic or progress probation Transfer: In 2006-07, 411 students from the college transferred to a California State University (CSU) campus, and 95 students transferred to a University of California (UC) campus (California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2008) In 2005-2006, 209 students transferred to private four-year institutions (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 2008) However, nearly half of all students indicated an educational goal of transfer to a four-year institution Oops… another example of consistency! We tend to miss these when we’ve looked at our studies for so long students to “present ideas before others” and “take responsibility for their own learning” (p 57) Teachers have managed these collaborative exercises by emphasizing higher-order thinking, development of team skills, and working in diverse groups (Millis and Cottell, 1998, as cited in Laufgraben & Tompkins, 2004) Learning Community Structures Learning communities have not been rigidly defined Gabelnick, MacGregor, Matthews and Smith (1990), noted that there were many different types of learning I knew this rule, but apparently overlooked this one (and a few others)! An example of the need to really proofread your final submission Peer group associations and high school relationships were absent or unfamiliar in the college setting Commuter students or those who were able to retain their high school contacts may have experienced more difficulty in becoming socially integrated with the college (Christie & Dinham 1991) Peer and family contacts may have enhanced or hindered persistence depending on whether those contacts were supportive of college participation and success Those who maintained contacts among groups having traditionally low rates of college participation may have been forced to choose between college and the external community (Tinto, 1993) Capitalism consistency example Also, a sample of a table Make sure that all tables are in the same format and have headings in same format Contact Randy Barnes for advice on SPSS table formats 056 individually, as shown in tables and For African American students, this difference was not significant, but for Latino students (χ2 = 6.330, df = 1, p = 0.012) and students from the other ethnicity category (χ2 = 12.74, df = 1, p < 0.001), learning community retention was significantly higher than retention for students who did Table Retention Rates for English 051 and 056 Courses, by Learning Community Status and Grouped Ethnicity Course retention Recoded ethnicity Learning community African American Latino All other ethnicities Not retained Retained Total No 15 74 89 Yes 14 72 86 Total No Yes Total No 29 44 29 73 34 146 215 268 483 145 175 259 297 556 179 Yes 136 144 Total 42 281 323 not take English 051 and 056 in a learning community Course retention rates for females and males were also higher when English 051 and 056 classes were taken in learning communities The chi-square test for females showed a significant difference in retention (χ2 = 6.119, df = 1, p = 0.013), as did the test for males (χ2 = 10.33, df = 1, p = 0.001)  ... preparation (for journal publication) and dissertation preparation Compared to the APA formatting that we used for papers in our courses, there are a few important differences for dissertations:... the SDSU Thesis and Dissertation Manual in terms of formatting The template found on the SDSU thesis website should not be used for Ed.D dissertations Amanda reviewed the APA manual, and provided... who could benefit from this information Please feel free to make changes and corrections as necessary APA Dissertation Specific Information Chapter Six of the APA manual covers the differences