apa case study format

apa case study format

The Importance of Using APA Case Study Format

1. Introduction

Step by step, the students have to do is to search information from reverse engineering, make an outline of what will be made, search case materials with various methods, do the interviews, and finally interpret the results of the interviews that all must be collected in a format that is difficult to understand. With the various stages of making it, many students who don’t understand the format of their case sometimes don’t know what to do first.

Based on the title, the purpose of making a case is to know the deep result of something with a method that is more various to compare with the same condition at a different time. So, is it necessary for a case study to have its own format? The answer is yes. When viewed from the case that has a deep result, it would require a smoother format with another paper. But the case study that is done has an important part or a special section to compare with the other APA style papers. Because of that, the format of an APA style case study is a bit difficult to understand for students. The result is that students often complain about the difficulty in making a case study with APA format because they don’t know what is required.

The APA format is commonly utilized in writing behavioral and social sciences. The American Psychological Association has developed this scientific writing style to facilitate an acquired communication for the researchers in addition to decreasing potential awry understandings on the part of readers. An APA style paper is comprised of several sections and students are required to follow the format as it pertains to various aspects of the assignment. At some point, students will need to conduct a case study on a particular topic. This single case study will not change the general format of an APA style paper, but it can still be confusing. By considering it, this paper is made to discuss the use of APA style case study.

2. Key Elements of APA Case Study Format

Data Collection: This is part where the key elements of a detailed case study come into play. In order to obtain all the vital information on the case, the researcher must utilize several different types of data collection methods. These methods can include interviews, observation, and document analysis. A spokesperson for WHO’s Electromagnetic Field Project stated, “The most valuable evidence here comes from direct investigations.” Therefore, in order to attain an exhaustive understanding of the case, it is required that the researcher have unimpeded access to the material and personnel involved with the case so as to avoid missing any information.

The Case: This section contains the actual case on which the study will be based. This may be an individual, a group, or an event. Each case should be explained in two to three paragraphs. This same section will also contain the history of the case, both past and present, and information pertaining to methods of prevention or treatment of the issue(s) involved with the case.

Method of Research: This section explains in detail how the researcher implemented the study. Here, the researcher classifies the study design as qualitative or quantitative, then further specifies the method of data collection, the procedures used to gather it, and the solutions used to record the data.

Title Page: In order to fulfill the goals and expectations of the readers, the researcher must present the material in a clear, concise, and logical manner.

3. Benefits of Using APA Case Study Format

Consistency is the goal to be accomplished in a research study in order to get the maximum understanding of the topic being explored. The methods section gives the study credibility because it explains in detail what the study consists of, by using the APA case study format in data collection. Having this open format using a step by step approach shows honesty and a great tool for others to use. The purpose of this is to give people who read the study enough information to be able to repeat the study on their own using the same methods and should be able to obtain the same results. With the APA case study format, this is made possible. This will greatly influence those who are trying to the specific area of research and will be another major factor in helping the reader decide whether the study is relevant to the topic he/she is currently exploring. Following the methods section, a reference is made to the appendix where the raw data can be taken a look at, the less intrusion of the data the more value it is given, by giving the location of the data an option to look at it is preferred over placing it arbitrarily in the study, this way the reader is able to decide whether they want to see the data or not. This method is the safest way to give the data collected the least biased views on it and it is very organized and efficient. This accomplishment of reaching step one to the completion of a case study is vital and much simpler to attain through the use of the APA format. APA has produced easy to use accommodations to find national salience and group quarters definitions and mappings which greatly help attain information on the topics. The print out the report link feature gives a perfect way to do a comparison or evaluation on the differences from what was expected, this contrasts greatly with being given information on how to do so and attempting to create our own way of retrieving the same type of information.

4. Step-by-Step Guide for Formatting a Case Study in APA Style

5. Footnotes a. Footnotes are typed double spaced in a manuscript. b. The first line of each footnote is indented 5 spaces and there are two spaces between the last line of the text and the first line of the footnote.

4. References a. They are centered on the page. b. Double spacing is used with each reference entry. c. Use a hanging indent for each reference, that is, the first line of the reference is flush left and each additional line for the same entry is indented 0.5 inch.

3. Main Body a. Begin with the title of the paper, centered on the page. b. The introduction begins on the next page following the abstract; the introduction should be the first heading. c. Use level one subheadings as the first subheadings in the introduction and method and then level two subheadings for further subsections. d. Use of appendices, tables, and figures. i. Appendices are labeled and referred to in the paper. ii. Each table or figure must be identified and cited in the paper as a consecutive number. iii. Tables have numbers and titles above the table. iv. Figures are labeled at the bottom.

2. Abstract a. The word “Abstract” is centered as the first line of the page and is not in bold. b. The abstract is a one-paragraph, self-contained summary of the most important elements of the paper. c. The abstract is written in block form; do not indent the paragraph. d. The text of the abstract is typed with double spacing. e. The abstract is between 150-250 words.

1. Title Page a. The title is in upper and lowercase letters and is centered in the upper half of the page. b. The author’s name, institutional affiliation, and author note are centered in the lower half of the page.

5. Conclusion

Although case study writing is one of the most common assignments for students, very few really know how to write a good case study. Case study writing is not an easy task and it is thought that many students will do this type of writing at some point in their academic careers. Case studies are used to show that a theory has been understood and can be applied – for this reason they are often used in subjects such as psychology, sociology, education and, more loosely, in the sciences. APA style case studies require you to include a number of key components. This will take the form of an introduction (which will include the research question), a literature review, an analysis of the case, and a discussion on the topic. In a real case study, there will also be an upfront and in-depth discussion of the individual case – where the person, situation, or thing of interest is explored and described in terms of its circumstances, problems, and so on. For example, a psychological case study would entail full details on the individual being studied, background information, and the current problems. This will then be followed by the research and whether the information and the case has fulfilled the function of allowing the theory to be put to the practical use, and finally, there will be a conclusion. APA case study you one small repeated and extended code.