Teaching Scientific Writing: Measuring Student Learning in an Intensive APA Skills Course

Abstract

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010) provides a widely utilized template for preparing research reports in the behavioral sciences. Because learning APA style is integral to disciplinary socialization, our department recently implemented a 1-hr course in scientific writing. Using a pre- and posttest factorial design, we compare changes in APA knowledge over an academic semester and quality of final papers in 2 groups of students: those enrolled in scientific writing ( n = 20) and others who were expected to master APA basics on their own ( n = 18). Results suggest that intensive instruction in APA style is beneficial for student learning outcomes.