Citing Your Research
Statistical reports can be done for multiple fields of study, so many different styles are used. The appropriate style depends on the discipline that your research is in. APA is a common citation style for many disciplines. Any outside sources that you include in a statistics report as evidence need to be cited.
In-Text Citation Format in APA
References cited in the text must appear in the references list and vice versa.
Example:
- Evidence suggests that UVM students prefer winter over summer sports (Abbott, 1994).
- A study by Abbott (1994) indicated that UVM students prefer winter over summer sports.
Reference List Format
Follow the Howe Library’s APA style guide (new tab), or refer to the Purdue OWL’s APA style guide (new tab).
Reporting Results: Numerals vs. Words in APA
Use numerals to Express…
- Numbers 10 and above (e.g., 11 year olds, 15 cm)
- Numbers in the abstract of a paper or in a graphical display within the paper
- Numbers in the abstract of a paper or in a graphical display within the paper
- Numbers that represent statistical or mathematical functions, fractional or decimal quantities, percentages, ratios, and percentiles and quartiles (e.g., divided by 6)
- Numbers that represent time, dates, ages, scores and points on a scale, exact sums of money, and numerals as numerals (e.g., 2 hr 15 min, scored 2 on a 5-point scale) Exception: Use words for approximations of number of days, months, and years (e.g., about three years ago)
- Numbers that denote a specific place in a numbered series, parts of books and tables, and each number in a list of four or more numbers (e.g., Grade 3, Table 1)
Use Words to Express…
- Universally accepted usage (e.g., the Ten Commandments)
- Any number that begins a sentence, title, or text heading (e.g., Fifty percent of the sample.., Twelve children cried but 34 laughed..)
- Common fractions (e.g., one fifth of the population skis)
Reporting Statistics in APA Style
Words Vs. Mathematical Notation
| Statistical Term | General Format (Include directly into text) |
|---|---|
| Mean | M= |
| Standard Deviation | SD= |
| Confidence Interval (95%) | 95% CI [LL, UL] |
| p-values | p = value p < .001 (if the value is less than .001) |
| Chi square / t / ANOVA test values | χ2(dƒ) = value, p value, effect size t(dƒ) = value, p value, effect size F(dƒeffect, dƒerror) = value, p value, effect size |
| Correlation: pearson (r), spearman (rs) | r = value, confidence interval, p value |