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Manuscript Preparation Checklist

Basic requirements:

____ Former or current FSC student.
____ Names, mailing & e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of all authors are attached.
____ The research project described in the manuscript is an original student design.
____ Writing of the manuscript was primarily by the student, with input from a supervising 
           FSC faculty/staff member.
____ Ethical standards were followed, including informed consent.

Writing:

____ One inch margins all around.
____ Half-inch paragraph indentations for all paragraphs in manuscript.
____ All text double-spaced.
____ Page breaks in accordance with APA manual publication requirements.
____ Font of Times Roman, Courier, Garamond.
____ 12 pitch type.
____ White paper.
____ Spelling checked and corrected.
____ Appropriate English grammar.
____ Adherence to APA guidelines regarding tense, bias, abbreviations, etc.
____ Manuscripts submitted on 3 ½ diskette in Word or WordPerfect.
                (This is to occur after manuscript reviews)
____ References to and inclusion of materials in appendices appropriate to course work
        only are removed.
____ All tables must be wordprocessed, not imported from other data-base programs. 
____ "Table" grids are not to be used.
____ Figures or pictorial stimuli will not be accepted due to formatting limitations.

Basic APA requirements:

____ Title page:

__ upper right-hand corner header with page number 1
__ header & numbering is set to continue on all subsequent pages
__ running head
__ APA appropriate title
__ author(s)
__ institution

____ Abstract:

__ 100-150 words
__ centered heading of Abstract

____ Literature review:

__ complete title, centered
__ up-to-date review of research-based literature. 
__ APA style reference citations
__ clear statement of hypotheses

____ Method:

__ appropriate level of headings
__ appropriate capitalization, underlining, or indentation of headings
__ accurate description of participants, measures, stimuli, setting, & procedures
__ inclusion of only necessary appendices and references to these in text
__ if appendices are included, APA format requirements have been followed
__ remove all references to omitted appendices in text of method
__ use of terms to describe participants as outlined in APA manual 
__ appropriate referencing of measures or stimuli sources
__ appropriate citing of published scale reliabilities

____ Results:

__ review of findings consistent with order of hypotheses statement
__ indication of significance level set for all tests
__ reporting of appropriate statistical information  for all reported findings
__ data reported in nonredundant manner (e.g., in text or table, not both)
__ appropriate underlining of statistical terms
__ tests of significant interactions or multiple means reported (e.g., Bonferroni’s t)
__ tables adhere to all APA format requirements 
__ refer to tables within text (e.g., see Table 1)
__ post-hoc analyzes (not based on an original hypothesis) indicated as such
__ all underlining changed to italics

____ Discussion:

__ summarization of findings consistent with order of hypotheses and analyzes
__ tie of current findings to specific studies cited in literature review.
__ new references added only if something unexpected was found
__ appropriate referencing
__ discussion of the meaning of the findings pertinent to sample under study
__ discussion of the broader meaning/implications of the findings 
__ appropriate explanation & discussion of major study limitations
__ course only critique omitted
__ discussion of future research possibilities (often stem from limitations)

____ References:

__ start on a new page
__ centered, title - References
__ double-spaced
__ 5-7 space indent to start each citation
__ appropriate capitalization & underlining
__ alphabetical order
__ all authors’ names correctly spelled
__ spelling of all authors’ names match from body of manuscript to reference list
__ all citation dates match from body of manuscript to reference list
__ no extra citations (in reference list and not in body)
__ no missing citations (in body and not in reference list)
__ all underlining changed to italics

Other inclusions:

____ Tables included represent data referred to but not presented within the text 
____ Tables are wordprocessed, without table grids
____ Tables may be within text of Result section or at end of paper
____ Tables must adhere to APA specifications
____ Narrative appendices materials are essential to understanding
____ Narrative appendices meet APA publication requirements

I have reviewed the writing specifications for publication and prepared my manuscript accordingly. The manuscript submitted for review is in full compliance. I understand that my failure to meet the above writing requirements will result in rejection without review. I also understand that all appropriately formatted manuscripts will be submitted for blind reviews. Reviewer comments will be returned, along with the editor’s summary of revision recommendations and requirements. I understand that manuscript revisions must be completed within 30 days after receiving the editor’s summary. Following revisions, I will submit a copy of my revised manuscript to the editor.

_______________________________________________
Signature

Please attach this completed & signed form to the title page of your submission.

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