What Makes a Psychology Empirical Paper Different
An empirical research paper is a report of a study you’ve conducted (or a report based on another researcher’s study). Unlike a literature review essay or a theoretical paper, an empirical paper includes original data — whether you collected it yourself or analyzed existing datasets.
If you’ve just been assigned an empirical research paper in your psychology class and you’re not sure where to start, you’re not alone. This is one of the most confusing assignments students encounter, not because the concepts are hard, but because there’s a rigid format you have to follow that no one explains well.
Here’s exactly what you need to write each section, how APA 7th Edition formatting works, and real examples you can model your own paper after.
- Every empirical psychology paper follows the IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion)
- APA 7th Edition formatting includes specific statistical reporting rules most students miss: italicizing symbols, reporting exact p-values, and always including effect sizes
- The most common student mistake is reporting nonsignificant results as “insignificant” instead of using the correct term “nonsignificant”
- Your Methods section needs enough detail for replication, but only for what matters
Psychology empirical papers follow the IMRaD structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. This framework isn’t just a naming convention; it’s a logical argument structure that moves from background to hypothesis, through your study design, to your findings, and finally to interpretation.
The American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition style governs every aspect of formatting, from margin width to statistical reporting. Unlike other citation styles, APA has extremely specific rules for statistics that you must follow precisely.
APA 7th Edition: Formatting Rules You Need to Know
Before you write a single word, you need to understand the formatting rules. APA 7th Edition has requirements that go far beyond citations.
General formatting:
- Font: 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, or 11-point Arial
- Margins: One inch on all four sides
- Spacing: Double-spaced throughout (including references)
- Paragraphs: First line indented by 0.5 inches
- Page layout: Page numbers in the top-right corner; student papers do not require a running head
APA student papers do not require a running head. This is one of the most common student errors. Since the 7th Edition, student papers are exempt from the running head requirement that professional manuscripts must include.
Statistical reporting rules:
- Italicize statistical symbols (t, p, M, SD, F, r, n)
- Report exact p-values (e.g., p = .042), not thresholds
- For p-values less than .001, report as p < .001 (do not write p = 0.000)
- Numbers reported to 2 decimal places — except proportions, p-values, and degrees of freedom, which are reported to 3 decimal places without a leading zero (e.g., p = .050, not p = 0.050)
- Report effect sizes alongside significance tests
A critical distinction: If a finding has a p-value greater than .05, it is nonsignificant, not “insignificant.” This is one of the most common grammar errors in psychology papers and a guaranteed way to lose points.
The Complete Structure: What Each Section Actually Requires
Title Page
The title page should include:
- Title (bold, centered, 10-12 words, describing the main variables)
- Author name
- Institutional affiliation (university name)
- Course name and number
- Instructor name
- Assignment due date
Example title: “The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Working Memory Performance Among College Students”
The title should be descriptive — it must convey your independent variable and dependent variable clearly. As the University of Washington writing center advises, the title should not be written as a question.
Abstract
The abstract is a single paragraph of 150-250 words that summarizes:
- The research problem and rationale
- Participants and methodology
- Key findings (including statistics where appropriate)
- Conclusions and implications
Write the abstract last, after you’ve finished the entire paper. It should read as a self-contained summary — anyone should be able to understand what your study did and found without reading the full paper.
Introduction
The introduction follows a funnel structure: broad opening → narrowing → specific hypothesis.
Structure:
- Opening paragraph: Start with a general observation about the topic expressed in ordinary language. Use a concrete example or brief anecdote to engage the reader.
- Literature review: Synthesize previous research thematically, not chronologically. Don’t list studies — group them by theme, identify patterns and contradictions, and explain what the literature means.
- Gap identification: Clearly state what previous research has failed to address or what question remains unanswered.
- Hypothesis statement: End with a clear, specific prediction about what you expect to find.
What to avoid:
- Don’t write “Schmirdley did such-and-such in 1991. Then Gurglehoff did something-or-other in 1993. Then…”
- Don’t explicitly state why you’re including a particular article (e.g., “This article is relevant to my study because…”)
- Don’t quote directly from sources — paraphrase instead
As researcher Daryl Bem recommends in his guide to writing the empirical journal article, the opening paragraph should “capture the reader’s attention” with observations about people and behavior, not about researchers or their research.
Method
The Method section is divided into specific subsections. The heading “Method” is centered, bold, on a new page. Subsections follow immediately after with left-justified, italicized headings.
Structure and requirements:
Participants
- Total number, gender breakdown
- Age range, mean age, standard deviation
- Demographics relevant to the study
- Recruitment method (opportunity sample, volunteer, random assignment)
- Any incentives offered
Example:
Participants were 84 introductory psychology students (42 women, 42 men) recruited from a large public university. Ages ranged from 17 to 25 (M = 19.8, SD = 1.4). Participants received course credit for their time and were assigned to conditions based on their last digit of student ID.
Design
- Experimental design (between-subjects, within-subjects, factorial)
- Independent and dependent variables clearly labeled
- Levels/conditions for each IV
- How variables were operationally defined
- Control variables and how they were managed
Materials
- Instruments, scales, questionnaires, or stimuli used
- Include reliability coefficients (e.g., Cronbach’s α) when available
- Describe the scale format (e.g., “a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree”)
- Provide sample items
Procedure
- Step-by-step description of what participants experienced
- Describe the procedure in sufficient detail for another researcher to replicate your study
- Include informed consent and debriefing procedures
- Write in past tense
Results
The Results section reports what you found — nothing more. Do not interpret results here. That belongs in the Discussion.
Requirements:
- Report descriptive statistics first (means, standard deviations, confidence intervals)
- Then report inferential statistics (t-tests, ANOVA, correlations)
- Include effect sizes (Cohen’s d, r, R²)
- Refer to tables and figures in the text but don’t repeat all data in prose
- Use past tense: “Participants scored significantly higher on the intervention group (t [12] = 2.45, p = .04)”
APA statistical reporting format:
- t-test: t(df) = value, p = value, d = effect size
- Correlation: r(df) = value, p = value
- ANOVA: F(between df, within df) = value, p = value
- Always italicize statistical symbols
- Include spaces on either side of the equals sign
Discussion
The Discussion section is the reverse funnel of the Introduction. You start specific and work broad.
Structure:
- Summary: Briefly restate your main findings in plain English (no statistics)
- Interpretation: Compare your results to the literature reviewed in the Introduction. Do your findings support or contradict previous research? Why?
- Limitations: Identify 2-3 meaningful limitations. Be honest but constructive — don’t overdo it, and only mention limitations that could explain your results.
- Implications: What do your findings mean for theory or practice?
- Future research: Suggest 2-3 meaningful extensions. Don’t just say “run the study again with more participants” — propose genuinely new research questions your findings raised.
- Conclusion: Return to the problem introduced in your opening paragraph. Clearly state how your research addressed that problem.
Common Student Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
1. Writing the Introduction as a “shopping list” of studies
- What it looks like: “Author A found X. Author B found Y. Author C found Z.”
- Why it’s wrong: Reviews that merely list studies don’t help readers understand the intellectual landscape or identify gaps.
- Fix: Group studies thematically. Use topic sentences that link paragraphs together: “Another example of this phenomenon comes from the work of Williams (2004).”
2. Reporting “insignificant” results
- What it looks like: “The difference was insignificant, p = .08.”
- Why it’s wrong: APA requires “nonsignificant” for findings above the .05 threshold.
- Fix: “The difference was nonsignificant, p = .08.”
3. Forgetting effect sizes
- What it looks like: t(18) = 3.57, p < .001
- Why it’s wrong: APA 7th Edition emphasizes practical significance alongside statistical significance. Reporting p-values alone tells readers nothing about the magnitude of the effect.
- Fix: t(18) = 3.57, p < .001, d = 0.58
4. Using past tense inconsistently
- What it looks like: Mixing past and present tense throughout the paper
- Why it’s wrong: Confuses readers about which findings are established facts versus which are study-specific results.
- Fix: Use past tense for your study (methods/results), present tense for established knowledge (literature review/discussion).
5. Omitting variable operationalization
- What it looks like: “Participants completed a memory task.”
- Why it’s wrong: Another researcher cannot replicate your study without knowing exactly what the task involved.
- Fix: “Participants completed the n-back working memory task, which required them to remember a sequence of letters presented visually and respond by pressing the keys corresponding to the letter presented n positions earlier in the sequence.”
6. Interpreting results in the Results section
- What it looks like: Including phrases like “This suggests that…” or “These results indicate that…”
- Why it’s wrong: Interpretation belongs exclusively in the Discussion.
- Fix: Report only what the statistics show. Save interpretation for the Discussion.
A Concrete Example: What a Complete Section Looks Like
Example Introduction (Opening Paragraph)
Social media use has become a near-constant feature of college students’ daily lives. The average undergraduate reports checking their phones over 150 times per day (Chen & Lee, 2021), and many students report using social platforms as they study. This multitasking behavior raises a question: does social media use while studying affect academic performance? Previous research has shown that task switching impairs memory consolidation (Gravitz, 2022), and studies using college students have found that those who report frequent social media use during study sessions earn lower GPAs (Anderson & Green, 2019). However, most of this research relies on self-report measures, which are vulnerable to accuracy biases. The present study used an experimental design to directly test whether active social media use during study time affects memory performance.
Example Results (Results Paragraph)
An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare memory test scores between the social media group and the control group. Results indicated that the control group scored significantly higher than the social media group, t(38) = 3.42, p = .001, d = 0.68. The mean score for the control group (M = 18.45, SD = 2.12) was higher than the mean score for the social media group (M = 15.80, SD = 2.47). These results suggest that social media use during study sessions impairs memory performance.
Example Discussion (Summary + Implications)
The results of this study demonstrate that active social media use during study sessions significantly impairs memory performance. Participants who were required to use social media while studying scored significantly lower on a subsequent memory test than participants who studied without social media. These findings are consistent with Anderson and Green (2019)’s self-report data but provide stronger causal evidence through the experimental design. The practical implications are clear: students who use social media while studying are likely to retain less information, which could affect their academic performance over time.
References
The Reference list begins on a new page with the heading “References” centered and bold. All references cited in the text are listed in alphabetical order using a hanging indent.
In-text citation formats:
- Parenthetical: (Author, Year)
- Narrative: Author (Year)
Journal article example:
Ebner-Priemer, U. W., & Trull, T. J. (2009). Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation. Psychological Assessment, 21, 463-475. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017075
Your Empirical Paper Checklist
Before submitting, verify:
- [ ] Clear hypothesis or research question in the introduction
- [ ] Literature review synthesizes, not just lists, previous research
- [ ] Methods section is detailed enough for replication (sample size, recruitment, operationalization, procedure)
- [ ] Statistical results formatted correctly (italics, exact p-values, effect sizes)
- [ ] “Nonsignificant” used instead of “insignificant” for p > .05
- [ ] Discussion interprets findings without overstatement
- [ ] Limitations discussed but not overdone
- [ ] Future research suggestions are meaningful, not generic
- [ ] References list matches in-text citations exactly
- [ ] APA 7th Edition formatting applied throughout (font, margins, spacing, headings)
- [ ] No running head required for student paper
- [ ] Title is descriptive, not a question
When to Choose Empirical vs. Non-Empirical
Not all psychology assignments require an empirical paper. Understanding the difference can save you considerable effort:
| Type |
When to use |
Key difference |
| Empirical paper |
Lab reports, research method courses, thesis chapters |
Requires original data collection or analysis |
| Literature review essay |
Survey courses, theory classes |
Synthesizes existing research without new data |
| Theoretical paper |
Graduate seminars, advanced coursework |
Proposes or critiques a theory |
| Case study |
Clinical psychology, abnormal behavior courses |
Deep analysis of a single subject or phenomenon |
If your assignment asks you to conduct a study, collect data, or analyze existing datasets, it’s empirical. If it asks you to summarize existing research or discuss a theory, it’s not.
Need Help with Your Psychology Research Paper?
Writing an empirical research paper in APA format involves understanding both the structural framework and the detail-oriented formatting rules that most students find overwhelming. From crafting a synthesis-based literature review to reporting statistical results with correct APA formatting, every section has specific expectations.
If you’re struggling with the Methods section, unsure how to format your statistical results, or need help structuring your Discussion around the existing literature, our team of graduate-level psychology writers can help.
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Related Guides
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Summary & Next Steps
To write a strong empirical research paper in psychology, you need to master three things: the IMRaD structure, APA 7th Edition formatting, and evidence-based argumentation across all sections.
- IMRaD structure — Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion provide the logical framework
- APA 7th Edition — From font size to statistical formatting, precision matters
- Evidence-based argumentation — Synthesize literature, report results objectively, interpret cautiously
Next step: Take a recent psychology paper you’ve written and review it against the checklist above. Identify where you can improve your literature synthesis, formatting, or statistical reporting. The difference between a good psychology paper and an excellent one is often attention to APA formatting details and synthesis quality rather than raw content.
