First of all, here is a sample of the APA Style title page in professional version.
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Components of the Title Page
- Title
- Byline (author’s name)
- Institutional affiliation
- Author note
- Running head and page number
How to Format Each Component?
First of all, open MS Word and keep most of the default settings, including the font (Calibri (Body); No need to stick to Times New Roman 12).
1. Title
- [Format]
- Write in a standard font.
- Title Case, bold, centered, and no period.
- Positioned in the upper half of the page.
- Some related options:
- Locate the title three or four lines down from the top margin of the page.
- Move the title up if necessary for a long author note.
- If the title is longer than one line, the main title and the subtitle can be separated on double-spaced lines if desired.
- Locate the title three or four lines down from the top margin of the page.
- Some related options:
- Include one blank double-spaced line after the title and before the byline.
- Note that the title of the manuscript also appears at the top of the first page of text (i.e., page 3).
- [Contents of the Title]
- APA manual p. 31: It “should identify the variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship between them.”
- [Star Q] “What would be the key variables to be included in the title, especially when you conduct an experiment?”
- [Star A] “The independent and dependent variables.”
- Avoid words that serve no purpose:
- For example, Method, results, A study of, or An Experimental Investigation of.
- [Star Q] “Why would these seemingly-fundamental words serve no purpose?”
- [Star A] “Most research would have the above-mentioned components. Therefore they don’t provide unique information about the study.”
- For example, Method, results, A study of, or An Experimental Investigation of.
- No abbreviations: Spell out all terms.
- Length: There is no prescribed limit for title length. But keep titles focused and succinct.
- APA manual p. 31: It “should identify the variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship between them.”
2. Byline (the Line With Author’s Name)
- [Format]
- Placed after one blank double-spaced line below the title of the manuscript.
- Write in standard font.
- Centered.
- First name without a comma, followed by middle name initial(s) with a period, followed by last name (without a period or any other titles).
- Separate the suffix (e.g., Jr., if there is any) from the rest of the name with a space instead of a comma.
- (e.g. Roland J. Thrope Jr.)
- [Content]
- If the paper has multiple authors, order the names of the authors according to their contributions.
- For two authors, separate the names with the word “and” but without a comma before the and.
- For example, Michael Jackson and Paul Lima
- For three or more authors, separate the names with commas and include “and” before the final author’s name.
3. Institutional Affiliation
- [Format]
- Begin the affiliation(s) on a new line right after the byline (the line with author names).
- Do not add blank lines between the byline and the first affiliation.
- For academic affiliations, include the name of any department or division and the name of the institution, separated by a comma (e.g., Department of Psychological Science, Kennesaw State University), and it is not necessary to include the location of the institution (unless the location is part of the institution’s name).
- Place different affiliations on their own lines.
- Do not add blank lines between affiliations.
How to Connect Author Names and Affiliations
- When there are two or more authors with different affiliations (even if only the department is different within the same university)
- Use superscription Arabic numerals after each author’s surname (last name) without a space between the name and the numeral.
- When a paper has three or more authors and thus commas appear after author names, put the numeral after the surname and before the comma.
- Put a corresponding superscript numeral before the corresponding affiliation with a space between the numeral and the start of the affiliation.
- List authors’ affiliations in the order the authors appear in the byline.
- When an author has multiple affiliations and therefore needs multiple superscripts
- Separate the superscripts using a comma and space.
- When some authors share an affiliation
- List the affiliation once and reuse the superscript numeral in the byline.
- If the paper has only one author, or if the multiple authors share the same affiliations
- Superscript numerals are not used.
4. Author Note
- [Format]
- Overall Format: Place the author note in the bottom half of the title page, below the title, byline, and affiliation.
- (In the above example, I placed the label Author Note at the 10th line from the bottom. No specific position is defined in APA manual)
- Format of the label “Author Note”
- Leave at least one blank line between the affiliation and the label.
- Center (but not the contents).
- Bold (but not the contents).
- Use the capital letter N for the Note (i.e., not note).
- Do not italicize.
- No punctuation mark at the end of the label
- Do not place a blank line below the label, Author Note
- Format of the Contents
- There are four components in Author Note.
- Arrange the four components into separate paragraphs.
- Even if each component is shorter than a line.
- Start each of the paragraphs in a separate line.
- Align the paragraphs to the left (Do not center any paragraphs).
- Indent each paragraph (i.e., hit the tab key at the beginning for indentation).
- Arrange the four components into separate paragraphs.
- There are four components in Author Note.
- Overall Format: Place the author note in the bottom half of the title page, below the title, byline, and affiliation.
- [Contents]
- 1st paragraph: Author’s name, ORCID iD icon (or symbol), the full URL for the ORCID iD (see the example above).
- 2nd paragraph: Changes of Affiliation.
- 3rd paragraph: Disclosures and Acknowledgments.
- 4th paragraph: Contact Information.
- 1. First paragraph: ORCID iDs.
- Author’s name, the ORCID iD symbol, and the full URL for the ORCID iD.
- Here’s the ORCID iD symbol:
- For more information about this symbol, see How to copy and insert ORCID iD symbol in Word?
- Include only the names of authors who have ORCID iDs.
- If no authors have the iDs, then, omit this paragraph.
- Here’s the ORCID iD symbol:
- Author’s name, the ORCID iD symbol, and the full URL for the ORCID iD.
- 2. Second paragraph: Changes of Affiliation (if there are any).
- Use the following wording: “[Author’s name] is now at [affiliation].”
- 3. Third paragraph: Disclosures and Acknowledgments.
- [Format]
- If the disclosures and acknowledgments are short, combine them into one paragraph; if they are long, separate them into multiple paragraphs.
- APA manual did not define what is short or long.
- If the disclosures and acknowledgments are short, combine them into one paragraph; if they are long, separate them into multiple paragraphs.
- [Contents]
- Study Registration: If the study was registered, provide the registry name and document entry number.
- Clinical trials and meta-analyses are often registered.
- For example, write “this study was registered with webpage name (identifier ##).”
- Clinical trials and meta-analyses are often registered.
- Open Practices and Data Sharing: If the study data and/or materials are to be shared openly as part of the publication, acknowledge it. The cited dataset in the author note should be included in the reference list.
- Disclosure of Related Reports and Conflicts of Interest: If the article is based on data used in a previously published report, disclose this information and include an in-text citation. Then, include the cited studies in the reference list.
- For example,
- “This article is based on data published in Pulaski (2017)…”
- “This article is based on the dissertation completed by Graham (2018)”
- Also, acknowledge the publication of related reports (e.g., reports on the same data).
- For example,
- In addition, indicate whether any author has a possible or perceived conflict of interest.
- If not, state that no conflict of interest exists.
- For example,
- “We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.”
- In many cases, this could be the only acknowledgment.
- Acknowledgments of Financial Support and other Assistance.
- Report the names of all funding organizations; all grant, fellowship, or award numbers and/or names; the names of the funding recipients; and the names of principal investigators (if any) for the funded research.
- Do not precede grant numbers by “No.” or “#.”
- Acknowledge colleagues who assisted in conducting the study or critiquing the manuscript.
- Other options that can be considered.
- Study participants may be acknowledged for exceptional contributions if desired.
- Provide any thanks for personal assistance, such as in manuscript preparation or copyediting.
- End this third paragraph by explaining any special agreements concerning authorship, such as an equal contribution of the authors to the study.
- Do not acknowledge the routinely-involved people in publication (e.g., editors, peer reviewers).
- A specific idea raised by a reviewer or editor can be acknowledged in a footnote in the text where the idea is discussed.
- Report the names of all funding organizations; all grant, fellowship, or award numbers and/or names; the names of the funding recipients; and the names of principal investigators (if any) for the funded research.
- Study Registration: If the study was registered, provide the registry name and document entry number.
- [Format]
- 4. Fourth paragraph: Contact Information.
- Full name of the corresponding author, comma, complete mailing address, period, followed by email address without a period after the email address.
- Here is an example:
- Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to [corresponding author’s name as in the byline], [complete mailing address]. Email: author@institution.edu
- More specific example is here:
- Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bayley Enlow, Department of Psychological Science, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Rd NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144. E-mail: dinlow11@students.kennesaw.edu
- Full name of the corresponding author, comma, complete mailing address, period, followed by email address without a period after the email address.
Note that all the pages of a manuscript (including the title page) should have a running head and page number.
-The End-