Key Takeaways
- A psychology paper’s title page should include the title, author’s name, school, course name, instructor’s name, due date, and page number.
- The title must be specific and clear, allowing readers to understand the paper’s topic without extra information.
- For professional papers, a running head is needed and must be in all uppercase letters.
The title page is the first page of a psychology paper. APA format is used when writing lab reports and other types of psychology papers. Therefore, it’s important to have a title page in proper APA format when submitting these writings.
Here we discuss how to write a title page for a psychology research paper. We also share the different guidelines based on whether the title page is for a student paper or if the paper is being prepared by a psychology professional.
Important Psychology Title Page Elements
A psychology paper’s title page should contain certain key elements. Important elements to include are:
- Article title
- Author’s name
- Author’s school or institutional affiliation
- Running head (not required for student papers)
- Course name
- Instructor’s name
- Due date
- Page number
Choosing a Psychology Paper Title
One of the most difficult tasks when writing a psychology paper is choosing a good title. Here are a few tips to help.
Be Specific
The paper’s title should be as specific as possible. Work to craft a title that can stand alone and be fully explanatory without further elaboration. A reader browsing through paper titles in an online database should be able to quickly read the title and know exactly what the paper is about.
Page Title Examples
- An example of a good, specific title: Second-Order Beliefs and the Use of Self-Presentational Explanations for Behavior
- An example of a title that is too general: Cognitive Abilities and Social Understanding
Use Proper Structure
The best way to structure the title of a psychology paper is to look at the hypothesis and experimental variables. For example, it might be titled “The Effects of [Independent Variable] on [Dependent Variable].”
Be Brief
The official APA publication manual notes that a title should be brief, yet communicate the main topic and variables of interest. Avoid words that serve no real purpose or that do not communicate essential information. Some examples of such words and phrases include “An Experiment on…,” “A Study of…”, “method,” or “results.”
While there is no maximum length for titles, the APA recommends keeping the title concise while still including key terms.
How to Write a Title Page Byline
The next element of a psychology research paper title page is the byline, which lists the author’s name and institutional affiliation. Here’s what to include for each.
Author’s Name
The recommended format is first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not include titles or degrees, such as Dr. or PhD.
Students should include the name of the department followed by the name of their school. This should be centered on the page and appear after the author’s name.
School Affiliation
The institutional affiliation is the location where the research was conducted, most often a college or university. In some cases, research may have been supported by more than one institution. In these instances, only include two affiliations if both schools offered substantial support to the research, and only list two affiliations for every author.
What should a person do if they are not affiliated with an academic institution where the research was conducted? In this instance, the APA suggests listing the author’s city and state of residence in place of the academic affiliation.
Name and Affiliation Example
June Callaway
Department of Psychology, University of Ohio
PSYCH 101: Introduction to General Psychology
Dr. Ashana Lee
September 7, 2023
*Note: This information should be centered on the title page, not aligned to the left as it appears here.
Title Page Formatting Guidelines
There are additional formatting concerns to observe when drafting an APA format title page for a psychology paper:
- A running head should be included in the upper left-hand corner on all pages, including the title page. This is not required if it’s a student paper.
- The running head should be no more than 50 characters, including letters, spacing between words, and punctuation.
- The running head should be in all uppercase letters and only include the title; it should not include the label “running head.”
- All pages, including the title page, should also have a page number in the upper right-hand corner.
- The author’s title, name, and institution should be double-spaced and centered on the page. Student papers should also include the assignment due date directly below the institution’s information.
Formatting Professional Psychology Papers
The APA’s guidelines are slightly different for papers intended for publication in professional psychology journals. In addition to the basic elements included in a title page, a professional paper should also include:
- A running head: The running head is a shortened version of the paper’s title. It should appear on every page of the paper, along with the page number.
- Author affiliation: In the second paragraph, list any changes in author affiliation. For example, if one of the authors is now affiliated with a different university from where the research was conducted, the author’s note might state that “Dr. [Last Name] is now at the Department of Psychology, University of Georgia.”
- An author’s note: This note includes the author’s name, the symbol for the ORCID iD, and the URL for the ORCID iD. An ORCID iD is an alphanumeric code used to identify scientific and academic authors. If an author does not have an ORCID iD, their name should be omitted.
- Disclosures and acknowledgments: In the third paragraph, list any acknowledgments and disclosures, including possible conflicts of interest and sources of financial support.
- Contact information: In the fourth paragraph of the author’s note, include the author’s contact information.
Author’s Note, Disclosure, and Contact Info
For an author’s note, include the author’s name followed by a link to their ORCID iD. The disclosure might be a simple sentence stating that there are no known conflicts of interest to disclose. Next, state that correspondence concerning the article should be addressed to the individual listed, then provide the mailing address and email contact for that individual.
Psychology Paper Title Page Checklist
Before turning in a psychology paper, it’s helpful to use these questions as a checklist to ensure that the title page is correct:
- Does the title page contain a title, the author’s name and institutional affiliation, a running head (not required on a student paper), and a page number?
- Is the title clear and specific, and does it accurately describe what the research paper is about?
- Is the running head in uppercase format and no longer than 50 characters in length?
- Is the title, author’s name, and institutional affiliation centered on the page and double-spaced?
If all of these questions can be answered with a ‘yes,’ then the title page is properly formatted using APA format.
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