APA Style JARS on the EQUATOR Network

In July 2021, the APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (APA Style Jars) were added to the Equator (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) Network. The Equator Network “is an ‘umbrella’ organisation that brings together researchers, medical journal editors, peer reviewers, developers of reporting guidelines, research funding bodies and other collaborators with mutual interest in improving the quality of research publications and of research itself” (Equator Network, n.d., para. 1). The network aims to promote accuracy and quality in reporting of research.

APA Style Jars are a set of guidelines for information to include in papers reporting empirical research. There are Jars for quantitative research (Jars–Quant), qualitative research (Jars–Qual), and mixed methods research (Jars–Mixed).

APA Style Jars are now part of this international initiative that includes other sets of guidelines like Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (Arrive), Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (Consort), and Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (Strobe) as a step toward promoting transparency in research and enhancing methodological rigor. The APA Style Jars pages on the Equator Network’s website provide information on study designs, links to the full text of the open access articles on APA Style Jars, and links to printable materials, including tables, flowcharts, and checklists.

The Equator pages are as follows:

• Quantitative research (Jars–Quant): Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report
• Qualitative and mixed methods research (Jars–Qual and Jars-Mixed): Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report

Dr. Harris Cooper, Jars–Quant article author:

This is an important step in getting greater visibility for APA Style Jars. As part of the Equator Network, APA Style Jars will now reach a broader audience of authors and readers of scholarly research. Being a part of this global network will allow APA Style Jars to contribute to improved research rigor, increased reproducibility, and transparency in scholarly communication on a greater scale.

Dr. Heidi M. Levitt, Jars–Qual/Jars–Mixed article author:

The inaugural development of reporting standards for qualitative studies, mixed methods studies, and qualitative meta-analyses in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual is a historic event. They provide guidance for qualitative researchers, reviewers, and editors in psychology and the social sciences on how to evaluate manuscripts appropriately, with a focus on the specific aims, epistemological perspectives, and logic of these methods in a manuscript. Because they are new, APA Style Jars include not only information on what should be reported but also helpful tips to support the development and review of these manuscripts and to avoid common errors. APA has also developed user-friendly free online films based on APA Style Jars that describe how to review quantitative and qualitative manuscripts. The inclusion of APA Style Jars in the Equator Network is instrumental in their dissemination and will further education on the need to tailor the writing and evaluation of methods to the goals of each paper.

For more on APA Style Jars, visit the APA Style Jars website and read our previous APA Style Jars post, which provide information on the history of APA Style Jars and transparency in APA Style Jars, a glossary of research terms, FAQs about APA Style Jars, and much more. If you are interested in learning more about APA’s commitment to open science, visit the Open Science at APA page.

Equator Network. (n.d.). Equator Network: What we do and how we are organised. https://www.equator-network.org/about-us/equator-network-what-we-do-and-how-we-are-organised/