APA Style JARS: Resources for instructors and students

APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (APA Style JARS) are a set of guidelines for information to include in papers reporting quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research. In this post, we share resources to help instructors and students navigate and use APA Style JARS, recognize the importance of transparency in research, and understand the structure of a behavioral science journal article.

APA Style JARS can be used at all stages of research. For reviewers, editors, and readers, APA Style JARS help ensure that the information communicated in a manuscript is clear and understandable. Instructors and students can use APA Style JARS as teaching and learning tools for conducting high-quality research and determining what information to report in scholarly papers. By using APA Style JARS, all authors can make their research clearer, more accurate, and more transparent for readers.

APA Style JARS were designed for journal authors, reviewers, and editors to enhance scientific rigor in peer-reviewed journal articles. Instructors can use APA Style JARS as a teaching tool to communicate the importance of conducting high quality and transparent research and to introduce students to various research methods. Students can use APA Style JARS in the planning process to help identify important information when designing their study and the specific design, methods, and analyses they will need for it and in the writing process to organize their thoughts and make their paper clear and accurate.

With 12 tables for quantitative research, two for qualitative research, and one for mixed methods research, APA Style JARS may seem daunting at first. But beyond being a comprehensive resource to help researchers (both student and professional) communicate their findings, APA Style JARS are a valuable tool for those learning about research methods and research writing. They assist with discerning what information is important to report in behavioral science research and how to communicate that information accurately and effectively.

First introduced in 2008, APA Style JARS were updated and expanded in 2018 with the addition of two open access articles: one for quantitative research (JARS–Quant) and the other for qualitative and mixed methods research (JARS–Qual/JARS–Mixed). In 2019, the articles were adapted as Chapter 3 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. ¹

For those looking for more in-depth information about APA Style JARS, we offer the following books:

• Reporting Quantitative Research in Psychology: How to Meet APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards, Second Edition, Revised by Harris Cooper
• Reporting Qualitative Research in Psychology: How to Meet APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards, Revised Edition by Heidi M. Levitt

The APA Style JARS website is the hub for all resources on APA Style JARS. There, we provide links to the open access APA Style JARS articles, information about the history of APA Style JARS, and links to supplemental resources, which can be printed, shared, and used in the classroom or wherever you are learning about or writing your research papers.

APA Style JARS resources include the following:

• Printable versions of all the JARS–Quant, JARS–Qual, and JARS–Mixed tables
• A JARS–Quant Participant Flowchart (PDF, 96KB) to help researchers track participants through the various phases of a research study
• A JARS–Quant Decision Flowchart (PDF, 96KB) to help authors select the appropriate JARS–Quant table to use when analyzing their results
• Information on the importance of transparency in research
• A glossary of terms used in APA Style JARS
• An APA Style JARS FAQ that addresses questions about topics such as the impact of the standards on article length and whether following APA Style JARS are required when submitting a manuscript to a journal
• An editorial by American Psychologist Editor-in-Chief, Anne E. Kazak, describing the importance of reporting standards
• Information on Open Science Initiatives from APA’s Journal Publishing Resource Center
• A video (4 minutes) about the role APA Style JARS play in communicating research
• An infographic (PDF, 452KB) detailing who can benefit from using APA Style JARS
• A podcast episode featuring the authors of the APA Style JARS articles discussing the implications of using the standards in psychological research

If you have any questions about APA Style JARS, please leave a comment on this post. Or write us at Style Expert.