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| List of Students' Master's Theses | |
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| Preface | |
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| About the Author | |
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| Overview of the Master's Degree and Thesis | |
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| The Master's Degree | |
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| Benefits of Obtaining a Master's Degree | |
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| Master's Degree Program | |
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| Master's Thesis Committee and Chairperson | |
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| What Is a Master's Thesis? | |
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| The Difference Between a Master's Thesis and a Term Paper | |
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| The Difference Between a Master's Thesis and a Doctoral Dissertation | |
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| Components of a Master's Thesis | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Literature Review | |
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| Methods | |
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| Results | |
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| Discussion | |
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| Quantitative Versus Qualitative Studies | |
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| Quantitative Methods | |
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| Qualitative Methods | |
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| Style Form | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| Selecting a Research Topic | |
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| Important Factors to Consider When Selecting a Topic | |
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| Personal Significance | |
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| Critical Issues in the Field | |
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| Existing Research Literature | |
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| Search Engines | |
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| Electronic Databases | |
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| Ethical Considerations | |
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| How to Narrow and Refocus Your Topic | |
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| Feasibility | |
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| Accessibility | |
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| Time and Resources | |
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| Developing Answerable Research Questions | |
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| Answerable Questions | |
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| Defining Terms | |
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| Creating a Realistic Timeline | |
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| Time Management | |
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| Reserving Time | |
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| Chunking Method | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Link | |
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| Using the Literature to Research Your Problem | |
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| Benefits of Conducting a Literature Review | |
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| Sources of Data: Primary Versus Secondary | |
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| Primary Sources | |
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| Secondary Sources | |
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| Selecting Keywords | |
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| Conducting Searches in Electronic Databases | |
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| Basic Search | |
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| Limiters | |
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| Expanders | |
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| Advanced Search | |
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| Boolean Operators | |
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| Symbols | |
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| Using the Thesaurus | |
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| Conducting Searches on the Internet | |
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| Different Types of Articles | |
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| Refereed Versus Non-Refereed | |
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| Staying Organized | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| Conducting Ethical Research | |
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| Background and History | |
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| Nuremberg Code | |
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| Thalidomide | |
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| Tuskegee Syphilis Study | |
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| Legal and Ethical Principles | |
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| Belmont Report | |
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| Respect for Persons | |
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| Beneficence | |
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| Justice | |
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| Federal Regulations | |
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| Common Rule | |
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| Institutional Review Board (IRB) | |
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| IRB Application Process | |
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| Preparing the IRB Research Plan | |
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| Ethical Behavior | |
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| Plagiarism | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| How to Write Chapter One, Introduction | |
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| Writing Style | |
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| Chapter One Sections | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Statement of the Problem | |
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| Background and Need | |
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| Three Parallel Ladders Strategy | |
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| Purpose of the Study | |
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| Research Questions | |
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| Significance to the Field | |
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| Definitions | |
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| Limitations | |
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| Ethical Considerations | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| How to Write Chapter Two, Literature Review | |
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| Preparation and Organization | |
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| Chapter Two Sections | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Advance Organizer | |
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| Body of the Review | |
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| Research Synthesis | |
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| Section Summary | |
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| Chapter Summary | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| How to Write Chapter Three, Methods | |
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| Preparation and Organization | |
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| Chapter Three Sections | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Setting | |
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| Participants | |
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| Intervention and Materials | |
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| Measurement Instruments | |
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| Validity and Reliability | |
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| Procedure | |
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| Data Analysis | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| How to Write Chapter Four, Results | |
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| Preparation and Organization | |
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| Chapter Four Sections | |
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| Quantitative Data | |
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| Descriptive Statistics | |
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| Measures of Central Tendency | |
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| Measures of Variability | |
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| Additional Ways to Report Data Descriptively | |
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| Inferential Statistics | |
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| Tests of Significance | |
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| Independent-Samples t Test | |
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| Independent-Samples t Test SPSS Output | |
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| Paired-Samples t Test | |
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| Paired-Samples t Test SPSS Output | |
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| Qualitative Data | |
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| Major Themes and Patterns | |
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| Research Questions | |
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| Validity of Findings | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| How to Write Chapter Five, Discussion | |
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| Preparation and Organization | |
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| Chapter Five Sections | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Discussion | |
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| Limitations | |
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| Recommendations for Future Research | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| Final Formatting, APA Style | |
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| Preparation and Organization | |
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| APA Style | |
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| Levels of Heading | |
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| Citations in Text | |
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| Direct Quotes | |
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| Paraphrasing | |
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| One Work, One Author | |
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| One Work, Multiple Authors | |
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| One Work, Group Author | |
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| Two or More Works | |
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| Websites and Webpages | |
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| Personal Communications | |
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| Secondary Sources | |
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| Reference List | |
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| Order and Format | |
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| Periodicals | |
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| Books and Book Chapters | |
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| Online Sources | |
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| Online Journal Articles and Documents | |
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| Websites and Webpages | |
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| Tables | |
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| Tables in Text | |
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| Placement and Spacing | |
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| Title | |
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| Headings and Body | |
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| Notes | |
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| Figures | |
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| Figures in Text | |
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| Placement, Size, and Font | |
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| Captions and Legends | |
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| Graphs | |
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| Appendixes | |
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| Appendixes in Text | |
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| Placement and Cover Pages | |
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| Front Pages | |
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| Title Page | |
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| Signature Page | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Abstract | |
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| Table of Contents | |
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| Lists of Tables and Figures | |
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| Copying and Binding | |
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| Final Tips and Checklist | |
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| Getting Published | |
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| Summary | |
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| Resources | |
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| Common Obstacles and Practical Solutions | |
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| Reflection/Discussion Questions | |
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| Try It Exercises | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Suggested Readings | |
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| Web Links | |
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| Appendixes | |
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| Glossary | |
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| References | |
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| Author Index | |
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| Subject Index | |