Font choices

A question from a student:

As far as I have understood, there is no default APA style font. In one of the web sources I found out that "main idea is to avoid fonts that are hard to read. The recommended fonts in APA style are 12-pt Times Roman and 12-pt Courier"[1]. However, Courier for me is very hard to read (despite most of the film scripts are written in it). The question is - the times new roman is the default font, or only suggested one, so I can still pick any of the list worldwide?

Fonts are difficult things nowadays. You have hundreds to choose from, if you are using a program like Microsoft Word.

Here are some words of advice, the short form: Use Times New Roman.

Now, the longer form:

Times New Roman is what is called a serif font. Serif means in Latin, "little feet". Serif fonts are more readable, because they've got little ... parts at the end of the letters.

For example, here's Times New Roman:



See the 'little feet' at the end of the letters? Serif fonts improve readability, especially when we are talking about small point sizes for the text. All newspaper stories are serif fonts, for example.

Other fonts are san-serif, 'without little feet'. Garamond is the most popular, and is used for headlines, mostly, where the text is so large that readability is not an issue.

Courier is a serif font (it's origins are related to the telegraph), but Courier font is naturally spread across the entire line of text, no matter how many words it includes, which makes it hard to read. I wouldn't go there.

For the purposes of academic work, I would stick to Times New Roman, unless you have a compelling reason to do differently.

APA style

It's the most common citation style in mass media research.

This website is a good, simple overview.

Here's the official APA style blog.

Questions?

Waiting, waiting ...

Using tables

A question from a fan:

Hi, I wondered if a table or chart is really important, is it ok to put it right in the text or every single table and chart is supposed to be in appendix? Thanks!



There is really no "right" way to decide whether or not you put them in the work or an an appendix. What needs to be your most important consideration is what would be the most aid to a reader.

If you only have a couple of tables, I would probably put them into the body of the text. If you have 40, and you're talking about them one at a time, I would probably put them in an appendix.

Be sure to talk about what is important about the table after you introduce it. Don't leave it there for your reader to figure out on their own. You don't have to mention everything, just the important details.

Ask yourself as well - does the table need to be there at all? Just because you have a table that shows that 76 percent of your respondents were male, and 24 percent were female, doesn't mean you have to use it. It would be better just to write it out.

Remember to clearly label a table - TABLE 1, TABLE 2, TABLE 3. Use numbers, not letters. Letters are reserved for the appendixes.

Here is an example. Sorry the formatting for the table is messed up, but you should get the idea:

A majority of journalists (63.7%) cited the amount of freedom they have at work as a very important aspect of their job. Those that did were also much more likely to describe themselves as very satisfied with their job (χ2=22.22, d.f.=9, p<.00).
The chance to learn new things/skills (44.9%) and the time flexibility of their job (43.3%) were also cited as very important. The fringe benefits of the job (24.7%) and the opportunities for advancement (24.2%) were the two most-mentioned characteristics of their work considered not really important (see Table 1).

TABLE 1
How Important Are These Aspects Of Your Current Job To You? (n=227)

Topic Very Important Quite Important Somewhat Important Not Really Important No Opinion

Salary Level 30.8% 54.6% 11.9% 2.6% .0%
Job Security 32.3% 45.1% 16.4% 5.3% .9%
Editorial Policies of Organization 37.3% 49.3% 9.8% 3.1% .4%
Amount of Freedom at Work 63.7% 33.6% 2.2% .4% .0%
Opportunities for Advancement 18.1% 28.2% 27.8% 24.2% 1.8%
A Sense of Identity 41.9% 37.0% 14.1% 6.6% .4%
A Chance to Develop A Specialty 20.8% 38.9% 23.9% 14.2% 2.2%
The Chance to Help People 30.8% 44.1% 18.1% 4.8% 2.2%
The Fringe Benefits of the Job 13.2% 25.6% 32.6% 24.7% 4.0%
The Chance to Learn New Things/Skills 44.9% 40.5% 11.9% 2.2% .4%
The Chance to Influence the Public 19.9% 43.8% 23.5% 11.1% 1.8%
The Time Flexibility of the Job 43.4% 32.7% 15.0% 7.1% 1.8%

Citing works and people

A student writes:

I wanted to ask about quoting, if I take a sentence from a book, I have to use quotation marks (""), but if I change the text by using synonyms, then I don't have to use quotation marks anymore. Is that correct?

Correct. But you still attribute the idea to the person who wrote it. Like these two examples, using a quote from our dean:

"BFM is the best media school in the Baltic States. It isn't even close." -- Hagi Shein

You could write it two ways in your thesis:

Example 1 (Direct quote)

Hagi Shein, dean of the Baltic Film and Media School said that "BFM is the best media school in the Baltic States. It isn't even close."

Example 2 (Paraphrase)

Hagi Shein, dean of the Baltic Film and Media School said that he believes BFM is the best media school in the region, and really has no competition.

Both use the information in the same way, both attribute the source (note that it also tells you who Shein is; his credentials). Both are equally valid. I usually use Example 2, the paraphrase, if the information is dull or can be shortened. Save your direct quotes for unusual things.

Do I have to write after every piece of information that is taken from the book the name of the book, or I do it only then when I use quotation marks?

No, you don't if you are paraphrasing. If you are using direct quotes, you do, and that can be a problem with a direct quote.

Other question is about the books that I have used, what I must write down and in what order?

APA style calls for a bibliography where the sources are alphabetized by author's last name. If there is no author listed for a work, use the first word of the title and alphabetize.

Whoops

Didn't notice that Blogger wasn't forwarding me blog comments to answer. That's fixed now.

If you have a thesis question, post it on the comment for the most recent posting.

50 things you don't want to do (or say)

... in your thesis defense.

1. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the singing of our
National Anthem..."

2. Charge 25 cents a cup for coffee.

3. "Charge the mound" when a professor beans you with a high fast
question.

4. Describe parts of your thesis using interpretive dance.

5. "Musical accompaniment provided by..."

6. Stage your own death/suicide.

7. Lead the specators in a Wave.

8. Have a sing-a-long.

9. "You call THAT a question? How the hell did they make you a
professor?"

10. "Ladies and Gentlemen, as I dim the lights, please hold hands and
concentrate so that we may channel the spirit of Lord Kelvin..."

11. Have bodyguards outside the room to "discourage" certain
professors from sitting in.

12. Puppet show.

13. Group prayer.

14. Animal sacrifice to the god of the Underworld.

15. Sell T-shirts to recoup the cost of copying, binding, etc.

16. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you - there's a banana in my ear!"

17. Imitate Groucho Marx.

18. Mime.

19. Hold a Tupperware party.

20. Have a bikini-clad model be in charge of changing the overheads.

21. "Everybody rhumba!!"

22. "And it would have worked if it weren't for those meddling
kids..."

23. Charge a cover and check for ID.

24. "In protest of our government's systematic and brutal opression
of minorities..."

25. "Anybody else as drunk as I am?"

26. Smoke machines, dramatic lighting, pyrotechnics...

27. Use a Super Soaker to point at people.

28. Surreptitioulsy fill the room with laughing gas.

29. Door prizes and a raffle.

30. "Please phrase your question in the form of an answer..."

31. "And now, a word from our sponsor..."

32. Present your entire talk in iambic pentameter.

33. Whine piteously, beg, cry...

34. Switch halfway through your talk to Pig Latin. Or Finnish Pig
Latin.

35. The Emperor's New Slides ("only fools can't see the writing...")

36. Table dance (you or an exotic dancer).

37. Fashion show.

38. "Yo, a smooth shout out to my homies..."

39. "I'd like to thank the Academy..."

40. Minstrel show (blackface, etc.).

41. Previews, cartoons, and the Jimmy Fund.

42. Pass the collection basket.

43. Two-drink minimum.

44. Black tie only.

45. "Which reminds me of a story - A Black guy, a Chinese guy, and a
Jew walked into a bar..."

46. Incite a revolt.

47. Hire the Goodyear Blimp to circle the building.

48. Release a flock of doves.

49. Defense by proxy.

50. "And now a reading from the Book of Mormon..."