Key takeaways
- APA style standardises how test statistics, p-values, and effect sizes appear in text and tables.
- Consistency in notation signals professionalism to examiners and journal reviewers.
- APA 7th edition guides most social science dissertation reporting.
APA style for hypothesis testing results is the expected standard in psychology, education, management, and most social science dissertations worldwide. Examiners notice when italics, decimal places, and p-value formats are wrong—it suggests careless analysis write-up even when statistics are correct. This guide covers APA 7th edition conventions for reporting t-tests, ANOVA, correlation, regression, and chi-square in prose and tables.
Core APA reporting principles
- Report exact p-values unless p < .001.
- Italicise statistical symbols: t, F, r, p, N, n, M, SD, SE.
- Include degrees of freedom in parentheses.
- Give means and SDs for group comparisons.
- Report effect sizes alongside significance.
Reporting t-tests in APA
Format: t(df) = value, p = value, d = value. Example: t(48) = 2.31, p = .025, d = 0.66. Include group means in text or table. Specify equal or unequal variances if relevant.
Reporting ANOVA in APA
Format: F(df_between, df_within) = value, p = value, η² = value. Follow significant omnibus tests with post-hoc results naming specific group differences and adjusted p-values if corrected.
Reporting correlation in APA
Format: r(df) = value, p = value. Distinguish Pearson r from Spearman ρ. Report r² when discussing variance explained.
Reporting regression in APA
Report R², F for overall model, and β with t and p for each predictor. Example: β = .34, t = 4.12, p < .001. Clarify standardised vs unstandardised coefficients.
Reporting chi-square in APA
Format: χ²(df, N = total) = value, p = value. Report Cramér's V for effect size. Note expected cell count issues if applicable.
APA table formatting
No vertical rules. Horizontal lines at top, below header, and bottom. Table number and title above. Notes below explaining abbreviations. Alignment: left for text, right for numbers.
Numbers in APA text
Use words for numbers below 10 when not statistical. Use numerals for 10 and above. Statistical values always use numerals. Consistent decimal places—typically two for means, three for p-values unless p < .001.
Common APA errors
- p = .000 instead of p < .001.
- Missing italics on p and F.
- Reporting p < .05 without exact value when available.
- Inconsistent df reporting.
- Tables with vertical gridlines from Excel defaults.
Results prose structure in APA
Open with participant count and analysis purpose. Present descriptives before inferentials. Use past tense. Avoid interpreting causally from non-experimental designs.
Tools for APA formatting
Use Word styles, SPSS table editing, or reference management plugins. Manual formatting of 20+ tables is error-prone—template early.
Professional data analysis support
If test selection, SPSS output interpretation, or results chapter writing is blocking your dissertation timeline, ReportLift data analysis support helps you run valid tests, interpret findings correctly, and report results to examiner and journal standards.