Final Doctoral Research
Paper Formatting Instructions

Final doctoral research papers must NOT exceed 6,000 words (approximately 12 single-spaced pages), including tables, figures, references, abstract, and keywords list.

Place text in one (1) column, full justification.

The page size is 8.5 × 11 inches.

All four margins (top, bottom, left, and right) must be one (1) inch. The page layout and reference defined here generally follow the Guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Centered — must be placed at the bottom of each page.

Must be 11-point Times New Roman, except for the Title (16-point) & Headings (12 points).

12pt, Bold, Sentence case (no all-caps), Centered.

11pt, Bold, left-justified.

11pt, Bold, Italicized, left-justified.

Must be in 16-point bold Times New Roman, left-justified. Only the first word in the title is upper-case. Title should not exceed 12 words.

All names should be left-justified and bold, followed by the university affiliation, and the e-mail address italicized.

Must be a one-paragraph abstract (100–200 words), Times New Roman 11pt, justified text. Do NOT italicize the text.

Select four to seven keywords that capture the essence of your paper. List in decreasing order of importance, left to right, immediately below the abstract. Keywords will be used for an electronic index of your paper.

Sized and placed in the body of the paper. Take care that tables and figures are not split between pages. Generally Times New Roman 11pt; table column headings in bold. Graphics should be clearly rendered and included directly in the paper. Graphics can be in color, black and white, or shades of gray.

In-text citations formatted in APA format — latest edition. Reference list at the end of the paper in alphabetical order by author's last name. Each reference uses a hanging indent of 0.5 inch.