APA 7 Statistics Reporting
Report the number, in the right notation, with the correct italics and decimals. Everything that follows is APA 7.
① Report it exactly like this
| Analysis | Report as |
|---|---|
| t-test | t(df) = 2.02, p = .047, d = 0.45 |
| ANOVA | F(dfb, dfw) = 5.62, p = .005, η² = .11 |
| Chi-square | χ²(df, N = 120) = 6.31, p = .012, V = .23 |
| Correlation | r(28) = .42, p = .021 |
| Regression (b) | b = 0.52, SE = 0.14, β = .28, t = 3.71, p < .001 |
| Regression (model) | R² = .34, F(2, 97) = 25.1, p < .001 |
| Means | M = 3.45, SD = 0.82 |
Correlation df = N − 2. ANOVA df: k−1 between, N−k within.
② In a sentence
Sleep-deprived participants recalled fewer words (M = 6.2, SD = 2.5) than rested participants (M = 7.4, SD = 2.8), t(78) = 2.02, p = .047, d = 0.45, 95% CI [0.01, 0.89].
The shape: what you found, in plain words → the descriptives → the test statistic → p → the effect size. The stats go after the finding, not instead of it, and the interval rides along with the effect size. Save “what it means” for the Discussion. Full patterns: §3.2.
③ Italics: slanted or upright?
Italic (Latin letters):
t, F, r, p, M, SD, N, n, df, d, b, SE, z, U, R², V.
Upright (Greek letters & numerals):
η², χ², β, ρ, α, ω², and every digit.
Rule of thumb: Latin letter → italic; Greek letter → upright. The subscripts and the numbers themselves are never italic.
④ The p-value, done right
• Report the exact p to two or three decimals: p = .03, p = .048.
• Below .001, write p < .001 and don't chase more zeros.
• No leading zero: p = .04, never 0.04 (it can't exceed 1).
• Two-tailed unless you say otherwise.
• A significant p is a decision, not a size. Pair it with an effect size and its interval: card ⑥.
⑤ Decimals & leading zeros
| Quantity | Dec. | Lead 0? |
|---|---|---|
| p | 2–3 | ✗ no |
| r, ρ, R², η², V, β | 2 | ✗ no |
| t, F, χ² | 2 | ✓ yes |
| Cohen's d | 2 | ✓ yes |
| M, SD, b, SE | 2* | ✓ yes |
Drop the leading zero only when the value can't exceed 1. *Means/SDs: match the scale's precision. Convert your own numbers with the APA formatter.
⑥ The interval, in brackets
• Form: 95% CI [lower, upper]. Say the level the first time, then stop repeating it.
• It inherits the leading-zero rule of whatever it bounds: d = 0.45, 95% CI [0.01, 0.89], but r(28) = .42, 95% CI [.07, .68].
• Name the quantity when it could be misread: 95% CI of the difference [−2.38, −0.02].
• η², R² and V take 90%, not 95%: their test is one-tailed, and 90% is the level that clears zero exactly when p = .05. So R² = .34, 90% CI [.21, .44].
• Inside a table APA splits it into LL and UL columns and the brackets disappear.
The one mistake to never make
p = .000 is not a thing. SPSS prints Sig. = .000, but a probability is never exactly zero — that's rounding. Write p < .001. And skip p = 0, “p = ns”, and pasting the software's default five-decimal soup. Report the exact value, not the asterisks.