Research proposal APA style: title page, headings and references

This guide is for students and researchers whose program asks for APA formatting. For what goes in each section, read the pillar guide on how to write a research proposal.

What does APA 7 require for a research proposal?

APA style is the set of writing and formatting rules in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, now in its 7th edition (2020). [1] It covers page layout, headings, citations and references. APA does not define the sections of a proposal: your program does. So the rule of thumb is: your program's template decides what sections you write, and APA decides how they look and how you cite.

Here are the page-level rules at a glance. [2] [3]

How do you make an APA title page for a research proposal?

APA 7 has two title page formats: a student title page for coursework and a professional title page for papers submitted for publication. [4] A research proposal for a course, a dissertation or a thesis normally uses the student format, unless your graduate school or supervisor asks for the professional one.

To build a student title page:

1. Insert a page number in the top right header.
2. Press Enter three or four times from the top margin, then type the title in bold, centered, in title case. Keep it focused; APA advises against filler words such as "A Study of".
3. Add one blank double-spaced line, then the author name, centered.
4. On separate centered lines, add the affiliation (department, university), the course number and name, the instructor's name, and the due date.

Does a research proposal need a running head?

A running head is a shortened version of the paper title printed in the page header. In APA 7 it is required only for professional papers; student papers include just the page number unless the instructor or institution asks for a running head. [5]

If you need one, follow four rules:

1. Write it in ALL CAPITALS.
2. Keep it to 50 characters or fewer, counting spaces and punctuation.
3. Put it flush left in the header, on the same line as the page number, which stays flush right.
4. Do not write the label "Running head:" before it. That label was a 6th edition rule and was dropped in APA 7.

Example: a proposal titled "Weekly Low-Stakes Retrieval Quizzes and Final Exam Performance in an Introductory Statistics Course" could use the running head RETRIEVAL QUIZZES AND EXAM PERFORMANCE (38 characters).

What headings should an APA research proposal use?

APA 7 has five heading levels. Most proposals need only Levels 1 and 2, and sometimes 3. [6]

Three rules catch most mistakes:

• Do not write "Introduction" as a heading. Repeat the paper title in bold, centered, at the top of the first page of text, and start the introduction under it.
• Use levels in order. A Level 3 heading must sit under a Level 2.
• Use at least two subsections or none. If Method has only one Level 2 heading, you do not need it.

A typical APA research proposal outline, using APA's own word "Method" (singular):

[Title of Proposal]                      (bold, centered: no "Introduction")
Literature Review                        Level 1
    Retrieval Practice in the Laboratory Level 2
    Retrieval Practice in Classrooms     Level 2
Method                                   Level 1
    Design                               Level 2
    Participants                         Level 2
    Measures                             Level 2
    Procedure                            Level 2
    Analysis Plan                        Level 2
Ethical Considerations                   Level 1
Timeline                                 Level 1
References                               (bold, centered, new page)

Some programs prefer "Research Questions" or "Significance of the Study" as Level 1 headings. Use their names, in APA format.

What tense should an APA research proposal use?

Use the future tense for what you plan to do, and the past tense or present perfect for research that already exists. APA's verb tense guidance recommends past tense or present perfect for the literature review and for describing earlier work. [7] The future tense for the proposed method is the standard convention for proposals rather than an APA rule.

When the proposal becomes the thesis or paper, switch the method to the past tense.

Does a research proposal need an abstract in APA?

Not unless your program asks for it. APA 7 does not require an abstract for student papers; professional papers need one. [3] If you include one:

• Put it on page 2, after the title page.
• Use the label Abstract, bold and centered.
• Write one paragraph without a first-line indent, usually 150 to 250 words.
• Add keywords below it only if asked: the label Keywords: in italics, indented, followed by the terms.

How do you format citations and references in an APA proposal?

An APA in-text citation gives the author's surname and the year of publication, either in parentheses or in the sentence. For one or two authors, name both every time; for three or more authors, use the first author and "et al." from the first citation. [8]

• Parenthetical: (Yang et al., 2021)
• Narrative: Roediger and Karpicke (2006) showed...
• Two works in one parenthesis: (Adesope et al., 2017; Yang et al., 2021), alphabetical, separated by a semicolon.

Format the reference list with these rules: [9]

1. Start it on a new page after the text.
2. Label it References, bold and centered.
3. Double-space every entry, with no extra lines between entries.
4. Use a 0.5-inch hanging indent.
5. Order entries alphabetically by the first author's surname.
6. Give DOIs as links: https://doi.org/10.xxxx. [10]

Example of a journal article reference:

Roediger, H. L., III, & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x

The journal name and volume number are italic; the issue number in parentheses is not.

A formatted APA proposal page, as a sample

This is how the first page of text looks in a student APA proposal (example text, shortened). In your document it is double-spaced with a 0.5-inch first-line indent.

                                                                    2
       Weekly Low-Stakes Retrieval Quizzes and Final Exam Performance
                    in an Introductory Statistics Course

     Introductory statistics is the course first-year social science
students fail most often at [University]. Practicing retrieval improves
long-term retention in laboratory studies (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006),
and reviews of classroom studies report similar benefits (Adesope et
al., 2017; Yang et al., 2021). This study will test whether weekly
ungraded quizzes improve final exam scores.

                            Literature Review

Retrieval Practice in the Laboratory

     Roediger and Karpicke (2006) found that students who took practice
tests recalled more of a passage one week later than students who
restudied it.

The title is bold and centered on the first text line, "Literature Review" is a bold centered Level 1 heading, and "Retrieval Practice in the Laboratory" is a bold flush-left Level 2 heading. The page number is 2 because the title page is page 1. For a full proposal written to this format, see the research proposal example.

Format and cite an APA proposal in AI for Research

The editor handles the citation side at 0 credits: insert citations from your Library or from a paper search, and the reference list is built in APA 7 or any of 10,000+ citation styles. Export to Word or PDF, also free, and apply the title page and margins your template asks for in Word. Import an existing reference collection from Zotero or Mendeley on a paid plan.

Before you submit:

• Run Citation check (0 credits) to confirm that each reference exists in Crossref or OpenAlex and has the right year and authors, and to flag retracted papers.
• Run the Reviewer set to "proposal" for scored comments on structure and argument; on the free plan, a preview of the first 3,000 words (the full scorecard and top 3 comments) costs 3 credits.

If you are still drafting, the free research proposal generator writes a first draft with real citations (3 runs a day signed out), and Proposal Studio drafts a whole proposal for 15 credits or one section for 3. The AI drafts content; it does not set Word's page layout, so check the title page and headers yourself.

For a single reference, the free APA citation generator formats it without an account.

FAQ

What tense is a research proposal written in APA style?

Use the future tense for what you will do ('Participants will complete a survey'), and the past tense or present perfect for earlier research in the literature review ('Smith (2020) found' or 'Studies have shown'). APA's verb tense guidance covers the literature review; the future tense for proposed methods is the convention most programs expect. Change the methods to past tense when the proposal becomes the thesis.

Does a research proposal need an abstract in APA?

Not by default. APA 7 says student papers do not need an abstract unless the instructor or institution asks for one. Many dissertation and thesis proposal templates do require one, usually 150 to 250 words. If you include it, put it on page 2 with the label 'Abstract' bold and centered, and write the paragraph without indentation.

Does a student research proposal need a running head in APA 7?

No. In APA 7, student papers need only a page number in the top right corner of every page. A running head is required for professional papers, such as manuscripts for journals. If your instructor or graduate school asks for one, use a shortened title in capitals, flush left, of no more than 50 characters, without the label 'Running head:'.

What headings should an APA research proposal use?

Do not label the introduction; repeat the paper title, bold and centered, at the top of the first page of text. Then use Level 1 headings (centered, bold) for main sections such as Literature Review, Method and Ethical Considerations, and Level 2 headings (flush left, bold) for parts of the method such as Participants, Measures and Analysis Plan.

Do I follow APA or my university's proposal template?

Follow your university's template where the two differ. APA 7 itself says instructors and institutions can set their own requirements for student papers, and graduate schools often specify title page content, margins for binding, or required headings. Use APA for everything the template does not cover, especially citations and the reference list.

Next steps

• Read the pillar guide: how to write a research proposal.
• See a full research proposal example with APA references.
• Prepare the ethics section with how to write an IRB application.

Sources

1. American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
2. APA Style. Paper format. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format
3. APA Style. Student paper setup guide and sample papers. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/sample-papers
4. APA Style. Title page setup. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/title-page
5. APA Style. Page header. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/page-header
6. APA Style. Headings. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/headings
7. APA Style. Verb tense. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/verb-tense
8. APA Style. Author–date citation system. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/author-date
9. APA Style. Reference list. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/reference-list
10. APA Style. DOIs and URLs. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/dois-urls