Methods Section in APA Style: JARS Checklist

Short answer: in APA Style, the Method section tells readers exactly who or what was studied, how the data were gathered, and how they were analysed, in enough detail that another researcher could judge or repeat the work. The most useful official checklist for its contents is APA’s Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS), whose Table 1 lists the Method items a quantitative manuscript should report. This guide maps those items to a working section structure, shows where Method ends and Results begin, and covers the qualitative variant.

Edition and sources checked 2026-11-08: APA Publication Manual, 7th edition conventions, using APA’s own JARS-Quant and JARS-Qual Table 1 PDFs and APA’s student paper setup guide. Your instructor, journal or institution may override APA defaults; APA’s setup guide itself states that instructors’ guidelines supersede APA Style.

Purpose of the Method section

The Method section sits between the introduction and the results in the standard IMRaD structure. Its job is to let a reader evaluate whether the design and measures could support the conclusions, and to let a replicating team see what was done. For a broader, discipline-neutral treatment of the section, see writing the methods section so it can be reproduced; this page is specific to APA Style and the JARS tables.

APA’s setup guide labels the section Method (singular), alongside Results and Discussion, as descriptive headings for quantitative research papers. Each main section starts with a Level 1 heading.

What APA’s JARS says a quantitative Method section should contain

JARS-Quant (released 2018, revising the 2008 JARS) is APA’s checklist for reporting quantitative research. Its Table 1 is the general standard; further tables add items for specific designs. The Method block of Table 1 is organised under these subheads, in this order:

Inclusion and exclusion. Report inclusion and exclusion criteria, including any restrictions based on demographic characteristics.
Participant characteristics. Major demographics (for example age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status) and important topic-specific characteristics. For animal research, report genus, species, strain, supplier, number, sex, age, weight and similar details.
Sampling procedures. How participants were selected, including the sampling method if there was a systematic plan; the percentage of the sample approached that actually participated; whether self-selection occurred; the settings, locations and dates of data collection; agreements and payments to participants; and ethics items such as IRB agreements, ethical standards met and safety monitoring.
Sample size, power and precision. The intended sample size, the achieved sample size if different, and how the target was determined (power analysis or precision methods, including any interim analyses and stopping rules).
Measures and covariates. Define all primary and secondary measures and covariates, including measures collected but not included in the report.
Data collection. Including the quality of measurements: training and reliability of data collectors and any use of multiple observations.
Instrumentation and psychometrics. Whether instruments were validated or ad hoc, with their psychometric or biometric properties, and reliability coefficients (interrater, test-retest, internal consistency) for the scores analysed in your own sample, with validity evidence where relevant.
Masking. Whether participants, those administering manipulations and assessors were aware of condition assignments, how masking was accomplished and whether its success was evaluated.
Conditions and design. Whether conditions were manipulated or naturally observed, and the design type. The design type points to further JARS tables: Table 2 for experiments (2a randomised, 2b nonrandomised, 2c clinical trials), Table 3 nonexperimental, Table 4 longitudinal, Table 5 N-of-1, Table 6 replication, and Tables 7 to 9 for structural equation modelling, Bayesian analysis and meta-analysis.
Data diagnostics. Post-collection exclusion criteria, handling and imputation of missing data, definition and processing of outliers, distribution analyses and transformations.
Analytic strategy. The inferential strategy, including protection against experimentwise error for primary, secondary and exploratory hypotheses.

Participants, Materials and Procedure is a very common way for handouts to organise these items, but the JARS documents do not prescribe that triad; they prescribe the content. Use whatever subheadings make the items above easy to find, and check your journal’s or instructor’s preference.

Where Method ends and Results begins

JARS-Quant Table 1 places participant flow, recruitment dates and the frequency of missing data under Results, not Method. In practice this means the Method section describes the planned sampling, measures and handling rules, while the Results section reports what actually happened, such as how many participants entered and left each stage. The planned rule for missing data belongs in Method (under data diagnostics); the amount of missing data observed belongs in Results. See writing the results section and APA statistics reporting for the next section.

Headings and formatting inside the section

Level 1 heading: centered, bold, title case (Method).
Level 2 heading: flush left, bold, title case (for example Participants).
Level 3 heading: flush left, bold italic, title case.
Levels 4 and 5 are indented, bold (italic for level 5), end with a period, and the text runs on after them.
Avoid a single subsection within a section: use two or more, or none.

Per APA’s setup guide, an Introduction heading is not used; the start of the text is assumed to be the introduction. For title page, margins and other paper-wide settings see how to write a research paper in APA style.

A short annotated example

Illustrative example only: the study, numbers and wording below are invented to show structure and do not describe a real study.

Method

Participants

Adults aged 18 to 65 were recruited through a university participant pool between March and May 2025. Participants were excluded if they reported uncorrected visual impairment. We aimed for 120 participants based on an a priori power analysis; 118 completed the study. [Annotation: inclusion and exclusion, sampling dates, intended versus achieved sample size and how the target was set.]

Measures

The primary outcome was a 10-item attention questionnaire; Cronbach’s α in this sample was .84. A mood scale was also administered but is not analysed here. [Annotation: define measures, report reliability in your own sample, and disclose measures collected but not reported.]

Procedure and Analytic Strategy

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Assessors were unaware of condition. Cases with more than 20% missing items were excluded before analysis. The primary hypothesis was tested with an independent-samples t test; secondary analyses are labelled exploratory. [Annotation: design, masking, data diagnostics and a statement separating primary, secondary and exploratory analyses.]

Qualitative Method sections (JARS-Qual)

JARS-Qual Table 1 organises the Method block differently:

Research design overview: data-collection and analytic strategies, the approach to inquiry and the rationale for the design.
Study participants or data sources: a researcher description including backgrounds and reflexivity, participant numbers, and the researcher-participant relationship.
Participant recruitment: the process, refusals and dropout, and the rationale for halting collection (for example saturation).
Participant selection: purposive, snowball, theoretical or diversity sampling; inclusion and exclusion; context, dates and sites; archived data sets.
Data collection: the form of the data, the origin and evolution of the protocol, and alterations made in response to findings.

JARS-Qual also notes that qualitative Method sections can be written in a chronological or narrative format, that data collection and analysis sections might be combined, that an average qualitative Method section is typically longer than an average quantitative one, and that there is no agreed-upon minimum number of participants, so give a rationale instead. For a reporting checklist used with qualitative studies, see COREQ and SRQR.

Common mistakes

Reporting reliability from the instrument’s original validation paper instead of from your own sample (JARS asks for coefficients for the scores analysed).
Omitting measures that were collected but not analysed.
Giving only the achieved sample size, with no intended size or account of how it was determined.
Putting participant flow and observed missing-data counts in Method rather than Results.
Lumping primary, secondary and exploratory analyses together in the analytic strategy.
Using a single lone subheading, which APA’s heading guidance discourages.

Checklist

Inclusion and exclusion criteria stated.
Participant demographics and relevant characteristics reported.
Sampling method, response rate, setting and dates of data collection given; ethics approval noted.
Intended and achieved sample size, and how the target was set.
All primary and secondary measures and covariates defined, including those not reported.
Reliability reported for your own sample; instruments identified as validated or ad hoc.
Masking described, if relevant.
Design identified, with the matching JARS design table consulted.
Data diagnostics (exclusions, missing data, outliers, transformations) described.
Analytic strategy separates primary, secondary and exploratory hypotheses.

Discipline differences

Within JARS-Quant the design determines the extra items you add to the general Method content: randomised experiments, nonrandomised experiments and clinical trials each have their own table or module, and nonexperimental, longitudinal, N-of-1 and replication studies have theirs (see the numbered list above). For randomised trials in medicine, journals commonly also require a separate reporting guideline; see the CONSORT statement guide. Check the author instructions of your target journal.

Frequently asked questions

Is it Method or Methods in APA Style?

APA’s JARS tables and student paper setup guide label the section Method. Many journals and instructors write Methods; follow the venue’s instructions.

Do I have to use Participants, Materials and Procedure subheadings?

No. The JARS documents specify what to report, not these particular subheadings. They are a common convention, and acceptable where they make the required items easy to find.

Is a qualitative Method section structured differently?

Yes. JARS-Qual lists research design overview, participants or data sources, recruitment, selection and data collection, and allows a narrative format and combined collection and analysis sections.