The domain of this material is Academic Research Methodology and Documentation Standards, specifically focusing on guiding students through the formatting and composition of an IMRaD-style research output.
I will adopt the persona of a Senior Academic Research Consultant, specializing in rigorous manuscript preparation and compliance.
Suitable Review Group
This tutorial is explicitly designed for Undergraduate or Graduate Students working on collaborative research projects, especially those enrolled in required research methods or capstone courses within a General Education Curriculum (GEC) framework (e.g., GEC1, GEC4 mentioned in the transcript).
The most appropriate review group would be Peers within the Same Research Collaboration Group or a Teaching Assistant/Instructor familiar with the specific assignment requirements, as the instructions are highly tailored to a specific instructor's (the speaker's) imposed template and submission standards.
Abstract
This instructional video details the mandatory procedures for students to generate a collaborative research document adhering to a modified IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format, intended for GEC class submissions. The instructor emphasizes strict adherence to formatting rules, including the use of Google Docs (to avoid compatibility issues), APA 7 style, and Times New Roman font. Critical procedural mandates include making an editable copy of the locked template, utilizing the Scriber tool for simplified APA 7 citation management via DOI/link pasting, and leveraging AI tools only for linguistic support (grammar, paraphrasing) while strictly forbidding their use for content generation due to concerns over academic integrity and plagiarism detection when submitting final work. The tutorial outlines content requirements for sections like the Introduction (trends, issues, research gaps), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and Inferential Statistical Output (SOPs), stressing the distinction between Independent Variables (IV) and Dependent Variables (DV) in formulating research questions. Specific physical formatting instructions cover pagination, headers, author alphabetical listing, and footer configuration.
Summary of IMRaD Formatting Tutorial
Guide to IMRaD Formatting and Submission Protocols
0:00 - 0:46 Establishing the Template: The core deliverable is a tutorial output in a specific, locked IMRaD format for GEC classes. Users must navigate to "File > Make a copy" to gain an editable version, as the master file is locked against editing.
1:07 - 2:06 Scope and Duration: The complete tutorial sequence is estimated to require up to two hours, covering section-by-section composition and the use of various statistical tests.
2:06 - 3:44 Content and AI Usage Policy: Instructions are highlighted in red. Users must answer guide questions directly. AI use is permitted only for writing support (grammar, paraphrasing, organizing ideas), not for generating research content.
2:10 - 3:40 Data Reliability and Plagiarism Warning: The document is explicitly for internal use and must not be uploaded to public document hosting sites (e.g., DocuSo) as this will result in plagiarism flags if the student later submits the work for official grading. Data reliability is low due to the required small sample size (10 respondents per member).
3:44 - 4:26 Document Finalization: Before printing (compiled per class), users must replace bracketed details, delete brackets, and fix margins/page size. Compatibility dictates the use of Google Docs over MS Word.
4:27 - 7:44 Citation Management (Scriber & APA 7): Use Scriber for citations, logging in to sync work across multiple devices. Research sources should generally be within the last 10 years (unless instructor specified 5 years minimum). Citations should be generated by copying the article's DOI and pasting it into Scriber, which automatically compiles the reference list.
7:44 - 9:17 Content Generation Style: AI use is strictly limited to improving existing sentences; all research content must originate from the student. Tones must be academic. Acknowledgment of AI use is required if better phrasing is adopted.
8:09 - 9:21 Title Customization: Research titles are dynamic and depend on final results. Example provided: If a group’s respondents lack a Physical Therapy program, the title referencing "College of Allied Health Sciences" must be adjusted or omitted.
9:22 - 10:30 Author Listing and Email: Names must be arranged alphabetically by last name. Affiliations (college/class numbers) are indicated by non-superscript numbers next to the name; there is no primary "main author." Emails must appear formal/legitimate.
10:52 - 12:01 Page 1 Footer: A green-font footer on page one must list the full names of all professors involved (e.g., Professor X, Professor Y).
12:01 - 13:11 Page 2+ Headers: Remaining pages require a running header: a portion of the research title (abbreviated if too long, ending with "...") followed by the authors' full names (without numerical indicators).
13:35 - 15:43 Introduction Components: Part One (Trends) requires describing current situations/trends, supported by two to three citations using either parenthetical or narrative citation styles.
16:00 - 18:39 Issues/Research Gaps: This section must address the specific problem within the school context and must be supported by current citations (preferably within 10 years). Long quotes require a hanging indent format.
18:40 - 22:20 SOP (Statement of the Problem) Creation: Based on the Google Form data (demographics, IV, and DV questions), formulate SOP statements. Avoid explicitly stating a relationship between IV and DV in the primary statements; focus on defining the variables to be tested later.
23:38 - 25:46 Inferential Statements (SOP): Statistical hypotheses must cover at least one significant relationship (IV vs. DV) and one significant difference (preferably demographic vs. IV/DV). A maximum of three total inferential SOPs is highly recommended to avoid errors and wasted time.
25:48 - 26:57 Converting SOPs to Paragraphs: Convert required statistical statements into full sentences, using verbs such as "determine" or "identify." Group members should proofread each other's sentences.
26:59 - 27:11 Contribution: This final section details the importance of the research to the student and others; no citations are required here.
27:13 - 30:18 Methods Section: Construction of the Methods section may use AI for sentence drafting due to time constraints. The study design will likely be Descriptive-Correlational and Comparative. Sampling method should be identified (likely convenience/voluntary response). Instrument validation status (standardized, self-made, or validated by the professor) must be detailed.
30:19 - 32:12 Results and Discussion Tables: Tables must follow strict APA formatting: centered content, no vertical lines (only top/bottom borders), and a specific structure including table number, title stating the statistical tool used (e.g., Mean and SD of X), and legend/notes at the bottom. Font size can be reduced to 10pt if necessary for fitting content.