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Lecture 2 Psyc 300A

Lecture 2 Psyc 300A. Where Do Research Ideas Come From?. Curiosity In mature areas, there are usually competing theories Theory-based research will usually produce more cumulative effects Stay away from “what-if” experiments. It is important to know what has been done

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Lecture 2 Psyc 300A

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  1. Lecture 2Psyc 300A

  2. Where Do Research Ideas Come From? • Curiosity • In mature areas, there are usually competing theories • Theory-based research will usually produce more cumulative effects • Stay away from “what-if” experiments. • It is important to know what has been done • Tweaking a previous study is a good starting place

  3. Role of Replication in Science • Benefits of replication • Kinds of replication • Literal (exact) replication • Replication with extension • Conceptual replication • Replication is not always done

  4. Literature Searches: Purpose • Want to understand what has been done. Don’t reinvent the wheel. • Stand on the shoulders of those who came before you • A lit search is included in APA Introduction section

  5. Types of Literature • Differences in quality of literature • Empirical vs. other (commentary, review, non-research/popular) articles • Peer review

  6. How to Do a Literature Search • Use an electronic database (PsycINFO, PubMed) • Choose appropriate terms • Expand or reduce search • Use wilcard (*), history, and crossing terms • Use of thesaurus, index • Look at citations • Look at references of articles you get. • Look up key words, other terms and authors • Literature search exercise

  7. APA Format: General Comments • This “rigid” format may seem to stifle creativity • Format is organized • Uses technical language, not entertaining language • Format increases predictability. • Content and findings are what make it interesting • Some articles are more complicated than the sections covered today

  8. APA Introduction Section • Purpose: • Prepare reader for the research that is to follow by providing necessary background. • Addresses: • Why are you doing the study? • How does your study tie-in with the previous research? • What are your hypotheses, how did you derive them, and how are you testing them? • Organization: • Statement of problem, define concepts. • Summary of what is known • Funnel of relevant research • Rationale for current research. • Hypotheses of the present research.

  9. APA Method Section • Purpose: Describe what you did in enough detail that another investigator could literally replicate your study. • Style: Complete and thorough, but concise. • Organization: • Participants How many, description, how chosen? • Apparatus and Materials What kind of stimuli (e.g., tests) used? Instruments used in study • Procedure What did participants do? Often sequentially presented

  10. APA Results Section • Purpose: Present results of the study • Includes: Statistical analyses Tables & figures • Style: Emphasize important findings No raw scores Text and tables support each other Don’t discuss meaning of results here

  11. APA Discussion Section • Purpose: • To interpret results, especially with respect to hypotheses • Addresses: • Support for hypothesis (from intro) • Interpretation in terms of theory • Relationship to other studies • Methodological limitations • Implications • Suggestions for future research

  12. APA Reference Section • All citations in text must be in references. • All references must be cited. • Only cite what you have read; don't cite second-hand. • Accuracy is important in citations and references. • Consult the publication manual frequently.

  13. APA Abstract Section • Purpose: to summarize the study. • Used for indexing. • A good abstract is • accurate • self-contained • concise and specific • nonevaluative • coherent and readable • For an empirical study, 100-120 words. • It should include • the problem or purpose (from intro) • participants, materials, procedures (from method) • findings (from results) • conclusions/implications (from discussion)

  14. Summarizing Articles • How to read a research article • Use the APA sections • Don’t need to read in order • Take notes, understand the “story” • Article summary • In one page, what was the article about? • Use objective language • Like an abstract but …

  15. Discussion • Stanovich, Ch.1 “Psychology is Alive and Well (and Doing Fine Among the Sciences)”

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