Experimental Psychology PSY 433

1. Experimental PsychologyPSY 433 Chapter 5 Research Reports

2. Overview of the Process • Science requires communication of results to: • Other scientists. • The general public. • Ways of communicating results: • Oral presentations at conferences – 20 min. • Posters at conferences. • Peer-reviewed journals. • The media – books, TV, news outlets. • Only after communication to scientific community.

3. Peer Reviewed Journals • Published by Academic Publishers, frequently in association with psychological organizations. • An editor selects relevant experts to review each submission. • Reviewers critique submissions, suggest changes, recommend publication or not. • Articles do not need to be perfect to be published – just scientifically sound and worth reading.

4. APA Format • Speeds up literature searches for those doing research by placing information in standard places within a text. • Prevents errors by the publisher because less interpretation must be made of the author’s intentions. • Authors do not need to learn a new format for each journal they wish to submit to.

5. Parts of the Article • Title page • Abstract • Text: • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussion • References • Appendix, Tables and Figures

6. Structure of the Report • Reports go from theory to the experimental model and back to theory again. • Theory – Introduction • Experimental Model – Methods & Results • Theory – Discussion • Theory may be discussed in the present tense but the experiment (model) is always described in the past tense.

7. Title Page • Detachable for anonymous review. • Running head and title serve different purposes: • Title will appear at top of article when printed. • Running head will appear at top of each page when printed. • List authors in order of contribution, with affiliations – your group members names should go on your paper. • Your name goes first, so I know who wrote the paper.

8. Abstract • Each journal has a different length requirement. Check the “Instructions to Authors”. • For this class, maximum length is 120 words. • Use Word Tools menu choice to count them. • One sentence for each main part of the article’s text. • Can be written last. • Put the word “Abstract” at the top of the page.

9. Introduction • Clearly state the research question and its importance to society or to theory. • Describe what has already been done to address this question: • Review current theories and state the theory you hold. • Review work done by others in the literature. • In the last paragraph, explain how the question will be addressed and make a prediction about the results.

10. Methods • This section describes the experimental model that will test the theory’s prediction. • Provide an introductory description of the study (overview). • Describe IV, DV, and design. • Describe the “rationale” for the experiment. • Provide sufficient detail about participants, apparatus, materials, procedure, to permit someone to replicate your study. • Include a figure showing stimuli, setup or apparatus.

11. Results • Clearly identify the alternative hypothesis. • Describe this in terms of the experimental operationalization, not theory. • The null hypothesis is always that there is no effect, no difference – so it need not be stated. • State the kinds of statistical tests used and justify them (if necessary). • Give the results in text if brief, or table and graph form if lengthy. • Explain how the findings relate to your hypotheses (predictions).

12. Discussion • Restate the research question and explain how the findings have answered it. • Start with a general statement then get specific. • Do not repeat statistics or results – interpret them. • Explain how your findings relate to those of others in the literature. • Explain the limitations of the study: • Potential threats to validity, confounds, etc. • Generalizability. • Conclusion – state importance of the findings.

13. References • Intended to enable others to find the articles you used as sources. • Use of APA format prevents misunderstandings about dates, page numbers, authorship, etc. • PsycInfo automatically downloads cites in APA format. • New media (e.g., web pages, email, DVDs) are described in the newest APA Manual revision (6th Edition). • Check sources cited in text to be sure they are listed in refs and check refs to be sure every reference is mentioned in text.

14. Author Notes • Used to provide information about the authors: • Current affiliation (affiliation on title page is where the work was done), contact info. • Grants that funded the work. • Acknowledgments of help: • Collaborators, students, people who commented on drafts of the paper, anyone who gave you a good idea or technique.

15. Figures and Graphs • Use them as necessary to tell your story most effectively. • Must conform to APA format – do not simply attach SPSS output to your paper. • Keep them simple and label groups using words that will be meaningful to the reader. • You can provide additional explanation in captions and text. • Can be reprinted from other people’s studies with permission.

16. Required for Your Project • Proposal – a description of the project before it is done: • Write in future tense • Include Title Page, Introduction, Methods, References • Final report – due at end of quarter, will include all parts, written in past tense. • Must include at least 1 figure and 1 table • Use of APA format is part of your grade • Write it as if you are submitting a paper for publication, not as a student completing an assignment • Each student must write an individual proposal and final report – don’t plagiarize each other. • OK to share resources but not writing