where to start © 2009 the mcgraw-hill companies, inc
TRANSCRIPT
WHERE TO START
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Discuss how a hypothesis differs from a prediction
Describe the different sources of ideas for research
Identify the two functions of a theory
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Summarize the fundamentals of conducting library research in psychology, including the use of PsycINFO
Summarize the information included in the abstract, introduction, method, results, and discussion sections of research articles
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Hypothesis: A tentative question waiting for evidence to support or refute it
Prediction: A statement that makes an assertion concerning what will occur in a particular research investigation
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Participants (APA preferred term for humans taking part in studies)
Subjects Respondents Informants
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Common Sense Observation of personal and social events Theories—systematic body of ideas that
Organize and explain Generate new knowledge Can be modified by new research
Past Research Practical Problems
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The Nature of Journals Where researchers publish the results of their studies
Psychological Abstracts Abstracts published in hardcopy each month
PsycINFO Electronic index of all abstracts from 1800s to present Updated weekly
PsycFIRST Electronic index of all abstracts published in last 3 years
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Some PsychINFO search strategies
Strategy 1: Use fields such as TI and AU.
Example: (divorce) in TI requires that a term appear in the title
Strategy 2: Use AND to limit search
Example: divorce AND child requires both terms to be included
Strategy 3: Use OR to expand search.
Example: divorce OR breakup includes both terms.
Strategy 4: Use NOT to exclude search terms.
Example: shyness NOT therapy excludes shyness with therapyStrategy 5: Use the wildcard asterisk (*)
Example: child* finds any word that begins with these letters
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Other Electronic Search Resources FirstSearch Sociological Abstracts MEDLINE ERIC PsycARTICLES
http://www.apa.org/psycarticles/
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Other Indexes Science Citation Index (SCI)
Includes biology chemistry, biomedicine, and pharmacology
Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) Includes behavioral and social science such as
sociology and criminal justice
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Internet Searches Scholar.google.com Professional meeting searches
Evaluating web information Site sponsor Credentials of the webmaster Timeliness Links (to reputable organizations)
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Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion
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Abstract A summary of the research report 120 words or less Includes the hypothesis, procedure, and the broad
pattern of results
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Introduction Outlines the problems investigated Past research and theories relevant to the problems
described Formal hypotheses or specific expectations are
introduced and connected to past research
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Method section Subsections depend of complexity of the design
Overview of design Characteristics of participants Procedure Equipment or testing materials
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Results section Findings presented three ways:
Description in narrative form Description in statistical language Material in table or graphs
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Discussion section Review research from various perspectives Present methodological weaknesses and/or
strengths Explain how the results compare with past results Include suggestions for practical applications Include suggestions for future research on the topic
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The journal has “instructions to authors” or submission guidelines and peer-review process.
The article is written by the researchers that conducted the study.
The article includes abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion and reference sections.
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The editor and/or reviewers decide whether or not to accept the article for publication.
The intended audience is scholars that have knowledge in or are interested in the field.
The article is not written for profit.
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