Week 2: Finding and reading a paper

◦ See StudyDirect for the names of your tutors ◦ Please remember our first names for submission of your course work ◦ Only us for personal issues (e.g. to inform us of absence etc.)

 1 hour 50 min practical weeks 2 – 12  Please attend allocated sessions or negotiate a change directly with the Psychology office

Week of termLecturePractical 1Introductory lecture- 2Questionnaire designThe research process 3Writing a lab-reportQuestionnaire design 4Frequency distributionsIntroduction to SPSS 5Means and SDsWriting a lab-report 6 Normal distribution & z-scores Graphs in Excel 7Test constructionMeans, SDs & z-scores 8Chi-square testsExploring a new dataset 9Linear regressionChi-square 10Correlation testsLinear regression & correlations 11Correlation interpretationExam revision 12nonparametric testsExam revision

 Autumn term coursework submissions ◦ Week 7: Lab report (based on fast-food data). ◦ Week 11: Lab report (based on the maths test you did last week).

 Course material - Graham Hole’s resources page: ◦ Google > Graham Hole  Questions about the course/coursework: ◦ Forum: Study Direct > Research Skills > Forum ◦ Office Hour: (to be announced) ◦ s: Do not tutors directly about coursework, use the forum.

 The Research Process  Scientific Writing Style  Original Article vs. Secondary source  How to Find a Paper  How to Read a Paper  Research Treasure Hunt

 Subject area  Read around the subject  Research question  Design the study  Obtain ethical approval  Conduct the study  Data analysis  Lab report

Report of a study that you have conducted. Resembles structure of a journal article. Contains title, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Written in past tense (you are describing the results of a study).

 Write concisely  Write in a formal tone  Avoid jargon  Focus on relevant literature  Top tip: Read and look at published journal articles to get an idea of what you should be aiming for

From a textbook citation... “ Stanley Milgram’s (1963) study of destructive obedience highlighted the dilemma facing a person ordered by an authority figure to perform an immoral act”

 But why would I want to look at the original?  And if I did, how would I find it?

 One simple reason:  When a textbook/paper author (or anyone else) summarises a study, they can get it wrong...  The more people between you and the study, the more chance something is wrong Wilson I think Cuddy is very intelligent! House Cuddy Wilson thinks you’re intelligent...but ugly. House

 At the end of textbook chapters (or sometimes the whole book) and journal articles you will find the reference section  Reference sections are ordered by first author’s surname:  Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378.

 If you know the reference for a paper:- ◦ Go to the library website: ◦ Electronic Library > Online Journals > Type in journal name > Find the correct volume, issue and page numbers

 If you want to do a search on a topic:- ◦ Go to the library website: ◦ Electronic Library > Online Resources > Choose ‘PsycARTICLES’ or ‘PsycINFO’ > Simple or Advanced ◦ Electronic Library > QuickSearch ◦ Google Scholar  Top tip: be specific!

 Papers are laid out in this order: ◦ Abstract ◦ Introduction ◦ Methods ◦ Results ◦ Discussion ◦ References  Easier to read them in this order: ◦ Abstract ◦ Discussion ◦ Introduction ◦ Methods ◦ Results ◦ (References)

 Abstract ◦ Summary of everything that’s in the paper ◦ Order: Past research, methods, results, conclusions ◦ Approx. 150 words  Discussion ◦ Summary of purpose and results ◦ Comparison to previous research ◦ Possible faults ◦ Wider implications ◦ Future directions ◦ Conclusions

 Introduction ◦ Quick explanation of research area ◦ Summary of relevant past research (and perhaps its flaws) ◦ Purpose of study ◦ Brief description of methods ◦ Hypotheses  Methods ◦ Usually split into four sections:  Participants  Materials  Design  Procedure ◦ Technical language

 Results ◦ Point-by-point breakdown of findings ◦ Descriptive statistics ◦ Inferential statistics ◦ The magic word: ‘significant’  References ◦ Don’t need to worry about these too much when reading ◦ If you find past research in the paper that sounds interesting, look for a full citation here ◦ And use your new skills to find that paper

 Work through the “Research Treasure Hunt” hand-out.  Try not to use the same search tool for each question.

 Have completed this week’s work sheet (especially question 9).  Next week: Questionnaire design