Slides to accompany Weathington, Cunningham & Pittenger (2010), Chapter 6: Reviewing the Literature and Forming Hypotheses 1

Objectives Bibliographic research Internet research Search strategies Reading research Statistical inference and testing hypotheses 2

Types of Sources Tertiary –General, nontechnical review –Textbooks, news articles, encyclopedias Secondary –Comprehensive reviews, still general –Books, lit. reviews (some better than others) 3

Types of Sources Primary –Original research, specific –Research journals, conference proceedings The importance of peer review –Filtering and improving research before it is shared widely 4

The Internet as a Source Amazing access Often questionable credibility/validity Limitations: –No peer-review –Often no clear authorship –Date? –Orientation of source 5

The Internet as a Source Keep records of the source –Follow APA guidelines Check author credentials and affiliations Check for last-updated date information Consider keeping a copy of the page for future reference (electronic or print) Avoid relying solely on web-based sources 6

Search Strategies Follow your “nose” (and interests) Start general, then focus in –Tertiary  primary Keep a running list of your search terms/ words/phrases Keep a list of relevant researchers’ names Discuss ideas with others 7

Library Research Your school’s library PsycInfo, World of Science Library catalogue Let the online fields work for you Be open to related subjects/keywords Forward citations 8

Reading Research May take more than one attempt Not always linear Practice, practice -- your searching abilities will improve as you do more searching Keep reading and seeking, reading and seeking… 9

Hypotheses & Statistical Inference Information gathered from a successful literature search can help us to generate hypotheses Researchers set hypotheses before performing statistical tests to protect against their own biases 10

Null & Alternative Hypotheses H o is the statement of what we seek to disprove when we do a study H 1 or H A reflects the focus of the study If our evidence is not strong enough to reject H 0 we retain it If our evidence does suggest something other than H 0 then we accept our H 1 11

Beginning Hypothesis Testing 1.State H o and H 1 –Before collecting or examining the data 2.Identify appropriate statistical test(s) –Based on hypotheses –Often multiple approaches are possible –Depends on how well data meet the assumptions of specific statistical tests 12

What is Next? **instructor to provide details 13