2. PSYC 200 Week #4 Formal & APA Language Guidelines and Basic Research Methods

3. Agenda  Attendance  Assignments due  Language guidelines (grammar)  Basic Research Methods

4. Assignments Recap  Single article summary  Gramlich ch. 7-8  APA ch. 3

5. POP QUIZ  http://tinyurl.com/25llyft http://tinyurl.com/25llyft  https://docs0.google.com/document/edit?id=1l 7NnPGgleQVM72t5BMsI1k9oK2dvYLdF64 V71K16YK8# https://docs0.google.com/document/edit?id=1l 7NnPGgleQVM72t5BMsI1k9oK2dvYLdF64 V71K16YK8#

6. APA LANGUAGE STYLE GUIDELINES

7. Quick APA Language Guide  Word choice and usage – the right word in the right place  Removing bias  Grammar / Punctuation

8. Common phrases  Avoid these!! Feel, believe, think, prove, stated, wrote, said  Replace with: Hypothesize, conjecture, reason, support, found, suggested Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

9. Avoid Wordiness  Clear & Concise  Write like a poet Make every word count Avoid unnecessary transitions Say what you want to using one word instead of two  Say it with one word rather than two  Say it with one word, not two Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

10. Informalities and Slang  No contractions—ever!  No colloquialisms Sky-high, bright idea, and the like others? Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

11. Using Conjunctions Correctly  Since vs. Because Andrew has been excited about going to the zoo since last Thursday. The dog salivated because Pavlov rang the bell.  While vs. Although Although I enjoy watching baseball on television, I would rather be at the stadium. While Jack cleaned the garage, Mary dusted the living room.  Or vs. Nor The girl was allowed to have either a piece of candy or a sticker. Neither the doctor nor the nurse could find the patient’s chart. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

12. Referring to People  Do not use “You” to refer to the reader.  Do not use “We” to refer to general groups or society.  Use “One” If one chooses to engage in criminal activity, then one must be ready to accept the consequences. One should not equate correlation with causation. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

13. Me, myself, and I  Can you use first person? YES!!  Use the appropriate first person pronoun when referring to yourself or the author(s) of your paper.  Consider using passive voice I gave the survey to 70 participants Seventy participants received the survey Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

14. They All Sound the Same...  They’re, There, and Their They’re going to the store this afternoon. (contraction = they are) I just returned from Dublin, have you ever been there? (place, direction) Their house is white with blue shutters. (possession)  To, Too, and Two Kent is moving to Massachusetts. I want to go too. He is taking his two dogs with him. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

15. They all sound the same...  It’s and Its It’s Jake’s birthday today. (It is) Its hair was matted and mangled. (possession)  Whether and Weather It does not matter whether or not Mandy stays for dinner. The weather is supposed to be cold and damp.  Then and Than Men are more likely than women to watch UFC. The students were instructed to clear their desks then begin the examination. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

16. Often Forgotten.....  Who vs. Whom Who is the person with the white lab coat? With whom did you leave the key?  Who vs. That Individuals who study, often find exams to be easy. Companies that give employees better benefits have higher productivity. The vase that broke is in the cardboard box. Times when..., Places where...  Affect vs. Effect Psychology students often learn about the Hawthorne effect. Amy wants study how energy-drinks affect performance and cognitive ability. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

17. Anthropomorphizing  Do not give human traits or abilities to inanimate or non-human objects/creatures.  Do not write The article shows...  Instead try...Deci and Ryan indicate The research explains...  Instead...Pavlov explains Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

18. Removing Bias  One must be conscientious of how individuals and groups are identified. Do not over generalize Gender bias Racial/Ethnicity bias Mental health or disability status Age Quick APA Language Guide - Bias

19. Sexist Language  When referring to an object that could be either male or female (e.g., a participant, a client, etc.) you MUST not exclude a gender.  For example, “When a therapist begins a session, she introduces herself first.”  Try, “…the therapist introduces his or herself…” “…self-introductions come first…” Or: Make it plural  “When therapists begin sessions, they introduce themselves first.” Quick APA Language Guide - Bias

20. Irregular Plurals  Data  Datum SingularPlural  Phenomenon  Phenomena  Hypotheses  Hypothesis Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

21. Irregular Plurals Singular Form  Child  Mouse  Foot  Offspring  Formula  Datum  Stimulus  Index  Hypothesis  Criterion Plural Form  Children  Mice  Feet  Offspring  Formulae  Data  Stimuli  Indices  Hypotheses  Criteria Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

22. Abbreviations  That is… Study for your class; that is, if you don’t want to fail. Study for your class (i.e., if you don’t want to fail)  And so on… Notes, books, pencils, etc.  For example… For example, students in PSYC200. …(e.g., students in PSYC200).  And other people (things) [used when have many authors] …was found (Johns, et al., 2002). Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

23. Dirty Grammar  They’re always there to hurt their grade their, there, and they’re  Plural possessives Individual, individuals, individual’s, and individuals’  Pronoun shifting Someone cannot be a they Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

24. Parallel Construction  Each statement must be able to stand alone and still be grammatically correct.  The student is required to read 30 pages of text, write a report, and memorize a list of vocabulary words. to read to write to memorize Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

25. Dirty Grammar  Make ‘em parallel My experience with psychology is mostly from attending classes, working with children, and to read books. If you can’t pull it apart, then it ain’t parallel ..from attending classes ..from working with children ..from read books Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

26. Dirty Grammar – Comma use  I expect to gain much experience in this class, and hope to find out a direction for my career. I expect to gain much experience in this class hope to find out a direction for my career  I expect to gain much experience in this class, and I hope to find out a direction for my career. I expect to gain much experience in this class I hope to find out a direction for my career  Mostly, whenever possible, use, or otherwise utilize, a comma on introductory phrases At that time, I wanted to be a counselor Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

27. Resources for help  The ALC – writing center (410) 837-5383 alc@ubalt.edu www.ubalt.edu/alc  Your peers  Your texts Quick APA Language Guide

28. APA SCAVENGER HUNT

29. INTRO TO RESEARCH METHODS

30. Research Methods  There are 6 basic categories of scientific method that virtually all research falls into Research Non-ExperimentalExperimental Naturalistic ObservationQuasi-Experimental Survey Relational Research Field Study Experimental

31. Research Methods – Naturalistic Observation  Addresses most basic scientific question: “What is out there?”  Requires operational definition of events to be observed  Observer must be unobtrusive, and design must be nonreactive

32. Research Methods – Field-Based Research  Like naturalistic observation, conducted in real-world settings  Goal is to establish natural relations among events  Observer must be unobtrusive, but methods are intentionally reactive

33. Research Methods – Survey Research  Appropriate to the study of private behaviors  Two primary styles: Interviews (structured/unstructured) Questionnaires (structured/unstructured)

34. Research Methods – Relational (Correlational) Research  Goal to verify systematic (usually linear) relations among events  Strengths/directions of relations generally expressed in form of correlation coefficient (r xy )

35. Research Methods – True Experiment  Goal: to establish a cause-effect relationship among events Does low-fat diet cause decrease in cancer risk? Does exposure to violent video games cause increase in violent behaviors? Does spaced study cause increase in memory accuracy and retention? Do genetic variations cause sexual preference?

36. Research Methods – True Experiment  Requires: random assignment of participants to at least two equivalent conditions manipulation of one factor (independent variable, or IV) in one condition (experimental), leaving it unchanged in other condition (control) measurement of one other factor in both conditions (factor called dependent variable, or DV; measurement instrument called dependent measure, or DM)

37. Research Methods – True Experiment  Concludes: if groups are NOT equivalent with respect to DV, and if the difference between the groups is so big it probably did not happen by chance, then manipulation of the IV caused the difference in the DV

38. Research Methods – Quasi-Experiment  Goal also to establish cause-effect relations among events  Required when random assignment is not possible, because must use pre-existing groups, or IV impossible to manipulate directly, or IV unethical/illegal to manipulate directly

39. Research Methods Review  Name 6 categories of scientific research

40. Review and Next Steps  Review  Next week assignments APA Practice Test #1 Reading  Editorial style (the minutiae)