Chapter 2 Where to Start Appendix A Writing

Chapter 2: Where to Start Appendix A: Writing Research Reports

Hypotheses and Predictions [p 17] § Informal hypotheses/predictions - Simply questions about behavior or a guess at what elicits behavior § Formal hypotheses - Formulated on the basis of past research findings and theoretical considerations - Stated in very specific and formal terms - Confirmed or unconfirmed by the results

Theory l A logically organized set of propositions (claims, statements, assertions) that serves to: *define events (concepts), *describe relationships among events *explain the occurrence of events [Ch 2, p 20]

Sources of Ideas [pp 18 -22] § Common sense § Observation of the world around us § Theories § Past research

Scholarly Journal Articles [p 23] § The nature of journals • Researcher sends written report to a professional journal • Editor solicits reviews from other peer scientists • Each journal has limited space • Editor decides whether to accept the research report for publication • Accepted research reports are published about one year later

Literature Review: Scholarly Psychology Journals • Psychological Bulletin • Annual Review of Psychology • Journal of Environmental Psychology • Others [pp 24 -25, Table 2. 1]

Search Strategies: Shatford Library Databases • Proquest • Wilson Web--Science Full Text • Psyc. Info • Others

Literature Review: Internet Searches [p 32] • Yahoo, Google (Scholar), and Alta Vista • Critically evaluate the quality of the information you find • Record the exact location of any Websites you will be using in your research

Communicating the Results of a Research Study research conference l psychology research journal l

Writing Research Reports: APA Format l l Sixth edition of the Publication Manual (2009) of the American Psychological Association (APA). http: //www. apastyle. org [p 283]

Guidelines for Effective Writing l l l Know Your Audience Identify Your Purpose Write Clearly • • • Be concise Be precise Follow grammatical rules Avoid biased language Write an interesting report

Structure of a Research Report [p 298] l A research report consists of the following sections (the main text is in bold): § Title Page § Abstract § Introduction § Method § Results § Discussion ■ ■ ■ ■ References Appendixes Author Note Footnotes Tables Figure caption page Figures

Title page [pp 288 -290] • title of the research • authors’ names • where the research was done • running head • page header

Abstract [p 290] • One-paragraph summary • 100 -120 words • Include: • Problem under investigation • Research methods used • Main findings • Conclusions and implications • Write the Abstract last!

Introduction [pp 290 -291] • Three primary objectives: • introduce the problem • summarize briefly the relevant background literature • describe the hypothesis and research design

Method [pp 291 -292] • Describes how the study was conducted • Provides enough detail for replication • 3 common subsections of the Method section (Subsections depend on the complexity of the design): • Participants • Design (optional) • Materials (or Apparatus) • Procedure

Method [p 292] (continued) l Information to include in Participants subsection • Procedures for recruiting and compensation • Major demographic characteristics (e. g. , • • • gender, age, race/ethnicity) Total number of participants Number of participants in each condition Describe any attrition

Method [p 292] (continued) l Information to include in Materials/Apparatus subsection • Describe materials critical to the design and implementation of the study variables

Method [p 292] (continued) l Information to include in Procedure subsection • Describe what happened from the beginning • to the end of the sessions in which you tested your participants Include enough detail to allow for replication

Results [pp 292 -294] • Findings are presented in three ways 1. Narrative form 2. Statistical language 3. Tables or graphs (figures) • Answers the questions raised in the • introduction Sticks to the facts

Discussion [p 295] • • What were the essential findings? Do the findings support the hypothesis? • • • If yes, provide all possible explanations If no, suggest potential reasons for this How are results similar to or different from previous research? • Explain how the results compare with past results • Limitations or problems in the research? • • • Present methodological weaknesses and/or strengths Offer specific ideas for additional research based on the findings Include suggestions for possible practical applications

References [p 295] • Contains citation information for each source • • cited in the research manuscript References are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the first author of each source Sample on pp 329 -332

Appendixes [pp 295 -296] • Sometimes used to provide a verbatim copy of instructions to participants or a copy of particular materials used in a research study

Author Note [p 296] • Sources of financial support for the research • Acknowledgment of people who contributed to • • the research project Contact information should an interested reader desire more information The name and departmental affiliation of each author.

Footnotes [p 296] • Rare in research manuscripts • Two types: • Copyright permission footnotes • Content footnotes • Footnotes appear on a separate page near the end of the manuscript

Tables and Figures [pp 296 -297] • Tables or figures cited in the text (results • • section) are attached at the end of the research manuscript Place only one table or figure on a page Figures require a separate “Figure Captions” page preceding the figures