Chapter 2 - Where to Start

Distinguish between literature reviews, theory articles, and empirical research articles.

- Literature reviews provide summaries of previous research on a particular topic and summarize research across many studies. - Theory articles generally summarize and integrate research to provide a new framework for understanding a phenomenon. - Empirical research article is a report of a study in which data were gathered to help answer a research question.

prediction

A statement of the expected outcome of a research investigation.

hypothesis

A statement of the way in which variables are predicted to be related.

theory

A systematic, coherent, and logical set of ideas about a particular topic or phenomenon that serves to organize and explain data and generate new knowledge.

What information does the researcher communicate in each of the sections of a research article?

1. Abstract - summary of the research report and typically runs between 150 and 250 words in length. It includes information about the hypothesis, the procedure, and the broad pattern of results. 2. Introduction - outlines the problem that has been investigated. Past research and theories relevant to the problem are described in detail. The researcher's specific expectations are noted, often as formal hypotheses. 3. Method - is divided into subsections, with the number of subsections determined by the author and dependent on the complexity of the research design. Sometimes the first subsection presents an overview of the design to prepare the reader for the material that follows. The next subsection describes the characteristics of the participants. 4. Results - the researcher presents the findings, usually in three ways. First, there is a description in narrative form—for example, "The location of items was most likely to be forgotten when the location was both judged to be highly memorable and an unusual place for the item to be stored." Second, the results are described in statistical language. Third, the material is often depicted in tables and graphs. 5. Discussion - the researcher reviews the research from various perspectives. Do the results support the hypothesis? If they do, the author should give all possible explanations for the results and discuss why one explanation is superior to another. If the hypothesis has not been supported, the author should suggest potential reasons.

What are the two functions of a theory?

1. Organize and explain facts or descriptions of behavior. 2. Generate new knowledge by focusing our thinking so that we notice new aspects of behavior—theories guide our observations of the world.

What is a hypothesis? What is the distinction between a hypothesis and a prediction?

A hypothesis is a tentative answer to a research question. Once a hypothesis is proposed, data must be gathered and evaluated in terms of whether the evidence is consistent or inconsistent with the hypothesis. Example: "Depression is related to the types of attributions made about success and failure experiences." A prediction follows directly from a hypothesis, is directly testable, and includes specific variables and methodologies. Example: "In comparison to those with minimal or mild depression, participants categorized as having moderate or severe depression, based on the Beck Depression Inventory score, will score higher on luck when responding to a success experience and higher on personal causes when responding to a failure experience."

PsycINFO

A digital database of abstracts of articles in psychology, indexed by topic, updated weekly and maintained by the American Psychological Association.

literature review

A written summary and evaluation of the existing literature on a specific topic.

meta-analysis

An analytics technique that allows researchers to draw statistical conclusions from multiple studies of a single research question.