I. Find a research article using the library’s research databases: Click on “Social Sciences” and then “Academic Search Complete” (which leads you to the EBSCO search engine. As you search, specify the following:
a. Full article
b. Language = English
c. PEER-REVIEWED articles only
d. restrict the search to recent research (past 10 years)
2. The article must be at least 4 pages in length and must describe a research study that the authors conducted in an area of PSYCHOLOGY. Look for sections entitled Methods, Results and Discussion within the article. You MAY NOT choose an article from a magazine or other popular literature. The article must be from a scholarly refereed (or peer reviewed) journal. Abstracts and brief reports are not appropriate.
3. Review the article — quickly. Avoid getting overwhelmed. As you read, keep some of the points below in mind:
a) Summary of research (abstract) – usually a paragraph under the title
b) Review of literature – presents a summary of others’ study of the
topic in order to justify the research
c) Hypothesis of the authors – what do they believe they will find?
d) Subjects – how many? ages? from where? random or select group (all men, all ADHD, etc.)?
e) Method – what did they do?
i) measures used – tests, observations, survey, etc.
ii) was there treatment involved – what amount of time? who gave the treatment?
f) Results – what statistic was used? what were the authors’ conclusions?
4. Read again – more slowly, with more focus – do some underlining.
5. Read again – find relevant information, take notes – read for understanding.
6) Read critically – as you read, critique the research. Were too many variables left uncontrolled? Were they findings valuable? Why?
7. Look up APA Format. This is the format in which you will need to write your citations and references. The documentation style used by the American Psychological Association (APA) is widely used in psychology and the social sciences (anthropology, education and sociology). The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is available on the Reference shelves REF BF 76.7.P82 and there are brief descriptions of APA Style on the web. The best source is Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (O.W.L.). I suggest you use this for help in how to format your references and in-text citations.