Week 2: Finding and reading a paper

◦ See StudyDirect for the names of your tutors
◦ Please remember our first names for submission of your course work
◦ Only email us for personal issues (e.g. to inform us of absence etc.)

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1 hour 50 min practical weeks 2 – 12
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Please attend allocated sessions
Psychology office or negotiate a change directly with the

8
9
10
5
6
7
11
12
2
3
4
Week of term Lecture
1 Introductory lecture
Questionnaire design
Writing a lab-report
Frequency distributions
Means and SDs
Normal distribution & z-scores
Test construction
Chi-square tests
Linear regression
Correlation tests
Correlation interpretation nonparametric tests
Practical
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The research process
Questionnaire design
Introduction to SPSS
Writing a lab-report
Graphs in Excel
Means, SDs & z-scores
Exploring a new dataset
Chi-square
Linear regression & correlations
Exam revision
Exam revision

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Autumn term coursework submissions
◦ Week 7: Lab report (based on fast-food data).
◦ Week 11: Lab report (based on the maths test you did last week).

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Course material - Graham Hole’s resources page:
◦ Google > Graham Hole
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Questions about the course/coursework:
◦ Forum: Study Direct > Research Skills > Forum
◦ Office Hour: (to be announced)
◦ Emails: Do not email tutors directly about coursework, use the forum.

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The Research Process
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Scientific Writing Style
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Original Article vs. Secondary source
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How to Find a Paper
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How to Read a Paper
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Research Treasure Hunt

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Subject area
Read around the subject
Research question
Design the study
Obtain ethical approval
Conduct the study
Data analysis
Lab report

• Report of a study that you have conducted.
• Resembles structure of a journal article.
• Contains title, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references.
• Written in past tense (you are describing the results of a study).

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Write concisely
Write in a formal tone
Avoid jargon
Focus on relevant literature
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Top tip: Read and look at published journal articles to get an idea of what you should be aiming for

From a textbook citation...
“ Stanley Milgram’s (1963) study of destructive obedience highlighted the dilemma facing a person ordered by an authority figure to perform an immoral act”

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But why would I want to look at the original?
And if I did, how would I find it?

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One simple reason:
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When a textbook/paper author (or anyone else) summarises a study, they can get it wrong...
Wilson
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The more people between you and the study, the more chance something is wrong
House
I think
Cuddy is very intelligent!
Wilson thinks you’re intelligent
...but ugly.
House
Cuddy

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At the end of textbook chapters (or sometimes the whole book) and journal articles you will find the reference section
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Reference sections are ordered by first author’s surname:
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Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience.
(4), 371–378.

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If you know the reference for a paper:-
◦ Go to the library website: www.sussex.ac.uk/library
◦ Electronic Library > Online Journals > Type in journal name > Find the correct volume, issue and page numbers

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If you want to do a search on a topic:-
◦ Go to the library website: www.sussex.ac.uk/library
◦ Electronic Library > Online Resources > Choose
‘PsycARTICLES’ or ‘PsycINFO’ > Simple or Advanced
◦ Electronic Library > QuickSearch
◦ Google Scholar
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Top tip: be specific!

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Papers are laid out in this order:
◦ Abstract
◦ Introduction
◦ Methods
◦ Results
◦ Discussion
◦ References
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Easier to read them in this order:
◦ Abstract
◦ Discussion
◦ Introduction
◦ Methods
◦ Results
◦ (References)

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Abstract
◦ Summary of everything that’s in the paper
◦ Order: Past research, methods, results, conclusions
◦ Approx. 150 words
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Discussion
◦ Summary of purpose and results
◦ Comparison to previous research
◦ Possible faults
◦ Wider implications
◦ Future directions
◦ Conclusions

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Introduction
◦ Quick explanation of research area
◦ Summary of relevant past research (and perhaps its flaws)
◦ Purpose of study
◦ Brief description of methods
◦ Hypotheses
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Methods
◦ Usually split into four sections:
 Participants
 Materials
 Design
 Procedure
◦ Technical language

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Results
◦ Point-by-point breakdown of findings
◦ Descriptive statistics
◦ Inferential statistics
◦ The magic word:
‘significant’
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References
◦ Don’t need to worry about these too much when reading
◦ If you find past research in the paper that sounds interesting, look for a full citation here
◦ And use your new skills to find that paper

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Work through the “Research Treasure Hunt” hand-out.
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Try not to use the same search tool for each question.

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Have completed this week’s work sheet
(especially question 9).
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Next week: Questionnaire design