Chapter 2
Understanding the
Research Literature
Searching the literature

Bibliographic databases
– Proquest
– ERIC
– PsycINFO – produced by the APA and widely
used for searching psychological literature
Searching the literature

Peer reviewed journals – common layout:
– Abstract – short summary
– Introduction
– Methods
– Results
– Discussion

The literature also includes review articles,
books, chapters, edited books, etc.
Searching the literature

Scientific research is
– Peer reviewed – process whereby the editor
of a journal sends submitted manuscripts out
to be reviewed by other researchers in the
same field of study.
– Reviewed blind – the reviewers are not aware
of the author of the article they are reviewing
and the author does not know who the
reviewers are.

This process helps to maintain a high
standard of quality in research.
The research article

The Abstract – comprehensive summary
of the article describing what was
done, to whom, and what was found.

The Introduction – background on the
research problem.
Introduction
• Like a funnel – Broad at the top narrow at the end
• The overall goal is to connect the current literature to
your proposed purpose and design
– Introduce the problem/question
– Develop the background information
 Theory
 Past Methodology
– Statement of the rationale for the current study
(final paragraph of intro)
 Purpose
 Hypothesis
 The tone is technical and descriptive, not creative or
inflammatory. Avoid quotes and footnotes
The research article
– Independent Variable(s) – the variable that is
manipulated by the researcher.
 Participant variables – inherent in the participants
(e.g.. gender)
– Dependent Variable – response measure that
we think will be influenced by the IV.
– Moderating Variables – influence the
relationship between the IV and DV.
– Mediating Variables – variables that intervene
between the IV and DV in their cause-effect
relationship.
The research article

The Method Section – details about
exactly how the variables were
measured, manipulated, and
controlled.
– Participants/Subjects – humans/animals that
participated in the research
– Materials/Apparatus – details about
equipment, tests, etc.
– Procedure – chronological sequence of what
happened to the participants.
The research article

The Results – statistical information about
whether or not the data support the
research hypothesis.
– In research statistics are used for two
purposes:
 To summarize data
 To test research hypotheses
The research article
– Descriptive statistics – includes measures of
central tendency, variability, and the
strength
of the relationship between
variables.
 Mean
 Median
•Range
•Variance
 Mode
• Standard deviation
– Pearson Product-Moment correlation - most
common measure of association (symbolized
as r). Describes how strongly variables are
related to one another.
Confidence intervals
Used when we are interested in estimating
population parameters.
 Report an interval within which we
estimate the true population
parameters to fall.

The research article

Inferential statistics – used to generalize
the findings of a study to a whole
population.
– Common Tests of Significance – used in
hypothesis testing to determine whether
results are statistically significant.
 t-test – used to compare means of two
groups.
 F- test – used to compare means of more than two
groups. (ANOVA, ANCOVA)
 Chi-square – used to compare frequencies.
Basic tests of significance

t-test – used to compare means of two
groups.

F- test – used to compare means of more
than two groups.

Chi-square – used to compare frequencies.

Effect size – provides some indication of the strength of
the effect.
Basic tests of significance

Regression – use a predictor variable to
predict a criterion variable.

Multiple Regression – using more than
one predictor variable to predict a
criterion variable.
The research article

The Discussion describes the outcome of the
research in words
– Briefly summarize what you found

Integrates the outcome of the study with
previous research findings
– Here is how you data fit in to the larger literature
base

Draws conclusions
– Based on theory or practical application

May present suggestions for future research
– Limitations