Lab 1: PSY 450
Fall 2011
The purpose of Lab 1 is to have you find key articles in specific fields of psychology and do a review of those articles. In total you will read a minimum of THREE articles (the main article and 2 follow up articles). The key article is the following:
Sommer, R. (1959). Studies in personal space. Sociometry, 22, 247-260.
Find at least TWO more articles in that area using PsychINFO (an article containing more than one study is only ONE article). NOTE: these must come from peer reviewed journals or books. If in doubt ask me. “Electronic” journals are not acceptable for this assignment. This sounds easy, but one problem often faced by researchers is that key articles are read by many, so it can be difficult sometimes to find them (e.g. the journal is not on the shelf or the articles is missing from the journal etc.).
You will then write a review paper (similar to Psychological Bulletin and Psychological Review articles) and arrive at some conclusion about a particular idea or theme you find in the three articles. This should flow in a logical sequence from one article to the next. The point is not to just present three separate summaries, but to get you to think about linking an idea that you find throughout the three research papers (similar to an Introduction section of a research paper).
You will tell a “story” about this idea - with summaries from the articles that help make that point. You can take a critical approach about what's wrong with the articles or a more supporting approach where you are saying this has been done well or a certain factor seems to be consistent - but again it has to fit with your theme. It has to help make your point. You don't want to have a theme "space and territory are different but the research hasn't done a good job of showing this" and then criticize the fact that one article used a projective measurement tool which is limited in validity due to the fact that people can't judge size from memory well. The two ideas don't fit - both might be legit criticism but they don’t have anything to do with one another But you could criticize that article X hasn't made a logical argument to show that space is any different than territory, just as you could highlight that someone has shown that territory defense is different than space defense etc. It’s also not simply based on your opinion – it’s a scientific review and you have to back up your ideas with the evidence from the articles. The parts of the articles you summarize are intended to back up the claims you are making about your theme or idea or pattern.....what's good/bad, what's missing, is it moving in the right direction, how have ideas changed over time, are theories consistent, has there been agreement that factor X is important/not important etc. So in the end the points you choose to include in your “review” of the literature can be based on both supportive and critical ideas related to theory, hypotheses, design, conclusions, individual variables in the study, tools they use, conflicts between ideas, application or usefulness etc.
There is no minimum or maximum length. You are being judged on the quality, not the quantity of your work. You will be graded on clarity, flow, sentence structure, and the ability to articulate your theme in a logical and intelligent manner. There should be no typos or grammatical mistakes. APA format citations and references should be used, just like in the key articles above. APA also dictates that past or present perfect tense is used in all papers.
Your paper should be double spaced, with a 12 point Times New Roman Font and 1 inch margins. They are due SEPTEMBER 25 at the beginning of class. A late report (any time after the beginning of class) will result in a letter grade reduction for each day it is late (note: at 12:01 it is considered 1 day late – at 12:01 the next day it is 2 days late etc.). Failure to hand in any lab report will result in an automatic failure of the class.
Tips For Writing Your Assignments
Commonly Asked Questions:
1. Does the follow up article have to refer directly to the classic article?
· No, as long as you can make a link between the idea you select from the classic article.
2. What if I can’t find the journal/book on the shelf?
§ Check the library catalog system to see if the library does carry it
§ Check if the University of Buffalo library carries it
§ Check the photocopy rooms—sometimes people leave them in the re-shelving areas
§ Come back another day
§ Check if someone else has a copy
§ Check the electronic formats for full text of your article
§ Switch to another article (as a last resort)
3. What if I have difficulties finding two follow up articles?
§ Combine key words in PsychInfo
§ Check the thesaurus on PsychInfo
§ ASK FOR HELP
4. How do I improve the quality of my paper?
§ Write your paper and let it sit for a day if possible. Then re-read it. Often, people find sentences that are too long and contain extra and irrelevant information.
§ Have someone else proof read your paper and point out the information that does not directly relate to your summaries and conclusion.
What to Focus on When Reading Articles:
Focus on what the author is trying to say to you the reader (i.e. what theoretical position is being argued? What is the hypothesis being tested?). Pay special attention to the introduction, method, and discussion/conclusions sections. Make notes on the major points as you go.
Tips for Writing:
· You don’t need to write the title of the article in the text (only the author and publication year—see the APA manual). All relevant information is in the reference section.
· Don’t be too general where you just presenting (or simply state) conclusions without providing enough of the methodology and results to show you understood what you read or to be able to explain the details of your theme.
· You also shouldn’t provide excessive details – especially of things that are not really all that relevant to understanding the study or to explain your theme (e.g. the number of participants, institution the research took place etc.)
· In most cases, people construct sentences that are too long and contain irrelevant information. For example, instead of writing “the data was collected by means of a questionnaire and cognitive tests. Subjects were college students. The tests were….” you could write “College students were administered questionnaires and cognitive tests.”
· Remember…I don’t want any quotations. I want to read your interpretations, not the literal replication of the original authors’ work.
· Use past tense to talk about research that has already been done.
· REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC REVIEW THAT IS MEANT TO BE OBJECTIVE – IT IS NOT AN ESSAY FOR YOUR ENGLISH CLASS. It shouldn’t be written first person or contain your personal opinion (e.g. “I’m going to do this or that in my paper…..” or “I think this is wrong….”).
· You need an introduction to let the reader know what the topic is about and to introduce the problem. However, an introduction is not a paragraph that says “In paragraph 1 you will read about this article that says this thing. In paragraph 2 you will read about article 2 that says that thing…..”. You don’t need to sum up what they’ll read because…..they’ll read it. Introduce the topic and your theme.
· Similarly, your conclusion should NOT simply re-sum what was in the paper. Rather, this is a time for you to sum up your theme and show that you are adding something intelligent to the conversation rather than summing it all up.