Psychology Research
Discipline: Psychology
Type of Paper: Research paper
Academic Level: Undergrad. (yrs 3-4)
Paper Format: APA
Question
Copied below are the instructions and they are attached as well. For this research project you are going to have to use the following two sources:
Article from the popular media :
Arnold, C. (2017, April 13). Studying at night? You're doing it right. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://www.usatoday.com/
FeaturedPsychology·April 12, 2., Also, S., & FeaturedGeneticsOpen Neuroscience ArticlesPsychology·October 14, 2. (2017, April 12). College students study better later in the day. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://neurosciencenews.com/
Checking the Source:
Being a Good Consumer of
Psychological Research
Project Description
A goal of psychologists is to communicate research findings to the general public. Psychologists and other scientists often utilize the popular media and journalists to share potentially valuable research findings to a large audience. While the dissemination of scientific information is important, sometimes popular media outlets overstate, misinterpret, or get details about the research wrong. Accordingly, it is essential to become a good consumer of research. The purpose of this research project is to show that you are thinking like a researcher and understand how to critically evaluate research that is read by the general public. You are responsible for finding a public source web article/item from a media outlet (e.g., online blogs, newspapers, magazines, etc.) that discusses a scientific study. Then, you will locate the original source (i.e., scientific journal article written by the original researchers who conducted the study). You will be required to discuss/critique both the public source article and the primary source empirical article. While the structure and format of the paper is flexible, you will need to follow the general outline below to address all of the required points. Your final project will be between 3-6 pages.
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Proposal (10 points) Due: March 7, 2021
You will first need to find an article/item from a popular media outlet (e.g., magazine, blog, podcast) that discusses a psychological research study. You will then need to find the primary source (i.e., scientific journal article) that was discussed in the popular media article/item.
For the proposal, you will need to submit citations for the article from the popular media source and the primary source article. To receive full credit for your proposal, submit the citations in APA format. In addition, you will be required to upload a PDF and/or a link to the full version of your primary source article. Please utilize the UAlbany library and resources posted on Blackboard if you are having difficulty locating the full version of the primary source article. Note: you should not have to pay for the article (you can request it through the library).
Example
Article from the popular media:
DiDomizio, N. (2015, October 19). Apparently, men are threatened by smart women, because of course they are. Retrieved February 06, 2021, from http://mic.com/articles/
Primary Source:
Park, L. E., Young, A. F., & Eastwick, P. W. (2015). (Psychological) distance makes the heart grow fonder: Effects of psychological distance and relative intelligence on men’s attraction to women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(11), 1459-1473.
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Research Project (50 points) Due: May 9, 2021
After your proposal is approved, you may begin to write your research project. There is flexibility in how you structure the paper; however, you will need to address the points outlined below in order to receive full credit. In addition, you should follow APA guidelines when applicable (e.g., citations, references).
Section 1: Critiquing the Popular Media Source
What kind of claim is the headline of this article making? (2 points)
Based on the title, what type of study do you anticipate? (2 points)
What are the variables you expect to read about in the article? (2 points)
Summarize what the article highlighted about the study. (2 points)
What was the independent variable and dependent variables? (2 points)
Was there more than one level of each?
Does the journalist’s headline fit with the kind of study the scientists
conducted? (2 points)
Why or why not? What makes you question the claim?
What is a question you still have remaining after reading the article? (2 points)
Section 2: Critiquing the Primary Source/Empirical Article
Abstract:
Copy and paste the abstract (2 points)
Introduction section:
What has previous research found? (2 points)
What is the gap in previous literature? (2 points)
Why are the authors conducting the study?
What is the construct/operationalization being examined? (2 points)
What were the hypotheses? (2 points)
Method/Results:
What kind of design is the study? (2 points)
Advantages/Disadvantages?
Discuss if the study has (8 points)
Construct validity:
Discuss how the construct is measured & was it reliable? How else would you measure it?
Internal validity:
What three conditions need to be met and were they met in this study?
External validity:
What population can the findings be generalized to?
Discussion/Limitations:
Did authors find support for their hypotheses? (2 points)
What were the limitations of the study? (2 points)
Did the findings match in the popular media source? (2 points)
Overall Quality:
Spelling/Grammar, clarity/organization, APA formatting (10 points)
