1: Groundwork

Question 1

List four reasons as to why it is beneficial to have a theory, as per Herek (2011).

Answer 1

By explicitly stating your expectations, they can be evaluated & tested critically

Connects researcher to existing knowledge

Forces researchers to address “Why” and “How” questions.

By testing theory, you can identify under which conditions it holds.

Question 2

What is the first step to developing a theoretical framework? Why is it useful? Provide an example.

Answer 2

Identify the broad research question.

Identifies phenomenon of interest.

E.g., why do people binge drink?

Question 3

What is the second step to developing a theoretical framework? What is important to note?

Answer 3

Rudimentary theory. Think of an answer to the question.

There is more than one reason to do things, but for a study one will usually pick one or two.

Question 4

What is the third step to developing a theoretical framework? What approach should be taken? Provide an example.

Answer 4

Identifying variables of interest.

Conceptual approach to variables taken; will be defined later.

E.g., binge drinking behaviour and enhancement motivation.

Question 5

What is the fourth step to developing a theoretical framework? What is important to note? Provide an example.

Answer 5

Theoretical hypothesis. Find a theory which explains question.

Multiple answers/theories, usually settle on just one or two.

E.g., “Some people are motivated to maximize their amount of positive emotions, so they binge drink.”

Question 6

What does it mean to operationalize a variable?

Answer 6

Very specific definition of each variable.

Question 7

What are empirical hypotheses and where do they usually go in a scientific paper?

Answer 7

Very specific hypotheses.

Usually come at very end of introduction section.

Question 8

List four reliable sources for systematic reviews.

Answer 8

Add “meta-analysis” to your search terms.

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology.

Clinical Psychology Review.

Cochrane Review.

Question 9

Is Google Scholar a good preliminary starting point for a search strategy?

Answer 9

Good for a first pass.

Question 10

What do the following mean, regarding search terms:

• depress*
• OR and phrase searching
• AND
• “…”

Answer 10

Will search all words that start with depress, like depression, depressive, depressed.

Presents results with any one of the words.

Require that both search terms be included.

Search a phrase.

Question 11

What are the three typical criteria for acceptance by a peer-reviewed scientific journal?

Answer 11

Contribution to current body of knowledge.

Sound methods.

Objectivity / neutrality.

Question 12

What are scholarly articles? What should be noted of them before including in a paper?

Answer 12

Written by experts in field.

Before including, evaluate for relevance, quality & bias.

Question 13

Generally, for a paper you will need at least what references?

Answer 13

1 historical ref that was a pioneer in the field.

1 review / conceptual paper for theory.

2 basic research studies testing the theory.

2 methodological articles describing measures.

Question 14

Rank order good methods for psychological research.

Answer 14

Pre-registered studies.

Experiments.

Longitudinal Designs.

National Surveys.

Correlational Designs.

Small N Designs.

Question 15

For participants, what is the order of reliability? How many is better?

Answer 15

Clinical samples > general population > students.

Large sample sizes (> 100) are better.

Question 16

In case of new scholars, look at _____. Where can you typically find important authors.

Answer 16

Supervisor.

Usually the 1st, 2nd, or last authors are important.

Question 17

What are three ways in which you can assess the credentials of an author?

Answer 17

Has the author published in this area before?

Where did they get research training and who were they supervised by?

Is this a productive researcher?

Question 18

Generally speaking, look for sources that are no more than how old? What is an exception to this?

Answer 18

10 years old.

Highly cited articles that are especially relevant or necessary for historical purposes.

Question 19

Sources that are _____ to your topic are more important than being new.

Answer 19

Relevant.

Question 20

In the social sciences, most articles get cited how often, on average? Off that, what should you look for.

Answer 20

1 time.

Articles cited more than one time.

Question 21

What is the impact factor of journals? What is the rule of thumb for them?

Answer 21

Average number of times articles from the journal published in the past two years have been cited.

Look for impact factor > 1.

Question 22

APA journals are well-known for having a very _____ review process

Answer 22

Stringent.

Question 23

What is a good indicator that a journal is predatory?

Answer 23

Charge publication fee.

Question 24

Impact factor is an indication of perceived journal “prestige” from the field. As a result, they are desirable outlets to publish in, career-wise. What is important to note about this?

Answer 24

Does not tell you if the article is actually of high quality.

Question 25

What tend to be three pitfalls during the process of writing a proposal? Two in the product itself?

Answer 25

In process: trying to read everything, reading without writing, not keeping track of sources.

In product: “exhaustive summary” of readings, including only conceptual or research literature.

Question 26

What is conceptual literature? What does it provide and give insight for?

Answer 26

Discusses theory, summaries, or critiques of research studies.

Overview of concepts related to your study.

Insights: assumptions and the historical development of the problem.

Question 27

What are three important things a hypothesis needs to be?

Answer 27

Plausible, clear, creative.