M1: Scientific Literature Flashcards
the process of locating, reading, and critically synthesizing what is already known about a topic. However, you may also find results that are more relevant to your purpose.
literature review
NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE may include:
- Science journal websites
- ScienceDirect.com
- Nature.com
- OUP.com (Oxford University Press)
- RSNA.org (Radiological Society of North America)
- Government clearinghouses
- PubMed.gov (National Library of Medicine)
- Health.gov (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
Use of specialized search engines such as Google Scholar and PsycINFO.
SCHOLARLY SOURCES
TRUE or FALSE
These search engines (Google Scholar and PsycINFO) will give you access to scholarly articles rather than those for the general public.
TRUE
Notice two helpful bits of information when exploring the search engine.
First, the number of ____ to the article is listed as a rough indication of how well the author’s peers rated the article and a link to those articles.
citations
Notice two helpful bits of information when exploring the search engine.
Second, there is a link to ______ _____. Both allow you to find other potentially relevant articles for your literature review.
related articles
TRUE or FALSE
A scholarly source meets a combination of factors.
TRUE
A scholarly source meets a combination of factors.
First, scholarly sources are authored by ______ who are noted experts on the article’s topic.
scholars
A scholarly source meets a combination of factors.
Second, the _____ process is conducted by other noted experts on the topic and peers of the author.
review
A scholarly source meets a combination of factors.
Third, the ________ ________ published in the article adheres to a rigor and methodology sanctioned by the scholars’ field of study and followed by the publishing journal.
research evidence
Scholarly sources of information are authored by ________, individuals who often have an advanced degree, as well as rigorous training in research methodology and a particular specialty area.
scholars
TRUE or FALSE
A person might be very knowledgeable about a topic that you spent much time reading and writing about for an assignment, but that does not mean they are a scholar.
TRUE
TRUE or FALSE
A journalist who publishes an article in a magazine or newspaper might be knowledgeable about a topic but is not necessarily a scholar.
TRUE
In the _______ world, a scholar is a highly trained individual who has designed studies, collected and analyzed data, and shared the results through presentations and publications about a specific research topic.
scientific
TRUE or FALSE
Some scholars conduct research alone, but most work in collaborative teams.
TRUE
In scholarly sources, the author’s claims are based on the presentation of properly collected ______
________.
scientific evidence
Depending on the type of scholarly work, the authors may describe the research methodology and findings of a specific scientific study they conducted, explain the current research literature related to the topic, or both.
Research Evidence
The authors support their claims with citations to peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly sources.
Research Evidence
A ________ source is based primarily on the opinions of the authors.
nonscholarly
_______ sources appeal to the readers’ emotions and/or deference to authority, and they do not cite scientific studies.
Nonscholarly
______ _______ are reviewed by experts in the same field to ensure accuracy and reliability.
Scholarly works
The highest standard of review occurs in _________ journals, which use external experts (i.e., experts who were not involved in the writing of the particular article) to review and approve an article before it is published.
peer-reviewed
These experts are called “______” because they specialize in the same scholarly area as the authors; they are not necessarily friends with the authors and often do not even know the authors.
peers
This enhanced review helps elevate the published information’s ______ and _______.
quality and validity
do not always follow the same strict procedures as peer-reviewed journals.
Scholarly books
undergo a review process in which external experts read an initial draft of the book and give recommendations for strengthening it.
Scholarly books
The _____ ______ then works with the authors to revise the manuscript according to the reviewers’ feedback.
book publisher
TRUE or FALSE
Sometimes, a scholarly book is not written by a single author or group of authors but rather is made up of different chapters written by various authors.
TRUE
Such a volume is called an “______” book, and the editor is a prominent scholar who works with the chapter authors (also scholars) to ensure quality. This informal, internal review process sometimes occurs with an ______ review process.
edited ; external
a collection of articles written by scholars.
academic journal
The most important type of journal article.
academic journal
are well-known scholarly psychology journals
- American Psychologist
- The Journal of Applied Psychology
TRUE or FALSE
University libraries subscribe to many academic journals on the library shelves and in their online collection.
TRUE
There are several types of academic journal articles. You can determine the type of journal article by reading the _________.
abstract
Research articles, also called _____ ______, describe in detail the methodology used to conduct a specific study and the corresponding results.
empirical articles
a summary that typically appears at the beginning of the article
abstract
are considered primary sources because they are the original (first) source of information regarding a specific study, written by the researchers who conducted the study.
empirical articles
Critically synthesize the results of multiple published, empirical articles on a given topic and provide a comprehensive reference list of related sources.
Review articles
Like research articles, most review articles are published in ________.
peer-reviewed journals
are considered secondary sources because they do not include new research evidence but rather discuss evidence that has already been published elsewhere.
Review articles
are reviews that describe a theory or model of a phenomenon along with relevant evidence or discussion of aspects of the theory for which evidence does not exist
Theoretical articles
When using a ______ _______, you rely on the authors’ interpretations of primary sources.
secondary source
_______ does not provide enough information for you to critically evaluate the studies included in the review.
Review articles
TRUE or FALSE
When citing a review article, you should focus on the authors’ main points and conclusions, but you should not cite any of the primary articles that the authors cited unless you have read the corresponding research articles yourself.
TRUE
TRUE or FALSE
A review article might be a narrative review that describes research that has been published on a topic, the strengths and weaknesses of the research conducted thus far, and future directions for research on that topic.
TRUE
A review article could also be a ______ that statistically summarizes a body of research by mathematically combining the results of previously published studies.
meta-analysis
Most of the information we encounter in our daily lives comes from ________ sources, such as magazine and news articles, web pages, blog posts, interviews, and books written for a general audience (i.e., readers who are not scholars on that topic).
nonscholarly
identified based on the authors’ qualifications, the presence or lack of expert review, and the extent to which claims are supported by scientific evidence.
Nonscholarly sources
Although some scholars produce nonscholarly work, most of this work is created by individuals who are not considered scholars.
Nonscholarly authors
Nonscholarly sources are not reviewed by other experts in the field. These sources may go through an editorial review to ensure they are well written, but not an expert review to verify adequate and accurate coverage of a topic and to minimize potential biases.
Lack of expert review
Nonscholarly sources usually do not contain a thorough discussion of the topic based on substantial evidence from multiple cited scholarly sources.
Little or no scientific evidence.
TRUE or FALSE
Unlike scholarly sources, nonscholarly sources rarely include references.
TRUE
TRUE or FALSE
Nonscholarly sources are not necessarily “bad” sources. In fact, nonscholarly sources often provide a good starting point by inspiring interest in a topic, highlighting scholars who conduct research in a topical area, and providing keywords that can be used to search for scholarly sources.
TRUE
They are not the kinds of sources you should use in an academic paper, to design a research study, or to make evidence-based personal or professional decisions.
Nonscholarly sources
Research reports and other documents that are not published in academic journals are sometimes called the _______
gray literature
Some of these reports are generated by governmental and nongovernmental agencies.
gray literature
The content may seem similar (i.e., method, results, interpretation) to a peer-reviewed journal article, but the resulting documents are published by the agency rather than in a journal, are not typically peer reviewed, typically do not list individuals as authors (i.e., the agency itself is usually the author), and are usually made freely available to the public for download directly from the agency.
gray literature
Policy documents, speeches, and so-called white papers that may report, or at least appear to report, the findings of research are __________.
gray literature
TRUE or FALSE
Not all nongovernmental organization reports can be considered scholarly.
TRUE
TRUE or FALSE
Some organizations are biased because of the special interests they represent.
TRUE
To determine whether a nongovernmental organization’s report is biased, you must learn about the organization, its mission, and the _________ of the report itself.
scholarly merit
The approach to finding sources depends on what you already know about your topic.
FINDING RELEVANT RESEARCH ARTICLES
5 other methods for beginning a search for scholarly sources:
- Nonscholarly sources
- Database of scholarly articles
- Introduction to a scholarly article
- Reference list in a scholarly article.
- Scholarly journals.
Sources such as magazines, news feeds, blog posts, and popular books can give you an accessible overview of a topic and introduce you to key terminology and concepts that will inform the rest of your search.
Nonscholarly sources
TRUE or FALSE
Often, nonscholarly sources can also point you to scholarly sources where you can learn more.
TRUE
You can use a scholarly database to see what other sources have cited this work. Scholarly databases will allow you to search for who has cited an article. By checking to see who else has cited the source you have, you can find more recent and potentially more relevant information on your topic.
Database of scholarly articles.
A scholarly article’s introduction typically contains descriptions for each cited source that is used as background information.
Introduction to a scholarly article
You can check the reference list within a scholarly article or chapter that you have read so you can see what sources are cited by that author. Some nonscholarly publications also cite sources that may be scholarly.
Reference list in a scholarly article
If you know the names of journals that publish on the topic you are interested in, you can search for keywords within those journals (i.e., narrow your database search to those particular journals). Additionally, if you want to search for sources across multiple journals, you can search keywords in databases that cover multiple journals.
Scholarly journals
Researchers use a common set of terms to refer to concepts related to a topic. Sometimes the terms researchers use are the same as those used in everyday language.
Terminology
There are similarities and differences in the way concepts are defined by researchers.
Conceptual definitions
Scholars tend to publish more than one article or chapter on a topic, and scholars tend to collaborate with one another.
Authors
Just as scholars are experts on a topic, journals and books are the place to find expert knowledge on a topic. Many journals specialize in areas of research.
Journals and books
Citations appear in the body of a paper and point the reader to the references. For that reason, they are called _________.
in-text citations
citations in the psychological literature appear in the following two ways in papers:
- parenthetically
- narratively
“… studies of aerobic exercise and recovery from stress (Bernstein & McNally, 2017)”
parenthetically
“In their studies of aerobic exercise and recovery from stress, Bernstein and McNally (2017) found…”
narratively
appear at the end of a paper
References
Depending on the journal’s formatting style, they tend to follow a ____-____-____-____ format to list the authors, the date of publication, the title of the article, and the source, which includes the journal name and volume number and often a DOI (digital object identifier, which should be a stable link to the article).
who–when–what–where
For example: Bernstein, E. E., & McNally, R. J. (2017). Acute aerobic exercise hastens emotional recovery from a subsequent stressor. Health Psychology, 36(6), 560-567. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000482
A careful analysis and comparison of the most relevant research studies will give you information to refine your research question and write a hypothesis.
ANALYZING A RESEARCH ARTICLE
TRUE or FALSE
The ability to analyze an article will improve as you learn more about research methods and practice reading empirical articles.
TRUE
An ___________ should not focus on the writing style nor indicate whether you agree with the authors because the findings are similar to, or different from, your own anecdotal experiences. Rather, an analysis should focus on questions where there may be overlap with your research.
article analysis
Compare multiple research articles on the same topic.
ANALYZING A RESEARCH ARTICLE
TRUE or FALSE
The research that goes into a literature review involves scholarly sources, which include academic journals that are indexed in specialized databases like Google Scholar and PsycInfo.
TRUE
_______ sources in a scientific field are most typically empirical journal articles authored by experts in the relevant field of study, are reviewed by the scholar’s peers, and adhere to the consensus scientific standards of that field.
Scholarly
Other relevant journal articles include ______ reviews, ______, and _______ reviews.
narrative
meta-analyses
theoretical
________ sources can be useful for developing interests and research questions, and may well be completely trustworthy, but they do not necessarily meet the standards required of scholarly sources.
Nonscholarly
_______ research articles are structured by an outline that includes an abstract, introduction, method section, results section, discussion, and list of references.
Empirical
An analysis of an _______ article requires close scrutiny of the research questions, methods, results, and conclusions, as well as cross-comparison with related articles on the same research topic.
empirical
