The role of the scientific community

Question 1

Why do we use reports?

Answer 1

studies have to be written up and published in peer reviewed academic journals. In order to do this, you must use a set format

Question 2

6 stges of writing a report?

Answer 2

• abstract
• intro
• method
• results
• discussion
• referencing

Question 3

what is the purpose of an abstract?

Answer 3

to provide a summary for other researcehrs in that area to help them decide if they wish to read the whole report, provides overview of the study.

Question 4

Abstract layout?

Answer 4

• less than 200 words
• covers the aims & hypothesis
• covers methods e.g. reseacrh method, no. of ppts
• results section - statistical findings
• conclusion - what can be concluded and any potential uses/ implications

Question 5

introduction purpose?

Answer 5

Gives background on relevant theories and studies to explain how aims and hypothesis developed and looking back at past research in a similar topic

Question 6

layout of intro?

Answer 6

• like a funnel - stats out general (background to research) and becomes more spec to the current research (aims & hypotheses)
• top of funnel: key terms and concepts are defined
• previous research in the area is described. Links are made w previous research or it is made.
• explain how the previous research has influenced you to conduct the research
• bottom: state the aims and hypotheses of the research

Question 7

Method: purpose?

Answer 7

if a researcher wishes to replicate a piece of research the method section provides a guide to help them achieve this

Question 8

method: layout?

Answer 8

• split into 5 sections (SPEED)
• Sample
• Equipment/ Materials
• Procedures
• Ethics
• Design

Question 9

• Sample ?

Answer 9

explain the sampling techs, no. of ppts, age , gender ect

Question 10

• Equipment/ Materials ?

Answer 10

describe the task/ materials, explain how it is scored and all other materials

Question 11

• Procedures?

Answer 11

explain rin sequence what the researcher did & what the ppt experienced, should be in enough detail for anyone to replicate this

Question 12

• Ethics?

Answer 12

issues u faced and how u dealt w these

Question 13

• Design ?

Answer 13

research methods, experimental design, IV & DV (or co-variables if correlation), controls used

Question 14

Results - purpose?

Answer 14

to present the overall summary of the findings to the reader rather than reviewing the raw data

Question 15

results- layout?

Answer 15

1. Descriptive statistics: a summary of the raw data (e.g. totals, measures of dispersion and/or tendency) usually in the form of a table - always give it a title table 1 to show…)
2. ^ cont - draw a graph (title and axis labelled)
3. IS - indentify the statistical test and justify
4. explain if results are sig, which hypothesis will accept
   When qual research (e.g. content analysis) categories and themes are described w examples within these categories)

Question 16

Discussion purpose?

Answer 16

discuss the findings and suggest possible uses and future areas of research. Summary of results, compare w othr results, limitations, modifications, implications, applications & future research

Question 17

discussion layout?

Answer 17

1. summary of results - written description of the statistical results focusing on whether the hypotehsis was supported. the results from tables and graphs are discussed along w any atypical data.
2. Compare w other results - Explain whether the findings support the results of the studies in the intro
3. Limitations & Modifications - evaluate the present research methods and procedures (link to V+R) & explain how this could be improved if repeated
4. Implications, applications & future research - explain how findings could be used and any potential follow uo studies that could be conducted

Question 18

Referencing?

Answer 18

a list of full details of any journal articles/ books that are mentioned. in text, only the name and date are given. These will be in alphabetical order (Harvard ref.)

Question 19

referencing purpose?

Answer 19

acknowledge the authors of work referred to and allows reader to identify sources of info referenced.

Question 20

3 purposes of peer reviews?

Answer 20

1. Publication of resarch in academic journals and books
2. Allocation of funding
3. Assessing the research rating of uni departments

Question 21

3 purposes of peer reviews - Publication of resarch in academic journals and books ?

Answer 21

it involves a study being scrutinised for scientific rigour and to establish if it’s flawed or even fraudulent b4 being published - let into the public domain.

Question 22

3 purposes of peer reviews - Allocation of funding?

Answer 22

public and charity organisations use it b4 allocating grants for research - proposals prior to research being carried out is peer reviewed.

Question 23

3 purposes of peer reviews - Assessing the research rating of uni departments ?

Answer 23

future funding for uni departments depends on receiving a good rating from a REF peer.

Question 24

+of peer reviews?

Answer 24

+ can establish the V of scientific research prior to publishing
+ Protects the good name of psy, ensures that scientists, industry and the general public have confidence in published psy research
+ confidentiality of peer reviewers allows them to be honest and objective in their assessment of research w/o reprisals or - treatment by the researcher.

Question 25

-s of peer reviews? (cost+ experts)

Answer 25

• slow & expensive - the process of using peers to review adds considerable time to publishing research w peer reviews also having to be paid. this stops access to the research by psychologists investigating similar areas at the same time, or due to costs fewerstudies can be reviewed and thfr published
• may be diff finding experts, which means poor research could be passed as peers do not fully understand it

Question 26

-s of peer reviews? (anonymity, bias)

Answer 26

• anonymity allows peer reviewers to discredit researchers and their research for their own means w/o detection. this maybe the case when competing for research funding or establishing themselves as a leader in a field of psy.
• still open to bias as peer review is a highly subjective process where peers make judgements on other psychologists’ research based on their own perceptions and exp.

Question 27

process of conduction peer review prior to publishing research?

Answer 27

• researcher submits their article to journal
• article is initially assessed by journal editor
• if accepted by editor, article is sent to reviewers (who are usually experts in the same field) - reviewers are normally kept anonymous from the article’s author
• Reviewers submit their comments to the journal edior. the editor may the reject the article or return it to the author to make revisions.
• the journal then publishes the research article