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Practical Matters for Psychology Projects

Chapter Learning Outcomes

After reading and studying this chapter, students should be able to:

• appreciate the role that American Psychological Association style and format play in the preparation of research papers in psychology.

• prepare a manuscript in 6th edition APA format.

• understand the overarching principles that govern research with humans and animals, including beneficence, respect for persons, and justice.

• comprehend the importance of the protection of human participants and the role of the Insti- tutional Review Board in providing those protections.

• differentiate between anonymity and confidentiality in human subjects research and under- stand the role and importance of debriefing in psychological research.

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CHAPTER 2Introduction

Introduction

As a developing scholar in psychology, you need to be able to critically digest journal articles, book chapters, and other information and evaluate this information from multiple perspectives using an interdisciplinary approach. Sometimes beginning students take a shortcut when reading journal articles and only read the Abstract, skip- ping the rest. As a student of psychology, you’ll want to read the entire journal article so that you can eventually write your own scientific story describing your applied project. The sections of a journal article provide an essential road map that shows how scientists think and why we design research the way we do.

If you want to be a communicator of social science research results, you need to begin to master writing in American Psychological Association (APA) style and format. Writing in APA style means that the writing attempts to communicate objectivity, credibility, and an evidence-based approach. Not only does APA publish its Publication Manual (APA, 2010) to aid in format and style issues, but there are a number of other helpful writing guides available to you. Good science relies on public communication, and public communica- tion relies on good writing skills. When all psychologists follow a similar format for the publication of research results, consistent presentation of materials adds to the clarity of the presentation as well as efficiency.

At the turn of the twentieth century, publications in psychology shifted away from Euro- pean dominance to more prevalence in America. In 1928, a 6-member panel attending a conference of editors and business managers for anthropological and psychological peri- odicals (truly an interdisciplinary effort) published a 7-page report in the 1929 volume of Psychological Bulletin titled “Instructions in Regard to Preparation of Manuscript.” This guide was revised on multiple occasions, leading to the sixth edition of the Publication Manual to be published by APA in 2010. Odds are, you will not be instantly good at writing in APA format, but you must practice. Throughout this chapter we’ll discuss helpful tips to practice and gain confidence in your writing skills.

One of the basic tenets of science and scientific knowledge is com- municability (one other basic tenet of scientific knowledge is replication). APA format facili- tates communication of scien- tific, psychological knowledge by the reporting of results in a consistent and predictable for- mat. Any paper written in APA format has information pre- sented in the following order: title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Knowing the parts of the manuscript and where they are located gives an advantage

Writing is a way to help communicate research findings, and writing in APA format is an important part of writing a professional research paper.

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CHAPTER 2Introduction

Voices from the Workplace

Your name: Kimberly C.

Your age: 43

Your gender: Female

Your primary job title: Director of Marketing & Public Relations

Your current employer: ResCare,Inc.

How long have you been employed in your present position?

4 years

What year did you graduate with your bachelor’s degree in psychology?

1986

Describe your major job duties and responsibilities.

I am responsible for marketing the wide array of services my company offers, in coordination with regional Administrators and staff. I develop brochures, press releases, newspaper articles and other advertising. I also sit on the Senior Management Team of my company, allowing me to participate in long term strategic planning and oversight of my company, which employs over 600 people. I am par- ticularly involved in business development, which includes researching and involvement in business startup.

What elements of your undergraduate training in psychology do you use in your work?

Currently, I use my understanding of psychology to guide employees in our mission, vision and core values. Relationship issues are valuable in the workplace, and I believe my training in psychology has helped in that area. It helps me to relate to other staff members, including psychiatrists, therapists and direct support staff in problem-solving and looking for growth opportunities. Additionally, my degree in psychology opened the door for me to get into the field of providing services to persons with seri- ous and persistent mental illness and other disabilities. My experience coupled with my education has allowed me to be successful and therefore promotable.

What do you like most about your job?

Advocating for persons with disabilities to empower themselves, by influencing the culture of my company.

What do you like least about your job?

Government bureaucracy. (continued)

to the reader; you may not understand the jargon used, but you know there is a descrip- tion of how the study was conducted in the Method section, and the statistical findings of the study are recorded in the Results section. For some papers, you might not have all of these sections, such as an Abstract or Tables.

Other organizations adopt other formats, such as Turabian, the Chicago Manual of Style, and Modern Language Association. APA is not necessarily superior to any of these other writing styles and formats, but APA format is the style for most writing in psychology. By mastering APA format you will demonstrate to your teachers that you are a serious stu- dent and that you have the ability to follow instructions and pay attention to detail—two characteristics that are important in college and beyond.

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CHAPTER 2Introduction

Beyond your bachelor’s degree, what additional education and/or specialized training have you received?

A few MBA classes; Sales and marketing training when I left the human services field for 6 years to go into the financial services field; countless internal and external training sessions on service provision, leadership, marketing, business administration.

What is the compensation package for an entry-level position in your occupation?

A person with a bachelor’s degree in psychology could begin at the $28,000–$30,000 per year level. However, direct support staff typically start out at $8–$10 per hour.

What benefits (e.g., health insurance, pension, etc.) are typically available for someone in your profession?

Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Dental Insurance, 401(k) with nice match, PTO, Holidays off; and through my employee-owned company I have stock ownership. As a stockholder, I have long term care insurance for myself and my spouse with a partial company premium payment.

What are the key skills necessary for you to succeed in your career?

Ability to relate well with people, be a reliable team player and leader, Have a positive “can-do” attitude. Technical skills include computer skills, writing skills, public relations, and strategic planning skills.

Thinking back to your undergraduate career, what courses would you recommend that you believe are key to success in your type of career?

General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, History of Psychology (different schools of thought), Speech, Literature and Creative Writing, Contemporary Social Problems, Sociology, Behavioral Psychology.

Thinking back to your undergraduate career, can you think of outside of class activities (e.g., research assistantships, internships, Psi Chi, etc.) that were key to success in your type of career?

I belonged to the Student Senate and Alpha Phi Omega (a service co-ed fraternity), but I can’t say that either were keys to my success.

As an undergraduate, do you wish you had done anything differently? If so, what?

I wish I had taken more business related classes.

What advice would you give to someone who was thinking about entering the field you are in?

It’s a wonderful and rewarding career. I left it for a period of time, and have never regretted coming back. However, don’t expect to walk into a high paying, professional position out of college. Most peo- ple will need to get experience working in the field. Opportunities for growth and advancement are available. Hard work and good work ethics will take you far. This is also a good field for those looking for flexibility with an ability to make a difference.

If you were choosing a career and occupation all over again, what (if anything) would you do differently?

I probably wouldn’t do anything differently. My initial plan was to go straight to graduate school to get my master’s in Psychology after I graduated with my bachelor’s. However, that did not work out and I am glad. I am better suited for a career in Health Care Administration and Business Management than as a therapist or counselor. I still hope to complete my MBA in the future, but I’m glad I have work experience instead of going immediately to graduate school.

Copyright . 2009 by the American Psychological Association. Reproduced with permission. The official citation that should be used in referencing this material is R. Eric Landrum, Finding Jobs With a Psychol- ogy Bachelor’s Degree: Expert Advice for Launching Your Career, American Psychological Association, 2009. The use of this information does not imply endorsement by the publisher. No further reproduction or distribution is permitted without written permission from the American Psychological Association.

Voices from the Workplace (continued)

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

Although it may be hard to believe, the format and outline of an APA research paper provides the structure to tell a scientific story. The sections of that story, with proper labels and brief descriptors, are presented here. Major Sections of an APA Manuscript

Title page (Take credit)

• Author’s name, affiliation • Other information as your professor requests • Page numbering (header) and running head information

Abstract (Quick summary)

• No more than 120 words • Some assignments will not require an abstract

Introduction (What you are studying)

• Introduce the problem • Develop the background • State the purpose and rationale for the present study

Method (What you did)

• Participants, Materials, Procedure • Should be in enough detail to replicate if desired

Results (What happened)

• Presentation of statistical outcomes; tables and/or figures if necessary • Presentation, not interpretation

Discussion (What it means)

• Was there support for the research idea? Did the study help resolve the original problem? • What conclusions can be drawn? Suggest improvements, avenues for further/new research

Reference section (Give credit where credit is due)

• Starts on its own page • Authors listed alphabetically by last name, no first names used, only initials • Be sure all citations in the text are referenced • Shows your scholarly ability and how you did your homework

The Major Sections of an APA Research Paper

Of all the components of an APA research paper, there are four sections that stand out: the Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion.

Introduction Although the Introduction section is the introduction to your paper, it won’t appear until page 3 of your APA style research paper (the title/cover page is page 1, and the Abstract

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

is presented on page 2). The introduction is truly a key section of the paper because it lays the foundation for everything that is about to happen in your research. Think of it as the backstory of a movie plot; you are providing your reader with a context for everything that is about to occur. Your introduction will have three major goals: (a) introduce the research problem, (b) develop the background, and (c) state the purpose and rationale for the research paper, including hypotheses. For some paper assignments, all you may be asked to do is this introduction section; this might be analogous to what some call a term paper. As you become more proficient in your writing, you might not need this template anymore, or your might omit items, and you might even violate a rule or two. But as you’re starting out, try following these five steps, in this order.

1. In the first paragraph of your research paper, you want to convince the reader that your issue is an important one, and worthy of study. You can be convincing a number of ways. You might cite some statistics about the behavior or phenom- enon you are studying, to convince the reader that this issue has widespread effects. Or, the behavior you are interested in is pervasive in our daily life, and matters to nearly everyone. The first paragraph of your Introduction should grab the reader’s attention. If you can’t make your topic sound important, is it? Dunn (2011) offered advice for possible openers in the introduction, which he called opening gambits—see the following for examples.

Possible Openers for an Introduction Section

An everyday experience that readers will immediately recognize—”Studying is an essential component of a student’s life that appears to be related to success in college and beyond.”

The absence of research in an area important to understand—”Even though self-confidence is an important marker for whether students continue to study or not, the metacognitive literature about how students develop self-confidence is wanting.”

A rhetorical question that redirects readers to examine their own feelings about the issue—”How would you feel if you invested (and your parents, and fellow taxpayers) four or more years into a college education, and that education yielded very little measurable impact on the development of higher-order skills and abilities?”

A compelling fact or statistic that is typically surprising—”When tested for change over time on a comprehensive measure of critical thinking from their sophomore to senior years, only 27% of college students experienced a significant improvement in critical thinking skills.”

A metaphor or an analogy that joins two seemingly disparate beliefs or ideas—”The process used to assess successful acquisition of higher-order skills in college seems akin to throwing spaghetti against a wall to see if it is done—assessment appears to identify some students who “stick” and others who do not.”

A historical reference that helps to indicate change over time—”The perceived decreasing performance in college students today may be attributed to a growing number of distractions—for instance, in 1972 the average student studied 23 hours per week and worked 14 hours per week. By 2009, students worked an average of 36 hours per week while reporting just under 10 hours of studying per week.”

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2. In the next section of your Introduction you start to lay that foundation—the context for the research that has come before your research project. You should be reading a variety of journal articles in psychology, which may be useful for the type of APA-style paper that you are writing. The reader can “tell” when you get to this part of the introduction, because citations appear in the text (more on in-text citations later in this chapter). Here is where you demonstrate some of your scholarly abilities; you provide the reader with the intellectual path you took to shape and form your ideas. The citations are critical because they show off your academic pedigree—writing like a psychologist means that you write with accurate attributions and properly use APA format to do so. This part of your introduction might span more than one paragraph. If your topic is particu- larly complex or has a long history, it might take two or three paragraphs (or more) to present the relevant work and shape your story. Essentially, you are answering the question “What is already known?” (Dunn, 2011).

3. You started big and broad with your opening gambit, and then filled in some of the backstory for the reader, providing a solid context for what research has occurred before yours. In this next section of the Introduction you make a statement of the problem to be solved. That is, your review of the literature has revealed a gap or hole in the field, and in this section you address that gap or hole directly. There is an unsolved problem or issue that needs to be solved. In this section you identify what part of our knowledge about a behavior or group or cultural phenomenon is incomplete. This is your statement of purpose that answers the question “Why is this study being conducted?” (Dunn, 2011). You could start the sentence like this: “The purpose of this study is to. . . .”

4. After you have set the stage, you provide a glimpse of what is about to hap- pen—call it “coming attractions,” if you will. You provide a brief snapshot of what is about to happen, in a sentence or two. You can allude to the participant population to be tested, how this study fills the gap, or a preview of the meth- odology used in the study. Here is the place where you can define and describe key variables.

5. You complete your introduction by being as specific as you can about the hypotheses you intend to test. Make your predictions here. The more careful and precise you are in this section, the easier later sections will be. For example, if you make some predictions about gender differences here, this will help you determine the appropriate statistic test when comparing two groups later in your Results section. Being detailed here will pay off later. For each hypothesis, start the sentence like this: “I hypothesize that . . .” Yes, first person voice is acceptable in APA format.

The Introduction section to a research article follows what Bem (1987) refers to as the hourglass shape. Your introduction starts big and broad (at the top of the hourglass), and then becomes more and more specific (as the hourglass narrows). This is an excellent anal- ogy to follow, and if you remember it along with the idea that you are telling a story, you’ll be on your way to writing like psychologists write.

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Method Immediately following the Introduction section is the Method section. The Method sec- tion provides the nuts and bolts of how your research was conducted. The subsections of the Method section (participants, materials, procedure) provide the blueprint for some-

one who wants to replicate (i.e., repeat) your study. A key fea- ture about the Method section is that we give away the details— we tell others how the study was conducted and we don’t keep secrets.

The ability to repeat a study (replication) is an important part of the research process. In case something odd or strange happened with the first study, the ability to replicate a study means that we could confirm or deny the original findings. Replication is important when unexpected results are discov- ered and additional confirma- tion is necessary. Replicated studies help build the case for

both validity and reliability of the results. So the Method section, although not very glam- orous at first blush, is vital to our advancement of understanding various areas within psychology. Your Method section has three subsections as follows.

1. Participants. In this subsection, you describe the characteristics of the individu- als who completed your study (if you were studying animals, you’d describe them here too). For humans, you would usually report the number who partici- pated, the average age (a measure of variability should accompany any average reported), perhaps a breakdown of the number (or percentage) of males and females, and other relevant demographic characteristics. Describe briefly how your participants were recruited and how they were rewarded for their partici- pation, if at all. How did you select participants, or did participants self-select or volunteer to complete your study? If participants dropped out of your study for any particular reason, describe those reasons in this section. Describe as much as you can about how the sample was obtained.

2. Materials. In this subsection you describe the “stuff” that you used to make your research happen. The Materials subsection provides the details of the actual items or objects that were used to carry out the study. For example, if you asked survey questions, then in this section you would describe those survey items, either how you created original items or giving credit to those who created the survey items. Did you pilot test that original survey prior to administration? Ideally, the sur- vey items you chose would already have validity and reliability statistics avail- able, and you would cite those in the Materials subsection. If you were doing a study by presenting stimuli on a computer, you would describe what was being

The Method section in a research paper provides information about the participants, materials, and procedures to help others replicate your study.

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displayed on the screen, for how long, and the types of responses that partici- pants were being asked to provide (“Participants were tested in a computer lab using PC/Windows operating system”). If the study included highly technical equipment, or equipment that is not widely available, you might have an Appa- ratus section rather than (or in addition to) a Materials section. In the Apparatus section, you would provide enough details so that others could construct what you constructed, or re-create your apparatus to such an extent that the study could be replicated. An Apparatus section is not common in Method sections cur- rently, but you may need one if you are creating or modifying an existing piece of equipment for a new purpose (for example, the creation process used to modify an existing psychology application [app] for an iPad).

3. Procedure. In this subsection, you “walk” the reader through the process that you used to conduct your research, step-by-step in chronological order. Were partici- pants tested individually or in groups? If they completed a survey, was it online, bubblesheet, or paper and pencil? If you conducted a true experiment, describe how the experimental group and the control group were randomly assigned. Describe how participants were assigned to groups or subgroups, addressing issues such as randomization or counterbalancing (as appropriate). Were the instructions critical to the design of the study? If so, be sure to include them in this section. Describe the debriefing process used at the end of the study session. Again, the overarching goal of the Method section is to provide enough instruction so that if someone wanted to replicate your study, they could. As you think about research and data collection, make sure you read and study the Method section of others so that you can better understand how research is conducted from start to finish.

Results Directly following the Method section is the Results section. At this point we’re still in the narrow crook of the hourglass—that is, the Results are very specific to your study (not big and broad and general, like the Discussion). The Results section tells the reader what happened—the outcomes, typically from a quantitative or qualitative viewpoint. Start your Results section with the outcome that is most impor- tant to your research (Salovey, 2000). You’ll want to be sure that you use proper APA format to describe the outcomes, and be sure to italicize items like t or F when reporting inferential statistics, and the p in p value. In fact, the preference in the new Publication Manual (2010) is to report exact p values whenever possible, and to report the effect size with inferential statistics. With qualitative data, you’ll want to fully explain your anal- ysis and extraction methods,

The results section is where you describe how you obtained and analyzed your data.

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

providing the path for how you came to your outcomes. Toward the end of your Results section, summarize for the reader what has happened. In some quantitative cases you may be reporting an effect size along with your statistical analysis, to help the reader understand if the statistically significant outcome has any practical significance. With a very large N, relatively small correlations, for example, can be statistically significant, but they don’t mean much—this is where effect size statistics can help. In the Results section, it’s all about presentation (the factual outcomes, if you will), not interpretation.

Bem (2004) offered a helpful step-by-step guide for the thorough presentation of informa- tion in the Results section:

• Verify that your study was successful in setting up the conditions needed to adequately test your hypothesis (nothing major went wrong in the conduct of the study).

• Describe your overall approach to data analysis, including the methodology used to obtain your dependent variable measurements.

• Provide a brief reminder of the main conceptual question/hypothesis, and a reminder about the basic tests performed and behaviors measured. Why remind- ers? Because sometimes readers will read parts of a research paper (or journal article) out of order. The reminders are a courtesy to save readers from the extra work of looking for the context to interpret the section they are reading.

• Answer your hypotheses as clearly and unequivocally as you can, using words, then in numbers, using APA format.

• After addressing the major hypotheses of the study, address other findings and/or surprises that emerged. Use the same format—describe what happened clearly, in words, followed by your statistical evidence in numbers.

• You may want to organize your Results section into logical subsections if that will help the reader follow the story. Be sure to use the proper APA style head- ings as signposts, just as you did with the Participants-Materials-Procedure subsections of the Method section.

• As you move from paragraph to paragraph in the Results section, try to provide smooth transitions between paragraphs, emphasizing the logical flow of your hypothesis testing and the outcomes of your research.

Plonsky (2006) provided additional advice on what not to do in a Results section:

• Do not discuss the implication of the results in the Results section; that is saved for the Discussion section.

• Do not discuss the alpha level or the null hypothesis, because most readers in the scientific community will already understand these assumptions.

• Do not organize subsections of your Results section by type of analysis (all the t tests in one paragraph, all the correlations in the next); organize subsections by variable to be studied or hypothesis to be tested.

• Do not present the raw data collected, unless that is part of your instructor’s assignment; and do not use the word “proved,” because in science we never prove anything; we only disprove competing theories and hypotheses until one logical explanation is left standing—and hopefully, it is our working hypothesis. This is an example of the hedging language used in psychology (Dunn & Smith, 2008)—scientists do not “prove” anything.

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

Discussion The Discussion section is about interpretations and conclusions. First, you’ll draw a conclusion about whether or not your null hypotheses were rejected. More generally, however, you work to determine (based on your evidence) if the data are supportive of your working hypothesis. Then you place your study in the context of the studies from the past—did you fill that knowledge gap you were attempting to fill? You place your results in the context of those studies. Did you confirm previous findings, or did you

discover something new? What conclusions can be drawn from your research findings? Do these conclusions have broader, policy implications—that is, can you generalize beyond your study? Then discuss the limita- tions of your research, but only briefly. No study is ever perfect, so all studies have limitations. You conclude your Discussion with the “take home” mes- sage—what is the central mes- sage that you want the reader to come away with? That is, if the reader could remember only one idea from your study, what would you want that idea to be?

When you start writing your Discussion section, it may be helpful to have a template that guides you in this process. The template helps you to learn the style and format as you begin to write a Discussion section. These aren’t rules per se, but they’ll help you get started.

• Lead off your Discussion section with the main finding of your research—your take-home message. If your reader were going to remember only one piece of information from your entire study, what should it be? Whatever it is, it should be presented in the first paragraph of your Discussion section.

• Next, you address each of your hypotheses that concluded your Introduction. In the Results section you presented the numerical/statistical results or qualitative outcomes, but in the Discussion section you interpret these results. Make sure that somewhere in the Discussion (usually this section of the Discussion) each hypothesis is addressed—either supported or refuted.

• Now put your research in the context of the studies from the past that you reviewed in your Introduction section. Remember back in the Introduction sec- tion where you laid the foundation for your study, but you described some gaps or holes to be filled in the literature? Now, fill the gaps. Did your study help address a question from the literature? Perhaps you answered one question but raised three other questions (that’s OK; it happens frequently). Share with the reader the new questions that you think should be addressed in future research. The reader will know when he or she reaches this part of your Discussion because citations from the Introduction will reappear.

When writing your discussion section, include why you rejected or accepted your null hypotheses. Also have a central message that you want the reader to take home from your paper.

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

• The perspective in the paper continues to become broader as we approach the bottom of the hourglass. In this section of the Discussion you can speculate about what your results mean, but make sure your conclusions are properly labeled as speculation. In other words, what are the broader implications of your study? Would the results have any impact on public policy? Might your outcomes sug- gest different advice to give? Here you generalize about your research—what might be the practical applications of the results of your study?

• Next, briefly present some of the limitations of your study. Be fair, but don’t beat up on your study. Perhaps the sample wasn’t very random or other difficulties occurred during your study. Remember that no study is ever perfect. Briefly point out your study’s shortcomings and move on to future recommendations. If you were giving advice to a researcher who was doing the next study in this area, what would your advice be?

• Finally, end your Discussion with a brief paragraph that summarizes major points made earlier. Essentially, you remind the reader of (a) the take-home mes- sage, (b) the importance of your study in adding to the literature, and (c) the gen- eral importance of the topic itself. This helps justify to the reader the worthiness of your work, and it provides a broad completion to the bottom of the hourglass. As Bem (2004) put it, “End with a bang, not a whimper” (p. 203).

Attention to Detail: Title Page, Abstract Tables, Figures

This chapter presents the formal order in which sections of an APA-style paper appear; however, you should note that you might not always have every section in every paper you write. For instance, if you were writing a literature review paper, you might not have an Abstract, nor tables or figures necessarily. One other detail to mention here is that even though this chapter follows the order of how the sections of the paper are assem- bled, this is typically not the order you would follow when writing your paper. The title page (also called the cover page) and Abstract are typically the last sections to be written, yet they are the first two pages of an APA formatted paper. A properly formatted APA paper appears plain, but there are plenty of details to attend to. You’ll use a Times New Roman 12 pt. font, double spacing, and 1-inch margins on all four sides of the paper. There are precise rules for the preparation of the manuscript. For example, on the cover page, you’ll have the running head and the page number at the top of every page of your manuscript, all inside the top 1-inch margin. (A running head is a short description , such as ACADEMIC STRESS AND NUTRITION, that appears across the top of each page or every other page of a journal.) The running head label is in mixed case, but the actual running head is all caps and limited to 50 characters (the words “Running head” only appear on page 1).

Finishing off your title page comes the title of your article (12–15 words is the maximum recommended length of your title), your name, and then your affiliation (the school you attend). This is all double-spaced and centered toward the middle of the cover page. If you have trouble coming up with a title for your research paper, the generic version of a title is this: “The Effects of the Independent Variable on the Dependent Variable”—just substitute your independent and dependent variables into the generic title. Other typi- cal forms of the title may start with “A Study of . . . ,” “An Investigation of . . . ,” or “An

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Experiment on. . . .” (Sternberg, 2000). The title you select is more important than you might think, especially if you continue to write in psychology as part of your career. The title is important in capturing attention, its indexing in databases, and helping to form first impressions (Sternberg, 2000). Sternberg provided a fine example of how a title can make a positive first impression. A seminal article in cognitive psychology and human memory research is George Miller’s (1956) article titled “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information.” Imagine if that article had been titled “Limitations on Information-Processing Capacity: A Review of the Literature” (Sternberg, 2000, p. 38).

The Publication Manual (2010) also indicated that Author Notes should appear toward the bottom of the cover page—you should consult with your instructor to see if Author Notes are necessary. Depending on the type of paper you are writing, your instructor might not want a title page at all. Instead of the affiliation your instructor might want you to include the course number and name. Although we’re discussing standard APA style instructions, always heed your instructor’s directions, because that is who is grading your work.

The Abstract follows the title page. This might be the most difficult single paragraph you will write, and it is important. The Abstract provides a quick synopsis of what hap- pened—a summary of the outcomes. APA style limits your Abstract to 120 words, so you must be succinct (the word count feature in Word can easily calculate this value for you). Try writing your Abstract last, because you can’t summarize everything that has happened until it has happened. Your abstract should cover the following areas (prefer- ably in this order): (a) background and purpose—about one sentence, (b) hypothesis (or hypotheses)—one sentence, (c) sample tested—one sentence, (d) design utilized—one sentence, (e) method and measures used—about two sentences, (f) results—about one or two sentences, and (g) conclusions and implications—one or two sentences (Dunn, 2011). None of the items above could be more than two sentences and still stay within the 120 word (maximum limit). The abstract paragraph, appearing on page 2, is never indented. Also, in the Abstract, when referring to numbers, use the actual numerals (5, 7) rather than spelling them out (five, seven). In the Abstract, the numerals under 10 rule does not apply. After completing your Abstract, add keywords (no more than five) that would help others if they were searching for your manuscript in a database. If you continue writing in psychology (and start publishing in psychology), Abstracts become vital because they are indexed and cataloged into databases like PsycINFO. When we identify articles to retrieve and read in psychology, this identification is largely based on the Abstract.

One last “attention to detail” topic regarding the manuscript covers tables, figures, and an appendix. Tables are typically used to present quantitative materials, and figures are typi- cally used to share graphical or pictorial results. An appendix is not often used, but when it is, it acts as a depository for information that was important for the preparation of the research, but not so important that it had to be included in the text or flow of the research report. In general, you’ll want to use these sparingly. Although it may be odd to think this way, you should only use these options a storytelling device—perhaps analogous to determining if a story should contain illustrations or not. That is, only use a table or figure if it helps you tell a better story. In general, it’s easier to write in text in a paragraph than to prepare a table or figure in APA format. But if you have a great deal of quantitative data, a well-prepared table can be efficient and help to tell your story. A well-placed bar graph

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showing a significant interac- tion can also be an important figure to help express the out- comes of your study. There are specific sections of the Publica- tion Manual that will help you in the preparation of tables and fig- ures. In fact, this can be so com- plicated at times that there are specific APA reference guides to help you with tables (Nicol & Pexman, 2010a) and fig- ures (Nicol & Pexman, 2010b). Always be sure to check with your instructor about tables, figures, or an appendix before going to the trouble of prepar- ing them according to APA style.

Dissecting the Journal Article Reference

Your References section is vitally important to your research paper. The References sec- tion provides the “intellectual path” that you followed to form and write your paper. The task of preparing citations and references “. . . is, however, one of the most important topics regarding manuscript preparation because through citations and references you make or break your reputation as a careful and thorough scholar” (Smith, 2000, p. 146). To this end, many academics prefer that you not cite sources like Wikipedia. Although these online resources may help you explore possible research ideas, because of the lack of systematic peer review, such easily editable online resources sometimes lack credibility and veracity.

The References section is not a bibliography—you will not be listing every resource that you explored. The References section will contain a listing of every citation that you used in the paper—and every reference you used in the paper could be presented as a citation in your References section. Preparing a References section properly may be the ultimate task that shows off your attention to detail. Note that your References starts at the top of its own page, immediately following the Discussion section; you can insert a page break to force the text to the top of the next page. Another word processing tip: In Microsoft Word, type in the reference in perfect APA format, highlight it with your mouse, and hit control-T. The hanging indent function will be performed—no need to use tabs or manu- ally space the lines over.

Given the complexity of preparing different reference types in APA format, you may want to use software programs (e.g., EndNote Plus™, WPCitation™, Manuscript Man- ager™) that aid in the bibliographic gathering of reference information. Some pro- grams aid in the preparation of research papers or manuscripts directly. While these types of programs are fine for helping you track and organize bibliographic citations, I would caution you not to use them in manuscript preparation. Why? First, if you let the

Charts and graphs can help convey the results of your study, especially if you have a large amount of quantitative data.

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

computer program do the APA formatting of your references in text and in the References sec- tion, then you won’t learn the details yourself (using a famil- iar analogy, we teach children to do math by hand prior to giv- ing them a calculator). Second, if your instructor makes devia- tions from APA style (such as two spaces after a period rather than one), odds are you can- not alter the software to follow some APA rules and not others. I recommend that you conquer APA format on your own first, and then if you wish, rely on a computer program to ease the workload.

The components in Figure 2.1 should be very helpful in identifying parts of a reference citation. Read on for more examples of typical reference citation formats. Note that in an APA-formatted paper, the references would be double-spaced.

Author’s last name leads the reference

Gurung, R. A. R. (2005). How do students really study (and does it matter)? Teaching of Psychology, 32, 367–372.

The year the item was published, in parentheses, followed by a period

Note the capitalization of the title—different than you might expect Journal name italicized

Journal reference ends with a period

Page numbers of journal article, inclusive

Volume number italicized, but no issue number included

Hanging indent used (Ctrl-T) when reference continues on second line—double spaced

Only use initials for the first and middle names

With annotations, this graphic labels the parts of a journal article citation presented in APA format. In a research paper, the only difference would be that this reference would be double spaced in the References list at the back of the paper.

Figure 2.1: Anatomy of an APA journal article citation

The References section is an important part of a research paper because it provides the sources of information you used as citations in your paper.

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Reference Format Examples

Journal article with no digital object identifier (DOI) assigned

Gurung, R. A. R. (2005). How do students really study (and does it matter)? Teaching of Psychology, 32, 367–372.

Journal article with DOI assigned

Kazdin, A. (2008). Evidence-based treatment and practice: New opportunities to bridge clinical research and practice, enhance the knowledge base, and improve patient care. American Psychol- ogist, 63, 146–159. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.3.146

Book

Wilson, J. H. (2005). Essential statistics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Chapter in an edited book

Crawford, M. P. (1992) Rapid growth and change at the American Psychological Association: 1945 to 1970. In R. B. Evans, V. S. Sexton, & T. C. Cadwallader (Eds.), The American Psychological Associa- tion: A historical perspective (pp. 177-232). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

General Internet citation

Burgess, C. (2000). Psychology graduate applicant’s portal. Retrieved from http://www.psychgrad.org

Magazine article

Roig, M. (2008, Winter). Avoiding those little inadvertent lies when writing papers. Eye on Psi Chi, 12(2), 31–33.

Lecture notes

Ferguson, T. (2004). Chapter 12: Social development [web site]. Retrieved from Utah State University web site http://www.usu.edu/psycho101/lectures/chp12socdev/socdev.htm

Conference poster presentation

Estow, S., Lawrence, E. M., & Adams, K. (2007, October). Practice makes perfect: Improving plagiarism identification in psychology majors. Poster presented at Beginnings & Endings: Best Practices for Introducing and Bringing Closure to the Undergraduate Psychology Major conference, Atlanta, GA.

Conference paper presentation

Appleby, D. (1999, April). Advice and strategies for job-seeking psychology majors. Paper presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Audio podcast

Fogarty, M. (Host). (2008, September 19). Complex-compound sentences [Episode 136]. Grammar Girl Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Grammar. Podcast retrieved from http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

Newspaper article available online

Allen, A. W. (2008, September 19). ‘Clickers’ let teachers see who’s really learning a lesson. Idaho Statesman. Retrieved http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/v-print/story/507544.html

Journal article on an Internet-only journal

Taylor, J. G. (1998). Constructing the relational mind. Psyche, Volume 4. Retrieved from http://psyche. cs.monash.edu.au/v4/psyche-4-10-taylor.html

Chapter or section of an Internet document

National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Postsecondary education. In Digest of educational sta- tistics 2007 (Chap. 3). Retrieved from http:// http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/ch_3.asp

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

One question you may be asking is “What’s a doi?” A doi is a digital object identifier, and it is code that is now used on some resources being published into the literature, primar- ily journal articles. The doi code provides a unique numerical identifier of the permanent location of the electronic file on the Internet. For example, Alan Kazdin published an arti- cle in 2008 in the American Psychologist about evidence-based treatment and practice. That article was assigned a doi, which is

doi:10.1037/0003-066x.63.3.146

The doi is useful in a couple of ways. First, you could go to the website http://www.cross- ref.org and enter the doi in the DOI Resolver box, and it should take you to the article. Or, you can add this—http://dx.doi.org/—directly in front of the doi and then paste into your web browser, like this

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1037/0003-066x.63.3.146

What’s handy about the new doi system is that it provides a permanent home on the Internet for electronic files. You will still need to gain access, perhaps through your library online access, or through a service that you subscribe to. But the doi, if the article has it, should help you find it more easily (and more consistently) on the Internet.

Managing Citations

Good scientific writing places ideas about variables, groups, cultures, or historical periods in context. That is, part of the story is the backstory that contributes to our current state of knowledge about a phenomenon, and in a research paper, filling the gap or hole in the knowledge is the goal. To accomplish this you must be familiar with the existing literature, which is why you conduct your library research on your topic, you extract materials using the Notecard method, and you synthesize those materials looking for common themes or threads by arranging your idea notecards into coherent paragraphs. An essential compo- nent of this task is the ability to cite the work of others in your own work.

As a psychology student, you are already becoming accustomed to this practice by now. Remember reading your introductory psychology textbook? You would be reading a par- ticular paragraph, but the flowing text would be interrupted by last names and a year, sometimes in parentheses, and sometimes not in parentheses. This practice, called citing a reference, is vital to scientific writing. We cannot borrow others’ ideas without proper attri- bution. The ability to cite (and properly cite using APA format) is one method where you show you are developing into a scholar. Students sometimes worry that an introduction/ literature review is not very original, because it is so filled with the citations of others’ work. However, the originality comes from the method by which you put those ideas together— your unique contribution is the thread or synthesis or common theme you identified and then documented with your citations. The ability to identify common themes where they exist is a highly sought-after intellectual skill; therefore, using proper citation methods (and reference lists) helps you demonstrate your developing abilities as a scientist.

Although there can be many variations on a theme, you’ll basically choose from three ways to present citations in the text of your paper: (a) author name(s) and publication year outside of parentheses; (b) author name(s) outside of parentheses, publication year

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

in parentheses; and (c) author name(s) and publication year inside parentheses. How do you decide which format to use? It might be wise to consider the overall flow of the para- graph and to make a selection that avoids the passive voice. See the Table 2.1 for sample sentences using the variety of forms.

Table 2.1: Examples of citation styles with varying numbers of authors

Author and publication year outside parentheses

Author outside parentheses, publication year inside parentheses

Both author and publication year inside parentheses

One citation, one author only

In 2004 Bem published a comprehensive article addressing critical issues in writing the empirical journal article.

In a recent book, Bem (2004) offered key suggestions for writing the empirical journal article.

Well-organized and pertinent advice about writing the empirical journal article already exists (Bem, 2004).

One citation, two authors

It was in 2006 that Calderon and Austin offered cogent suggestions for writing in APA style.

In an excellent chapter by Calderon and Austin (2006), cogent examples of proper use of APA format are presented.

The ability to write clearly in APA style is a marketable skill for students (Calderon & Austin, 2006).

One citation, three authors, first time cited

Forensic researchers Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe noted in 2010 that admissions to graduate programs may be surging due to the popularity of certain TV shows.

Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe (2010) suggested that television shows may be publicizing the forensic psychology specialization to a wider audience than previously thought.

The number of students applying to forensic psychology programs greatly exceeds the current capacity (Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe, 2010).

One citation, three authors, subsequent citations

In 2010, the question of interest asked by Dewey et al. was about the role of television in promoting forensic psychology.

The outcomes suggested by Dewey et al. (2010) indicate that television shows contain inaccurate portrayals of the day- to-day activities of a forensic psychologist.

Current data lead to the conclusion that applications will soon double the number of graduate school positions available in forensic psychology (Dewey et al., 2010).

There may be occasions where you may need to reference two or more articles in the same sentence. This is usually accomplished inside of parentheses. You separate the references with semicolons, and the order of presentation is by first author’s last name, not year of publication. An example would look like:

Excellent advice for preparing research papers in APA format exists in a number of resources (Bem, 2004; Calderon & Austin, 2006).

Note that outside of parentheses, you use “and” in between authors (or with three-plus authors, “and” just before the last author), but inside of parentheses, you use the ampersand

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

(&) symbol to connect the authors (or with three-plus authors, just before the last author). Be sure to follow alphabetical order using the first author’s last name; do not reorder mul- tiple references in parentheses according to year.

As you would imagine, there are also detailed rules for the presentations of quotations in text. You would normally use the citation styles here, but in addition, you must report the page number (or the paragraph number). Overall, be sure to follow the instructor’s preferences for the use of direct quotes in your research paper assignment. If you are going to use direct quotes, be sure to follow the rules of APA format. For instance, if you plan to use a quote of 40 words or more, you must use a block format in your text to set off the block quote. If you omit part of a quote, you must note that by using ellipsis marks (. . .) in the quote; however, be sure that your deletion does not change the meaning of the original idea. If you want to add emphasis to the original quote (for example, by italiciz- ing a word), you must acknowledge that you added the italics to the text (that is, in the original quote what you have italicized was not in italics). If you are quoting from a source with pages, then you must report a page number (e.g., p. 278). If you are reporting from a source without page numbers (for example, a brochure or a website), you must cite the paragraph using the paragraph symbol (e.g., ¶ 7).

Preparation Instructions

To make your work look its best, I recommend that you follow these instructions when preparing your research paper. Even though you may be delivering your document elec- tronically, you want everything formatted correctly before handing in your Microsoft Word document or PDF. Some of these instructions are for a printed copy, but most apply to either submission mode.

• When printing, use bright white paper with crisp black ink. If your ink/toner car- tridge is running low, make sure to use a new one. This work should look its best.

• Use the Times New Roman 12 pt font. The only exception would be if you were preparing a figure, and if you are, be sure to follow those APA rules.

• Double space everything, including the title page and references. Regarding the preparation of tables, check with your instructor to determine his or her prefer- ence—tables do not have strict line spacing rules in the 6th edition of the Publica- tion Manual (APA, 2010).

• Using your word processor (most likely Microsoft Word), set your margins to 1 inch on the left, right, top, and bottom margins. Your page header will go inside the top 1-inch margin.

• The sequence of pages in the manuscript follows this order, exactly: title page, Abstract, text (Introduction starting on page 3), References, appendices, foot- notes, tables, figure captions, and figures. Note that you may not have all of these parts in your research paper, but be sure to follow the exact order shown.

• Indent your paragraphs 1/2-inch using the tab key, and not hitting the spacebar on your keyboard.

• If you are going to use lists, be sure to use them properly. This is called seriation, and there are specific APA rules about how to present lists.

There are so many more rules, but those are the main points. For all the details, you’ll want to consult with the Publication Manual (APA, 2010).

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Common Problems to Avoid

You can imagine that with all of these sections, the flow of a research paper might be choppy and the text difficult to read. The skilled writer uses transitions between sec- tions and paragraphs to improve the flow and readability. Here are some suggestions for transitions:

• Time links: then, next, after, while, since • Cause–effect links: therefore, consequently, as a result • Addition links: in addition, moreover, furthermore, similarly • Contrast links: but, conversely, nevertheless, however, although, whereas

One of the most confusing aspects for a writer who is new to the APA format regards the use of verbs. The verb tense that is used depends upon the section of the paper. When appropriate, use the active voice. Try to increase the frequency of active voice construction:

Active: Davis designed the study. Passive: The study was designed by Davis.

The passive voice is acceptable when you focus on the outcome of the action, rather than who made the action happen. Try to minimize the use of passive voice:

Active: Students administered the survey. Passive: The survey was administered by the students.

Use past tense to discuss some- thing that happened at a specific, definite time in the past (e.g., writing about another research- er’s work or when report- ing your results)—”Landrum (1998) found that 63% of stu- dents reporting average work expected a grade of B or a grade of A.” Use the present perfect tense to discuss a past action that did not occur at a specific, definite time in the past—”Since the completion of the study, we have found further evidence to support our conclusions.” See the following points for more tips about verb tense.

Introduction (Literature review) Past tense (“Davis concluded”) Present perfect tense (“Researchers have concluded”)

Method Past tense (“Participants completed the task in 5 minutes”) Present perfect tense (“The task was completed by the participants in 5 minutes”)

Deciding whether some sections should be written in the active or passive voice can be difficult when using APA format. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each style?

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

Results Past tense (“Scores declined after the intervention”)

Discussion (Discuss outcomes and present conclusions) Present tense (“Participants take the computer task seriously”)

The scope of this chapter cannot possibly prepare you for all contingencies with regard to APA format, but the goal is for you to come away with as much practical knowledge as possible. See Table 2.2 for some typical grammatical problems to avoid, with examples of each error (Gottschalk & Hjortshoj, 2004).

Table 2.2: Grammatical problems to avoid

20 Common Errors Example of the Error

No comma after an introductory element. Well it wasn’t really true.

Vague pronoun reference. John told his father that his car had been stolen.

No comma in compound sentence. I like to eat but I hate to gain weight.

Wrong word. His F in math enhanced his alarm about his D in chemistry.

Missing comma(s) with a nonrestrictive element.

The students who had unsuccessfully concealed their participation in the prank were expelled/compared to/The students, who had unsuccessfully concealed their participation in the prank, were expelled.

Wrong or missing verb ending. I use to go often to town.

Wrong or missing preposition. Cottonwood Grille is located at Boise.

Comma splice. Chloe liked the cat, however, she was allergic to it/compared to/Chloe liked the cat; however, she was allergic to it.

Missing or misplaced possessive apostrophe.

Student’s backpacks weigh far too much.

Unnecessary shift in tense. I was happily watching TV when suddenly my sister attacks me.

Unnecessary shift in pronoun. When one is tired, you should sleep.

Sentence fragment. He went shopping in the local sports store. An outing he usually enjoyed. /The second part is the fragment./

Wrong tense or verb form. I would not have said that if I thought it would have shocked her.

Lack of subject-verb agreement. Having many close friends, especially if you’ve known them for a long time, are a great help in times of trouble.

Missing comma in a series. Students eat, sleep and do homework.

Lack of agreement between pronoun and antecedent.

When someone plagiarizes from material on a website, they are likely to be caught.

Unnecessary comma(s) with a restrictive element.

The novel, that my teacher assigned, was very boring.

Run-on or fused sentence. He loved the seminar he even loved the readings.

Dangling or misplaced modifier. After being put to sleep, a small incision is made below the navel.

Its/it’s confusion. Its a splendid day for everyone.

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

In a similar (efficient) vein, here is a very brief reminder about words commonly confused in psychology (Scott, Koch, Scott, & Garrison, 1999)—be sure to get these correct. Spell- checkers and grammar-checkers might not catch these mistakes, so it is up to you to avoid “operator error.”

Table 2.3: Commonly confused words

advice/advise affect/effect aisle/isle allusion/illusion an/and angel/angle ascent/assent bare/bear brake/break breath/breathe buy/by capital/capitol choose/chose cite/sight/site complement/ compliment

conscience/conscious corps/corpse council/counsel dairy/diary desert/dessert device/devise die/dye dominant/dominate elicit/illicit eminent/immanent/ imminent envelop/envelope every day/everyday fair/fare formally/formerly forth/fourth

hear/here heard/herd hole/whole human/humane its/it’s know/no later/latter lay/lie lead/led lessen/lesson loose/lose may be/maybe miner-/minor moral/morale of/off

passed/past patience/patients peace/piece personal/personnel plain/plane precede/proceed presence/presents principal/principle quiet/quite rain/reign/rein raise/raze reality/realty respectfully/ respectively reverend/reverent

A Note About Plagiarism

Essentially, plagiarism is when you borrow intellectual property without crediting the original source. There are at least two categories of plagiarism—intentional and unin- tentional (other authors sometimes refer to unintentional plagiarism as sloppy writing; Harris, 2005). Intentional plagiarism means just what it sounds like—cheating on pur- pose. Oftentimes intentional plagiarism occurs due to student procrastination and panic, and the student is under a deadline to complete a writing assignment (Roig, 2008). Some examples of intentional plagiarism are (a) downloading and turning in a paper from the web; (b) including a graph or table from someone else’s work without proper citation; (c) copying phrases, sentences, or paragraphs from others’ work without using proper cita- tion or quotation format; (d) paraphrasing or summarizing others’ work without citation; and (e) turning in your own previously written work when prohibited from doing so by your instructor (Harris, 2005). Roig (2008) referred to this last practice as double-dipping.

So to give credit where credit is due, there are three basic strategies: paraphrasing, sum- marizing, and quoting. Paraphrasing is when you take someone’s ideas or words and put them into your own words, and the number of words you use is roughly equivalent to the number of words from the original source. Summarizing is taking someone’s work and putting it into your own words, but the result is shorter than the original (Harris, 2005). A direct quote is just that—using the exact words of the original author. For all three techniques (paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting), you must cite the work of the originators of the ideas.

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

Unintentional plagiarism can occur through a number of methods. For example, you might not completely understand the rules for citation, you might be careless when you are taking notes, you might be citing opinions from the Internet that are uninformed, or you might be sloppy in fol- lowing APA rules for citation (Harris, 2005). Per- haps you’ve heard the phrase “ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking the law.” The same principle applies here—just because you may be unaware that you plagiarized does not mean it is OK to do so. The best protection you can have is to know, understand, and apply the rules for proper citation in APA format. Harris (2005) sug- gested this guideline: “If the information came from outside your own head, cite the source” (p. 16). Your instructors and professors can help you make the distinctions between what needs to be cited, and what doesn’t. Be careful with com- mon knowledge as well, because sometimes it is not as common as you think. If the information you want to present as common knowledge truly is common knowledge, then it should not be that difficult to locate a reference citation to support your claim. Although you might not think that

plagiarizing is a big deal, it often is. The following listing of reasons why plagiarism is wrong is modified from Appleby (2005, p. 9).

• It is considered to be a criminal offense (i.e., the theft of intellectual property) and can result in fines and/or imprisonment.

• It is academically dishonest and can lead to serious sanctions from the university. • It undermines the academic integrity and ethical atmosphere of the university. • It violates the mission of higher education to emphasize “a respect for knowledge.” • It involves a passive learning process that obstructs the acquisition and under-

standing of meaningful academic material. • It stalls or retards intellectual, moral, and social development. • It is contrary to the concept of critical thinking. • It promotes feelings of lowered self-esteem in those who believe they must prac-

tice it to survive academically. • It produces alumni whose inferior knowledge, abilities, and moral standards

tarnish the public image of the college and lower the perceived value of a degree in the eyes of those who evaluate current students who are seeking employment or admission into graduate school.

• It violates the code of ethics of professional societies that represent psychology.

Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between plagiarism and sloppy citation style, which emphasizes the importance of your instructors’ teaching you about proper citations (in our case, APA style) and how to avoid plagiarism. Let me present you with some of these “sticky situations” and practice a bit with determining whether the writing constitutes

The best protection against plagiarism is to know, understand, and apply the proper APA rules for citations.

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

plagiarism or the misuse of sources. The idea for and source of this exercise come from Shadle (2006). Here is the original text from Price (2002), with the proper APA reference:

If you were going to use that as a direct quote in your APA-style paper, here is what it would look like (note that the text is indented because the quote is longer than 40 words:

But what if a student were to write a paragraph in his or her paper exactly like the one in the box below—would this be plagiarism?

For most faculty, the answer would be yes, this is plagiarism. Not only are most of the phrases identical to the original, but there is no attribution to the author—remember, we must give credit where credit is due. As an instructor, if I were to read a paragraph like the one in the box above in a student’s paper, I would have to assume that this idea was the student’s original idea because of the lack of attribution. The previous example is fairly blatant, but what about this one:

But plagiarism is not stable. What we think of as plagiarism shifts across historical time periods, across cultures, across workplaces, even across academic disciplines. We need to stop treating plagiarism like a pure moral absolute (“Thou shalt not plagiarize”) and start explaining it in a way that accounts for these shifting features of contexts.

Price, M. (2002). Beyond “Gotcha!”: Situating plagiarism in policy and pedagogy. College Composition and Communication, 54, 88–115.

Source: Price, M. (2002)

But plagiarism is not stable. What we think of as plagiarism shifts across historical time periods, across cultures, across workplaces, even across academic disciplines. We need to stop treating plagiarism like a pure moral absolute (“Thou shalt not plagiarize”) and start explaining it in a way that accounts for these shifting features of contexts” (Price, 2002, p. 90).

Source: Price, M. (2002)

Plagiarism is very difficult to understand because it is not stable. What we think of as plagiarism shifts across historical time periods, across cultures, across workplaces, even across academic disciplines. We need to stop treating plagiarism like a pure moral absolute and start explaining it in a way that accounts for these shifting features of contexts.

Source: Price, M. (2002)

According to Price, plagiarism is not stable. What we think of as plagiarism shifts across historical time periods, across cultures, across workplaces, even across academic disciplines. We need to stop treat- ing plagiarism like a pure moral absolute and start explaining it in a way that accounts for these shift- ing features of contexts (“Beyond ‘Gotcha,’” p. 90).

Source: Price, M. (2002)

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CHAPTER 2Section 2.1 Writing Scientifically: A Brief Primer

I would consider this example either unintentional plagiarism or just using a sloppy cita- tion method. This example text does give appropriate credit, which is good. However, after the first sentence almost everything else is a direct quote, and thus should be pre- sented as a direct quote. This example is using Modern Language Association (MLA) cita- tion style, not APA. Make sure you follow the style that your instructor wants, not a style you may have previously learned in another class or institution.

Sometimes students become frustrated with the necessity for citation, and when they look at their completed APA-style manuscripts, they see citations all over the place. They won- der where the creativity is in all of this if their research paper is about everyone else’s ideas. The creativity in psychology is in the combination of ideas—that is, how you put the ideas together. When you see trends in the literature or you identify common threads across different areas of social science, that’s creative. The creativity comes in the com- binations of new ideas, or the development of a new method to test a hypothesis, or an innovative approach to understanding an age-old problem. Psychologists are creative, but we also value the intellectual property of others, which is why we are so careful to avoid plagiarism. Roig (2008) articulated the importance of ethical writing this way: “clear and effective writing is critical to academic success, and it is one of the most valued skills in the modern workplace. However, whether it is being used for academic or professional purposes, writing must not only be mechanically sound, clear, and persuasive, it must also be accurate and, above all, honest” (p. 33).

There are strategies that you should follow that will help you avoid a charge of plagia- rism. The strategies in the list below come from Harris (2005), and they are excellent sug- gestions for protecting yourself from plagiarism.

• Protect your data and your computer passwords to protect against theft. • Do not lend, give, or upload any paper—even if a student just wants to “see”

what an APA-formatted paper looks like. • Report any theft immediately, including the proper authorities, and in the case of

your academic work, your instructors. • Save and print all drafts and notes—having these items will help support the

originality of your written work. • Photocopy or print all of your sources—and do not cite something that you have

not actually read yourself. • Be proactive in seeking out the advice of your instructor and/or teaching assis-

tants. If someone has been reviewing your work all semester, it will be easier for you to make the case that your work is actually your work.

Plagiarism is a form of cheating with serious consequences. Many agree with Harris (2005) when he states “the goal of education is not to get through, but to get better” (p. 15). If you intend on cheating your way through college, why bother? Would you want to have life-saving surgery performed by a surgeon who cheated his or her way through medical school? Would you want to consult a lawyer who cheated through law school, or a thera- pist who cheated through graduate school? Plagiarism and cheating have the potential to be harmful to others, but most of all, you hurt you.

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Project Checklist: Quick Reminders About APA Style and Format

This quick summary will help you remember the key elements of preparing papers in accordance with APA format. As always, heed your instructor’s departures from these rules as needed.

Title Page

• Page header inside 1-inch margin, number every page. • Running head inside top margin on every page; actual running head in CAPS. Limited to 50 char-

acters. Page 1 header format is different from page header format on subsequent pages. • Title, name, and affiliation block are horizontally and vertically centered. • Everything double-spaced. • Title is no longer than 12 words. • Author underneath title, author affiliation underneath author. • In the end, your paper should look like the example paper starting on p. 41 of the Publication

Manual (APA, 2010), except you will probably not have author notes.

Abstract

• Starts on its own page (page 2), Abstract centered on line 1. • Everything double-spaced; Abstract paragraph not indented. • No longer than 120 words.

Body of Manuscript

• Starts on its own page (page 3). • Repeat the exact title from page 1 at the top of page 3. • Everything double-spaced.

References

• Starts on its own new page after the end of the Discussion section text. • Everything double-spaced. • Every reference cited in the manuscript should be in the reference section. Every reference in the

reference section should be in the manuscript. All name spellings should match. • References are prepared following capitalization guidelines, italicizing rules, indentation, etc. • References are important. They show off your academic achievement and your grasp of the liter-

ature. They provide guidance to those who want to read what you have read. This is your chance to show your scholarly abilities.

General Comments

• No extra spacing between paragraphs—regular double-spacing throughout paper. • One-inch margins on all four sides of the paper. • No right justification (ragged right margins). • References cited correctly in manuscript. Mostly paraphrase. • When quoting, use proper format; avoid plagiarism. • No contractions, no abbreviations (unless APA approved). • Write in complete sentences. Avoid awkward constructions. Avoid being too colloquial (too infor-

mal). Your paper is not a conversation between student and instructor. • Hand in paper as PDF, Microsoft Word file, or however you are instructed to turn in your work. If

printing a paper copy, print using crisp black ink on bright white paper. No printer problems (e.g., faded print, smudged ink). Staple once in upper left corner. Use the Times New Roman font with no changes in font or font size; use 12 point font throughout.

• Ask if you have questions.

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Classic Studies in Psychology: John B. Watson and Little Albert

One of the themes of this book is that psychologists strive to be good storytellers. That is, a good story has compelling characters, some sort of conflict, escalation of and a resolution to that conflict, and per- haps even a moral to the story. The story of Little Albert is a compelling story, and one that has been retold over and over in introductory psychology textbooks. It’s a fascinating story; let’s examine why.

In 1920 John B. Watson (often credited as the founder of behaviorism) and Rosalie Rayner (a gradu- ate student working with Watson at the time) published a detailed account of their work with a young child, Albert B. (interestingly, Watson and Rayner never call Albert by Little Albert in the 1920 article; this must be an affectation added later by someone else). When the research began, Albert was approximately 9 months old. The goal of Watson and Rayner (1920) was to determine if they could instill in Albert a conditioned emotional reaction; that is, could they make Albert learn to have an emotional response to a stimulus that was previously neutral? In other words, this was a test to see if Albert could become classically conditioned to have a fear response.

If you read the original 1920 article and compare it to today’s stan- dard of methodology used by researchers studying classical condition- ing and learning, the procedures that Watson and Rayner used are muddled at best. First, they showed Albert neutral stimuli that they hoped would become conditioned stimuli: a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, a monkey, masks with and without hair, cotton wool, etc. Albert’s mother, hospital attendants, and the researchers were on hand and reported that mere exposure to these items did not cause Albert to exhibit fear or rage. Next, a 4-foot steel bar 3/4 of an inch in diameter was struck with a hammer to make a loud sound right behind Albert. This sudden and unexpected noise was followed by Albert crying. This is the unconditioned stimulus (loud noise) being paired with the unconditioned response (crying). The question for Watson and Rayner was this: Can pairing an originally neutral object (the CS—a rat, a rabbit, etc.) with the loud sound (the UCS) eventually lead to the CS’s eliciting the CR (a fear response)?

Quite honestly, the answer is muddled. So many different variations were tested that it is difficult to determine if a conditioned emotional response was learned by Albert. Multiple pairings of the CS and UCS were presented, but sometimes Albert played with blocks or sucked his thumb, and those behav- iors may have played a role in the patterns that he developed. Watson and Rayner were interested in whether this type of learning would last over time, and acknowledged that the outcomes of the study might be detrimental to Albert. Yet, Albert left the hospital where he was being tested before the series of research studies were complete.

I have tried to tell this story as accurately as I could, referring back to the original 1920 Watson and Rayner publication. This research serves as a famous story in psychology, and it may provide some insight as to appropriate and inappropriate use of methodology and how those who cannot protect themselves (in this case, a child) must be protected by the ethical standards of psychologists. How- ever, the results that Watson and Rayner (1920) concluded have not stood the test of time, although the “Little Albert” story has been told and retold erroneously through the years (Harris, 1979). In fact, some of those accused by Harris of getting the facts wrong about Watson and Rayner have accused Harris (1979) of getting his facts wrong (Seligman, 1980). “Little Albert” makes for a great story (Paul & Blumenthal, 1989), but as you read about past research as you write your own literature review, if at all possible, consult with the original source material, because even your textbooks can get a story wrong, and then the story can take on its own apocryphal life (Harris, 1979). It’s OK to tell a good story, but it’s even more important to get the facts straight. Even so, Watson’s life makes for a good story, from founding behaviorism in psychology to becoming a major player in the world of advertis- ing. There are also some interesting soap-opera-like twists and spins to his life as well. If

Corbis/AP Images

(continued)

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2.2 Ethical Concerns

In psychology, “we” are the subject of study. When I say we, I mean human beings (for the most part). Sometimes animals are the subject of study, but then again, technically we’re animals too. When human beings provide the data for our studies, this compli- cates how scientific research is conducted and often makes for an ethically complex situ- ation. There are fundamental principles that we follow regarding ethics and our code of conduct in psychology.

The Ethics of Research with Humans and Animals

Psychologists have been concerned about ethics for some time, although it took some time for these interests to become formalized. The typical “start date” for psychology as a discipline is 1879 in Germany, with the American Psychological Association being founded in 1892. In 1938, APA formed the Committee on Scientific and Professional Ethics (before that time, ethics complaints were handled by existing APA standards) (Hanson, Guenther, Kerkhoff, & Liss, 2000). With the growth in psychology during and following World War II, in 1947 the “Code Governing the Professional Practice of Psychology” was adopted. Interest in the ethical code and the importance of its use continued to grow over time. Part of the motivation for the current protections of human subjects comes from the abuses of German scientists during the Nazi era, but abuses are not limited to that particular era. American scientists conducted the Tuskegee syphilis study in which they “recruited poor black southern men with syphilis for a longitudinal study of the course of the disease” (Singer & Levine, 2003, p. 149). Inexplicably, even after the discovery of peni- cillin, these men were not informed about this new and effective treatment. The Tuskegee syphilis study lasted for 40 years, and African-American men with syphilis (“bad blood”)

you are interested in learning more about Watson’s life and contributions, I highly recommend The Mechanical Man by Buckley (1989). For an update into the pursuit of the actual identity of Little Albert and what happened to him after laboratory experiences, see the interesting investigative story by Beck, Levinson, and Irons (2009)—although you should know that the story does not have a happy ending, nor do some think this is the entire story, and that parts of the mystery are yet to be solved.

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. Why do you think the story of Little Albert remains to be a popular and engaging story to this day? What are the characteristics of good stories that make them so memorable? To what extent can you utilize these storytelling strategies and tactics for your applied project?

2. With the research conducted here, there is no mention of an Ethics Board or IRB (more about these topics soon). What type of ethical concerns might a person have about this type of research? Who should have the responsibility for conducting this type of research? If this research were deemed too dangerous to conduct, who is to make that decision, and how might it be enforced?

3. Sometimes academics snipe at one another in the literature, such as alluded to in the Little Albert research and subsequent publications. What do you think about that? Why might psychologists be so passionate about this topic that they would criticize each others’ work in print? Is this an appropriate strategy? How might differences in drawing conclusions be resolved when research- ers disagree?

Classic Studies in Psychology: John B. Watson and Little Albert (continued)

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went untreated for syphilis until death, when their bodies were autopsied. The behavior of the scientists here was reprehensible. A poorly designed and implemented study need- lessly perpetuated human suffering for decades. Other research, more of a psychological nature (and usually involving deception), accelerated society’s interest in the protection of human subjects, particularly the Milgram obedience to authority studies of the 1960s and 1970s. See the case study at the end of this section for more on the Milgram study.

The first ethics code for the American Psychological Asso- ciation was adopted in 1952 (Hanson et al., 2000), and the current revision was codified in 2002 (you can view the entire ethics code at www.apa.org/ ethics). Between the biomedi- cal abuses of the Nazis and the Tuskegee syphilis study, and psychology pushing the boundaries via Milgram’s study of obedience to author- ity, more protections for human subjects were called for. The National Research Act of 1974 was enacted to establish human research protections and ensure the rights of participants in both biomedical and behavioral research (Singer & Levine, 2003).

This led colleges and universities to develop local Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to aid in the protection of human subjects. The National Research Act of 1974 also created a board to study these issues, and that board published its report (called the Belmont Report) in 1979. Various rulings from federal agencies occurred over the years, and even- tually all of the rules and previous laws were brought together into the Code of Federal Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects—known as 45 CFR 46 (Singer & Levine, 2003). These federal regulations address the three main ethical principles found in the Belmont Report: beneficence, respect for persons, and justice. Beneficence is the idea that the potential harm that research participants may experience must be balanced by the potential benefits of the research. Respect for persons led to the requirement of informed consent; that is, human participants deserve to know the risks involved in research and what their protections are. Justice is the idea that the burden of research does not fall exclusively on any one group or class of individuals in society (Singer & Levine, 2003). Thus, the guidelines established at the federal level are enforced at the local level through the Institutional Review Board. The benefits of participation as well as the associated risks should be equally distributed across participants.

Although humans are the primary species of interest for most psychologists, studying animal behavior can be a very effective means for gaining insight into human behav- ior. Additionally, with proper controls, experiments can be conducted on animals that cannot be ethically conducted on humans. Some people find this practice objectionable and believe that animals should not be used in experiments of any kind, even if no pain

The ethics violations of the Tuskegee syphilis studies were so reprehensible that they helped spawn a higher ethical code. In 1997, President Clinton even issued a formal apology to survivors.

Associated Press

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is involved (which is often the case in animal studies). How- ever, most of the pharmaceutical breakthroughs that we appreci- ate today involved earlier clini- cal trials with animals prior to human clinical trials. From a more psychological perspective, many of the principles that we have come to understand about human behavior were first understood via animal behavior. Also, psychologists are bound by ethical codes to minimize pain and provide comfort and shelter to animals being stud- ied. At colleges and universities, research with animals is con- ducted within the regulations of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and many of these guidelines have been codified into law in the Animal Welfare Act of 2002 (Ator, 2005). Animals, in many respects, provide us with good models of human behavior; these practices are not supported by all, however.

The IRB and the Role of Informed Consent Prior to any research being conducted, approval is required from the appropriate body at your institution. At many universities, this responsibility for monitoring and approving research with human subjects is the IRB (at smaller schools without an IRB, these reviews are typically done by a faculty member or a departmental committee). For work with ani- mals, typically research protocols would be reviewed by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). But what is the overall purpose of the IRB process? Ultimately, it is the protection of human participants who participate in research. “Informed consent is designed to protect subjects and ensure their autonomy” (Agre & Rapkin, 2003, p. 1). To be protected, human participants in research need to understand the basic elements of what is going to happen during the research process. At a minimum, participants need to be told about the researchers and the nature of the research, the risks and benefits of participation, who will be able to access the information participants’ provide, the right to withdraw, any costs or compensation they will receive, and the responsible party other than the researchers (typically, this would be the IRB of the college, university, or agency) (Binik, Mah, & Kiesler, 1999). Informed consent is an essential component of the research process because it helps to protect the participant’s rights.

Anonymity, Confidentiality, and Debriefing Anonymity and confidentiality are two additional concepts that researchers need to be sensitive to when conducting research. Anonymity refers to the absence of a connection

Animals are used in testing because some experiments can be ethically performed on animals, but not on humans. Do you think that animal testing is ethical? Why or why not?

Photodisc/Thinkstock

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between a specific participant and the data that he or she provides. Data collection records are anonymous when there can be no link between a specific individual and the data he or she provided. This is usually achieved by telling participants not to put their name or any identifying number (for example, student ID number or social security number) anywhere when responding in the study. However, sometimes anonymity is not possible. For example, participants in a study may agree to be videotaped. Given the nature of the recording, it is virtually impossible to guarantee anonymity because their identity is inher- ently linked to the data; their visual images compose the data. By providing the protec- tion of anonymity to participants, we are protecting their privacy. The privacy protections provided to participants are directly related to the underlying expectations of beneficence and trust (Folkman, 2000). However, protecting privacy and providing anonymity can be challenging, especially with the emergence of the Internet as a means of data collection (Nosek, Banaji, & Greenwald, 2002).

Confidentiality differs from anonymity in that confidentiality refers to the experiment- er’s promise not to reveal the results from a particular individual unless that individual explicitly allows the experimenter to do so. In other words, the results of any one par- ticipant are held in confidence with the researchers, and they promise not to reveal spe- cific information. If for some reason the researchers desire to identify a particular person with his or her data, they must acquire written consent from the participant. Most of the time confidentiality is not an issue because researchers are not interested in particular individuals but rather the performance of a group of individuals. If individual data are important, researchers can use codes to protect the identity of the participant while still communicating the data of an individual.

Debriefing is a process that occurs at the conclusion of a study. The history of debriefing has its roots in military campaigns (Lederman, 1992), where individuals who were not present at an event informed others as to what happened. In a psychological context, debriefing involves informing participants of the actual events that have just occurred, especially if deception was involved. Debriefing provides the opportunity to inform, educate, check on methods used, and undo negative consequences if necessary. When deception is used in psychology, the debriefing also serves as a dehoaxing—that is, let- ting the participants know fully about the deception that was used during the study (Lederman, 1992). Note that the use of deception is not inherently evil, but deception must be used judiciously and benefits must greatly outweigh the risks. If you want to study topics like altruism, obedience to authority, or motivation, then the use of decep- tion (with IRB approval) may be the route to go to understand the concept of interest. For example, if you are interested in humility, rather than ask the survey question “Are you humble?” you could design a situation where humble behavior could be observed (rather than rely on self-report).

If you were to conduct a study using deception, the debriefing would typically consist of three elements: you would tell the participant about the nature of the deception, the true purpose of the experiment, and the reasons why the deception was necessary (Lederman, 1992). In a study about the effectiveness of debriefing, Brody, Gluck, and Aragon (2000) found that the most common problems with debriefings are that they are unclear or that more information was desired by participants. The next most frequently reported nega- tive outcome of debriefings is that they were short. What does this mean to you as the researcher? The debriefing portion of research is important to ensure that participants

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can gain as much as possible from your study. When designing the study, make sure that you include details about your hypothesis and what you hope to find, as well as leave enough time in the experimental session to answer participants’ questions. The debrief- ing, in some ways, may be the most valuable part of the research experience for those students completing research toward course credit.

Conducting research is a complicated enterprise, not only from a research methods point of view but also from an ethical perspective. As psychologists we have an utmost respon- sibility to protect the health and welfare of our participants, and at the same time pursue worthy research projects that enable us to test our hypotheses (both scientific validity and scientific value). A psychologist must never take lightly the consideration of using humans or animals for research purposes, and the potential benefits from such research enter- prises must always outweigh any potential costs or harms to the participant. These beliefs are reiterated in the following subsections on the rights and responsibilities of research participants (Korn, 1988). Finally, ethical decisions are not made in a vacuum, but can be politically charged at times (Baarts, 2009). Human behavior is complex, and humans behaving ethically within context can mean that scientists must discuss and sometimes debate the proper actions and procedures of science. These discussions and debates are healthy and should continue to occur publicly so that our collective wisdom about ethical research and ethical behavior continues to grow.

Rights of Research Participants Respecting the rights of research participants is a vital part of any study. Participants should expect the following:

• Participants should know the general purpose of the study and what they will be expected to do. Beyond this, they should be told everything a reasonable person would want to know in order to decide whether to participate.

• Participants have the right to withdraw from a study at any time after beginning participation in the research. A participant who chooses to withdraw has the right to receive whatever benefits were promised.

• Participants should expect to receive benefits that outweigh the costs or risks involved. To achieve the educational benefit, participants have the right to ask questions and receive clear, honest answers. When participants do not receive what was promised, they have the right to remove their data from the study.

• Participants have the right to expect that anything done or said during their participation in a study will remain anonymous and confidential, unless they specifically agree to give up this right.

• Participants have the right to decline to participate in any study and may not be coerced into research. When learning about research is a course requirement, an equivalent alternative to participation should be available.

• Participants have a right to know when they have been deceived in a study and why the deception was used. If the deception seems unreasonable, participants have the right to withhold their data.

• When any of these rights is violated or participants object to anything about a study, they have the right and the responsibility to inform appropriate university officials, including the chairperson of psychology department and the Institu- tional Review Board.

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Responsibilities of Research Participants In addition to rights, research participants also have responsibilities of their own, includ- ing the following:

• Participants have the responsibility to listen carefully to the experimenter and ask questions in order to understand the research.

• Participants should be on time for the research appointment. • Participants should take the research seriously and cooperate with the

experimenter. • When the study has been completed, participants share the responsibility for

understanding what happened. • Participants have the responsibility for honoring the researcher’s request that

they not discuss the study with anyone else who might be a participant.

You can view the Ethical Standards and Code of Conduct at www.apa.org/ethics. You might be surprised to find that the Ethics Code also addresses teacher and student issues as well.

Case Study: Stanley Milgram and Obedience to Authority

When you get the chance, read the original Milgram (1963) “Behavioral Study of Obedience.” Not only is it fascinating for the work it describes, but it is also well written and truly a classic on many levels.

Starting in the late 1950s in Norway and France, and continuing at Princeton, Yale, and eventually Har- vard, Stanley Milgram completed a series of systematic studies that examined obedience to authority. Although obedience can be productive and is necessary for a civilized society, obedience to authority can and has been abused. Milgram (1963) said it more eloquently: “obedience may be ennobling and educative and refer to acts of charity and kindness, as well as to destruction” (p. 371). Part of Mil- gram’s interest in obedience to authority was to understand the behavior of soldiers leading up to and during World War II who carried out atrocities against millions of innocent people. Even if one or two people were the masterminds of such evil acts, those acts could not be accomplished without the help of many who were obedient to authority.

To better understand the conditions by which obedience occurs, Milgram used a laboratory on the grounds of Yale University to conduct a study of “learning and memory.” He advertised in the local New Haven (Connecticut) newspaper for participants—they were paid $4.50 and were skilled and unskilled workers, salesmen and businessmen, and professionals (in this particular study they were all men). On the day of the experiment, two participants showed up to the laboratory, although one of these “participants” was part of the study—this person is called a confederate. Each of the partici- pants drew a slip of paper to determine who would be the teacher and who would be the learner in the learning and memory study, but this was rigged as well; the actual participant was the teacher, and the confederate was always the learner. The supposed purpose of the experiment was to determine how effective the delivery of punishment would be in helping someone learn word pairs. As it would turn out, the learners in Milgram’s studies weren’t very good learners at all—of course, the point of the study was to determine how much punishment the teacher would deliver when told by an author- ity figure to do so.

Before learning word pairs, the learner was strapped into a chair in an adjacent room (many variables were varied across multiple studies—see Milgram (1965) for more variations). To test to see if the equipment was working (and to convince the teacher about the delivery of shock), both the teacher and the learner received a 45-volt shock when the 45-volt shock lever was switched (note that this was the only time in the experiment when actual shocks were delivered). When data (continued)

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collection began, no actual shocks were delivered. The teacher taught word pairs to the learner, and then the teacher stated one of the words in the pair and the learner was to respond with the other word. On purpose, the learner was bad at this task, and the teacher was instructed to flip a switch on a shock generator each time the learner made a mistake (although, remember, no actual shocks were delivered).

There were 30 shock switches on the apparatus, labeled from 15 volts to 450 volts in 15 volt incre- ments. Thus, the dependent variable for each teacher was the number of shocks that they were willing to deliver over the course of the “learning and memory” study. So for each mistake, a shock was deliv- ered, and on the next mistake the teacher would deliver the next (higher) voltage level. The question was how high a voltage would a teacher deliver in this situation? That is, how obedient to authority would the participant be in delivering electric shocks?

Milgram (1963) was methodologically very rigorous in his approach. During the study, he was prepared for teachers to ask to stop the study or to stop delivering shocks. The experimenter in the room, often dressed in a white lab coat, said the following “prods” each time the teacher expressed a willingness to stop:

Prod 1: Please continue or please go on.

Prod 2: The experiment requires that you continue.

Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue.

Prod 4: You have no other choice, you must go on.

Remember that although the learner was strapped in, the teacher was not. The teacher could stop at any time. If the teacher asked about permanent injuries to the learner, the experimenter replied that “although shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage, so please go on.”

So to what degree would the teacher shock the learner, who was not very good at learning word pairs? First, you need to realize how realistic and dramatic this experiment was. Below is a direct quote that describes it in some detail (Milgram, 1965). Also note that in this quote, the victim is the learner—the confederate who is receiving the “electric shocks.”

The victim indicates no discomfort until the 75-volt shock is administered, at which time there is a light grunt in response to the punishment. Similar reactions follow the 90- and 105-volt shocks, and at 120 volts the victim shouts to the experimenter that the shocks are becoming painful. Painful groans are heard on administration of the 135-volt shock, and at 150 volts the victim cries out, “Experimenter, get me out of here! I won’t be in the experiment anymore! I refuse to go on!” Cries of this type continue with generally rising intensity, so that at 180 volts the victim cries out, “I can’t stand the pain,” and by 270 volts his response to the shock is definitely an agonized scream. Throughout, he insists that he be let out of the experiment. At 300 volts the victim shouts in desperation that he will no longer provide answers to the memory test, and at 315 volts, after a violent scream, he reaffirms with vehemence that he is no longer a participant. From this point on, he pro- vides no answers, but shrieks in agony whenever a shock is administered; this continues through 450 volts. (p. 62).

Of the 40 men in the Milgram (1963) study, how many went on to deliver the 30th shock at 450 volts? In this study, 26 out of 40, or 65%, delivered the full number of shocks to the learner. After the study was complete, the learner came out to meet the teacher, and the teacher was assured that no actual shocks were delivered. The teacher was debriefed and dehoaxed about the deception

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Case Study: Stanley Milgram and Obedience to Authority (continued)

(continued)

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CHAPTER 2Chapter Summary

Chapter Summary

In this chapter two very practical matters were presented that affect a variety of types of research projects within psychology—scientific writing and the protection of human participants and animal subjects in research studies. These practical matters are pre- sented early in this book because they apply to all research designs. If you have completed the most inspiring and valuable research ever conducted, but you fail to communicate it adequately following the standard reporting mechanisms of science, it will be difficult for your research to be taken seriously by other scientists. Developing the skills of good sci- entific writing—precision, accuracy, the ability to identify an underlying thread or theme, analysis, synthesis—will serve you well in the future. Similarly, the advances we make in understanding our world from a psychological perspective typically come via the efforts of the participation of others. Protections of others must be ensured so that no harm (or minimal harm) comes to those that help us advance the science of human behavior. There are examples scattered throughout the history of the sciences where abuses of individuals and groups have occurred, and we must guard against those potential abuses vigilantly; advancing our understanding of human behavior must not occur at the expense of the torture or humiliation of those who we seek to understand.

used in the experiment. Milgram followed up with a sample of participants to make sure they were OK one year later, and they were. Milgram conducted many variations of this study, such as the loca- tion where the study was conducted, how much access the teacher had to the learner, and testing with individuals versus groups (Milgram, 1965). Although the percentages varied (not always 65% who shock to 450 volts), the percentages were higher than typically expected, especially when experts were consulted (Milgram, 1965). These studies provided important insights into obedience to authority, such as the events of World War II. In fact, in a review of Milgram’s work, Packer (2008) determined that these findings were relevant to the treatment of prisoners, helping to understand situations from the atrocities of the Holocaust to torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Milgram’s legacy and influence in social psychology continues to be strong to this day (Benjamin & Simpson, 2009). When thinking about these results, we might like to assure ourselves that we would not act as those participants did in the 1960s; however, Burger (2009) recently completed a partial replication of the Milgram obedience to authority study and found comparable percentages of individuals willing to administer shocks.

Reflection Questions:

1. Certain studies in psychology emerge as key, central works in the field—these are called “seminal” works. The Milgram studies are certainly seminal works, but why? Other researchers must have certainly studied topics such as obedience to authority prior to Milgram, so what makes his work so vital to the field?

2. Topics like obedience to authority in social psychology can sometimes highlight the best and worst in all of us. What do you think the internal influences were that governed a small minority of par- ticipants to discontinue “shocks” early on? What would you do? Perhaps more importantly, why are we (in general) so poor at predicting our own behavior as well as the behavior of others?

3. What do you think about the use of a confederate in the study? What steps would the research- ers need to follow in accordance with IRB and ethics guidelines to utilize a confederate, and what would need to occur at the conclusion of the study regarding deception?

Case Study: Stanley Milgram and Obedience to Authority (continued)

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CHAPTER 2Concept Check

Concept Check

1. According to the APA style, the method section should appear immediately after which section?

A. Results B. Abstract C. Introduction D. Discussion

2. Howard described the content of the surveys used to collect data from his partici- pants. Where should Howard place this description in the method section of his research paper?

A. Procedure B. Materials C. Results D. Participants

3. According to Plonsky (2006), the results section should

A. organize findings by variable or hypothesis. B. discuss which aspects of the research were proven. C. state the alpha level and null hypotheses. D. explain the implications of the outcomes.

4. In APA style, the physical format includes

A. Courier New font. B. 1-inch margins all around. C. single spacing. D. page numbers on the bottom of each page.

5. Anonymity refers to A. informing deceived participants about the actual purpose or events of the

study. B. failure to reveal individual data or results. C. the research protocol reviewed by an Institutional Review Board. D. the inability to connect participants to their individual data.

Answers 1. C. Introduction. The answer can be found in Section 2.1.

2. B. Materials. The answer can be found in Section 2.1.

3. A. Organize findings by variable or hypothesis. The answer can be found in Section 2.1.

4. B. 1-inch margins all around. The answer can be found in Section 2.1.

5. D. The inability to connect participants to their individual data. The answer can be found in Section 2.2.

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CHAPTER 2Key Terms to Remember

Questions for Critical Thinking

1. Sometimes students who are participating in a research study might think of themselves as “guinea pigs”—and sometimes even researchers in training (such as undergraduate psychology majors) might cast the same aspersions. If you were to overhear this type of conversation in a research context, what would you say?

2. If the ability to write in APA style is so important, then why are so many other style guides available (e.g., MLA, Turabian, Chicago Manual of Style)? Why shouldn’t all undergraduates just learn to write in APA style?

3. In considering past research, it is sometimes easier to see when physical harms are occurring as opposed to psychological harms. If you were conducting research on a psychologically sensitive topic, what steps might you need to fol- low to ensure that no psychological harm was occurring? In other words, how do you know if psychological harm is occurring during a research study? If you were to discover the occurrence of psychological harm, what would be your next steps as a researcher?

Key Terms to Remember

abstract A quick synopsis of the main points of a research paper. APA style limits the length of an abstract to 120 words.

anonymity The absence of a connection between a specific participant and the data that he or she provides.

APA style The writing style utilized for social science research results as outlined by the American Psychological Asso- ciation. This writing attempts to com- municate objectivity, credibility, and an evidence-based approach.

author notes A portion of the research paper located on the first page outlining specific notes or affiliations that an author wishes to reveal.

beneficence An ethical principle found in the Belmont Report that states the poten- tial harm that research participants may experience must be balanced by the poten- tial benefits of the research.

communicability Communication of scientific, psychological knowledge by the reporting of results in a consistent and predictable format.

confederate An individual who is part of a research study who acts as a participant during the research project.

confidentiality The experimenter’s prom- ise not to reveal the results from a par- ticular individual unless that individual explicitly allows the experimenter to do so.

debriefing A process that occurs at the conclusion of a study that informs par- ticipants of the actual events that have occurred during the study, especially if deception was involved.

doi A digital object identifier code that is now used on some resources being pub- lished into the literature. The doi code pro- vides a unique numerical identifier of the permanent location of the electronic file on the Internet, primarily journal articles.

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CHAPTER 2Key Terms to Remember

ethics The outlined principles that are fol- lowed by a given group or organization to uphold a moral code of conduct.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Institu- tions that approve and investigate research studies and protocols to ensure ethical consideration is given to the protection of human subjects.

intentional plagiarism Purposeful and intentional cheating often due to procrasti- nation and panic about assignment dead- lines. Not giving credit for ideas and work that has been previously produced from other sources.

introduction The portion of a research paper that provides the reader with a context for everything that is going to be investigated. This includes introducing the research problem, developing the background, and stating the purpose and rationale for the research paper, including hypotheses.

justice An ethical principle found in the Belmont Report that the burden of research does not fall exclusively on any one group or class of individuals in society.

materials A portion of a research paper included in the method section that pro- vides the details of the actual items or objects that were used to carry out the study.

method The section of a research paper that outlines how the study was conducted so that other researchers can replicate your study. The subsections include partici- pants, materials, and procedure.

participants The portion of a research paper included in the method section that describes the characteristics of the indi- viduals who completed your study.

plagiarism When you borrow intellectual property without crediting the original source. See intentional plagiarism and unintentional plagiarism.

procedure The portion of the research paper included in the method section that guides the reader through the process you used to conduct your research, step by step in chronological order.

references The section of the research paper that contains a listing of every cita- tion that you used in the paper.

replication The ability to repeat a study.

respect for persons An ethical principle found in the Belmont Report that led to the requirement of informed consent; that is, human participants deserve to know the risks involved in research and what their protections are.

results The section of the research paper that tells the reader the outcomes of the study, typically from a quantitative or qualitative viewpoint. This section pres- ents the data; it does not interpret them.

running head A heading in the research paper that appears at the top right-hand corner with the first five characters of the paper title in upper case letters. The words “Running head” only appear on the first page of the paper.

unintentional plagiarism When citation guidelines are not strictly followed to give credit where credit is due. Typically occurs as a result of careless note-taking practices, misunderstanding of citation rules, citing uninformed opinions, or following APA rules for citation in a sloppy manner.

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CHAPTER 2Web Resources

Web Resources

American Psychological Associations ethics page. This page discusses ethics codes and promotes ethical responsibility of psychological researchers. http://www.apa.org/ethics/

Official Website of the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. This is a resource researchers can use to learn about the ethical responsibility they have in conducting research and receive certification. https://www.citiprogram.org/Default.asp

How to avoid plagiarism and how to determine when and where to give credit to a pre- vious researcher and their work. This website also assists researchers in differentiating common knowledge versus something that needs to be cited. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/02/

American Psychological Association’s formatting rules. It guides researchers to proper resources concerning APA style and presents an array of products a researcher can use to assist with writing academic research. http://www.apastyle.org/

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