APA Project - Survey Research Plan (Assignment #1 )

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Guide to Taking Notes on Empirical Articles

Taking notes on your articles will greatly facilitate your comprehension of the material and eventual writing of a paper. Having a system for taking notes will allow you to organize information in an easily accessible fashion (something that is very useful when you have several articles that are similar). Further, taking good notes will ensure that accidental plagiarism does not occur. If you write from your notes instead of the article, it’s hard to use the author’s words).

This may seem like it takes a lot of time (and/or a waste of time). However, taking quality notes will save you time in the long run by helping you understand your topic better, making you aware of key references, and making the writing of a research paper MUCH easier!

A few tips for taking notes:

· Plan on reading each article at least twice. As much as possible, have an idea of which topics/concepts you hope to have in your paper. That way you can pay extra attention to those areas as you read the article.  

· As you read your source for the first time, highlight key information. It is best to highlight pieces of information, not whole sentence. This will help avoid plagiarism as you write your paper.  

· Be sure to make notes for yourself in the margins (thoughts you have, how things may relate to your paper, etc.)

· Check the references! Look through, and highlight any key references so that you can track them down later when you need to find additional articles on your own.  

· After you have read the article, transfer your highlighting and notes to a note sheet.  

· PARAPHRASE! As you transfer things over, avoid copying things word for word. This is a great time to start putting things into your own words. This way you will not have to worry as much about plagiarizing accidentally.

· Keep your notes short and as succinct as possible. The idea is that you want to create a source for yourself that is easier to use than the original article (i.e. it’s much easier to read 1 page of notes than 10 pages of an article).

· Remember your notes are a reference for you. If there is a lot of information you find useful (e.g. info about a scale) describe it briefly, then include a page number. Ultimately, you will be using these along with the article.  

· Save your work on a computer, and be consistent in your style & organization. You should include the following information: 

Your notes on each empirical research article should include the following:  

· Reference – Give the reference for the paper you are reading in APA Style. This way you can copy it into your reference list later.  

· General Topic - What is the general area this source focuses on? Be specific.  

· Sub-Topic(s) – Any key sub-topics? Be specific . You can use these later to help you  determine where this article will fit in your outline.  

· Overall Research Question and Rationale – What research question is the article you are ready trying to answer? What was the rationale or purpose of the study(ies)? What did the research project set out to discover?  

· Key Research Cited in Article – Do they mention any research in the Introduction that is relevant to the research project under investigation (i.e., your study)? Describe briefly & give the citation. Any article that is central to the one you are reading should be listed here. Please make a small note about why the article is a key article and give the proper APA reference for it so the article may be easily found. Keep in mind that you should NOT use this information as something your article found. Rather it should be used as a means of finding other useful sources later.  

· Hypotheses – What is predicted about how the IV(s) will influence the DV(s)? If there are multiple studies, list them by study. Use these to organize your notes for the results section.  

· Independent Variables (IV) – What variable(s) are being compared for changes in the DV. If there are multiple studies, list them by study.  

· Dependent Variables (DV) – What is being measured? If there are multiple studies, list them by study. If there are multiple studies, list them by study.

· Participants – Please give the number and a description of the participants. If there are multiple studies, list them by study. If there are multiple studies, list them by study.

· Type of Design – Note the design used to collect data. Was it correlational or experimental? What type of experimental design was used? If there are multiple studies, list them by study.  

· Brief Description of Procedure – How was the study conducted. What did participants do in the study? What were they told? What materials/surveys were involved? What happened in the study between consent and debriefing? You may note with bullet points. If there are multiple studies, list them by study.

· Key Results Specifically Related to Each Hypothesis – You should have at least 1 key finding for each hypothesis. If there are multiple studies, list them by study. What were their key findings? How do they relate to the hypotheses? This is the most important, because you will use this the most when writing your Introduction.

· Other Key Findings Related to your Topic – Include any additional findings that researchers may not have been originally predicted or that were not central to the purpose of the article, but may be useful to the study you are developing.

· Overall Thoughts - What is this article’s main contribution to the rationale for asking your research question? How is it relevant to the study you are developing? What can you use from your Introduction from it? What background does it give the reader on the topic of the research study you are developing?

Note Taking Template

An Example

Reference: Sanders, M. A., Shirk, S. D., Burgin, C. J., & Martin, L. L. (2012). The gargle effect: Rinsing and mouth with glucose enhances self-control. Psychological Science, 23, 1470-1472. doi: 10.1177/095679761240034

General Topic:

The impact of glucose on self-control

Sub Topics:

N/A for this article

Overall Research Question and Rationale:

Does glucose prevent the depletion of self-control?

To determine if glucose can prevent self-control failure

Key Research Findings/Studies Relevant to The Research Question. You should make a small note about the findings along with the proper APA reference for the findings/studies being cited so that you can easily find and read that study yourself.

· Baumesiter, Bratsavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998 

· Gailliot, Barumesiter, DeWall, Maner, Plant, Tice & Schmeichel, 2007

· Molden, Hui, Noreen, Meier, Scholer, D’Agostine & Martin, 2012

IV(s): What variable(s) are being compared for changed in the DV?) (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

Glucose exposure (exposed or not)

DV(s): What is being measured? (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

Self-control

Primary Hypotheses: (number them) What is predicted about how the IV(s) will influence the DV(s)? (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

1. That glucose will enhance self-control (prevent the impact of depletion)

a. Participants that rinsed with the glucose will have better self-control (and therefore preform faster on the Stroop task) compared to those that rinsed with a non-glucose

Number and Description of Participants: (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

51 students

Type of Design Used: (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

Experimental; two-group design

Brief Description of Procedure: (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

· Did a self-control task

· crossed out Es in a stats textbook with a complex set of rules to deplete self-control

· Rinsed with lemonade made with either glucose or non-glucose (Splenda) solution while doing another self-control task

· Stroop task; reaction times in incongruent trials

· Rated sweetness & pleasantness (favorability) of the lemonade solution

Key Results Specifically Related to Each Hypothesis (number them): You should have at least 1 key finding for each hypothesis (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

1. Glucose rinse group was faster on the incongruent trials of the Stroop task (had more self- control)

Other Key Findings Related to Your Topic: (NOTE: If there are multiple studies, list them by study)

Glucose group rated the lemonade as more favorable (pleasant and sweet) than the non-glucose group

Overall Thoughts: What is this article’s main contribution to the rationale for asking your research question? How is it relevant? What can be used for your intro from it?

Glucose prevents the depletion of self-control.

· Glucose can replenish or decrease the impact of self-control depletion

Note Taking Template

Directions: Delete information in italics. Enter your answers in with the red font color.

Reference: Provide the proper APA reference.

General Topic:

Sub Topics:

Overall Research Question and Rationale

Key Research Findings/Studies Relevant to the Research Question. You should make a small note about the findings along with the proper APA reference for the findings/studies being cited so that you can easily find and read that study yourself.