Psychology

Checkpoint #4: Article Analysis Worksheet

This worksheet is meant to help you think through some of the issues involved in writing the last two sections of your research paper: the analysis and hypothesis. Please turn in this worksheet with your final paper.

For each of your empirical articles, provide the title, then state the hypothesis or main question that is being asked.

Article 1:

Hypothesis:

Article 2:

Hypothesis:

Article 3:

Hypothesis:

Now, identify the main level and method that each of the articles emphasizes—are they looking at this phenomenon from a neuroscience, cognitive science, or social science perspective, and are they employing abnormal, individual differences, or developmental methods?

	Level	Method
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

Empirical research is based on observations. In the next section, identify the main variables (at least 2) that are being observed (or manipulated, if an experiment), and briefly describe how that was accomplished (i.e., what were the operational definitions that were used for these variables?).

	Observed/Manipulated variables	How were they measured/manipulated?
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

A good way of critically analyzing research is to think through how it could have been done differently. Looking back at the previous section, pick one of the variables for each article, and then come up with a new operational definition—a new way of measuring it (or manipulating it, if an experiment).

	Selected variable	New definition
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

Finally, tie this research together and bring it back to your main question. First, provide your question as stated in the introduction to your paper (or Checkpoint #1). For each article, provide the main finding, and then briefly explain how this finding relates to your question.

My question:
Main finding	Relation to question
Article 1:
Article 2:
Article 3: