PSYC 200 Week #4

1. PSYC 200Week #4 Formal & APA Language Guidelines and Basic Research Methods

2. Agenda • Attendance • Assignments due • Language guidelines (grammar) • Basic Research Methods

3. Assignments Recap • Single article summary • Gramlichch. 7-8 • APA ch. 3

4. POP QUIZ • http://tinyurl.com/25llyft • https://docs0.google.com/document/edit?id=1l7NnPGgleQVM72t5BMsI1k9oK2dvYLdF64V71K16YK8#

5. apa language style guidelines

6. Quick APA Language Guide • Word choice and usage – the right word in the right place • Removing bias • Grammar / Punctuation

7. Common phrases • Avoid these!! • Feel, believe, think, prove, stated, wrote, said • Replace with: • Hypothesize, conjecture, reason, support, found, suggested Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

8. Avoid Wordiness • Clear & Concise • Write like a poet • Make every word count • Avoid unnecessary transitions • Say what you want to using one word instead of two • Say it with one word rather than two • Say it with one word, not two Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

9. Informalities and Slang • No contractions—ever! • No colloquialisms • Sky-high, bright idea, and the like • others? Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

10. Using Conjunctions Correctly • Since vs. Because • Andrew has been excited about going to the zoo since last Thursday. • The dog salivated because Pavlov rang the bell. • While vs. Although • Although I enjoy watching baseball on television, I would rather be at the stadium. • While Jack cleaned the garage, Mary dusted the living room. • Or vs. Nor • The girl was allowed to have either a piece of candy or a sticker. • Neither the doctor nor the nurse could find the patient’s chart. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

11. Referring to People • Do not use “You” to refer to the reader. • Do not use “We” to refer to general groups or society. • Use “One” • If one chooses to engage in criminal activity, then one must be ready to accept the consequences. • One should not equate correlation with causation. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

12. Me, myself, and I • Can you use first person? • YES!! • Use the appropriate first person pronoun when referring to yourself or the author(s) of your paper. • Consider using passive voice • I gave the survey to 70 participants • Seventy participants received the survey Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

13. They All Sound the Same... • They’re, There, and Their • They’re going to the store this afternoon. (contraction = they are) • I just returned from Dublin, have you ever been there? (place, direction) • Their house is white with blue shutters. (possession) • To, Too, and Two • Kent is moving to Massachusetts. • I want to go too. • He is taking his two dogs with him. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

14. They all sound the same... • It’s and Its • It’s Jake’s birthday today. (It is) • Its hair was matted and mangled. (possession) • Whether and Weather • It does not matter whether or not Mandy stays for dinner. • The weather is supposed to be cold and damp. • Then and Than • Men are more likely than women to watch UFC. • The students were instructed to clear their desks then begin the examination. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

15. Often Forgotten..... • Who vs. Whom • Who is the person with the white lab coat? • With whom did you leave the key? • Who vs. That • Individuals who study, often find exams to be easy. • Companies that give employees better benefits have higher productivity. • The vase that broke is in the cardboard box. • Times when..., Places where... • Affect vs. Effect • Psychology students often learn about the Hawthorne effect. • Amy wants study how energy-drinks affect performance and cognitive ability. Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

16. Anthropomorphizing • Do not give human traits or abilities to inanimate or non-human objects/creatures. • Do not write • The article shows... • Instead try...Deci and Ryan indicate • The research explains... • Instead...Pavlov explains Quick APA Language Guide – Word Choice / Usage

17. Removing Bias • One must be conscientious of how individuals and groups are identified. • Do not over generalize • Gender bias • Racial/Ethnicity bias • Mental health or disability status • Age Quick APA Language Guide - Bias

18. Sexist Language • When referring to an object that could be either male or female (e.g., a participant, a client, etc.) you MUST not exclude a gender. • For example, “When a therapist begins a session, she introduces herself first.” • Try, • “…the therapist introduces his or herself…” • “…self-introductions come first…” • Or: Make it plural  “When therapists begin sessions, they introduce themselves first.” Quick APA Language Guide - Bias

19. Data Datum Irregular Plurals Singular Plural • Phenomena • Hypothesis • Hypotheses • Phenomenon Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

20. Singular Form Child Mouse Foot Offspring Formula Datum Stimulus Index Hypothesis Criterion Plural Form Children Mice Feet Offspring Formulae Data Stimuli Indices Hypotheses Criteria Irregular Plurals Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

21. Abbreviations • That is… • Study for your class; that is, if you don’t want to fail. • Study for your class (i.e., if you don’t want to fail) • And so on… • Notes, books, pencils, etc. • For example… • For example, students in PSYC200. • …(e.g., students in PSYC200). • And other people (things) [used when have many authors] • …was found (Johns, et al., 2002). Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

22. Dirty Grammar • They’re always there to hurt their grade • their, there, and they’re • Plural possessives • Individual, individuals, individual’s, and individuals’ • Pronoun shifting • Someone cannot be a they Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

23. Parallel Construction • Each statement must be able to stand alone and still be grammatically correct. • The student is required to read 30 pages of text, write a report, and memorize a list of vocabulary words. • to read • to write • to memorize Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

24. Dirty Grammar • Make ‘em parallel • My experience with psychology is mostly from attending classes, working with children, and to read books. • If you can’t pull it apart, then it ain’t parallel • ..from attending classes • ..from working with children • ..from read books Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

25. Dirty Grammar – Comma use • I expect to gain much experience in this class, and hope to find out a direction for my career. • I expect to gain much experience in this class • hope to find out a direction for my career • I expect to gain much experience in this class, and I hope to find out a direction for my career. • I expect to gain much experience in this class • I hope to find out a direction for my career • Mostly, whenever possible, use, or otherwise utilize, a comma on introductory phrases • At that time, I wanted to be a counselor Quick APA Language Guide - Grammar

26. Resources for help • The ALC – writing center • (410) 837-5383 • alc@ubalt.edu • www.ubalt.edu/alc • Your peers • Your texts Quick APA Language Guide

27. APA Scavenger hunt

28. Intro to Research Methods

29. Naturalistic Observation Quasi-Experimental Survey Relational Research Field Study Experimental Research Methods • There are 6 basic categories of scientific method that virtually all research falls into Research Non-Experimental Experimental

30. Research Methods –Naturalistic Observation • Addresses most basic scientific question: “What is out there?” • Requires operational definition of events to be observed • Observer must be unobtrusive, and design must be nonreactive

31. Research Methods –Field-Based Research • Like naturalistic observation, conducted in real-world settings • Goal is to establish natural relations among events • Observer must be unobtrusive, but methods are intentionally reactive

32. Research Methods –Survey Research • Appropriate to the study of private behaviors • Two primary styles: • Interviews (structured/unstructured) • Questionnaires (structured/unstructured)

33. Research Methods –Relational (Correlational) Research • Goal to verify systematic (usually linear) relations among events • Strengths/directions of relations • generally expressed in form of correlation coefficient (rxy)

34. Research Methods –True Experiment • Goal: to establish a cause-effect relationship among events • Does low-fat diet cause decrease in cancer risk? • Does exposure to violent video games cause increase in violent behaviors? • Does spaced study cause increase in memory accuracy and retention? • Do genetic variations cause sexual preference?

35. Research Methods –True Experiment • Requires: • random assignment of participants to at least two equivalent conditions • manipulation of one factor (independent variable, or IV) in one condition (experimental), leaving it unchanged in other condition (control) • measurement of one other factor in both conditions (factor called dependent variable, or DV; measurement instrument called dependent measure, or DM)

36. Research Methods –True Experiment • Concludes: • if groups are NOT equivalent with respect to DV, and • if the difference between the groups is so big it probably did not happen by chance, then • manipulation of the IV caused the difference in the DV

37. Research Methods –Quasi-Experiment • Goal also to establish cause-effect relations among events • Required when random assignment is not possible, because • must use pre-existing groups, or • IV impossible to manipulate directly, or • IV unethical/illegal to manipulate directly

38. Research Methods Review • Name 6 categories of scientific research

39. Review and Next Steps • Review • Next week assignments • APA Practice Test #1 • Reading • Editorial style (the minutiae)