Summarizing Articles for Your Paper

1
Summarizing Articles for Your Paper

• First, read the article! Take notes and try to
  answer the following questions about the study in
  your own words
• What was the purpose of the study? The
  hypothesis?
• Who were the subjects? How were they selected?
  How many per group? How were they assigned to
  groups?
• What procedure was used to test the hypothesis?
• Describe the operational definitions of the IV(s)
  and DV(s), including the different levels of each
  IV.
• What were the results and conclusions?
• Provide enough detail so that a reader who is
  unfamiliar with the article can understand the
  study, but avoid excessive detail.
• Cite the source in APA format
• Learn how to use your APA Manual!!!

2
Plagiarism and How to Avoid It

• Do not plagiarize from articles OR from other
  students!
• Review the academic honesty policy at
• http//www.sjfc.edu/PDFs/AcademicHonesty.pdf
• Complete the Plagiarism Tutorial on the
  Blackboard if you need more help
• Be sure to cite your sources in APA format in the
  text of your paper (pp. 207-214) and in the
  References (pp. 215-281)
• Generally, you should cite a source once per
  paragraph (unless you are discussing more than
  one source in the same paragraph, see p. 208 in
  APA Manual), and it is best to cite the source at
  or near the beginning of the paragraph.

3
Citing Sources in APA Format

• One work by one author (section 3.94, pp.
  207-208)
• Ponicki (1974) conducted an experiment to
  investigate
• In a recent study of reaction times (Walker,
  2000), researchers found

4
One Work by Two Authors

• Always cite both names (section 3.95, p. 208)
• Johnson and Cooper (1992) found that
• One study has shown that cats are just too much
  trouble (Johnson Cooper, 1992).

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One Work by Three to Five Authors

• Cite all names the 1st time and later cite just
  the first author followed by et al. (section
  3.95, p. 208)
• First time citing the source
• Gardner, Phelan, and Beam (2004) did a study
• One study investigated whether people prefer cats
  or dogs (Gardner, Phelan, Beam, 2004).
• Later, if citing same source again
• Gardner et al. (2004) found
• One study found some people prefer cats to dogs
  (Gardner et al., 2004).

6
One Work by Six or More Authors

• Six or more authors (section 3.95, p. 209)
• Cite only the 1st author followed by et al. the
  1st time as well as in later citations
• Doe et al. (2005) conducted a study.
• One study (Doe et al., 2005) found that

7
General Information and Tips

• Always type your writing assignments.
• Use 10-12 point standard font.
• Double-space all lines.
• Refer to authors by last name only.
• Do not mention titles of works.
• Do not cite sources that you have not read
  (secondary sources).
• Quotations should be rare no more than one or
  two brief quotes per paper (and must be properly
  cited with source and page in other classes).
• Capitalize proper nouns (e.g., Stroop effect).
• Do not capitalize names of disorders (e.g.,
  bulimia) unless they involve proper nouns (e.g.,
  Parkinsons Disease).
• Use past tense when describing studies that have
  been completed.
• See Ch. 2 (pp. 31-76) of the APA Manual on
  Expressing Ideas and Reducing Bias in Language.

8
Expressing Ideas

• Organize your paper so that it flows smoothly
  (sections 2.01-2.02).
• Be as clear and concise as possible. Avoid
  wordiness, jargon, and redundancy (sections
  2.03-2.04).
• Use different strategies to improve your writing
  (see section 2.05)
• e.g., outlines, drafts/revisions, reading the
  paper out loud, having others read your paper,
  visiting the Writing Center or Professor
• Avoid writing in an informal or indirect tone.
  Be formal and direct.
• Avoid In the article by OR The study that I
  read
• Better Doe (2005) conducted a study to
  investigate.
• Also avoid contractions (e.g., dont) and slang
  (e.g., aint)
• Use more active language.
• Avoid Participants were given a test
• Better Participants took a test

9
Reducing Bias

• Avoid biased or unscientific language
• Never use the word prove or its variations
• Avoid words such as thought, felt, believed or
  said. Instead use words such as hypothesized,
  reasoned, found, investigated
• Studies are designed to test hypotheses, not to
  prove or support hypotheses. Also, hypotheses
  are neither correct/right nor incorrect/wrong.
• However, the results may either support/be
  consistent with the hypothesis or fail to
  support/be inconsistent with the hypothesis.
• Be sensitive to labels and avoid them if possible
  (pp. 63-76)
• Avoid bulimics, alcoholics
• Better Women diagnosed with bulimia
• Acknowledge participation
• Use participants, men, women when referring to
  humans
• Use subjects, males, females when referring to
  animals

10
Numbers and APA Style

• See sections 3.42-3.49 (pp. 122-13) in APA Manual
• Numbers 0 to 9 are words
• Numbers that begin a sentence are always words
• Numbers 10 and up are digits (unless they begin a
  sentence)
• Units of measurement (e.g. age, time, etc.) are
  digits (unless)

11
Sections of an APA Empirical Paper

• See descriptions in sections 1.06-1.15 (pp.
  10-30)
• Instructions for typing the paper are on pp.
  296-302
• Sample papers can be found on p. 306-320 of the
  APA Manual, and in Ch. 16 of the Gravetter and
  Forzano (2006) textbook
• The major sections of an empirical paper (that we
  will be developing in our class) include
• Title Page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Method
• Participants
• Materials or Apparatus
• Procedure
• Results
• Discussion
• References

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Title Page

• Margins for entire paper should be 1 on all four
  sides, and all lines should be double-spaced
• Page header (abbreviated title, no more than
  three words) and page number should be in upper
  right corner on every page, beginning with title
  page
• Running head located upper left at margin
  actual running head is in capital letters and
  limited in length (see APA Manual, pp. 12 296)
• Title centered on page summarizes the topic and
  main variables of the study 10 12 words
• Your name(s) and institution are below the title
  and centered
• See sample papers in APA Manual and textbook for
  examples!

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Abstract

• Formatting
• It is on a page by itself just after the title
  page with the heading (Abstract) centered (no
  bold or italics)
• Do NOT indent the first paragraph
• It does not exceed 120 words
• All numbers are digits, except at the start of a
  sentence
• See section 1.07 in APA Manual
• The abstract should, as concisely as possible,
  summarize
• the purpose and hypothesis of the study
• the method that was used to test the hypothesis
  (including brief descriptions of the participants
  and procedure)
• the results (include the p value but do not
  include the other statistics) and conclusions

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Introduction

• Should be written in funnel fashion, moving
  from the general to the specific
• 1st paragraph should introduce topic in a general
  way
• Identify and define/explain the general topic
  under study
• Start by identifying a central theme (thesis)
  that connects the articles that you read as well
  as the study that you are about to describe
• Define or explain the essential elements of the
  theme

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Introduction (contd)

• Main body should review the relevant past
  literature (i.e., the articles you read) and use
  the articles to logically develop your hypothesis
• Do not simply paste together article summaries
• You want to build an argument!
• Briefly explain each article, but also indicate
  how the studies are related, similar to, and
  different from one another
• Discuss how each article relates to your central
  theme
• Highlight important similarities and differences

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Introduction (contd)

• Last paragraph should contain a clear statement
  of the research purpose, hypothesis (or
  hypotheses), and variables
• How does the information in your introduction
  logically relate to the general purpose of your
  study? How is your study related to your central
  theme?
• State your hypothesis clearly
• Identify your IV(s) and DV(s)
• What type of research design was used to test
  your hypothesis?
• Remember that you should use past tense to
  describe studies that have already been completed
  (including the studies in the articles and your
  own study)

17
Method

• Describes how your study was done in enough
  detail so that the reader can
• understand and evaluate your study
• replicate your study
• Formatting
• New section with heading centered and capitalized
  but not underlined or italicized
• Not a new page (should begin at end of
  Introduction)
• Subsections are named, italicized, and left
  justified
• Participants number of participants, age,
  gender, groups, and how they got into the groups
• Materials or Apparatus (if needed)
• Procedure Should describe details of your design
  (including the IVs and DVs and how they were
  operationally defined) and explain what was done,
  how, and where.

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Method - Participants

• Who were they?
• Where were they from (e.g., college, city,
  state)?
• Include other important characteristics (e.g.,
  gender, age range)
• How many (total) and how were they selected?
• How did they get put into groups?
• If appropriate, state that participants were
  randomly assigned, but do not explain the
  procedure for random assignments (e.g., a coin
  toss)
• How many per group?

19
Method Apparatus or Materials

• Describe any special equipment needed for study
• e.g., computers, special laboratory equipment
• Describe any special materials need for study
• e.g., surveys, tests, particular websites (give
  URL)
• Do not include ordinary items such as pencils and
  paper

20
Method Procedure

• Include important details for understanding/replic
  ating the procedure
• Organize by describing the procedure step-by-step
  in chronological order
• Where did the procedure take place?
• What happened first? Then what happened next?
• Be sure to identify and operationally define the
  variables by describing the manipulations and
  measurements
• What did the participants see, hear, and/or do at
  each step?
• How were the different levels of the IV
  manipulated?
• What was the DV? How was it measured?

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Results

• Describes what data were analyzed and how, and
  provides results of statistical analyses
• Formatting
• New section with heading centered and capitalized
  but not underlined or italicized
• Not a new page (should begin at end of
  Introduction)
• Statistical symbols are italicized
• Be sure to include
• Descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard
  deviations) for each DV.
• Inferential statistics
• Types of statistical tests used and results of
  each test

22
Discussion

• Formatting New section beginning immediately
  after results, with heading centered and not
  underlined or italicized (section 1.11)
• Start with a clear statement of whether or not
  your results support your hypothesis, and explain
  the meaning of your findings.
• In the next paragraph or two, discuss how your
  study and results compare with previous research
  
• Compare your findings to the studies cited in
  your introduction, and discuss important
  similarities and/or differences and how they
  relate to your overall theme or thesis
• Do not simply repeat information from your
  introduction
• Organize your discussion so that it flows
  logically and smoothly
• End the discussion with a paragraph or two
  highlighting
• the major conclusions and implications of your
  study
• any important limitations of your study
• suggestions for further research

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References Section

• See Ch. 4, pp. 215-281 in APA Manual
• Include only articles cited in the text of your
  paper (section 4.01). Likewise, anything cited
  in your paper must appear in the References.
• Articles in the References list should be
  arranged in alphabetical order (section 4.04).
• Double-space all lines.
• Left justify the 1st line for each new reference.
• Indent subsequent lines for the same reference.
• Pay careful attention to forms for different
  types of references such as articles, books,
  electronic sources, etc. (section 4.07).
• Examples of references for journal articles are
  on pp. 239-241.
• Examples of references for electronic sources
  (including online journal articles) can be found
  beginning on p. 268.

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References Section - Sample

• References
• Doe, J. D., Ray, L. S., Mee, T. P. (1997). The
  relationship between alcohol use and aggression.
  Journal of Experimental Psychology, 39, 206-218.
• Doe, J. D., Ray, L. S., Mee, T. P., Fah, K. G.,
  Sow, J. H., Lah, D. Y. (1999). The effects of
  alcohol on aggressive behavior in laboratory rats
  Electronic version. Journal of Animal
  Psychology, 9, 6-12.
• Smith, M. T. Jones, R. S. (1994). Effects of
  alcohol on inappropriate behavior. Journal of
  Experimental Psychology, 35, 176-183.