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PSYC 2800: Research Methods in Psychology

Finding Your Popular Article

Browse some of the articles from the following sources:

Galileo

   Using Galileo you can limit your search in different ways depending on the database. 

Example 1: Limit by Type: Magazines 

Example 2: 

Browse by Subject 

Select Social Sciences 

Select Psychology

Search: Social Science Journals (ProQuest)  -  Select Advanced Search

 

Other Possible sources: 

Psychology Today

NPR

Popular Science:Psychology

New Scientist

Not every article you find will reference a particular study or survey etc.

 

Finding Your Primary Study

Once you locate your popular article.

Read over the article.

Look for the following information:

  • Locate the author they reference in the article. Usually a professor, a psychologist etc.
  • Do they mention a University or an Organization they may work for?
  • Do they give a date or a possible date range of when the study/survey was conducted?
  • Look for any key-words about the study that you could use while searching for the original source.
  • Locate any key point of how the study was conducted ex: who participated, what did they do etc.

The above information will give you a starting point to begin your search in Galileo.

For your assignment you will also need to note the following:

  • The identity and sources of participants
  • Sample size
  • The type(s) of design (eq., case study, observational study, correlational study, experiment)
  • The variables of interest (in terms of both conceptual definitions and operational definitions)
  • Any potential problems with the reliability or validity of these operational definitions
  • Any ethical issues relevant to the study
  • The conclusions of the research and whether these are justified

Example:

The Popular Article: Meet the Super Taskers

  • In the article you will find the following clues:
  • They refer to the psychologist David Strayer of the University of Utah.
  • Date Range: "About 5 years ago"
  • Data: "2.5 percent of people he studies have exceptional abilities"
  • Keywords: Super Taskers
  • Key points of the Study: "driving simulator while doing two mental tasks" 

You would then use these clues to locate the original source in Galileo.

My search:

     Keyword: David Strayer

      Keyword: supertaskers


  (I use the rest of the clues, i wrote down to determine exactly which article is the right one.)

*You may not be able to locate the article right away, don't get discouraged.

Galileo