Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 1

Scientific Literacy in a Psychology Curriculum Module

Jamie J. Peterson and Arturo Sesma, Jr.

St. Catherine University

Supported by a 2012 Instructional Resource Award

Author contact information:

Jamie J. Peterson, Ph.D.

Mail #4175
2004 Randolph Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
Phone: 651.690.6488
Email: jjpeterson@stkate.edu

Copyright 2013 by Jamie J. Peterson and Arturo G. Sesma, Jr. All rights reserved. You may
reproduce multiple copies of this material for your own personal use, including use in your
classes and/or sharing with individual colleagues as long as the author’s name and institution and
the Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology heading or other identifying information appear
on the copied document. No other permission is implied or granted to print, copy, reproduce, or
distribute additional copies of this material. Anyone who wishes to produce copies for purposes
other than those specified above must obtain the permission of the author(s).

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 2

Table of Contents

Analyzing Media Reports of Psychological Research.....................................................................3

Designing an Observational Study..................................................................................................4

Designing an Experimental Study...................................................................................................5

Designing a Survey Study...............................................................................................................6

Designing a Qualitative Study.........................................................................................................7

Analyzing Research Methods in Media Reports of Psychological Research..................................8

Guidelines for Evaluating the Credibility of Sources......................................................................9

APA Citation Style Exercise.........................................................................................................11

Plagiarism Activity........................................................................................................................14

Finding Information – Scavenger Hunt.........................................................................................17

Research Report Search.................................................................................................................21

Research Report Search – Version 2.............................................................................................24

Scientific Writing Comparison......................................................................................................27

Research Report Search – Version 3.............................................................................................29

Media Report & Research Methods Comparison..........................................................................32

Module Rubric...........................................................................................................................................33

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 3

Analyzing Media Reports of Psychological Research

Answer the following questions using the assigned article.

1. What are the steps of the scientific method?

2. Summarize the article in a couple of sentences – what did the researchers do and what did

they conclude?

3. Based upon this media report, do you believe the researchers followed the scientific

method in conducting this research? Why/why not?

4. Do you believe the reporter has written a credible summary of this research study?

Why/why not?

5. What is the title of this media report?

6. Who wrote this media report?

7. Where was this media report published?

8. When was this media report published?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 4

Designing an Observational Study

Imagine you are a psychologist. You hypothesize that students who study with peers learn better

than students who study individually. You need to create an observational study to test your

hypothesis. Design a study by answering the following questions:

1. Define your population -- who are the students you are interested in studying?

Elementary school students, college students, etc.

2. How will you collect a sample of students?

3. How will you know if students who study with peers are studying more effectively than

students who are studying alone?

4. How will you observe students studying with peers?

5. How will you observe students studying alone?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 5

Designing an Experimental Study

Imagine you are a psychologist. You hypothesize that students who study with peers learn better

than students who study individually. You need to create an experimental study to test your

hypothesis. An experiment has a dependent variable (what you measure) and an independent

variable (what you manipulate). Design an experimental study by answering the following

questions:

1. Define your population -- who are the students you are interested in studying?

Elementary school students, college students, etc.

2. How will you collect a sample of students?

3. How will you know if students who study with peers are studying more effectively than

students who are studying alone? Will students take an exam, report how much they

think they learned, etc.? (This is your dependent variable, it is what you are measuring.)

4. How will you manipulate studying alone and studying with peers? What experimental

conditions, or groups, will you create?

5. How will you assign students to the conditions/groups?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 6

Designing a Survey Study

Imagine you are a psychologist. You hypothesize that students who study with peers learn better

than students who study individually. You need to create a survey and collect survey data to test

your hypothesis. Design a survey and a study by answering the following questions:

1. Define your population -- who are the students you are interested in studying?

Elementary school students, college students, etc.

2. How will distribute your survey to students?

3. What are two questions you can ask about students’ habits regarding their studying with

peers and studying alone?

4. What are two questions you ask about how well students have learned after studying with

peers and studying alone?

5. What are two demographic questions (questions about the student) you could ask?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 7

Designing a Qualitative Study

Imagine you are a psychologist. You hypothesize that students who study with peers learn better

than students who study individually. You need to conduct a qualitative study to test this

hypothesis. Qualitative research focuses on capturing participants’ experiences – not on

collecting numerical data. Open-ended questions are asked, which means that there are no

response options and no right/wrong answers. Design a qualitative study by answering the

following questions:

1. Define your population -- who are the students you are interested in studying?

Elementary school students, college students, etc.

2. How will you collect a sample of students?

3. What method will you use to capture students’ experiences – survey, interview, focus

group?

4. What are two open-ended questions you can ask about students’ habits regarding their

studying with peers and studying alone?

5. What are two open-ended questions you ask about how well students have learned after

studying with peers and studying alone?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 8

Analyzing Research Methods in Media Reports of Psychological Research

Answer the following questions using the assigned article.

1. What was the research study about – what did the researchers conclude?

2. Do you believe the reporter has written a credible summary of this research study?

Why/why not?.

3. What research method did the researchers use?

4. Who was the population?

5. Who was in the sample?

6. What materials were used to collect data?

7. List at least two questions you have about this research study or the results.

8. What is another method researchers could use to determine how age at first sexual

intercourse is related to/affects happiness in future relationships? State your hypothesis,

population, sample and describe materials you might use.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 9

Guidelines for Evaluating the Credibility of Sources

Use the internet to find the answers to these questions. Some of the information may be difficult

to find, as secondary research reports do not always include an author, or the author’s name

might be common. Websites that end in .org, .edu, and .gov tend to be more credible than

sources that end in .com; however, this is not always true. Often the less information that is

available, the less credible your source may be.

Source

 Who is the author of the media report? What is this person’s background, what credentials or

education does she or he hold, and what articles has she or he written previously and for

whom?

 Who conducted the study that is summarized in this media report? What is this person’s

background, what credentials or education does she or he hold, and what articles has she or

he written previously and for whom?

Quality

 Is the method of the research study clearly described, including the sample included in the

study?

 Are statements of fact supported with documented evidence and sources that are

authoritative?

 What is the goal of this media report? Are there any links in the report to consumable goods

or services?

 Does the reporter make assumptions and draw conclusions based upon the research study?

Do they appear to be valid and based upon scientific rigor?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 10

 Does the author of the media report suggest that the audience take action as a result of the

research study?

 Does the media report contain objective language that is formal, free of bias, and free of
colloquialisms?

 Is the media report clearly written, well organized, and free of spelling and grammar errors?

Frantz, P. (2012). Critical evaluation of information sources [Library guide]. Retrieved from

http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/findarticles/credibility.html

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 11

APA Citation Style Exercise

1. Given the following information, create an APA style reference citation for an empirical

research article.

Title of the article: Sexuality and exercise motivations: Are gay men and heterosexual

women most likely to be motivated by concern about weight and appearance?

Title of the journal: Sex Roles

Authors: Sarah Grogan, Mark Conner, and Helen Smithson

Year article published: 2006

Volume: 55

Pages: 567-572

2. Revise the sentences below, including an in-text citation in which the authors are cited in

parentheses. The authors of the article are Grogan, Conner and Smithson as described in #1

above.

Researchers conducted a study to investigate whether sexual orientation impacts motivations

to exercise. The researchers hypothesized that gay men and heterosexual women would be

more likely to be motivated to exercise for appearance reasons.

3. Revise the sentences below, including an in-text citation where the authors’ names are used

as part of the sentence. The authors of the article are Grogan, Conner and Smithson as

described in #1 above.

Analyses indicated that compared to heterosexual men, gay men exercised less frequently,

were more likely to exercise for appearance reasons, and were less likely to exercise for

enjoyment or competition. Heterosexual women were more likely to exercise to control

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 12

weight than both heterosexual and gay men. There were no differences between

heterosexual and lesbian women on motivations to exercise or frequency of exercise.

4. Given the following information, create an APA style reference citation for an empirical

research article.

Title of the article: To hook up or date: Which gender benefits?

Title of the journal: Sex Roles

Authors: Carolyn Bradshaw, Arnold S. Kahn, Bryan K. Saville

Year article published: 2010

Volume: 62

Pages: 661-669

5. Revise the sentences below, using “et al.” in an in-text citation (either in parentheses or as

part of the sentence). The authors are Bradshaw, Kahn, and Saville as described in #4

above.

In this study, researchers investigated the perceived risks and benefits to dating versus

hooking up among heterosexual college students. Typically, dating is seen as more risky

and stressful for men than hooking up. Women play a more passive role in dating and

traditionally experience more benefits and less stress compared to men. Men tend to

experience more benefits from hooking up than women. Therefore, the authors hypothesized

that women would be more likely to choose dating over hooking up, especially when there is

the possibility for a relationship. Men would be more likely to choose hooking up over

dating when given the choice.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 13

6. Given the quote below, revise the sentences below the quote so that your version includes a

quote from the actual article.

Quote from page 668: “Although women and men checked similar benefits and risks for both

the traditional date and for hooking up, women more than men perceived that, in dating, a

woman risked losing a friendship and being more interested in her partner than he was in

her.”

Results of the surveys showed that women were more likely to prefer dating over hooking up

compared to men. If women and men were under the impression that they could form a

long-term relationship with an individual, then both women and men preferred dating over

hooking up.

7. Given the following information, create an APA style reference citation for a news article

without an author from a magazine, retrieved online. Note that this article was retrieved from

the online magazine and not the print magazine (APA style is different for each).

Title of the article: People More Likely to Guzzle Beer Served in Curved Glasses

Title of the magazine: US News & World Reports

Author: None given

Posted: September 4, 2012

Website: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/09/04/people-more-

likely-to-guzzle-beer-served-in-curved-glasses

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 14

Plagiarism Activity

Read the abstract below and then the example paraphrases below. Decide whether each one is

plagiarism or not and state your reasoning.

Lesch, M. F., & Hancock, P. A. (2004). Driving performance during concurrent cell-phone

use: Are drivers aware of their performance decrements? Accident Analysis & Prevention,

36, 471-480.

Prior research has documented the manner in which a variety of driving performance measures

are impacted by concurrent cell-phone use as well as the influence of age and gender of the

driver. This current study examined the extent to which different driver groups are aware of

their associated performance decrements. Subjects' confidence in dealing with distractors while

driving and their ratings of task performance and demand were compared with their actual

driving performance in the presence of a cell-phone task. While high confidence ratings

appeared to be predictive of better driving performance for male drivers (as confidence

increased, the size of the distraction effects decreased), this relationship did not hold for females;

in fact, for older females, as confidence increased, performance decreased. Additionally, when

drivers were matched in terms of confidence level, brake responses of older females were slowed

to a much greater extent (0.38 s) than were brake responses of any other group (0.10s for

younger males and females and 0.07 s for older males). Finally, females also rated the driving

task as less demanding than males, even though their performance was more greatly affected by

distraction. These results suggest that many drivers may not be aware of their decreased

performance while using cell-phones and that it may be particularly important to target

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 15

educational campaigns on driver distraction towards female drivers for whom there tended to be

a greater discrepancy between driver perceptions and actual performance.

Example 1:

This current study examined the extent to which different driver groups are aware of their

associated performance decrements. Subjects’ confidence in dealing with distractors while

driving and their ratings of task performance and demand were compared with their actual

driving performance in the presence of a cell-phone task (Lesch & Hancock, 2004).

What, if anything, is wrong?

Example 2:

“This current study examined the extent to which different driver groups are aware of their

associated performance decrements. Subjects’ confidence in dealing with distractors while

driving and their ratings of task performance and demand were compared with their actual

driving performance in the presence of a cell-phone task” (Lesch & Hancock, 2004, p. 471).

What, if anything, is wrong?

Example 3:

This current study looked at associated performance decrements for different driver groups. The

drivers’ actual driving performance in the presence of a cell-phone task was compared with their

confidence in dealing with distractors while driving and their ratings of task performance and

demand (Lesch & Hancock, 2004).

What, if anything, is wrong?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 16

Example 4:

This study examined how different driver groups were aware of their associated performance

decrements. The actual driving performance with the presence of a cell-phone task was looked

at in comparison to the drivers’ confidence rating in dealing with distractors (Lesch & Hancock,

2004).

What, if anything, is wrong?

Example 5:

This study examined how aware people were of their driving performance both with and without

the added distraction of a cell phone (Lesch & Hancock, 2004). The researchers also looked at

if age or gender had any impact on driving performance. Men, of all ages, who were more

confident in their ability to deal with distraction were found to be better drivers. Inversely, older

women who said they were confident in dealing with distraction were actually less competent

drivers. The researchers compared the reaction times for drivers with the same confidence

ratings and found that older women had the slowest brake times compared to any other group.

Women also thought that the test was easier than men did. The results tell us that the use of a

cell phone while driving may be more distracting than people realize.

What, if anything, is wrong?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 17

Finding Information – Scavenger Hunt

PsycINFO

1. Imagine that you hypothesize that teachers influence the grades that students earn.

Begin your advanced search by typing grades and teacher into the search boxes.

Uncheck the box “suggest search terms” if it is automatically checked. Enter “grades” in

the top box and “teacher” in the box below it so they are connected by and. How many

results did you find? Skim the titles (in blue font) and see if any of the results might fit

your topic.

2. Begin to narrow your topic and your search. Select only peer-reviewed articles, written

in English, and articles that describe empirical studies. Change the field term next to

“grades” and “teacher” so that PsycINFO searches for grades and teacher as subject

headings/keyword identifiers. How many results did you find? Skim the titles (in blue

font) and see if any of the results might fit your topic. Click on an article that looks like

it might be relevant and read the abstract and the subject terms below the abstract. What

subject terms might help you narrow your search further?

3. Modify the search terms (keeping the criteria [peer-reviewed, empirical & English] as

described above) to academic achievement and teacher attitude. How many results

did you find? Skim the titles (in blue font) and see if any of the results might fit your

topic.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 18

4. Click on the title of an article that looks like it might be related. Read the abstract and

then scan down the screen to read the words listed under Subject. Based upon what you

see there, what additional keywords could you use to help you modify your search?

5. Try the search again; this time enter academic achievement and teacher expectation.

How many results did you find? What does clarifying your key terms and adding key

terms do to your search results?

6. Start a new search, this time looking at whether individuals who see someone model

aggressive behavior, perform that behavior themselves. Enter aggression and modeling

as subject/keyword identifiers. Keep the limitations of peer-reviewed, empirical study,

and English. How many results did you find?

7. Try the search again, Enter in aggress* and model*. How many results did you find?

What does adding an asterisk (*) to the end of a word do to your search?

8. Clear the keywords out of the search boxes. Keep the limitations of peer-reviewed,

empirical study, and English. In the search boxes, type in Bandura and then change the

field term that is searched to “Author.” What do you find?

9. Click on an abstract that looks like it might have information relevant to a research report

on aggression and modeling. After reading the abstract, scroll to the bottom of the page

and read the titles listed under References. See if there are any additional sources listed

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 19

that might be relevant. Find at least one, click on Abstract and then copy and paste the

title of that article and the abstract here:

Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com)

1. Imagine you’re interested in learning more about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.

Go to Google Scholar and type in the keywords memory and eyewitness. How many

results did you find? Skim the titles and see if any of the results might fit your topic.

2. Try again, this time using and to connect your keywords. How many results did you

find? Skim the titles and see if any of the results might fit your topic.

3. Add the words and testimony after eyewitness and see how many results you find.

4. In the search box at the top of the page, click on the down arrow. In the box that says

“without the words,” type in children and do the search again. How many results did

you find? Skim the titles and see if any of the results might fit your topic.

5. Do another advanced search; this time in the box marked “return articles authored by”

enter Loftus. How many results did you find? Skim the titles and see if any of the

results might fit your topic.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 20

6. Click on a title that looks like it might have relevant information. After reading the

abstract and determining whether the article or book is relevant, type the reference below

in APA style and copy and paste the abstract here:

7. Go to your library website and do a search for the title of the book or the journal in which

the article was published. Does the library own that resource? If so, copy and paste the

location of the resource below. If it is not, state that it is not available.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 21

Research Report Search

Review the article titled “Effects of Environmental Factors on the Health of College Students”

(citation below) and complete the following questions:

Robinson, K. (2005). Effects of environmental factors on the health of college students. Psi

Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 10(1), 3-8.

1. Source information: Who did the research and wrote this research report? In what year was

this research published? In what journal was the research report published?

2. What reasons does the author give for conducting this research study?

3. According to Robinson, what did Hamrick, Cohen, and Rodriguez (2005) conclude about

social support and college students’ health?

4. What is locus of control?

5. How is social support related to loneliness in college students?

6. The introduction ends with a hypothesis, or a prediction, about what Robinson will find in

the study. What is the hypothesis?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 22

7. Describe the participants in the study - what were the participants’ demographic

characteristics? Based on upon the information provided about the sample, who is the

population the author is focusing upon?

8. What variables are being studied?

9. What materials did the author use in this study?

10. What procedure did the author use in this study to collect data?

11. What do you think about how the participants in this study were treated? Were they treated

ethically? Why or why not? Did the benefit of participating outweigh any risks they may

have encountered as a result of participating? Why or why not?

12. What kind of data was presented in the results section? Were there averages (means),

correlations, or statistical tests? (You can just write down the letters that symbolize the tests

and statistics – the statistical tests will be explained to you in class.)

13. What did the author find – what was concluded from the data analyses? Was the hypothesis

supported?

14. What are some of the limitations to the study that the author noted?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 23

15. What are some of the author’s suggestions for future research studies that can follow up this

study?

16. What terms are difficult to understand?

17. What questions do you have about this article?

18. What do you think about this research – would you apply the results to yourself?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 24

Research Report Search – Version 2

Review the article titled “Comfortably Numb: Desensitizing Effects of Violent Media on

Helping Others” (citation below) and complete the following questions:

Bushman, B. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2009). Comfortably numb: Desensitizing effects of

violent media on helping others. Psychological Science, 20, 273-277.

1. Source information: Who did the research and wrote this research report? In what year was

this research published? In what journal was the research report published?

2. What reasons do the authors give for conducting this research study?

3. Briefly summarize previous research that has been conducted on this topic.

4. The Introduction ends with a hypothesis, or a prediction, about what the authors will find in

the study. Using your own words, what is the hypothesis?

5. Describe the participants in the study - what were the participants’ demographic

characteristics? Based on upon the information provided about the sample, who is the

population the authors are focusing upon?

6. What variables are being studied?

7. What materials did the authors use in this study?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 25

8. What procedure did the authors use in this study to collect data?

9. What do you think about how the participants in this study were treated? Were they treated

ethically? Why or why not? Did the benefit of participating outweigh any risks they may

have encountered as a result of participating? Why or why not?

10. What kind of data was presented in the results section? Were there averages (means),

correlations, or statistical tests? (You can just write down the letters that symbolize the tests

and statistics – the statistical tests will be explained to you in class.)

11. What did the author find – what was concluded from the data analyses? Was the hypothesis

supported?

12. What are some of the limitations to the study that the authors noted?

13. What are some of the authors’ suggestions for future research studies that can follow up this

study?

14. Why are the results of this study important, according to the authors?

15. What kind of research method was used?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 26

16. Did the researchers state that there was a cause-and-effect relationship among the variables?

Was this appropriate (yes or no)?

17. What is one weakness of using this research method to answer the research question?

18. What terms are difficult to understand?

19. What questions do you have about this article?

20. What do you think about this research – would you apply the results to yourself?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 27

Scientific Writing Comparison

The following are elements of your writing that you should attend to when writing reports in the

sciences (not just psychology).

Compare the empirical article titled “Effects of Environmental Factors on the Health of College

Students” by Robinson (2005) with the media report “Feeling Depressed? This May Be the

Thing You Need to Feel Happier (Hint: It's Not Money)” by Lexi Petronis.

Petronis, L. (2012, June 25). Feeling depressed? This may be the thing you need to feel happier

(Hint: It's not money). Glamour. Retrieved from http://www.glamour.com/health-

fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2012/06/feeling-depressed-this-may-be.html

Robinson, K. (2005). Effects of environmental factors on the health of college students. Psi

Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 10(1), 3-8.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 28

Robinson (2005) Petronis (2012)

Scientific Writing Non-Scientific Writing

1. Tone. What is the

writer’s attitude toward
the audience? Is it formal
or informal?

2. Word choice. Does the

author use slang or
colloquialisms? What
kind of terminology is
used?

3. Sentence structure. Are

the sentences long and
complex or short and
simple?

4. Brevity. Does the author

describe things simply or
with many adjectives and
figurative language?

5. Other work/sources. Does

the author use many
quotes or are sources
paraphrased? How does
the author refer to other
sources?

6. Citations. Does the author

cite other sources? How
are those sources cited?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 29

Research Report Search – Version 3

Review the article titled “The Power of Good Intentions: Perceived Benevolence Soothes Pain,

Increases Pleasure, and Improves Taste” and complete the following questions:

Gray, K. (2012). The power of good intentions: Perceived benevolence soothes pain, increases

pleasure, and improves taste. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 639-647.

1. Source information: Who did the research and wrote this research report? In what year was

this research published? In what journal was the research report published?

2. What reasons does the author give for conducting this research study?

3. Briefly summarize previous research that has been conducted on this topic.

4. The introduction ends with a hypothesis, or a prediction about what the author will find in the

study. What is the hypothesis?

5. Describe the participants in the study - what were the participants’ demographic

characteristics? Based on upon the information provided about the sample, who is the

population the author is focusing upon?

6. What are the variables that are being studied?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 30

7. What materials did the author use in this study?

8. What procedure did the author use in this study to collect data?

9. What do you think about how the participants in this study were treated? Were they treated

ethically? Why or why not? Did the benefit of participating outweigh any risks they may

have encountered as a result of participating? Why or why not?

10. What kind of data was presented in the results section? Were there averages (means),

correlations, or statistical tests? (Based upon what you learned by summarizing previous

articles, try to describe the statistical tests that were conducted.)

11. What did the author find – what was concluded from the data analyses? Was the hypothesis

supported?

12. What are some of the limitations to the study that the author noted?

13. What are some of the author’s suggestions for future research studies that can follow up this

study?

14. Why are the results of this study important, according to the authors?

15. What terms are difficult to understand?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 31

16. What questions do you have about this article?

17. What do you think about this research – would you apply the results to yourself?

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 32

Media Report & Research Methods Comparison

Answer the following questions using the assigned article.

1. Based upon what you can discern from the media report, what was the hypothesis?

2. What population was the researcher focusing on, and who was in the sample?

3. What research method was used?

4. What conclusions were drawn, and were those conclusions appropriate for the research

method?

5. What are limitations to using this research method?

6. Design an experiment that will answer this hypothesis, being careful to consider issues such

as random assignment and confounding variables.

7. Design an observational study that will answer this hypothesis, being careful to consider

issues such as observer bias, lack of environmental control, and performance effects.

8. Design an archival study that will answer this hypothesis, being careful to consider issues

such as cohort effects, limitations on the data you can obtain, and the integrity of the data that

is stored and retrieved.

9. Design a qualitative study that will answer this hypothesis, being careful to consider issues

such as limitations on sample size and the time intensive nature of the research.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 33

Module Rubric
Masterful Skilled Developing Underperforming
Research Report
Purpose of
Clearly and accurately describes Describes purpose of the study but Inaccurately describes purpose of the
the study Omits purpose of the study.
purpose of the study. lacks clarity or some accuracy. study.
Clearly and accurately describes Describes background research for Inaccurately describes background
Rationale for
background research for what is what is known about the topic, but research for what is known about the Omits background research.
the study
known about the topic. lacks some clarity or accuracy. topic.
Clearly and accurately states the States the hypothesis but lacks
Hypothesis Inaccurately states the hypothesis. Omits the hypothesis.
hypothesis. clarity or some accuracy.
Method
Clearly describes participants, but
Does not clearly describe Does not clearly describe
Clearly describes participants with either includes unnecessary
Participants participants; omits several relevant participants; omits all relevant
relevant demographic details. demographic details or information
demographic details. demographic details.
or misses minor relevant details.
Identifies and describes with Identifies all materials but
Materials/
appropriate detail all items that were occasionally provides either too Omits some materials. Omits all materials.
Apparatus
used. much or too little information.
Describes what participants were Describes what participants were
Describes what participants were
expected to do and the order in expected to do and the order in Omits the procedure; it is unclear
Procedure expected to do and the order in
which they did them, but omits a few which they did them, but omits what participants did.
which they did them.
details. critical details.
Results & Discussion
Clearly and accurately identifies the Clearly and accurately identifies the Identifies the statistical test and Does not identify the statistical test;
statistical test and states whether the statistical test and states whether the states whether the hypothesis was does not state whether the
Results
hypothesis was confirmed or hypothesis was confirmed or confirmed or rejected, but with some hypothesis was confirmed or
rejected. rejected, but minor areas lack clarity. inaccuracy and lack of clarity. rejected.
Clearly and accurately describes
Clearly and accurately describes
limitations that the author(s) of the Describes limitations that the
limitations that the author(s) of the Omits limitations that the author(s)
Limitations report identified; insightfully author(s) of the report identified, but
report identified; does not offer other of the report identified.
describes other limitations to the with some lack of clarity.
limitations.
study that the author(s) omitted.
Clearly and accurately describes
future research suggestions that the Clearly and accurately describes Describes future research
Omits future research suggestions
Future author(s) of the report identified; future research suggestions that the suggestions that the author(s) of the
that the author(s) of the report
research insightfully describes future research author(s) of the report identified; report identified are described, but
identified.
suggestions that the author(s) does not offer other suggestions. with some lack of clarity.
omitted.
Peterson & Sesma (2013)
Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 34

Masterful Skilled Developing Underperforming

Media Report
Summarizes the media report Summarizes the media report but Summarizes the media report
Summary accurately; cites the author of the lacks clarity; cites the author of the unclearly; does not cite the author of Omits the summary.
media report appropriately. media report appropriately. the media report appropriately
Carefully evaluates the media report; Incompletely evaluates the media
Thoroughly evaluates aspects of the
describes the source of the report, report and may miss more than one
media report, but may miss one of
Evaluation of the writer’s credentials, the validity of the following: critique of the
the following: critique of the author Simply summarizes but does not
the Media of the writer’s assertions regarding author or sources, the author’s
or sources, the author’s assertions evaluate the media report.
Report the research study results, potential assertions regarding the results,
regarding the results, potential bias,
bias or ulterior motives, and the potential bias, or quality of the
or quality of the writing.
quality of the writing. writing.
Synthesis
Thoroughly describes differences
Comparison Describes differences between the Omits one of the following:
between the media report and the Omits both differences between the
between media report and the research article, differences between the media report
research article; includes clear and media report and research article and
Media Report but suggestions for more effectively and the research article or
insightful suggestions for more suggestions for more effectively
& Empirical summarizing the media report lack suggestions for more effectively
effectively summarizing the media summarizing the media report.
Article clarity. summarizing the media report.
report.
Writing Style
Writes complete, varied, interesting
Style, Writes complete and grammatically
and grammatically accurate Includes some errors in sentence Includes major errors in sentence
organization accurate sentences; includes minor
sentences that are free of structure, grammar, and spelling. structure, grammar, and spelling.
& clarity punctuation and spelling errors.
punctuation and spelling errors.
Consistently uses appropriate Fairly consistently uses appropriate Inconsistently uses science language
Scientific science language and terminology; science language and terminology; and terminology; does not illustrate Minimally uses scientific language
concepts & illustrates an accurate and thorough illustrates some understanding of a clear understanding of scientific and/or terminology; does not explain
terminology understanding of scientific concepts scientific concepts underlying the concepts underlying the article; may scientific terms; uses slang.
underlying the article. article. use slang.
Generally writes precisely and Does not write precisely and
Writes precisely and concisely; Does not write precisely and
concisely; summarizes and concisely; attempts paraphrasing, but
Scientific summarizes and paraphrases concisely; copies sentences &
paraphrases all material, but with it is too close to the original; has
writing accurately all material, and cites phrases directly from original
some lack of clarity or accuracy; has major deviations from APA style
references correctly in APA style. source. Omits reference citations.
minor deviations from APA style. citations.

Peterson & Sesma (2013)

Scientific Literacy in Psychology Curriculum Module 35

Peterson & Sesma (2013)