Project 4:  Literature Review

In this project you are to write a general introduction for the research you proposed in your research flowchart.  Your Introduction should be 5-6 pages in length (7-9 for graduate credit).  The introduction should contain two things: 1) a statement of your hypothesis, and 2) a review of relevant literature.  The order of these two components is up to you.  Some researchers review the literature first, and use this to develop their hypothesis, which is stated last.  Other researches begin with a statement of the hypothesis and then cite research to support the hypothesis.  Independent  of the order of these two parts, be sure to follow the guidelines stated below.

Hypothesis

Most likely you will need to refine your hypothesis and your operational definitions.  Please take advantage of the feedback given to you on your first project.  This part of the introduction should be short and concise.  A single paragraph should suffice.

Literature Review

In this review I would like to see references to a minimum of 3 related research articles (5 for graduate credit).  Reference research reports from scientific journals (not Psychology Today , or Ladies Home Journal).  For help in finding relevant studies, see the attached sheet "How to do a literature search."

Briefly summarize research you have found which is related to your hypothesis. Is there research which either supports or brings into question your hypothesis?  If so, were there problems with this research (e.g., threats to validity) that enable you to question the findings?  Do not simply write a paragraph summarizing each related study.  Rather, be critical of the research you report, and say how the research supports, or questions your original hypothesis.

After reviewing related research you may need to alter your hypothesis.  If so, describe how and why you have refined your hypothesis.

If you plan to use a standardized test or procedure, or if you are following the design of some other study, you should briefly describe these in the introduction.  Give credit where it is due by referencing this earlier work.

Some other comments and guidelines

1) Do not use the subheadings Hypothesis, and Literature Review.  Rather, just write this introduction like a short essay.  Use the style found in the papers you uncovered in your literature review.  This paper should be in APA form (see Ch. 15 in your text).

2) Attach a reference section.  This section is a listing of the papers you cited in your  review.  This listing should appear on separate page at the back of your paper.  Use the APA form for references as described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.  This is described in Ch. 15 in your text.

3)  Be sure to attach Project 3 to this report.
 

How to do a Literature Review

Good sources of Information: (Finding that first study

Introductory Psychology Textbooks:
1.  Helps you classify your topic into major areas (e.g., emotion, cognition, etc.)
2.  Acquaints you with related research
3.  May give you a closely related article.  Look up the citation in the References, and then look up the article.

Advanced Text Books:  (e.g., Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, I/O Psychology)
1.   Once you know the basic topic, a more advanced book may have some related information.
2.   May give you a closely related article.  Look up the citation in the References, and then look up the article.

Experts in the Field:
Go ask other faculty members who know your area.  But go through the above sources first so that you can ask intelligent questions.  Try to get them to give you a specific reference (e.g., author, year, journal).

Computer Search:  Psych Lit, PsycINFO, Info Trac, Eric
Once you have key terms, type them into PsycINFO, narrow the search until you get a small enough number to look up.  Then read the abstracts.  Based on the abstracts choose 2-3 papers that fit.  Look up the original papers.

Turn-in a copy of a PsycINFO citation list with key terms.

Following up your information

 Once you have found one or two studies relevant to your hypothesis, make a copy of the entire article including the reference section.  Go home and read the article front to back.  This paper will reference other research addressing the topic.  Find citations in the paper that seem relevant, look up the citation in the reference section, and then track down likely papers in the library.

 You can also use a paper you have found to do a citation search.  Look up the article in one of the citation indices (Social Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index).  This will give you a listing of articles that have referenced your article.  Most likely these more recent articles are also related to your hypothesis.