Research Methods Page
Professor Will Langston
 
[Syllabi]  [Notes]  [Homework]  [Lab Notes/Exercises]  [Resources]  [Links]


This Week in Research Methods Week of 11/23/09
  • Lecture
    • Factorial designs
    • Non-experimental designs
    • No class Friday 11/27
  • Lab
    • Collect data when approved (no formal meeting)
A note about dois: dois (digital object identifiers) link directly to articles. You can click the doi links on this page to go to a downloadable copy of the articles. However, you need to be on a computer in MTSU's domain to take advantage of the library's subscription to the journals. If you click dois at home, you will probably be asked to pay for each article. For more on the doi movement, check crossref.org. If you find a doi in the literature you can paste it into crossref.org to get the article. Or, putting "http://dx.doi.org/" in front of any doi will turn it into a link.
Syllabi Purchase the book as an eBook or chapters (lots cheaper):
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Course Notes [Top]
Homework Homeworks/Quizzes:
  • Homeworks 1 and 2: Find an article (based on your specific assignments given in class) (Homework 1) and present that article in lab on 10/7/09 (Homework 2).
  • Homework 3: Prepare a draft of the title page, method, and results sections from the personality and Barnum effect paper, due via email 9/30/09 (name your draft "your last name MR Draft.doc", e.g., "Langston MR Draft.doc"; I cannot open .docx documents).
  • Homeworks 4 and 5: Complete CITI IRB training (link below). This will take some work, so work on it as we go along. Due when you submit your project IRB.
  • Homework 6: Complete the task on this page (This is the version due 11/13.)
Recent quizzes are posted.
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Lab Notes/Exercises Exercises  [Top]
Resources Project data
Reference information
To cite an online source:  Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Retrieved from source.

For example, Hyman, R. (1999). How people are fooled by ideomotor action. Retrieved from http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ideomotor.html.

Remember: You need a citation for every statement of fact. If you took it from somewhere and you fail to cite it, that's plagiarism. Everything you cite needs to go into the reference list so that someone could find it.

Articles (placed on the shelf outside my office, JH 348, borrow only from the shelf, don't keep them)
  • N/A
Web pages and articles I could direct link
Articles you can get electronically
  • (5) Barbaranelli, C., & Caprara, G. V. (2000). Measuring the big five in self-report and other ratings: A multitrait-multimethod study. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 16, 31-43. doi:10.1027//1015-5759.16.1.31
  • (12) Dmitruk, V. M., Collins, R. W., & Clinger, D. L. (1973). The "Barnum Effect" and acceptance of negative personal evaluation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41, 192-194. doi:10.1037/h0035106
  • (1) Furnham, A., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Callahan, I. (2003). Does graphology predict personality and intelligence? Individual Differences Research, 1, 78-94. (get full text from PsycInfo)
  • (9) Golfried, M. R., & Kent, R. N. (1972). Traditional versus behavioral personality assessment: A comparison of methodological and theoretical assumptions. Psychological Bulletin, 77, 409-420. doi:10.1037/h0032714 (PsycInfo has Golfried, but the article has Goldfried)
  • (2) Greasley, P. (2000). Handwriting analysis and personality assessment: The creative use of analogy, symbolism, and metaphor. European Psychologist, 5, 44-51. doi:10.1027//1016-9040.5.1.44
  • (8) Grucza, R. A., Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The comparative validity of 11 modern personality inventories: Predictions of behavioral acts, informant reports, and clinical indicators. Journal of Personality Assessment, 89, 167-187. (get full text from PsycInfo)
  • (11) Guastello, S. J., Guastello, D. D., & Craft, L. L. (1989). Assessment of the Barnum Effect in computer-based test interpretations. The Journal of Psychology, 123, 477-484. (get full text from PsycInfo)
  • (16) Ivtzan, I. (2007). Tarot cards: A literature review and evaluation of psychic versus psychological explanations. Journal of Parapsychology, 71, 139-149. (get full text from PsycInfo)
  • (18) Logue, M. B., Sher, K. J., & Frensch, P. A. (1992). Purported characteristics of Adult Children of Alcoholics: A possible "Barnum Effect". Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 23, 226-232. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.23.3.226
  • (3) Pascal, G. R., & Suttell, B. (1947). Testing the claims of a graphologist. Journal of Personality, 16, 192-197. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1947.tb01081.x
  • (7) Roberts, B. W. (2009). Back to the future: Personality and assessment and personality development. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 137-145. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.015
  • (13) Rogers, P., & Soule, J. (2009). Cross-cultural differences in the acceptance of Barnum profiles supposedly derived from Western versus Chinese astrology. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40, 381-399. doi:10.1177/0022022109332843
Independent project ideas
Instead of the current lab manual, you may choose project ideas from this list:
  • Superstition (Skinner's pigeon study)
    • Skinner, B. F. (1948). ‘Superstition’ in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 168-172. doi:10.1037/h0055873
  • Detecting people staring at you
    • Baker, R. A. (2000). Can we tell when someone is staring at us? Skeptical Inquirer, 24, 34-40. (Academic OneFile)
  • The Forer/Barnum effect
    • Forer, B. R. (1949). The fallacy of personal validation: A classroom demonstration of gullibility. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 44, 118-123. doi:10.1037/h0059240
  • Heuristics and biases in support of paranormal belief
    • Bressan, P. (2002). The connection between random sequences, everyday coincidences, and belief in the paranormal. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 16, 17-34. doi:10.1002/acp.754
  • Personality and paranormal belief
    • Auton, H. R., Pope, J., & Seeger, G. (2003). It isn’t that strange: Paranormal belief and personality traits. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 711-720. doi:10.2224/sbp.2003.31.7.711
  • Graphology and personality
    • Furnham, A., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Callahan, I. (2003). Does graphology predict personality and intelligence? Individual Differences Research, 1, 78-94. (PsycInfo)
  • Social influences on paranormal belief
    • Markovsky, B., & Thye, S. R. (2001). Social influence on paranormal beliefs. Sociological Perspectives, 44, 21-44. doi:10.1525/sop.2001.44.1.21
  • False memory and paranormal belief
    • French, C. C. (2003). Fantastic memories: The relevance of research into eyewitness testimony and false memories for reports of anomalous experiences. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 10, 153-174. (ILL or see me)
    • Wiseman, R., Greening, E., & Smith, M. (2003). Belief in the paranormal and suggestion in the séance room. British Journal of Psychology, 94, 285-297. doi:10.1348/000712603767876235
  • ReverseSpeech
    • Kreiner, D. S., Altis, N. A., & Voss, C. W. (2003). A test of the effect of reverse speech on priming. The Journal of Psychology, 137, 224-232. (PsycInfo)
    • Langston, W., & Anderson, J. C. (2000). Talking Back(wards): A test of the Reverse Speech hypothesis: Are listeners able to detect the emotional content of backward speech? Skeptic, 8, 30-35. (Academic OneFile)
  • The ideomotor effect and paranormal belief
    • Hyman, R. (1999). The mischief-making of ideomotor action. The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 3, 34-43. (ILL or see me)
  • Magical thinking
    • Pronin, E., Wegner, D. M., McCarthy, K., & Rodriguez, S. (2006). Everyday magical powers: The role of apparent mental causation in the overestimation of personal influence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 218-231. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.2.218
Writing papers
IRB resources  
Sample exams    Finding scales and measures
  • Check out the various volumes of the Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures in the Reserve Room. These books list over 6,000 test instruments with references. You can read the blurb for the latest volume here.
Evaluating sources [Top]
Links Correlation research, the media, and the importance of thinking
Here are some links to media reports on the link between psychosis and marijuana use. Note the uneven treatment of caveats about correlation research, and the presentation of alternative explanations:
And a critical analysis:
What this shows is not that there is or isn't a link (you would need to look closely at the original research to determine that; there may be a link). What this shows is that when you see a study reported, you need to look for yourself and not take the report at face value.

Tracking down sources
  • I tell you to always ask "Where is the research published in peer-reviewed journals that supports this claim?" If it can't be provided, the claim is probably false. Here's an example (I'd love to post more if you find them):
Research methods and experiments Undergraduate research support
  • MTSU Undergraduate Research, Scholarships, and Creative Activity grants (URSCA) (The link is to the undergraduate research center website; you'll need to poke around.)
  • MTSU McNair Scholars Program
Research sites of interest
Writing tips
Science and skepticism
Note: These are presented for informational purposes. I don't endorse everything here, and unbridled skepticism is as silly as unbridled acceptance. That said, dig in.  
? (Ideas?) Fun with skepticism and science    [Top]
 
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