This assignment will require you to find and evaluate a nonexperimental study on a topic of your choice in the field of psychology. This will take time and develop your research skills, as you must find an original, empirical, quantitative research article published within the last 5 years over a topic of your choosing in the field of psychology to evaluate. You will further hone your research skills by locating an article referenced by a peer and evaluating it. Reading, evaluating, and communicating research findings using professional standards are skills that will allow you to stay abreast of current and emerging topics in your field for the rest of your professional career.
Thread Assignment Instructions
Use your library database to find a primary research article that describes a nonexperimental study on a topic of professional interest in the field of psychology. After you have found an appropriate nonexperimental study, read the entire article carefully. Use the article to complete your thread. The topic thread should address all required components.
Thread Content
Paragraph 1
Write a brief (one paragraph) summary of the overall goal of the study. Please note this means the summary should not include any quotes or paraphrases – the goal is to develop your ability to read and write scientifically using your own words, give credit when credit is due, and summarize without plagiarizing. Thus, an in-text citation the first time you mention the study should be included in this first paragraph.
Approximately 4 – 6 sentences.
Paragraph 2
Look through the entire Results section to identify any inferential statistics with which you are familiar (from Chapters 8 and 9). List them and explain how the authors used each statistic (e.g., to test a specific hypothesis and if so, state the hypothesis it assessed). Note your article must have at least one clearly identifiable statistic relevant to chapters 8 or 9 or you’ll need to select a different article for this assignment.
Approximately 2 sentences per inferential statistic identified.
Paragraph 3
Identify and discuss one application of professional ethics evidenced in the research design (you may want to review Chapter 1). Do you have any moral and/ or religious concerns raised by the study’s design?
Reference
Provide a correctly formatted Reference entry using current APA conventions. To reduce ambiguity, an example is taken verbatim from Section 10 of the APA Publication Manual (2020) – please refer to the section for additional examples as needed.
Example 1. Journal article with a DOI
McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language model of child language development. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126
Parenthetical citation: (McCauley & Christiansen, 2019)
Narrative citation: McCauley and Christiansen (2019)
Thread Format
Your response may be up to 400 words not including the one (1) required Reference entry, but the minimum is set intentionally low at 100 words as the primary goal should be to succinctly address all required components as noted above. Make sure there are no quotes. Put everything into your own words. Write professionally, making sure to check for typos, misspellings, and use of correct grammar. Note: Overciting is to be avoided. Since the entire content of the thread is related to one article, a citation the first time (in the first paragraph) mentioned will suffice. Use the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020) for correct formatting of citations and reference entries.
Reply Assignment Instructions
This assignment consists of one reply to a peer thread that has no response. You’ll need to read the article they summarized (locating it by using the full Reference entry) before composing your response, making sure to address all content and format instructions below. Your reply must be a minimum of 100 words not including the References. Each reply must have a minimum of two (2) in-text citations and a Reference section. The reply is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module: Week 7.
Reply Content
Review your peer’s summary and the article they summarized. In your response, clearly address each of the following components (in this order):
Paragraph 1
Did your peer address all required components of the thread portion? Was everything correctly cited and was the Reference correctly formatted? If anything was missing or incorrect, provide the correct information. Was the thread written succinctly? There is nearly always a way to reduce words, and this is an essential skill when writing research grants and/or articles. I’ve often asked a peer to help me reduce words as once we are invested in what we want to say, it can be difficult! Thus, quote one sentence from your peer’s thread that you feel you can write more succinctly. Then, state how you would write it.
Approximately 4 – 6 sentences.
Paragraph 2
Your peer’s thread should have included a report of an inferential statistic. Restate the inferential statistic your peer identified. What construct(s) were tested with that statistic in the article (Hint: There will only be 1 – 2 constructs / variables). How did the original article operationally define each variable (or the one, if it only involved one).
Approximately 3 sentences per inferential statistic identified.
References
The reply must incorporate at least two (2) in-text citations (peer’s thread and originally cited research article), which can be written using narrative or parenthetical form. The Reference section should have two correctly formatted entries. To reduce ambiguity, an example for how to cite and create a reference entry for your peer’s post is provided below (note it has been modified to provide a more specific example to this particular assignment given it is a discussion board and you will know the author’s first and last name). Use Section 10 of the APA Publication Manual (2020) for additional guidance as needed.
Example 109. Online forum post *modified
St. Peters, M. (2024, June 20). Re: Evaluating nonexperimental studies. [Discussion post]. Liberty University Online. https://canvas.liberty.edu/login/canvas
Parenthetical citation: (St. Peters, 2024)
Narrative citation: St. Peters (2024)
Reply Format
Your reply may be up to 400 words not including the two (2) required Reference entry, but the minimum is set intentionally low at 100 words as the primary goal should be to succinctly address all required components as noted above. Write professionally, making sure to check for typos, misspellings, and use of correct grammar. The reply should contain two correctly formatted in-text citations and corresponding Reference entries. Use the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020) for correct formatting of citations and reference entries. As with all communications in this course, replies should be written in a thoughtful, educated, and professional manner. Avoid unsubstantiated opinions or claims, personal comments, or general comments such as the following, which will result in loss of points:
· “Great job on your introduction / discussion post,”
· “I totally agree with everything you said,”
· “Good luck in the rest of the class,” etc