Getting Started
Brainstorm Possible topics
Consider your personal interests.
Look at the headlines in the news or in popular sources.
Review the topics covered in your psychology textbooks.
Keywords
List your research topic as a question.
Pull out the nouns in your question. (These will become the key for searching for information in the library databases.
Think of synonyms, antonyms and associated words for those selected key terms.
Example:
Dogs are smarter than cats?
Dogs: canine, Golden Retriever, pets
Cats: feline, domestic pet, Persian
Smart: intelligence, IQ, clever, bright
Refining Your Topic
If your topic is too broad you will be swamped in information overload.
Example: "kids and media" or "college students and stress"
If your topic is too narrow you will get easily frustrated trying to find enough (if any) scholarly information.
Example: "College freshmen who take more than one psychology course per semester have higher frustration levels than their peers."
What is a Scholarly Article
- Select the Right Number of Keywords!A fun quick overview from Kimball Library at Coastal Carolina University about keywords for searching databases.
Assignment Requirements
Using PsychInfo, locate an article that pertains to a psychological variable that interests you (9e.g. addition, depression, religiosity, post-traumatic stress, decision-making, prejudice, learning, identity, self-esteem, relationships, etc.......)
Provide:
- Paper Citation (APA)
- Summary of the study
- Description of the variables of interest
- Describe type of study method used (experiment, survey, case study)
- Describe researcher's conclusions
- Describe anything you found difficult to understand.