Psychology
220
Homework
Assignment
Research Findings in the Popular Press
Research findings are very prevalent in the popular
press, and are often presented very authoritatively. To what extent is the authority warranted? In this assignment, you will be evaluating
one article in the popular press. Go to the library and pick up a recent
edition of a popular press periodical (e.g., Glamour, Redbook, Jet, Louisville
Courier, Self Magazine, Newsweek...) and find one article that talks about
something psychological (not
biological). It shouldn’t be hard to
thumb through any magazine and find something - short or long (don’t use
a search engine). You might typically find articles on how to raise your kids,
or the latest on why men do what they do or why women do what they do, or a
blurb on what makes a person a good spouse with a self-quiz…...
1.
At
the top of your assignment please include the title of the article and the
information on the periodical it came from (the name of the periodical, volume,
page numbers).
2.
Provide
a one or two sentence summary about the topic of the article.
*3. Evaluate
the article. Provide your critique
of the “worthiness” of the article.
Does it seem credible, should the reader take it as “truth?” Be sure to include information about the
below points in your critique:
a. Indicate generally what research the author of the article seems
to be citing to support the news he or she is reporting.
b. Indicate, with your best guess, the variables that were studied
in the research cited.
c. Can you tell whether the research cited was a descriptive,
correlational, or experimental research design? If you can tell, which one was used? If you can’t tell, which design do you feel would be most
appropriate to address the problem presented?
d. If the design was correlational or experimental, try to guess the
research hypothesis and evaluate whether or not it is falsifiable (hypotheses,
as well as theories, need to be falsifiable).
If the design was descriptive, or if you can’t identify the researcher’s
hypothesis – try to develop one on your own that could be used as a basis for
correlational or experimental research.
e. What other information, if any, did the
article provide about the study (e.g., who participated, what they did)?
f. What, if any, kinds of
data/statistics were reported in the article (e.g., frequency counts, averages,
standard deviations)?
g. Do the author’s conclusions follow logically from the data, AS IT
IS reported?
h. Periodicals are secondary sources of information. What are the dangers of using these popular
sources as though they were primary
sources of information?
Your homework
should be about 1- 2 pages long
(TYPED,
double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font or equivalent)