Topic: Psychology 133 Article Critique
Psychology 133 Article Critique
Research is often summarized in the popular press (e.g. The New York Times, the L.A. Times, etc.) The popular press publishes summaries of research which can be misleading. Factors like space limitations, biases on the part of reporters and editors, perceptions of what will interest readers and what will sell, influence the length and style of these summaries. As a result, summaries in the popular press are usually shorter than the original research report, and they may contain inaccuracies, ignore critical information, misstate the researcher’s conclusions, and/or discuss topics that are not directly relevant to the original report. In your article critique, you are to address the general issue of how the popular press reports on scientific research by considering a specific report. You are to read an article from the popular press (newspapers, news magazines) that summarizes an original research report concerned with some aspect of Psychopharmacology. The pairs of popular press articles with the primary research articles in which they summarize are posted on GauchoSpace. Your paper must be on one of the sets of papers on GauchoSpace. Papers on articles other than those on GauchoSpace will not be accepted.
Summary In your ½ page summary of the original research report, you must cover four major points:
1. Research Question: Why the researchers performed the study. a. What is/are the key question(s) being asked by this study?
2. Method: How the researchers performed the study. a. Include a brief description of how the study was performed.
3. Summary of the Results: What the researchers found out.
a. Summarize the important findings in words not statistics. b. Do not use direct quotes and do not report numbers. c. concentrate on understanding what the tests and numbers mean and rephrasing that in your own words.
4. Summary of the Discussion: Why the researchers think the study is important. a. How the results could be applied to the real world—what implications the study might have for “real people” in the “real world”.
Popular Press Article Critique
For your critique consider the following questions:
a. How well did the popular press article summarize the scientific article? Give an opinion and then support it with evidence from the popular press article. b. Did the popular press article adequately explain theories & previous research? c. Did the popular press article correctly state the results? d. Did the popular press article omit important information (results, methods, etc.) from the original report? e. Was the popular press article misleading to the reader? If yes how? f. Did the author assume major human implications from animal research? Did they state clearly who the research population was?
g. Did the popular press article misrepresent the original research? If so how? h. If the article mislead or misrepresented the research do you think it was intentional (e.g. a result of editorial or reporter bias) or inadvertent (e.g. a result of space limitations, or assumptions the author made about the readers’ interests or knowledge). Explain. i. Did the author of the popular press article stay on topic or stray from the researcher’s intention? j. Comment on the tone and style of the critique, including how the tone and style affected how the original research was conveyed. k. If you thought the article did an excellent/good job summarizing the scientific article then be sure you provide evidence for your assertion by citing the popular press article.
Paper length The paper should satisfactorily and briefly summarize the scientific article (1/2 page) & answer all the questions outlined in the critique section. I would expect somewhere between 2-3 pages for the written paper length. Don’t write to a page limit though just cover everything thoroughly and well. Please do not exceed 4 written pages for this paper (not including the title & reference pages).
Audience A good paper is understandable to someone who does not know the literature, so your mom/dad or roommate or friend should be able to read it and understand what you are talking about. If they cannot you need to put additional work into the paper. DO NOT write it thinking of me (the professor or TA) as the audience.
Quotations & Citations
Direct quotes from the scientific article are NOT advised. You should probably use direct quotes from the popular press article to support your arguments in your critique. If you say the popular press article misstates the research quote the popular press article, and then discuss the original article explaining where the discrepancy is. Please see the Purdue OWL website for guidelines on APA style with regards to citations Paper Due Date & Details The due date depends on which articles you decide to read. Please see GauchoSpace for the due dates. Bring a hard copy of your paper to the beginning of class and I will give it to the TA for grading. You may not turn in papers late.
Criterion Points Read and Summarize the Scientific Article Mindfully 20 Critique the Popular Press Article 55 Clarity & Style 15 Organization, APA Style, & Correct Citations 10 Total 100
Note: The detailed rubric the TA will be using to grade your paper can be found on GauchoSpace. I would suggest grading your paper yourself with the rubric before you turn it in.
No. of Pages: 4 pages
