Monday, 30 March 2009
RIs done and dusted at last
!!Well done everybody!!
I have finally got the RIs processed and packed up... You are probably glad to see the back of them and I certainly am too!
Having said that, I hope you look back on it as quite an enjoyable part of the course. Running your own experiment and taking responsibility for research is something many of you will be doing more of when at university, so hopefully you have benefited from the experience. Even when things didn't go well, you can learn a lot...these can be the best lessons, in fact. Try to keep in mind feedback I have given you regarding use of sources, references, backing up your data etc.
Overall, I'd like to post here what I have said to a few of you informally - I thought they were a really good batch of projects, and I am very confident that all of them will get a decent mark. Many are deserving of very high marks indeed.
Please comment here or speak to me if you have any feedback on doing the RIs, e.g. suggestions of things that could be improved.
Well done again on some excellent work.
I have finally got the RIs processed and packed up... You are probably glad to see the back of them and I certainly am too!
Having said that, I hope you look back on it as quite an enjoyable part of the course. Running your own experiment and taking responsibility for research is something many of you will be doing more of when at university, so hopefully you have benefited from the experience. Even when things didn't go well, you can learn a lot...these can be the best lessons, in fact. Try to keep in mind feedback I have given you regarding use of sources, references, backing up your data etc.
Overall, I'd like to post here what I have said to a few of you informally - I thought they were a really good batch of projects, and I am very confident that all of them will get a decent mark. Many are deserving of very high marks indeed.
Please comment here or speak to me if you have any feedback on doing the RIs, e.g. suggestions of things that could be improved.
Well done again on some excellent work.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Friday, 13 March 2009
Citations
Just to add to my previous comments....a couple of issues about citations. The standard format used in Psychology is 'in text citations', where you refer to a previous work with name and year.
A lot of you are writing things in the format:
"...Selye did an experiment in 1936 where..."
This is non-standard. The standard way to express it would be:
"Selye (1936) did an experiment..."
OR
"...rats were stressed (Selye, 1936)."
Use brackets for the years. As well as being the standard format, it is also more accurate, as the year in question is the year of publication, but this might not be the year the research was actually carried out. So to say for example "Milgram did an experiment in 1963..." would be innacurate; his study was actually carried out between 1961-62, even though the citation would be "Milgram (1963)".
All part of correct presentation and style - this is level 2.
A lot of you are writing things in the format:
"...Selye did an experiment in 1936 where..."
This is non-standard. The standard way to express it would be:
"Selye (1936) did an experiment..."
OR
"...rats were stressed (Selye, 1936)."
Use brackets for the years. As well as being the standard format, it is also more accurate, as the year in question is the year of publication, but this might not be the year the research was actually carried out. So to say for example "Milgram did an experiment in 1963..." would be innacurate; his study was actually carried out between 1961-62, even though the citation would be "Milgram (1963)".
All part of correct presentation and style - this is level 2.
RI - one week to go
It's just a week until the deadline for RIs.
By and large I've been very pleased about how punctually you have submitted first drafts, and a majority have also given me an (optional) second draft to mark, which is great.
The standard has also been very good, with some first drafts needing very few changes indeed. Main problems have been missing sections, or sections which have been very short.
All of you should look over your introductions and ask whether you have a suitable amont of background research, and how relevant it is. Also, ensure that your discussion section contains all three parts - comparison of results to previous research, evaluation of methods and ethics, and broader implications/conclusions.
It is important not to forget the smaller sections too. Generally, references have been missing or incorrectly structured. Make sure that your write-ups are neatly presented, and have the correct headings (see the two examples in the textbook if you're unsure). Make sure it looks nice on the page, and again, avoid the use of first-person pronouns, and superfluous capital letters!
Added together, there are 7 marks for references plus presentation/style - compared to 5 for your background research part of the intro. So pay attention to these smaller details, don't let marks trickle away.
By and large I've been very pleased about how punctually you have submitted first drafts, and a majority have also given me an (optional) second draft to mark, which is great.
The standard has also been very good, with some first drafts needing very few changes indeed. Main problems have been missing sections, or sections which have been very short.
All of you should look over your introductions and ask whether you have a suitable amont of background research, and how relevant it is. Also, ensure that your discussion section contains all three parts - comparison of results to previous research, evaluation of methods and ethics, and broader implications/conclusions.
It is important not to forget the smaller sections too. Generally, references have been missing or incorrectly structured. Make sure that your write-ups are neatly presented, and have the correct headings (see the two examples in the textbook if you're unsure). Make sure it looks nice on the page, and again, avoid the use of first-person pronouns, and superfluous capital letters!
Added together, there are 7 marks for references plus presentation/style - compared to 5 for your background research part of the intro. So pay attention to these smaller details, don't let marks trickle away.
Monday, 9 February 2009
Stress research
It seems that the stress RI topic is posing the most problems in terms of finding suitable background research for your write-ups.
Some general comments:
1) It is hard to find stuff specifically on things like GSR (skin conductivity) and heart rate because these tend to be viewed as primarily biology rather than psychology. However, most psychology books will contain an overview of how the stress response works on a biological level.
4) The SQA handout only has referenced to studies by Selye, but this in itself should give you a clue to what is expected. If anyone wants to look at Selye's book 'The Stress of Life' (1956) I have a copy, it is an easy read and you could probably find a good quote or two.
5) A lot of the research that I have found on the internet is very applied, i.e. it concerns using the concepts for practical purposes. This is ok, and in fact I think it would be very good if you worked in some applications of your research, perhaps towards the end of your intro and again in the discussion section.
Some general comments:
1) It is hard to find stuff specifically on things like GSR (skin conductivity) and heart rate because these tend to be viewed as primarily biology rather than psychology. However, most psychology books will contain an overview of how the stress response works on a biological level.
2) Health psychology has a strong crossover with these areas, but do not put too many of these studies in if not directly relevant. For example, you are not studying immune function, so go easy on that. If you are looking at heart rate, studies like the Friedman and Rosenman (1974) study of heart disease could be used.
3) I have tended to warn against including stress reduction stuff. However, there are exceptions - some stress reduction studies are closely linked with your research. For example, the technique of biofeedback uses measures such as GSR and heart rate in an attempt to teach people to relax.
4) The SQA handout only has referenced to studies by Selye, but this in itself should give you a clue to what is expected. If anyone wants to look at Selye's book 'The Stress of Life' (1956) I have a copy, it is an easy read and you could probably find a good quote or two.
5) A lot of the research that I have found on the internet is very applied, i.e. it concerns using the concepts for practical purposes. This is ok, and in fact I think it would be very good if you worked in some applications of your research, perhaps towards the end of your intro and again in the discussion section.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Elite athletes
From BPS Research Digest:
It's reassuring to learn that even the most elite athletes can suffer frommental frailties. Maurizio Bertollo and colleagues interviewed 13 members ofItaly's 2004 pentathlon squad and a common theme to emerge was the curse ofso-called "ironic effects". As one athlete explained: "In some circumstancesmy intention is not to do the best but to avoid making a bad shot. That iswhen I make a bad shot. When I think about avoiding the error, I make the error."
The modern pentathlon involves pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200m freestyleswimming, show jumping, and a 3km cross-country run, all conducted on thesame day. Bertollo's research team transcribed the interviews they conducted with the pentathletes.
Several of the athletes said that during the days before an event they attempted to recreate the emotional stress of a real competition.They also said they prioritised relaxation time, set themselves goals andmentally rehearsed success.
During a competition, the athletes performed an opposite mental exercise tothat conducted prior to the event, attempting to recreate the feelings, such as of muscle relaxation, that they achieved during training. They also revealed that they tried to avoid dwelling on mistakes; that they reassured themselves that dysfunctional emotions usually stop once a contest getsstarted; and that they strive to focus their attention in useful ways, such as on the sight and target during shooting.
It's reassuring to learn that even the most elite athletes can suffer frommental frailties. Maurizio Bertollo and colleagues interviewed 13 members ofItaly's 2004 pentathlon squad and a common theme to emerge was the curse ofso-called "ironic effects". As one athlete explained: "In some circumstancesmy intention is not to do the best but to avoid making a bad shot. That iswhen I make a bad shot. When I think about avoiding the error, I make the error."
The modern pentathlon involves pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200m freestyleswimming, show jumping, and a 3km cross-country run, all conducted on thesame day. Bertollo's research team transcribed the interviews they conducted with the pentathletes.
Several of the athletes said that during the days before an event they attempted to recreate the emotional stress of a real competition.They also said they prioritised relaxation time, set themselves goals andmentally rehearsed success.
During a competition, the athletes performed an opposite mental exercise tothat conducted prior to the event, attempting to recreate the feelings, such as of muscle relaxation, that they achieved during training. They also revealed that they tried to avoid dwelling on mistakes; that they reassured themselves that dysfunctional emotions usually stop once a contest getsstarted; and that they strive to focus their attention in useful ways, such as on the sight and target during shooting.
REFERENCE: Bertollo et al (2009). Mental preparation strategies of elite modern pentathletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10 (2), 244-254.
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