Academics

 
 

Writing Literature Reviews


For many of your classes here at North Central and throughout your academic career in psychology, you will be asked to review the related research literature of a topic of inquiry. Because research literature can be difficult to find and read, this process can be confusing and frustrating at first. The following are some frequently asked questions concerning this type of project. They are designed to help you find relevant research and finish your literature review.

Why should I even read professional research literature?   

This is a fair question to ask. First, reading actual articles allows you to get a better understanding of the complexity and richness of the questions psychologists ask and the many answers they obtain. Textbook authors must provide comprehensive coverage of many topics, so they can only briefly summarize the numerous studies that they describe. This strategy necessarily precludes an in-depth analysis of any one idea or of examples of how research studies investigate a particular topic or theory.

Second, by reading the original sources, you experience the research as directly as anyone can without actually participating in that particular study. Firsthand encounters with the actual foundations of psychology enhance one's understanding of the field. Instead of reading someone else's brief summaries, you can explore the research on your own.

Third, because no one has pre-digested the material, you will find yourself organizing the material yourself. This is an advantage, since learning is promoted by active processing and organizing of material. You will certainly be doing this as you read and re-read these articles.

Fourth, reading the research articles will help you understand the scientific process in psychology that involves questioning assumptions, developing tentative ideas, analyzing those ideas, reworking new tentative hypotheses, gathering data, obtaining results, interpreting those results, generating new hypotheses, and so on.

How do I tell if an article is a professional research article?   

Answer the following questions:

  1. Is there a method section (describing the subjects, apparatus, and procedure)?
  2. Is there a results section (summarizing the data collected)?
  3. Were statistical procedures used (t-test, F-test, chi-square, correlation)?

If the answers to the above questions are "yes," then you have an appropriate article.  Other types of articles (proposing theories or personal positions) may be good information, but may not be appropriate for the purposes of most literature review papers.

How is the typical professional research paper organized?   

Title
The first part of professional articles is usually the title, a brief summary of the main idea of the article.
Abstract
The abstract usually follows, and is one of the most helpful parts of the article. The abstract presents the research in a nutshell and includes the research goal, the subjects and method, the results, and the conclusions, all in about 150 word or less. Many readers skim the abstract to decide whether to read the full article. If you find yourself getting bogged down in a particular article, a quick review of the abstract is sometimes an effective way to get back on track.
Introduction
In the introduction the author describes the reasons for doing the research, what has been done before, and how this is a new question or a novel and/or useful way to address the problem at hand. Broad theoretical issues are often discussed early in the introduction, followed by an increasingly specific focus. One thing you are sure to notice here is that there are many references or citations to previously published research. Prior research provides much of the rationale for the current study. These citations are evidence that the author has been diligent in surveying the existing literature. The author's collecting and making sense of these citations can also be a time saver if you decide to continue exploring the topic on your own. The introduction also describes the particular research strategy the author will use and proposes the specific hypotheses that will be tested. You should search for these statements of what is expected to be found, and be clear in your mind as to exactly how the hypotheses will be tested.
Method
The method section is simply a detailed description of the way the study was conducted. It is here that the subjects (the persons involved in the study), the materials (the tests or special equipment used in the study), and the procedures are described. Through a step-by-step account of the exact procedures, along with specific instructions given subjects, you should have sufficient detail so that, given the resources, you could come very close to replicating or repeating the study.
Results
The results describe "how it all turned out." The authors should describe the results in such a way that the hypotheses are either supported or not supported. Not all hypotheses are supported; the unexpected may be as important as the expected. The numbers generated by measuring the subjects' behavior are summarized and analyzed in this section. Tables and figures often are employed to organize these numbers and the statistics generated from them. You will encounter an impressive arsenal of statistical techniques and shorthand symbols in this section. Don't get too freaked out by the numbers. The basic purpose of the statistics is twofold. First, statistics are used to summarize large amounts of data in concise, manageable terms. Second, statistical techniques allow authors to determine, within certain parameters, if the results they obtained are sufficiently unlikely to have occurred by chance alone. Even though you may not understand the intricacies of specific statistics, you should be able to spot the patterns that emerge from the numbers and figures reported.
Discussion/Conclusion
The "what this all means" is presented in the discussion or conclusion section, in which the results are interpreted by the author and the research is placed in perspective in light of previous findings, be aware that the same data can be interpreted in different ways. Many research reports conclude with the author's suggestions for further research or implications for theoretical positions. Every research study can be improved; that's one of the ways that science advances.
Reference
The final section of most articles is composed of complete reference information for all the cited work contained in the article. It provides easy access to any of the articles the authors have used, and is very helpful if you would like to know more about a specific study mentioned in the article.

Where can I find professional research articles?   

Below are listed some of the major journals in psychology and their locations in nearby libraries. You may also order them free through the Minitex system in our library (but start early, it can take several weeks). This list of journals and locations will help you physically find journals.

General

  • American Psychologist
  • Contemporary Psychology
  • Psychological Bulletin
  • Psychological Review
  • Psychological Science
  • Psychological Methods
  • Review of General Psychology
  • Current Directions in Psychological Science

Experimental Areas of Psychology

  • Journal of Experimental Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Journal of Comparative Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Discourse Process
  • Memory and Cognition
  • Bulletin of Psychonomic Society
  • Learning and Motivation
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Neuropsychology
  • Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
  • Cognition

Clinical and Counseling Psychology

  • Journal of Abnormal Psychology
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology
  • Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
  • Journal of Counseling Psychology
  • Behavior Research & Therapy
  • Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology
  • Journal of Clinical Psychology

Developmental Psychology

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Psychology and Aging
  • Child Development
  • Developmental Review
  • Experimental Aging Research
  • Infant Behavior and Development
  • Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
  • Adolescence
  • Journal of Adolescence

Personality and Social Psychology

  • Journal of Personality & Social Psychology
  • Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
  • Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
  • Journal of Research in Personality
  • Journal of Social Issues
  • Social Psychology Quarterly
  • Journal of Social Psychology
  • Basic & Applied Social Psychology
  • Journal of Social & Personal Relationships
  • Journal of Personality

Applied Areas of Psychology

  • Journal of Applied Psychology
  • Journal of Educational Psychology
  • Evaluation Review
  • Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
  • Health Psychology
  • Journal of Human Stress
  • Psychological Assessment
  • Human Performance
  • Environment and Behavior
  • Journal of Consumer Research
  • Journal of Marketing Research
  • Educational Psychologist
  • Educational & Psychological Measurement
  • American Education Research Journal
  • Applied & Preventive Psychology
  • Evaluation & Program Planning

Family Studies and Sexual Behavior

  • Journal of Family Psychology
  • Journal of Marriage and the Family
  • Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
  • Journal of Sex Research
  • Sexual Behavior
  • Journal of Homosexuality

Ethnic, Gender, and Cross-Cultural Issues

  • Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
  • Journal of Black Psychology
  • Psychology of Women Quarterly
  • Sex Roles
  • Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

Psychology and Religion

  • Journal of Psychology and Christianity
  • Journal of Psychology and Judaism
  • Journal of Psychology and Theology
  • Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

How do I find articles on my topic?   

There are several approaches to collecting articles on your topic. The easiest is to use electronic databases and catalogs. The largest is FirstSearch which is available free of charge to you as a student at NCU; however, you will need to get the Internet web address, authorization number, and password from the library. FirstSearch is divided into many databases. Some of the best ones to find professional research articles in psychology are PsychLit, PsychFirst, Sociological Abstracts, ERIC, Medline, and others. Your topic will determine the database (psychological, educational, medical, sociological, etc.). Proceed with your search as instructed by FirstSearch or ask one of the librarians for help. Another database available at NCU for religious research is Religion Index One on CD-ROM. This database contains some scholarly journals, but you'll need to pay close attention to whether or not it is a proper article to use.

Another way to go about your search is to actually go to a U of M library and access the Lumina catalog system. From there you may also gain access to PsychLit and other databases to search (ask a librarian for technical help). Make sure to search with different keywords to find different articles, and keep track of those articles that interest you. Many databases contain the articles' abstracts, so that you can get better idea of what the article is about.

After you have a list of potential articles, you can do a couple of things. The easiest is to order the articles through the Minitex/Inter-Library Loan system available through our library. Any librarian can supply you with the necessary forms to fill out. Copies of these articles can then be sent free of charge to you. If you can't wait to have the copies sent to you, you may want to go to the U of M to find the journal articles. This can be tricky at first, so you might want to tag along with a more experience literature reviewer.

One last tip, check out the references listed in the articles you do find. See who those researchers reviewed and pick out those that fit with your topic and repeat the search process. Sometimes they find articles you don't.

Once I have the articles, how do I read them?   

There is no one strategy for reading research reports that will work for everyone. Here's one strategy. First, read the title and abstract carefully, trying to identify the general questions raised. Second, skim the entire article rapidly to get an overview of what the researchers did and what the findings are. Third, read the introduction and discussion sections to understand the starting and ending points of the author's reasoning as well as their conclusions. Underline the hypotheses presented. Fourth, read the method and results sections to determine how well the procedure allows for testing of the hypotheses and whether the hypotheses were confirmed or not. Fifth, reread the discussion, keeping in mind the original hypotheses and the reported results. Sixth, put the article aside and take a break. This will allow you to clear your mind of details and focus on the issues raised by the research. Seventh, return to carefully read the article from start to finish.

Do I have to understand everything in the article?   

Of course not. These articles are primarily written for other professionals in the field of psychology. You'll be okay if you understand the basic issues, procedures, results, and conclusions. The further you progression the field, and the research articles you read, the more you will understand and the better you'll be able to critique the article.

What format should I use to write the paper?   

Most papers being with an introduction that defines the topic area and important terms, describes what you will and will not be covering. You may want to provide a guiding question or series of questions that you are interested in. You'll also want to tell the reader what the organization and flow of your paper is going to be like. For example, "first we'll cover this, and then this, and then this."

The body comes next, and it is usually organized in one of two different formats: annotated bibliography, or topic-orientated. If this is the first time you've written a literature review, you may want to choose the former. If you've written one before, please use the latter as it is seen as more appropriate in applied fields.

The final portion of the paper is the conclusion. In this section you are going to want to summarize what you've found in the literature. You'll also want to make some critique comments such as problems in sample size, limited age stages studied, little consensus in the field, strengths of the research and so on. You'll also want to put some or your comments here (remember that this is a review of what the professional literature has to say, not a position paper where you get to spout off for lengthy periods on why you think this or why you believe that). You may also want to include implications (because of what you've found, this is what it means for                 ), as well as some applications (based on what you've found, this can be used by some identified vocation in some certain way).

A few other suggestions include using transition sentences when you're shifting form one section to another. Make your organization clear to the reader by using headings. Have more than one person critique your paper before you hand it in, and treat their suggestions like a buffet table where you'll pick and choose certain items. Don't sit down at the computer and expect your draft to be your final draft. Expect some frustration in findings resources, and see the process as searching for gold. You're likely to see a lot of dirt and irrelevant information before you find what you're looking for. Finally, although personal position papers ("Here's what I think and why) are appropriate at times, they are not suitable for the purposes for this paper until you get to the conclusion section.

What is APA format and how can I get information about it?   

The American Psychological Association has a writing format that is often used in the fields of social sciences and education. You received information about it as a writing style in an appendix of a text used in your freshman composition and literature courses. Summary handouts that briefly describe some of the basic requirements are available in the department. Further information can be obtained from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed.), which is on reserve in the library and available for purchase in our bookstore. It is a required text for PSYC 460 Research Methods.

What should I so if I still have questions?   

Talk with your classmates or see the professors.

Adapted from Ellyson, S. & Halberstadt, A. (1995). Explorations in Social Psychology: Readings and Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.