Purpose: Part of conducting psychological research is reviewing and understanding published research studies. The purpose of journal article critiques is to facilitate students understanding of psychological research and to allow students to explore concepts not presented in class. Directions:The instructor will provide a link to the journal article for your review. Please read the article and write a report that answers the following questions and submit your answers via the assignment function in Canvas by the due date. Write your answers using APA format. APA format includes a title page and a paper with headings (e.g. Summary of Introduction and Variables; A More Conservative Test; Summary of Method; etc.). Questions: 1. List the reference for the article in APA format (see sample below). Do not copy the reference section at the end. Put the reference for the article you read into APA format. This is practice for creating a reference section for your own paper. 2. Can you use the title of the study to identify the independent and dependent variables? (Many titles are in this format: “The effects of IV on the DV.”) If you cannot use the title to identify the independent and Dependent variables, please identify them from the introduction section. Describe the independent and dependent variables in the article. Describe the operational definitions of the independent and dependent variables, that is explain how the variables are measured or recorded. 3. The authors described the use of texting as a “more conservative test of the impact of ostracism” (p. 294). What did they mean by “more conservative,” and why might an experimenter opt for a more conservative test of the phenomenon of interest? 4. The authors wanted to explore possible moderating factors influencing the impact of ostracism on individuals. What is meant by a moderating factor? How does this differ from a mediating factor? 5. What did you learn from the methods section? Who were the subjects? What procedures (e.g., apparatus, directions, assessment tools) were used? Describe in detail the methodology used in the present study. 6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the study design? 7. What factors influence the statistical power in a study? The authors stated that they excluded the data from three participants who guessed the true purpose of the experiment. Was this really necessary, especially as the exclusion reduced the statistical power of the study? 8. Why was it important that the raters who analyzed the content of the text message be blind to the experimental conditions of the participants? How might knowing what condition the participant was in influence the coding process? 9. The authors reported that very few participants filled out the open-ended questions on the post experimental questionnaire. How might the authors have encouraged more participants to respond to these questions? 10. What did you think about the article? Explain.
