Short Guide to Writing about Psychology
2nd Edition
Published on 19. July 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-205-52156-2 (ISBN)
Description
This brief guide takes students step-by-step through the writing process and introduces students to all elements of professional writing in APA style.
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 209 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
288 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-205-52156-2 (9780205521562)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
06/2010
3rd Edition
Pearson
€105.55
Article exhausted; check different version
Previous edition
Dana S. Dunn
A Short Guide to Writing About Psychology
Book
04/2004
Pearson
€23.50
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Content
PREFACE xiii
1-WRITING ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY 1
Writing as a Process 1
Why Write, Anyway? 2
Forms of Writing in Psychology 5
Student Papers 6
Introducing APA Style 7
Planning Your Writing: Timing Is Everything 8
Answering a Test Question 9
Writing a Paper 11
A Basic Timeline 11
Writing Habits 11
Exercises 12
2-SEARCHING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 13
Selecting a Research Topic 13
Maintaining a Research Notebook 15
Narrowing Your Focus 16
Process Overview: Searching the Psychological
Literature 19
Doing Library Research 20
A Brief Guide to Reference Works in Psychology 20
Using Online Catalogs 24
Psychology Online: Using Databases 25
Searching the Internet 28
Search and Metasearch 29
Other Internet Resources 31
Using the Internet: Caveat Emptor 32
Keeping Track of References 34
Logging References in a Working Bibliography 34
Exercises 36
3-READING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 37
The Scientific Pecking Order: Why Journals
Are First 38
How to Read and Evaluate the Literature 39
How to Read a Journal Article 40
Skimming: Doing a Quick Prereading 42
Taking Notes on What You Read 45
Using Notecards 45
Using a Research Notebook 46
Recognizing and Preventing Plagiarism 46
A Plagiarism-Awareness Exercise 48
One More Word of Advice 51
Exercises 52
4-GETTING STARTED WRITING 53
Getting Started: Prewriting Activities 55
Freewriting 56
Outlining 58
Writing a First Draft 63
Trick Drafts: Starting with the Roughest Draft 64
Writing a Hypothesis and Composing Paragraphs 65
A Recommended Order for Drafting APA-Style Papers 67
Writing Subsequent Drafts 69
Three Issues to Consider 69
Suggestions for Further Improvement 71
How Many Drafts? 72
Revising: Top to Bottom Every Time 73
Revisiting a Draft 74
Seeking Feedback 77
Professor, Peer, or Writing Center? 77
How to (Graciously) Receive Feedback 78
How to (Graciously) Give Feedback 79
Exercises 80
5-WRITING APA-STYLE PAPERS: CONTENT
AND GUIDANCE 81
Benefits of APA Style 81
Bem's Hourglass Model for Empirical Writings 82
Writing the Empirical, or Research, Paper
in APA Style 82
Title 82
Abstract 85
Introduction 88
Method 93
Results 98
Discussion 99
References 102
Tables and Figures 102
Appendix 103
Author Note 103
A Sample Research Paper 104
Writing an Article Critique 116
Writing a Research Proposal 116
Writing a Literature Review Paper 117
Writing a Theory Paper 119
Exercises 119
6-WRITING UP RESULTS 121
Conveying Statistical Results in Words 121
Starting with a Hypothetical Research Result 121
Organizing the Results Section 125
Reflecting Further on Your Results 128
New APA Guidelines on Statistical Methods 128
Meaning Before Numbers: The MAGIC Criteria 130
Exercises 131
7-CITING REFERENCES IN APA STYLE 132
Citations and References 132
Learning the Psychological Literature by Reading
References Sections 133
Basic Citation Mechanics 134
Citing References Within Text 134
Quoting and Paraphrasing 136
Citing Secondary Sources 142
Formats for APA-Style References 143
Journal Articles 144
Books 145
Edited Books 146
Chapters in Edited Books 146
Magazine or Newspaper Articles 144
Presentations at Professional Meetings
or Conferences 147
Electronic (Online) Sources 147
Reviews 149
Personal Communications 149
Letters to the Editor 149
Dissertations and Master's Theses 149
Unpublished Manuscripts or Data 150
Exercises 152
8-DISPLAYING DATA IN TABLES AND FIGURES 153
Tables 153
Constructing a Table 154
Figures 157
Constructing a Figure 159
Exercises 162
9-FORMATTING AND PROOFREADING YOUR PAPER 163
Grammar Guidelines 163
Punctuation Basics 167
Some Common Usage Errors in Student Writing 170
Checking Your Spelling 172
Checking Your Writing Voice: Be Active,
Not Passive 173
Using Inclusive Language 174
Gender and Sex 176
Race and Ethnicity 178
Guidelines for Formatting in APA Style 178
Title Page 179
Page Numbering 180
Headings and Subheadings 180
Quickly Checking a Paper's Format 181
Proofreading the Penultimate Draft: Once More
with Feeling 181
Exercises 185
10-BEYOND WRITING: PRESENTING PSYCHOLOGICAL
RESEARCH 186
The Call for Papers 186
Understanding Call Types and Requirements 187
Knowing Your Audience 189
The Talk 191
Outlining a Talk 192
Preparing Overheads, Slides, and Handouts 193
Computer-Aided Presentations 193
Practice, Practice, Practice 195
Giving the Talk: Be a Pro, Avoid the Cons 195
Symposia: Talks in Common 199
Student Symposia 199
Poster Presentations 200
Knowing What to Expect 201
Creating a Poster: Less Is More-and More
Is a Bore 202
Return to Writing: Submitting Your Research
to a Journal 205
Student Journals 206
Professional Journals 206
Submission, Peer Review, and Editorial Decision:
A Process Outline 208
Patience, Patience, Patience 210
Exercises 211
APPENDIX-SOME JOURNALS IN PSYCHOLOGY 212
REFERENCES 214
CREDITS 220
INDEX 223
1-WRITING ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY 1
Writing as a Process 1
Why Write, Anyway? 2
Forms of Writing in Psychology 5
Student Papers 6
Introducing APA Style 7
Planning Your Writing: Timing Is Everything 8
Answering a Test Question 9
Writing a Paper 11
A Basic Timeline 11
Writing Habits 11
Exercises 12
2-SEARCHING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 13
Selecting a Research Topic 13
Maintaining a Research Notebook 15
Narrowing Your Focus 16
Process Overview: Searching the Psychological
Literature 19
Doing Library Research 20
A Brief Guide to Reference Works in Psychology 20
Using Online Catalogs 24
Psychology Online: Using Databases 25
Searching the Internet 28
Search and Metasearch 29
Other Internet Resources 31
Using the Internet: Caveat Emptor 32
Keeping Track of References 34
Logging References in a Working Bibliography 34
Exercises 36
3-READING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 37
The Scientific Pecking Order: Why Journals
Are First 38
How to Read and Evaluate the Literature 39
How to Read a Journal Article 40
Skimming: Doing a Quick Prereading 42
Taking Notes on What You Read 45
Using Notecards 45
Using a Research Notebook 46
Recognizing and Preventing Plagiarism 46
A Plagiarism-Awareness Exercise 48
One More Word of Advice 51
Exercises 52
4-GETTING STARTED WRITING 53
Getting Started: Prewriting Activities 55
Freewriting 56
Outlining 58
Writing a First Draft 63
Trick Drafts: Starting with the Roughest Draft 64
Writing a Hypothesis and Composing Paragraphs 65
A Recommended Order for Drafting APA-Style Papers 67
Writing Subsequent Drafts 69
Three Issues to Consider 69
Suggestions for Further Improvement 71
How Many Drafts? 72
Revising: Top to Bottom Every Time 73
Revisiting a Draft 74
Seeking Feedback 77
Professor, Peer, or Writing Center? 77
How to (Graciously) Receive Feedback 78
How to (Graciously) Give Feedback 79
Exercises 80
5-WRITING APA-STYLE PAPERS: CONTENT
AND GUIDANCE 81
Benefits of APA Style 81
Bem's Hourglass Model for Empirical Writings 82
Writing the Empirical, or Research, Paper
in APA Style 82
Title 82
Abstract 85
Introduction 88
Method 93
Results 98
Discussion 99
References 102
Tables and Figures 102
Appendix 103
Author Note 103
A Sample Research Paper 104
Writing an Article Critique 116
Writing a Research Proposal 116
Writing a Literature Review Paper 117
Writing a Theory Paper 119
Exercises 119
6-WRITING UP RESULTS 121
Conveying Statistical Results in Words 121
Starting with a Hypothetical Research Result 121
Organizing the Results Section 125
Reflecting Further on Your Results 128
New APA Guidelines on Statistical Methods 128
Meaning Before Numbers: The MAGIC Criteria 130
Exercises 131
7-CITING REFERENCES IN APA STYLE 132
Citations and References 132
Learning the Psychological Literature by Reading
References Sections 133
Basic Citation Mechanics 134
Citing References Within Text 134
Quoting and Paraphrasing 136
Citing Secondary Sources 142
Formats for APA-Style References 143
Journal Articles 144
Books 145
Edited Books 146
Chapters in Edited Books 146
Magazine or Newspaper Articles 144
Presentations at Professional Meetings
or Conferences 147
Electronic (Online) Sources 147
Reviews 149
Personal Communications 149
Letters to the Editor 149
Dissertations and Master's Theses 149
Unpublished Manuscripts or Data 150
Exercises 152
8-DISPLAYING DATA IN TABLES AND FIGURES 153
Tables 153
Constructing a Table 154
Figures 157
Constructing a Figure 159
Exercises 162
9-FORMATTING AND PROOFREADING YOUR PAPER 163
Grammar Guidelines 163
Punctuation Basics 167
Some Common Usage Errors in Student Writing 170
Checking Your Spelling 172
Checking Your Writing Voice: Be Active,
Not Passive 173
Using Inclusive Language 174
Gender and Sex 176
Race and Ethnicity 178
Guidelines for Formatting in APA Style 178
Title Page 179
Page Numbering 180
Headings and Subheadings 180
Quickly Checking a Paper's Format 181
Proofreading the Penultimate Draft: Once More
with Feeling 181
Exercises 185
10-BEYOND WRITING: PRESENTING PSYCHOLOGICAL
RESEARCH 186
The Call for Papers 186
Understanding Call Types and Requirements 187
Knowing Your Audience 189
The Talk 191
Outlining a Talk 192
Preparing Overheads, Slides, and Handouts 193
Computer-Aided Presentations 193
Practice, Practice, Practice 195
Giving the Talk: Be a Pro, Avoid the Cons 195
Symposia: Talks in Common 199
Student Symposia 199
Poster Presentations 200
Knowing What to Expect 201
Creating a Poster: Less Is More-and More
Is a Bore 202
Return to Writing: Submitting Your Research
to a Journal 205
Student Journals 206
Professional Journals 206
Submission, Peer Review, and Editorial Decision:
A Process Outline 208
Patience, Patience, Patience 210
Exercises 211
APPENDIX-SOME JOURNALS IN PSYCHOLOGY 212
REFERENCES 214
CREDITS 220
INDEX 223