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by Dr. Arvid J. Bloom
Fall 2007 Revision
Overview
A research report is required in order to obtain a master's
degree in I/O Psychology. Because each finished product is somewhat unique, it
is impossible to specify exact requirements (e.g., number of pages, number of
references cited, ways of critiquing articles, ways of organizing your report,
timeframes for completion, etc.). Owing to this fact, the ideas, suggestions,
and tips that follow provide only general guidance about how to proceed with
your project. Please review this guide thoroughly before discussing the research
report with your advisor and preferably before selecting a tentative topic.
Research report requirements vary
considerably from one professor to another. I/O students are not required
to write research reports that are supervised by I/O faculty; any
Psychology Department faculty member can supervise the report. If you wish to
pursue alternatives to the traditional approach described below, please propose
those alternatives directly to the Psychology faculty member that you might like
to work with.
Purpose of Report
A master's degree in I/O Psychology signifies that you
understand a number of key content areas and that you also possess research
skills. Much of your content knowledge can be obtained from course work and
related readings. The research report requirement allows you to refine and
demonstrate your research skills. These skills are essential for conducting
sound studies for employers, for consulting work, and for Ph.D.-level graduate
work. The report project will enable you to demonstrate your ability to
- conduct a literature search on a selected topic,
- critically review the literature,
- compare, contrast, and integrate the findings,
- identify areas for further research, and
- design a (hypothetical) study to investigate at least one
of those areas.
When to Write the Report
Signing up. Normally,
students sign up for the Research Report (PSY600) during their second year in
the I/O graduate program (after completing PSY560, PSY562, and one or more
graduate-level statistics courses). If you have some experience conducting
literature reviews, completion within one semester is reasonable. More time may
be required if the review process is relatively new to you or if articles on
your topic are difficult to locate. If the report is not completed by the end of
one semester, a "NG" (no grade) designation will appear on your transcript until
the report is completed.
Since research report writing is an iterative process,
sufficient time must be reserved for reviews and revisions. You will need to
agree explicitly with your advisor on deadlines for submissions if you plan to
obtain a grade or graduate by a specific date.
Integration with a master's thesis.
A research report must be completed even if you contemplate writing a master's
thesis. If you plan to complete a thesis, the research report is normally used
to review the literature and to propose a methodology for the thesis. Since a
thesis involves actually collecting and analyzing data, the proposed topic and
methodology must be thought out very carefully. This will involve extra effort
and planning for both you and your advisor. If you decide upon a thesis after
you are already well into your research report project, you may run into the
problems of
- not having a report topic that lends itself to thesis work,
- not having the time or resources to collect and analyze
data,
- not having the time to assemble and meet with a thesis
committee, and/or
- not having time to finish writing the thesis and making
required alterations to it.
The bottom line is that doing a thesis requires a serious
commitment at the start of the research report project and completion of the
research report at least six months prior to intended graduation.
Research reports and theses.
A master's thesis is not required for the I/O master's
program. However, students who complete a master's thesis must successfully
complete the research report first.
General Report Characteristics
The report consists of two distinct parts: (a) the literature
review and (b) a proposal for conducting a study that extends beyond the
reviewed literature. Ideally, the finished product should approach the quality
of published literature reviews (e.g., those appearing in Annual Reviews of
Psychology, Academy of Management Review, and Psychological Bulletin).
Literature review. This is
the major part of the report. Typical reviews range from 25 to 40 double-spaced
typed pages and reference 30-60 (primarily empirical) research articles. The aim
is to show insight and to be thorough rather than to fill space and drop names.
Verbose wording can obscure your key points and detract from overall quality.
The length and number of citations should be governed primarily by your topic.
The review should conclude with a discussion of areas for further research that
follows logically from the reviewed literature.
Study proposal. This part
of the report should be considerably shorter than the literature review. Typical
proposals range from 3 to 6 double-spaced typed pages. The aim is to demonstrate
your ability to design a psychological study. The proposal focuses upon an area
for potential further research by
- discussing the research question and its significance,
- defining research variables (i.e., dependent and, if
appropriate, independent ones),
- stating a theory or hypothesis based on those variables
(with justification), and
- detailing the design and implementation of a study that
could be used to test the theory or hypothesis.
You are not expected to actually conduct the
study or to collect data for the research report; you are expected to think out
the design of the study carefully, including the statistical methods of data
analysis and experimental conditions, if applicable. Essentially, the last step
above entails writing the equivalent of a METHOD section. Good models for METHOD
sections can be found in most empirical journals (e.g., Journal of Applied
Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied
Behavioral Science).
Report format. The entire
report should follow APA format (see Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (4ed); the WCU bookstore usually stocks this book
or it can be specially ordered). The format requirement applies particularly to
headings, in-text reference citations, and the References list at the end of the
report. To maintain clarity, one or more levels of sub-headings will be needed.
The appearance of the report you hand in may take one of two
formats – as long as you choose only one and use it consistently throughout the
report:
- Manuscript submission format:
This format adheres strictly to the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (4ed). Underlining is used to denote all text that
would appear italicized in actual print. No bolding is allowed anywhere. If
you use this format, be especially careful to underline all statistical
symbols (e.g., t, F, p, N, n, m,
etc.) and titles of journals or books and any volume numbers in the References
(e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology, 7, 34-45). Be careful not
to underline punctuation (e.g., spaces, commas, etc.) in the References list
unless they are part of the title.
- Journal appearance format
(This is the preferred format for the Research
Report!): This format – to be used only with suitable word
processing software packages – allows headings, symbols, and text to resemble
their appearance in printed articles. Text underlining should not be used
anywhere in the report; italicizing or bolding should be used instead, as
appropriate. Statistical symbols should be italicized throughout the report
(e.g., t, F, p, N, n, m, etc.), as
well as titles of journals or books and any volume numbers in the References
list (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology, 7, 34-45).
Common format errors.
Attention to detail is essential to a successful report. Here are
some of the more common sources of errors. Reports submitted with excessive or
distracting format problems may be returned for re-submission without comment
about the content. This list is by no means complete and should not be used in
place of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Citations should generally appear in one of three ways:
- within the text [e.g., "In a 1994 study by Bloom and
Duncan, the effect was shown to persist for several hours."],
- with name(s) and date(s) in parentheses [e.g., "There is
evidence that the effect persists for several hours (Bloom & Duncan, 1994)."],
or
- with just the date(s) in parentheses [e.g., "Bloom and
Duncan's (1994) research showed that the effect can persist for several
hours."].
If a parenthesized citation involves multiple sources (e.g.,
Bloom & Duncan, 1994; Smythe, 1924; Zeller, Cole, & Brooks, 1978), the sources
should be separated by semicolons (";") and should appear in alphabetical order
(i.e., the same order as in the References list).
If you cite a representative source or sources to support
assertions, use "e.g.," at the beginning of parenthesized citations (e.g., Bloom
& Duncan, 1994; Smythe, 1924) or mention the words "for example" (or some
synonym) within the text to let the reader know that you are simply giving
examples of sources rather than a complete listing.
Cite page numbers for all quotations (e.g., Bloom & Duncan,
1994, p. 24). Quotations requiring more than three lines should be set apart
from the surrounding text, indented from the left and right margins, single
spaced, and should not include surrounding quotation marks. See the APA Guide
for more details.
Avoid trivial or extensive quotations. Try to capture the
essence of long passages in your own words rather than quote them verbatim.
Generally, use quotations sparingly, and only to add emphasis or clarity to your
writing.
Use the "&" sign in place of the word "and" for parenthesized
citations with multiple authors (see above examples). The "&" sign is not to be
used outside of parenthesized citations except in tables, figures, or the
References list.
Every citation must have a corresponding entry in the
References list. Every entry in the References list must have at least one
corresponding citation.
Journal numbers in the References list should not accompany
the volume number unless the page numbers start over with "1" in each volume.
For example, "Journal of Applied Psychology, 4, 425-437" should be
used in the References list instead of "Journal of Applied Psychology,
4(3), 425-437" because the Journal of Applied Psychology's volume
number and page numbers are sufficient for locating the appropriate article.
Use one space between all sentences, not two; optionally, full
(right and left) text justification may be used unless you are using a
monospaced font whose characters appear typewriter-like (e.g., Courier, Courier
New, etc.).
Writing style. The report
should be written in the third person. In addition, note that it is
inappropriate for a research report to present advice for readers, individuals,
or organizations (e.g., "all large organizations should have stress management
programs") or to state conclusions or speculations that extend far beyond
researched samples (e.g., "turnover is probably greatest among uneducated
employees"). Furthermore, unsubstantiated and overly general statements about
human nature, managerial work, organizations, etc. should be avoided (e.g.,
"most managers are not concerned with setting long-term performance objectives")
together with unsubstantiated statistics about populations (e.g., "two-thirds of
the managers in the United States are over forty years old"). As general rules,
- try to cite references to back up major assertions,
- be cautious and logical about making extensions beyond
published research findings, and
- use words that denote judgment (e.g., should, must, good,
bad, etc.) very cautiously if at all.
Selecting a Tentative Topic
Invest considerable care in choosing your topic. One that is
too broad will overwhelm you (and the reader); one that is too narrow will not
provide you with enough literature to review. To sustain your efforts, it is
also critical that you have a strong interest in your topic. This is your
opportunity to become a specialist and to build a knowledge area that can
enhance your career prospects.
Focusing Your Topic and Locating Literature
Unless you are already an expert on the topic, focusing your
report may require several iterations. Here are some general guidelines:
Read widely. Be sure your
proposed topic is clearly I/O-related and read as much as you can about it. Seek
out recent literature (especially review articles, if possible) on your topic or
on topics closely related to yours. (Computer searches in the library, based on
keywords, are an excellent way to start.) Consult prior course readings. Seek
out as many empirical (data-oriented) articles as possible before looking for
practitioner-oriented articles. For some topics, business or educational
journals may be appropriate to consult. Whenever you locate a relevant article,
check its References list for additional publications that may pertain to your
topic. One sign of thoroughness in searching the literature is when most of the
entries in references lists point to sources you have already investigated.
Take stock of what you have found.
You should be able to evaluate the practicality of your topic after you have
read widely. Ideas from the literature may very well give you a new or revised
perspective. If you can't find enough articles (e.g., on "career development of
sanitation engineers"), you may need to broaden or change your topic area. If
you find an overwhelming amount of literature (e.g., on "motivation in the
workplace"), try to identify a facet of your original topic that is more limited
in scope but still addressed sufficiently by the literature (e.g., on
"motivating workers through pay for performance systems"). Another way to limit
your topic is to concentrate upon recent theories, research, and/or developments
in rapidly changing areas. Overall, the content of your research report should
represent your original thinking and should not overlap substantially with
existing review articles or reports.
Keep track of what you have read.
Many students prefer to photocopy the articles they review so that they can be
highlighted and marked up. If you copy an article, be sure that the full journal
citation is clearly identified on the copy. For some individuals, taking notes
on index cards works well.
Seek input from your report advisor.
It might be appropriate to discuss the feasibility of your initial ideas with
him/her before reviewing a great deal of literature. However, your report
advisor cannot be expected to be an expert on your topic nor to be a source of
topic ideas and literature references. You are expected to take independent
initiative to generate potential topics and to become knowledgeable with what
has been written about them. Which advisor you work with will depend partly upon
your preference, your proposed topic, the advisor's areas of interest, and
his/her schedule. Generally, you are expected to do some preliminary reading,
literature searching, and hard thinking on your proposed topic before selecting
and meeting with an advisor. In some situations, it may be appropriate to have a
backup topic that you have also investigated.
Organizing and Refining Your Literature Review
Good organization is one of the keys to a successful research
project. Here are some suggestions:
Create an outline. Reading
several published review articles will give you a good sense for how literature
reviews are organized. It is best to outline your review before writing it. Most
reviews are organized with headings and sub-headings. Start by determining the
headings of the major sections of your review. Then create sub-headings under
each heading that list the major concepts or ideas to be addressed. Under each
major concept or idea, you can then identify specific articles or finer points
that are to be explored.
Refine your ideas. You may
have to rearrange headings or information in your outline in order for ideas to
flow smoothly and to be integrated. Seeking additional references may be
appropriate for categories that appear to be incomplete. When you draft your
review based on the outline, you do not have to devote equal space to each
sub-topic; it is common for reviews to initially overview several broad areas
before delving into a logical subset of them in more detail. It is a good idea
to briefly review your outline with your advisor before actually drafting the
review.
Create a rough draft first.
Most sound reviews are written by successively improving upon earlier drafts.
Your first draft should aim to capture your basic ideas without emphasizing fine
wording. Later, read over and edit your draft, focusing upon the readability and
logic of what you have written. It is also essential to check carefully for
spelling, grammatical errors, and typos before you hand in anything. In
addition, you will need to verify that (a) every in-text reference citation is
backed up by a matching entry in the References list and (b) every entry in the
reference list is cited in at least one place in your text.
Use a word processor. It
is virtually a necessity to use a word processor for this project so that
alterations can be made without extensive retyping of drafts.
Show insight. Most
published reviews go beyond simply reporting research results. Selectively, they
also
- compare/contrast findings from different studies,
- compare/contrast methodologies used to arrive at those
findings,
- critique the methodologies, noting important strengths
and/or weaknesses,
- suggest extensions of studies, and/or
- combine results or findings from multiple studies into an
integrative picture or pattern.
These same approaches are crucial for creating a
successful research report. The integration stressed in the last point above is
especially important since literature reviews aim to crystallize readers'
thinking about a broad topic.
Submit a refined draft to your advisor.
Once you have created a "near-final" draft, you may submit it to your advisor
for review. Although you can expect a significant number of constructive
suggestions to be made, you will be graded only on your final report. You are
expected to respond to suggested improvements in your next draft. When you
re-submit a draft, attach the previous marked-up draft to it. Two or three
submissions to your advisor may be necessary to achieve a polished product.
Writing the Study Proposal
The study proposal section is placed after the literature
review and just prior to your References list. The intent is to propose an
empirical study and describe applicable methodology. Normally, the study will
not be carried out unless the research report is used as a basis for a master's
thesis. Here is a partial list of things to be discussed in the proposal:
Research question. Select
an idea (or closely-related set of ideas) for further research, based upon the
suggestions you have discussed near the end of your literature review. Discuss
the research question, why it is important to investigate, and the potential
implications from having the research question answered.
Research variables. Define
study variables that can logically be used to investigate your research
question. At the very least, you need to clearly identify one or more dependent
or outcome measures. You may need to create operational definitions of
constructs (e.g., motivation, career progress, turnover, performance, etc.). For
most studies, you will also need to identify predictors or independent variables
that you would expect to influence the outcome measures (e.g., gender, salary,
years of experience, amount of training, personal or situational
characteristics, etc.).
Population. Specifically
describe the population to which the proposed study applies.
Hypotheses. Based on your
research variables, state one or more hypotheses about how the dependent or
outcome measures should relate to (a) the predictors or independent variables or
(b) each other. Be specific (e.g., "involuntary dysfunctional turnover will be
lower when workers are paid on a piece-rate system than when they are paid at a
fixed hourly rate."). Justify your hypotheses by
- citing research you have included in your literature
review,
- citing specific theories or frameworks by others, and/or
- creating a theory or model of your own of the mechanisms by
which the outcome measures may be influenced.
Subjects. Describe the
number of subjects you propose to use, how they will be selected (including
important subject screening characteristics), and how they will be recruited. Do
they represent a sample or a population?
Design. Describe the
analytical design of the study (e.g., "A 4 x 2 (Training Method x User
Friendliness) factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) would be employed, with 10
subjects randomly assigned to each condition."). You need not propose a
classical between-subjects experimental design; within-subject, correlational,
factor-analytic, survey-based, and case-study designs are also permissible if
they lend themselves to the research question. You also need to describe the
quantitative or statistical methods that would be applied to the data to test
your hypotheses. If you propose an experiment, describe the levels of the
independent variable(s). Consult one or more statistics texts if you are unsure
about design considerations.
Procedure. In a systematic
way, describe how your data will be collected: What stimulus materials will be
used? How will they be administered? What constraints or safeguards are
important? How long will the procedure take? Who will collect the data and what
training or orientation do they need? If you propose an experiment, describe any
unique administrative procedures within each condition. Also, describe how
subjects will be debriefed.
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