Deck 4: Writing in Psychology

Question 1

What is meant by the term "invisible college"?

A) a college that offers extension or correspondence courses
B) a group of scientists who communicate among themselves about research in a particular area of science
C) a panel of judges who evaluate the worth of colleges and universities
D) a panel of judges who evaluate the worth of research report

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The abstract section of a paper contains

A) Only the evidence for the argument
B) An overview of the entire argument
C) Only the premises of your argument
D) Where you got your premises

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which one of the following is the correct order of parts of an APA style document?

A) Figures, Tables, Discussion, Results
B) Results, Discussion, Figures, Tables
C) Results, Figures, Tables, Discussion
D) Results, Discussion, Tables, Figures

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A common problem with biased language is

A) Using words that imply ownership
B) Stereotyping by labeling
C) The over usage of personal pronouns
D) Ending a sentence with a preposition

Question 5

Which of the following are the most important elements of good report writing?

A) passive voice, clarity, brevity
B) active voice, informal tone, clarity, brevity
C) active voice, clarity, brevity
D) clarity, brevity, pleasingness of style

Question 6

The goal of scientific writing is to

A) let the data speak for themselves
B) inform
C) persuade
D) Both b and c are true.

Question 7

In APA format, the margins are

A) 0.5"
B) 1"
C) 1.25"
D) 1.5"

Question 8

Authors on a paper are usually listed in

A) Order of their contribution level
B) Alphabetically
C) By institution
D) Arbitrarily

Question 9

The thesis of an argument is

A) a big book
B) a proposition that is supported by the argument
C) a piece of writing in APA format
D) another name for a Master's defense

Question 10

Which of the following represents the best title for a paper?

A) An experimental study of depression in adults
B) A study on the relationship between asthma and maternal depression
C) Associations between Facebook activity and alcohol consumption
D) A study on the effects of schoolwide interventions on bullying

Question 11

An argument in a research paper is

A) to be avoided
B) regrettable, but sometimes unavoidable
C) a set of reasons in support of a position
D) an educated guess as to the outcome of the experiment

Question 12

A group of people who share common goals, a public forum, common knowledge, and a specialized language is called

A) a discourse community
B) an invisible college
C) an archival journal
D) an ACC

Question 13

Which of the following terms illustrates sexist language?

A) letter carrier
B) personnel
C) sewer grate
D) manpower

Question 14

Familiarity with APA format

A) Makes reading and writing professional literature more convenient
B) Is important for submitting an empirical report to a psychological journal
C) Is important for submitting a review article to a psychological journal
D) All of the above

Question 15

You should write your research report so that it can be understood by

A) the general, educated public
B) fellow undergraduate psychology students
C) a friend
D) a discourse community

Question 16

Which font should be used for APA formatting?

A) 10 pt Ariel
B) 12 pt Ariel
C) 10 pt Times New Roman
D) 12 pt Times New Roman

Question 17

Saying exactly what you mean to say as directly as possible is an example of which writing goal?

A) Clarity
B) Brevity
C) Felicity
D) An argument

Question 18

Pleasingness of style is ___________ in a research paper

A) unprofessional
B) nice if you can do it
C) one of the goals of writing
D) distracting

Question 19

Making every word count in a document is an example of which writing goal?

A) Clarity
B) Brevity
C) Felicity
D) An argument

Question 20

As a noun, affect means

A) Influence
B) outcome
C) Emotion
D) Accomplish

Question 21

Which one of the following is not a part of the methods section of a research report?

A) description of subjects
B) description of the materials used in the study
C) description of the design of the study
D) statement of the expected results of the study

Question 22

When you write a paper in APA style, you should report your results in

A) the present tense
B) the past perfect tense
C) the past tense
D) any of the above

Question 23

An abstract summarizes the

A) theory behind the research
B) relevant literature
C) problem, method, results, and conclusions
D) data collection and analysis procedures

Question 24

Which one of the following is not a part of a research paper?

A) abstract
B) discussion
C) bibliography
D) authors and their affiliations

Question 25

In APA format, the reference section of an article

A) Is in alphabetical order
B) Starts on a new page
C) Uses a five-space hanging indent
D) All of the above

Question 26

When documenting a research report, it is important to

A) include both primary and secondary sources of ideas
B) document statements that are common knowledge
C) document information about the theory, method, and data that the writer discusses
D) provide the reader with sources for wider reading on the subject

Question 27

Figures in a research report should

A) appear before the references
B) be color coded
C) not have page numbers on them
D) be hand drawn, preferably by the author

Question 28

The methods section of a research paper contains

A) the research design, procedures, and description of subjects and measures
B) the literature review and hypotheses
C) the definition of terms, literature review, and data analysis procedures
D) the research design, tables and figures, and literature review

Question 29

The reference list should include

A) all the sources you used in your research, even if you didn't cite it in the paper
B) only those sources you cited in the paper
C) only those sources that you quoted in the paper
D) only sources that are available in printed form in a library

Question 30

APA style now requires the use of participants instead of subjects

A) when describing humans
B) everywhere we used to say subjects
C) when describing humans, except in describing statistics
D) everywhere except in the methods and results sections

Question 31

The ____________ of a paper is the most difficult part of the paper and is often written last

A) Method section
B) Results section
C) Discussion section
D) Abstract

Question 32

Which one of the following is not a part of the introduction to a research paper?

A) Statement of the problem
B) Statement of the hypothesis or hypotheses
C) An in-depth history of the problem
D) Statement of the expected results

Question 33

Tables in a research report should

A) duplicate the text
B) be color coded
C) supplement the text
D) include only a summary of the data,
E)g., means and standard deviations

Question 34

Which one of the following titles illustrates the most clear and explanatory title for a table?

A) Mean Performance Scores of College Students as a Function of Major
B) Relation Between College Majors and Performance
C) Table Representing College Majors and Performance Data
D) Mean Performance Scores on Three Tests With Psychology, Physics, and English Majors

Question 35

An author note appears

A) On the title page
B) On a separate page, after the references
C) On the same page as the abstract
D) On a separate page, after the figures

Question 36

In APA format, the abstract of an article must be

A) less than 50 words
B) less than 80 words
C) less than 100 words
D) less than 250 words

Question 37

When you write a paper in APA style, you should report your methods in

A) the past tense
B) the present tense
C) the past perfect tense
D) any of the above

Question 38

Figure captions

A) Should never appear in APA style
B) Appear on a separate sheet, just before the figures themselves in APA format
C) Should appear above the figure in APA style
D) Should appear below the figure in APA style

Question 39

The introduction section of a research paper contains

A) the research design, procedures, and description of subjects and measures
B) the literature review and hypotheses
C) the statisitics and data analysis procedures
D) the research design, tables and figures, and literature review

Question 40

The discussion part of a research paper

A) interprets the data and relates them to the hypothesis or hypotheses
B) describes the subjects, apparatus, design and procedures
C) tells what the researcher did in the experiment
D) discusses the relevant literature and states what the study will contribute to the understanding of the problem

Question 41

___________ have become popular ways of presenting research at scientific meetings

A) Blogs
B) Posters
C) Journal articles
D) Books

Question 42

Self-Plagiarism occurs

A) Previously published work is presented as though it were new
B) A student submits for a current assignment a paper that was previously prepared for a different assignment in a different class
C) An author describes but does not cite previously published work
D) All of the above

Question 43

After identifying an appropriate journal to which to submit a paper, the researcher should

A) select two alternative publication sources
B) contact the journal editor
C) examine recent issues of the journal
D) set the date for publication

Question 44

A key element to a good oral presentation of a research study is

A) brevity
B) a well-written abstract
C) presenting good visual aids
D) presenting posters

Question 45

The way to prevent unintentional plagiarism is

A) Run your paper by Google
B) Take good notes when preparing to write
C) Put quotes around everything
D) Make sure that your reference page contains every article and book that you read on the topic.

Question 46

Scientific literature that falls outside the peer review process

A) cannot be cited in APA format
B) is generally harder to obtain
C) is called gray literature
D) is called peerless literature

Question 47

A reference to a journal that has appeared online should

A) never include the issue number
B) include the DOI if it is available
C) not include the title
D) include the name of the publishing company

Question 48

Select a research topic of limited scope and write a hypothetical research report. Include the following: a statement of the problem; brief review of the literature; methods section; and data analysis section. Since this is a hypothetical study, you are not expected to actually collect the data or produce any results or conclusions. therefore, the sections dealing with results and conclusions will be missing from your paper. Do a brief review of the literature and limit your review and statement of the problem to two or three typewritten pages. Be brief and concise and pay special attention to the continuity of ideas. Use your mastery of the content of previous chapters from the textbook to present an adequate and correct methodology for doing the research project. Include a reference section. This project suggests a writing task of the scope of a short term paper.

Question 49

Which one of the following is the correct APA style of documenting the authors of a work cited in the text of a paper?

A) McBurney and Middleton 1999) found that...
B) McBurney & Middleton 1999) found that...
C) McBurney et al. 1999) found that...
D) McBurney and Middleton 1999) found that...

Question 50

Which one of the following entries correctly follows the APA style?

A) Smith, Leah. Introduction to the language arts. Leonard-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1998.
B) Smith, L. 1998). Introduction to the language arts. Leonard-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
C) Smith, L. Introduction to the language arts. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Leonard-Hall, 1998.
D) Smith, Leah. 1998). Introduction to the language arts. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Leonard-Hall.

Question 51

When documenting a research paper, the researcher should do all of the following except

A) give credit to ideas that are other people's
B) show where important ideas fit into a larger framework
C) provide the reader with information about the theory, methods, and data discussed
D) document statements that are common knowledge

Question 52

Which one of the following is not a part of a reference?

A) date of publication
B) title of article or book
C) author's college or university affiliation
D) name of authors)

Question 53

List the parts of the main body of a scientific article in APA style, and describe the contents of each.

Question 54

If you only know of Smith's 1998 work by reading it in Jones' 1999 paper, you

A) can't cite Smith
B) cite Jones 1999)
C) cite Smith 1998)
D) cite Smith 1998, as cited by Jones, 1999)

Question 55

When an editor has received all the reviews on an article, the editor

A) accepts the paper
B) accepts the paper pending revisions
C) rejects the paper
D) any of the above

Question 56

The first step in preparing a research report for publication is to

A) determine the journal most likely to publish it
B) develop an outline of its content
C) write the abstract and introduction
D) write query letters to several journal editors

Question 57

An oral presentation at a scientific meeting

A) contains all of the same parts as a research paper
B) is often very long
C) consists of scientists reading the papers that they've written out loud
D) is generally harder to understand than a written journal article.

Question 58

Put the following information into APA style references:
a. Mary Ellen Smith, a professor at Dartmouth College, wrote a book entitled "The Understanding of Psychology." It was published by the Fullcourt Press, 3500 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 on the 10^th of March, 2003.
b. Andy P. Joker and Bruce A. Riddler wrote a book chapter called "Knowns and Unknowns of Anti-Social Behavior" in 1972. It was published that same year in the Handbook of Interpersonal Relations, which was edited by A.D. Penguin, on pages 719-740. The book was published in Boston by Big City Press.
c. In his article, "Revenge as Motivation", Bruce Wayne provides a brief history of the role that anger has played in motivating pro-social behavior. It is found on pages 25-42 of volume 2 of the Gotham Journal of Psychology, which was published in 1963.

Question 59

Discuss the three guidelines provided by the APA in avoiding biased language.