Deck 16: Scientific Writing

Question 1

Which of the following things should the introduction of a research article do?

A)Review all of the published literature on the topic of the study.
B)Begin on page 2 of the manuscript.
C)State the question or hypothesis under investigation.
D)Summarize the procedure of the study.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following statements about sexist language is true?

A)Although sexist language may be objectionable to some people on philosophical grounds, it has no effect on readers' comprehension.
B)Readers usually interpret masculine words as referring to men only.
C)Few journals insist authors use gender-neutral language.
D)It is appropriate to use common terms such as "policeman" to refer to both male and female police officers.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The method section of a research article should include which of these sections?

A)Materials, procedure, analyses
B)Participants, materials, procedure
C)Materials, apparatus, method
D)Participants, design, procedure

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What do we call the brief summary that appears at the beginning of a research article?

A)Synopsis
B)Summary
C)Overview
D)Abstract

Question 5

According to APA guidelines, which phrase should be used to refer to people who have been diagnosed as depressed?

A)Depressed people
B)Psychologically disturbed people
C)Depressives
D)People who are depressed

Question 6

Why must you be careful about using scientific information that you find on the Internet?

A)It is often wrong.
B)It may be plagiarized.
C)It has often not been peer reviewed.
D)It is usually already published elsewhere.

Question 7

Which of the following sentences is not grammatically correct?

A)The data was analyzed with a t-test.
B)Since the earliest days of psychology, many researchers have discussed the nature of the self.
C)When a student is not prepared for a test, he or she is likely to feel anxious.
D)As participants entered the lab, they received a packet of questionnaires.

Question 8

According to APA guidelines,

A)gender-inclusive language should be used when possible.
B)"he or she" should be used instead of "he/she."
C)researchers are free to use gender-neutral language if they wish, but do not have to.
D)the word "girls" should never be used in scientific writing.

Question 9

Which of the following are characteristic of good scientific writing?

A)Clarity, organization, conciseness
B)Conciseness, organization, comprehensiveness
C)Conciseness, clarity, exhaustiveness
D)Clarity, simplicity, organization

Question 10

If you were using an article by Howard, Howard, and Fine (1936), how would you cite it the second time it appeared in the text?

A)Howard, Howard, and Fine (1936)
B)Howard, Howard, and Fine
C)Howard et al. (1936)
D)Howard, Howard, Fine, et al. (1936)

Question 11

Of the decisions an editor can make regarding whether a paper should be published, which is the most common?

A)Accept the paper for publication as it is.
B)Accept the paper for publication if the author revises it in certain ways.
C)Reject the paper, but encourage the author to submit a revision for reconsideration.
D)Reject the paper.

Question 12

Which of the following sentences is not grammatically correct?

A)Sixty-five female participants were tested.
B)People who have experienced traumatic events often have difficulty sleeping.
C)The phenomenon of sexual harassment has received little research attention.
D)After the participant completed the questionnaire, they were debriefed.

Question 13

The "hidden university"

A)consists of people who learn on their own at home.
B)refers to the informal networks among researchers.
C)is an obscure university that has well-known researchers.
D)refers to the journals from which researchers learn.

Question 14

Which of the following is not a means by which researchers disseminate their findings to other scientists?

A)Informal contact
B)Publication of articles in journals
C)Presentations at professional meetings
D)Researchers disseminate their findings in all of these ways.

Question 15

When reporting the results of statistical tests in a research article, which of the following pieces of information should not be presented?

A)The calculated value of the statistic
B)The name of the test
C)The level of significance
D)The critical value of the statistic

Question 16

Which of the following is not one of the four major parts of a research article?

A)Discussion
B)Appendix
C)Introduction
D)Results

Question 17

Researchers who present their research at professional conferences may do so in either a paper session or a _________ session.

A)presentation
B)poster
C)review
D)verbal

Question 18

What is wrong with the following reference to an article? Greenwald, A. G. 1980. The totalitarian ego: Fabrication and revision of personal history. American Psychologist, 35, 603-618. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.35.7.603

A)The author's initials should appear before his last name.
B)The date should be in parentheses.
C)Each word in the title of the article should be capitalized.
D)The page numbers should be preceded by "pp."

Question 19

The process by which other experts evaluate whether a particular piece of research should be published is

A)institutional review.
B)peer review.
C)editorial consent.
D)scientific critique.

Question 20

If you were citing an article published in 1990 by Borwick, Anderson, and Williams, how would you cite it in the text of a research article?

A)Anderson, Borwick, and Williams (1990)
B)Borwick, Anderson, & Williams, 1990
C)Anderson, Borwick, & Williams (1990)
D)Borwick, Anderson, and Williams (1990)

Question 21

Where should page numbers should appear on a manuscript, according to APA style?

A)In the upper right corner of the page
B)At the top center of the page
C)In the lower right corner of the page
D)At the bottom center of the page

Question 22

Typically, journal editors make one of four decisions about a manuscript. What are their options?

Question 23

What is wrong with the following reference to a book? Schlenker, B. R. (1980). Impression management. Brooks/Cole: Monterey, CA.

A)The author's initials should appear before his last name.
B)The date is misplaced.
C)The word "management" should be capitalized.
D)The order of the city and publisher are reversed.

Question 24

Give the proper APA reference form for (a)a journal article and (b)a book.

Question 25

What are the four major parts of a research article (in order)?

Question 26

Which of the following is incorrect according to APA style?

A)230 participants
B)6 questions
C)11 rats
D)30 days

Question 27

What are the three primary ways that researchers disseminate their finding to other scientists?

Question 28

The unique identification number assigned to every published article is the

A)uniform resource locator.
B)PsycInfo code.
C)direct object identifier.
D)Library of Congress number.

Question 29

Why should researchers strive to use gender-neutral language?

Question 30

Of the people who contributed to a research paper, the person listed as first author is generally the one who

A)did the greatest amount of work.
B)provided funding for the project.
C)has the highest seniority or status in the organization.
D)made the greatest scientific contribution.

Question 31

Why do researchers use PsycInfo?

A)To locate articles on a particular topic
B)To learn about careers in psychological research
C)To find scientific articles on the Internet
D)To submit articles for publication

Question 32

What is wrong with the following reference to a chapter? Cooper, E. (2000). Social eccentricities. In C. Van Pelt (Ed.), The strange ones among us. New York: Mountain Press.

A)The editor's last name should precede his first initial.
B)Each word in the title of the book should be capitalized.
C)Page numbers for the chapter are missing.
D)The editor of the book should be listed before the author of the chapter.