Everyday Research Methods

Articles that are student-friendly

A list of recent articles that are student-accessible (updated January 2024)

Compiled by Beth Morling and Jeong-Min Lee, Georgia State

Our students have used these articles in their final projects for Research Methods in the past. In this final project, students summarize and analyze the validities for two empirical studies. (I can provide the assignment upon request: [email protected].)

Most of these articles report more than one study, and at least one of the studies is simple enough for a student with basic skills in research methods to understand. The most complex experimental design would be a 3-way factorial design. The most complex correlational design uses multiple regression and (sometimes) mediation.

 

Broda, M., Yun, J., Schneider, B., Yeager, D. S., Walton, G. M., & Diemer, M. (2018). Reducing inequality in academic success for incoming college students: A randomized trial of growth mindset and belonging interventions. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 11(3), 317–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2018.1429037

Buckels, E. E., Jones, D. N., & Paulhus, D. L. (2013). Behavioral confirmation of everyday sadism. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2201–2209. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613490749  [good example of criterion validity]

Chang, F., Luo, M., Walton, G. M., Aguilar, L., & Bailenson, J. (2019). Stereotype threat in virtual learning environments: Effects of avatar gender and sexist behavior on women’s math learning outcomes. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 22, 1-7.
[This is a 2x2]

Dietze, P., & Knowles, E. D. (2021). Social class predicts emotion perception and perspective-taking performance in adults. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(1), 42–56. doi: doi.org/10.1177/0146167220914116

Epley, N., & Schroeder, J. (2014). Mistakenly seeking solitude. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General, 143(5), 1980-1999. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037323 
[My students focused on Experiment 1]

Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (2), 377-389.  https://doi.org.10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377

Goh, J. X., Bandt-Law, B., Cheek, N. N., Sinclair, S., & Kaiser, C. R. (2021). Narrow prototypes and neglected victims: Understanding perceptions of sexual harassment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000260 
[Focus on Study A1]

Guhn, M., Emerson, S. D., & Gouzouasis, P. (2020). A population-level analysis of associations between school music participation and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(2), 308-320. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000376 [Focus on Figure 2]

Halberstadt, A. G., Cooke, A. N., Garner, P. W., Hughes, S. A., Oertwig, D., & Neupert, S. D. (2020). Racialized emotion recognition accuracy and anger bias of children’s faces. Emotion, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/emo0000756  [Focus on Figure 3]

Hehman, E., Flake, J. K., & Calanchini, J. (2018). Disproportionate use of lethal force in policing is associated with regional racial biases of residents. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(4), 393–401. doi: 10.1177/1948550617711229 
[good example of regression]

Hittner, E. F., Stephens, J. E., Turiano, N. A., Gerstorf, D., Lachman, M. E., & Haase, C. M. (2020). Positive affect is associated with less memory decline: Evidence from a 9-year longitudinal study. Psychological Science, 31(11), 1386–1395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620953883
[Focus on Table 2; good example of regression]

Jamieson, J. P., Peters, B. J., Greenwood, E. J., Altose, A. J., (2016). Reappraising stress arousal
improves performance and reduces evaluation anxiety in classroom exam situations.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7(6), 579-587.
[pretest/posttest design, focus on Table 1]

Leonard, J. A., Martinez, D. N., Dashineau, S. C., Park, A. T., & Mackey, A. P. (2021). Children persist less when adults take over. Child Development, cdev.13492. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13492
[correlational and experimental designs combined]

Scullin, M. K., Gao, C., & Fillmore, P. (2021). Bedtime music, involuntary musical imagery, and sleep. Psychological Science, 32(7), 985–997. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797621989724

 

Schünemann, B., Keller, J., Rakoczy, H., Behne, T., & Bräuer, J. (2021). Dogs distinguish human intentional and unintentional action. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94374-3

 

Silvia, P., Christensen, A. P., & Cotter, K. N. (2020). Right-wing authoritarians aren't very funny: RWA, personality, and creative humor production. Personality and Individual Differences, 170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110421. [Nice bivariate correlation matrix]

 

Siniscalchi, M., Lusito, R., Vallortigara, G., & Quaranta, A. (2013). Seeing left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging produces different emotional responses in dogs. Current Biology, 23(22), 2279-2282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.09.027 

 

Steger, M. F., Shim, Y., Barenz, J., & Shin, J. Y. (2014). Through the windows of the
soul: A pilot study using photography to enhance meaning in life. Journal of Contextual
Behavioral Science, 3(1), 27-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2013.11.002

[Note this is a one-group, pretest-posttest, so lots of practice with Chapter 11 concepts here]

Thomas, C. C., Otis, N. G., Abraham, J. R., Markus, H. R., & Walton, G. M. (2020). Toward a science of delivering aid with dignity: Experimental evidence and local forecasts from Kenya. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(27), 15546–15553. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1917046117

Webb, N. L., & Drummond, P. D. (2001). The effect of swimming with dolphins on human well-being and anxiety. Anthrozoös, 14(2), 81–85. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279301786999526  [Quasi-experiment; nice selection effect example]

Wolf, W., & Tomasello, M. (2020). Watching a video together creates social closeness between children and adults. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 189, 104712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104712
[Study 1]

More examples

Brummelman, E., Thomaes, S., de Castro, B. O., Overbeek, G., & Bushman, B. J. (2014). “That’s not just beautiful—that’s incredibly beautiful!”: The adverse impact of inflated praise on children with low self-esteem. Psychological Science, 25, 728-735. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797613514251

Bryan, C.J., Yeager, D.S., Hinojosa, C.P., Chabot, A., Bergen, H., Kawamura, M., & Steubing, F. (2016). Harnessing adolescent values to motivate healthier eating. PNAS, 113, 10830-10835. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1604586113

Cantú, S. M., Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., Weisberg, Y. J., Durante, K. M., & Beal, D. J. (2014). Fertile and selectively flirty: Women’s behavior toward men changes across the ovulatory cycle. Psychological Science, 25, 431-438. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1501839110?accountid=10457

Chan, K. Q., Tong, E. M. W., & Tan, Y. L. (2014). Taking a leap of faith: Reminders of God lead to greater risk taking. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 901-909. doi: 10.1177/1948550614537309

Deslauriers, L., McCarty, L. S., Miller, K., Callaghan, K., & Kestin, G. (2019). Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(39), 19251–19257. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821936116

Fraley, R.C., Griffin, B.N., Belsky, J., & Roisman, G.I. (2012). Developmental antecedents of political ideology: A longitudinal investigation from birth to age 18 years. Psychological Science, 23, 1425-1431. doi: 10.1177/0956797612440102

Francis, H. M., Stevenson, R. J., Chambers, J. R., Gupta, D., Newey, B., & Lim, C. K. (2019). A brief diet intervention can reduce symptoms of depression in young adults – A randomised controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 14(10), e0222768. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222768

 Frenda, S., Patihis, L., Loftus, E., Lewis, H., Fenn, K.  (2014) Sleep deprivation and false memories. Psychological Science, 25, 1674-1681. doi: 10.1177/0956797614534694

Gunraj, D. N., Drumm-Hewitt, A. M., Dashow, E. M., Upadhyay, S. S. N., & Klin, C. M. (2016). Texting insincerely: The role of the period in text messaging. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 1067–1075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.003

House, J., DeVoe, S. E., & Zhong, C. (2014). Too impatient to smell the roses: Exposure to fast food impedes happiness. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 534-541. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550613511498 [use study 3]

Jirout, J. J., & Newcombe, N. S. (2015). Building blocks for developing spatial skills: Evidence from a large, representative U.S. sample. Psychological Science, 26, 302-310. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797614563338

 Kruse, E., Chancellor, J., Ruberton, P. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). An upward spiral between gratitude and humility. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 805-814. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550614534700 [Study 2]

Lee, K., Talwar, V., McCarthy, A., Ross, I., Evans, A., & Arruda, C. (2014). Can classic moral stories promote honesty in children? Psychological Science, 25, 1630-1636. doi:10.1177/0956797614536401

Levy, K. N., & Kelly, K. M. (2010). Sex differences in jealousy: A contribution from attachment theory. Psychological Science, 21, 168-173. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797609357708

Markey, P. M., Ivory, J. D., Slotter, E. B., Oliver, M. B., & Maglalang, O. (2019). He does not look like video games made him do it: Racial stereotypes and school shootings. Psychology of Popular Media Culture. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000255

 Mrazek, M. D., Franklin, M. S., Phillips, D. T., Baird, B., & Schooler, J. W. (2009). Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering. Psychological Science, 24, 776-781. DOI: 10.1177/0956797612459659.

Nelson, S. K., Kushlev, K., English, T., Dunn, E. W., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). In defense of parenthood: Children are associated with more joy than misery. Psychological Science, 24, 3-10. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797612447798

 Nusbaum, E. C., & Silvia, P. J. (2011). Shivers and timbres: Personality and the experience of chills from music. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 199-204. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550610386810 [Focus on “personality and chills during music” and “do music preferences mediate effects of openness” results]

 Ronay, R., & von Hippel, W. (2010). The presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone and physical risk taking in young men. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1, 57-64. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550609352807 [focus on “skateboarding” and “testosterone mediation” results]

 Saslow, L. R., Muise, A., Impett, E. A., & Dubin, M. (2013). Can you see how happy we are? facebook images and relationship satisfaction. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4, 411-418. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550612460059 [Study 2]

 Seder, J. P., & Oishi, S. (2012). Intensity of smiling in facebook photos predicts future life satisfaction. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 407-413. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550611424968 [focus on Study 1]

Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: The costs and benefits of dawdling. Psychological Science, 8, 454-458. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/619221802?accountid=10457

 Valor-Segura, I., Expósito, F., Moya, M., & Kluwer, E. (2014). Don't leave me: The effect of dependency and emotions in relationship conflict. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 44, 579-587. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12250 [use Study 1]

 Vezzali, L., Stathi, S., Giovannini, D., Capozza, D., & Trifiletti, E. (2014). The greatest magic of harry potter: Reducing prejudice. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 45, 105-121. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12279  [Study 1]

Witkower, Z., & Tracy, J. L. (2019). A facial-action imposter: How head tilt influences perceptions of dominance from a neutral face. Psychological Science, 30(6), 893–906. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619838762

 Wong, E., Ormiston, M., Haselhuhn, M. (2011). A face only an investor could love: CEOs’ facial structures predict their firms’ financial performance. Psychological Science, 22, 1478-1483. doi: 10.1177/0956797611418838.

Cuter kids get higher grades

One of the proposed mediators of the effect was that teachers report better relationships with attractive students.Photo credit: FatCamera/Getty Images

File this one under: Depressing, but we suspected it all along. The Washington Post ran a summary of research that looked at the link between school achievement and physical appearance. 

A new study finds that good looking kids do better in school than their less striking peers.

The research, by Barnard College economist Daniel Hamermesh and colleagues, finds that people whose looks are “one standard deviation above average” attain nearly five more months of schooling than an “otherwise identical average-looking individual.”

The study in question found the effect in two large, national studies, one in the U.S. and one in the U.K. You might be wondering, how did they decide how good looking the kids were? What do you think of the construct validity of this operationalization: 

For each kid in the American study, looks were assessed by a panel of at least 10 undergraduates who watched segments of video interviews with the children collected over the course of the survey. The raters assessed each one’s looks on a scale from 1 (not at all cute/very unattractive) to 5 (very cute/very attractive).

For the U.K. study, attractiveness was assessed by the children’s teachers, who assigned each child to one of four categories: attractive, unattractive, “abnormal feature” or “underfed or scruffy and dirty.”

Here is a description of the results:

Ratings in hand, the researchers then analyzed the relationship between a child’s looks and academic achievement, as measured via various standardized tests administered throughout the two studies. The studies revealed the same general pattern: Better looking children performed better on tests of academic achievement, even when controlling for ethnicity, gender and parents’ education and income.

The language above should cue you to realize that this study evaluated the core relationship (between looks and achievement) but used multiple regression techniques to control for these potential internal validity threats. 

a) What is the criterion variable in this study? What are the predictor variables?

b) Sketch a little regression table with results that would be consistent with what is mentioned above. Put the criterion variable at the top, and list the predictor variables. Which betas would be significant here? 

(Note: You can see the actual results in Table 7 of the scientific article.)

The journalist continues the summary with this statement:

Economists who’ve studied academic performance have found that children who perform better on tests tend to get more schooling: A student who aces all her reading and math tests is much more likely to go on to college than one who does not. Hamermesh and his colleagues estimate that good-looking kids’ heightened test performance relative to their average-looking peers works out to about 0.4 years, or five months, of additional schooling.

c) The above is a statement about effect size. Do you think this effect is a large one? Is it important?  What more do you need to know to evaluate this effect? 

d) Next comes a statement about potential mediators of the relationship. Read the following and sketch out one of the mediation paths they are describing (use Figure 9.11 as a model)

To determine why, Hamermesh and his colleagues tested a number of theories. They found some evidence that teachers report better relationships with the more attractive students, which explains some of the achievement gap. They also found that youngsters rated as unattractive were somewhat more likely to report being bullied by their peers, with detrimental spillover on their academic performance.

Similarly, they found that there were fewer reports of behavioral problems at school among the highly rated children.

 

Are there other potential mediators you can think of?  

 

Guess what! This is my 200th post! Thanks for reading and making this blog possible. 

Dog people live longer

The study found an association between dog ownership and longevity. Which third variables were controlled for? Which third variables might still be responsible for the relationship? Photo: Shutterstock

I can't resist blogging about research on dogs. Here's a story on NPR that summarized several studies that have tested the correlation between longevity and dog ownership. The journalist introduces the topic this way: 

Dogs and humans that interact with one another get a jolt of oxytocin, the so-called "cuddle hormone." And, if you get to look at dogs and hug them every day, you just might live longer than people who don't have to clean animal hair off their clothes, according to a pair of studies out this month.

Here is a summary of one of the studies:

[researchers] looked over a 12-year period at dog owners in Sweden who have cardiovascular disease. They adjusted for the kinds of things we know affect cardiovascular health — age, demographics, socioeconomic status, marital status, number of children at home — and even after adjusting for all of that, they found a benefit of dog ownership [on longevity].

....they followed over 100,000 people and found a 21% reduction in deaths from any cause.

The study above used multiple regression. 

a) What was the dependent (criterion) variable in this study?  What were the predictor variables? 

b) Sketch a little regression table with results that would be consistent with what is mentioned above. Put the criterion variable at the top, and list the predictor variables. Which betas would be significant here? 

c) The researchers controlled for age, demographics, SES, marital status, and children--but regression doesn't control for all third variables. What else could be associated with both dog ownership and longevity? 

d) They mention a "21% reduction in deaths from any cause."  Which of the four big validities is this concerning? 

One of the experts who was interviewed for this story said:

In particular, I found it very convincing and striking that the benefits seems to be larger among individuals who live alone compared to multiperson households. That suggests the companionship of a dog is possibly very important to their heart health.

e) This is a moderator! Identify the variables in this relationship and complete this sentence: ____ moderates the relationship between ____ and _____.

 

In part of the article, the journalist presents quotes from an expert, who seems to equivocate on the causality issue:

"When you look at the big picture and look at all the evidence around dog ownership and cardiovascular health, it's pretty clear the signal is real and likely causal," he says.

In other words, he's convinced getting a dog improves your health — especially for those with heart disease.

The research is not definitive, though, Kazi adds. "They're not randomized trials, the gold standard for what we would do to evaluate a new drug," he says.

f) It is frustrating to read that the expert believes the "signal is real and likely causal" and then admits that "it's not definitive." You can set this expert straight. Why can't this correlational study support causation?  Apply covariance, temporal precedence, and internal validity. When you address internal validity, check out answer c) above!

 

 

Suggested answers

a) The criterion variable is longevity (being alive at the end of the study). The predictor variables are dog ownership, age, demographics, SES, marital status, and children living at home. 

b) The table might look like this:

DV: Longevity (or being alive after 12 years)

IV                            Beta (sig)
Dog ownership         .12*
Age                            -.11
SES                              .13*
Married                        .08*
Children at home        .07*

d) Current health and mobility might be associated with both dog ownership and longevity. After all, you  may need to have a certain level of health and mobility to own a dog, and healthier folks are more likely to be alive at the end of the study. 

e)  Living status (being alone or married) moderates the relationship between dog ownership and longevity.  

f) There is covariance--there is a link between owning a dog and living longer. 

There is temporal precedence-- the study took place over several years and dog ownership was measured first, and death rates later. 

There is not full internal validity. They controlled for age, demographics, SES, marital status, and children living at home, so they can rule those out. But they did not control for everything. One possibility is that current health and mobility might be associated with both--after all, you  may need to be at a certain level of health and mobility to own a dog, and those folks are more likely to be alive at the end of the study.