Assignment Notes/Tips:

 

How do I know whether a journal article is an empirical research study?

An empirical research study reports the results of a specific research study on a specific group of participants. The study can be qualitative (e.g., consisting of interviews or case studies) or it can be quantitative (consisting of extensive statistical analyses). Empirical studies can be distinguished from theoretical papers and literature review papers, both of which summarize the results of many different studies but do not report the details of a specific study. The easiest way to distinguish an empirical study is to determine whether the article includes a description of a specific group of participants, specific research methods, findings, etc.

You should also avoid meta-analyses. These are studies that analyze a bunch of other previously published studies. They can be difficult to identify because they may have a subjects, methods and results section. However, if you look closely, you will find that the "subjects" are actually other published studies.

 

I have never done an electronic search for research articles before, how can I get some help on using electronic databases to search for journal articles?

If you have never conducted a electronic search for a research article, you have a number of choices.

 

1.    You can avoid doing an electronic search.

One thing you can do, is go and browse through journals. This method will probably take the most time and leg work. Most of these journals should be located on the fourth floor (check this page for specifics of where journals are –

http://www.lib.pdx.edu/help/faq/location_lc.html .

If you have questions about whether a specific study or a journal is appropriate for this paper, please ask.

 

2.    You can get help.

My teaching assistant and I can answer basic questions about using PsychInfo and other electronic databases. If you are at the library and run into problems, library staff at the reference desk can provide you with guidance. You also can visit Sarah Beasley (PSU's social science librarian) during her office hours (Room 220G) on Mondays (12:00-1:00 am), Tuesdays (8:30-9:30 am), and Thursdays (5:00-6:00 pm). Finally, the library offers drop in sessions on conducting library research. You can check their schedule of sessions at:

 http://www.lib.pdx.edu/instruction/drop-in.html.

 

I've started trying to search for articles relating to “motivation”, but the computer says there are over 55,000 matches for the keywords I've used. Help!

It can be difficult to decide what are the "key terms" to do a search for. Try searching for articles that have the terms directly from the theories you are interested in.