Instruction
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW, PUTTING THE QUESTION NUMBER AT THE START OF
EACH ANSWER SO THAT I’LL KNOW WHICH QUESTION YOU ARE ANSWERING!!!!!!
1. Give the full reference for your article using correct APA format (6th edition). (4 pts, -0.5 pts for
each format error) (It works best to put the reference on the line below the question number line for this
question.)
2. What specific research questions/hypotheses were studied? Be specific in discussing predictions
made by hypotheses. (2 pts)
3. How does answering the research questions(s) add something new to what is already known? If the
study is a replication of an earlier study, explain why it was important to do the specific replication.
(2 pts)
4. Who or what was studied (include number and key characteristics for participants)? (2 pts)
5. In sequential order, what were the major steps in the research procedure for the study? (3 pts)
6. What specific data were recorded to be used for the analysis done? (2 pts)
7. What analyses were done on the data? (Discuss how the data were used to test the hypothesis, NOT
specific statistical tests.) (2 pts)
8. What were the main results? (After analysis, what do the data from item 6 say about the research
questions or hypotheses listed in item 2?) (2 pts)
9. What does the author conclude? (Based on both the results and the entire study experience, what is
the conclusion regarding the research questions?) (2 pts)
10. What cautions does the author raise about interpreting the study/generalizing findings? (2 pts)
11. Do you see any flaws/problems in the study that were not discussed by the author? If so, how
could the experimental design be improved? (2 pts)
12. Discuss some interesting or useful things ABOUT BIOPSYCHOLOGY you learned from reading
the article? (Include info from ALL 4 parts of the article: intro, methods, results, discussion) (5 pts)
(Total = 30 points, divide your grade by 2 to get the course point value)
Based on: Twelve questions to answer after reading a journal article describing experimental studies.
[Taken from Locke, L.F., Silverman, S.L. & Spirduso, W.W. (1998). Reading and
understanding research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (form 5.2, p. 94-96)]