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Sec. A8, R 12:30 - 1:50 E-mail

 
 

Reading Reports of Empirical Studies

The Method section is a detailed description of exactly how the study was conducted. The detail is important so the reader can determine the appropriateness of the method for answering the scientific questions. It is also important for another researcher to be able to replicate the study. This section reads a lot like a recipe. The following questions will help you evaluate the method: 
  • Who are the participants in the study? 
  • Are the participants appropriate for the study? 
  • What is the research design? 
  • Is the design appropriate for the research question(s)? 
  • What are the measures? 
  • Are the measures appropriate for addressing the research question(s)? 
  • What ethical considerations are important to address? Are they all addressed in the article? 
These questions are a mix of fact-finding questions and critical thinking questions. The Method section contains a lot of scientific jargon and it is essential to understand exactly what was done in order to evaluate whether it was done "right". Read the Method section in the article then work through the summary and questions below. 

Who are the participants in the study? self-test

Are the participants appropriate for the study? self-test

What is the research design? self-test

Is the design appropriate for the research question(s)? self-test

What are the measures? self-test

Are the measures appropriate for addressing the research question(s)? self-test

What ethical considerations are important to address? Are they all addressed in the article? self-test
Method






Participants

Male and female junior high and high school students participated. Kenrick et al. (1996) did not report how many students participated at each grade level. They also did not state the specific grades they interviewed. In the United States, middle school often begins with Grade Six, when children are 11 - 12 years of age. 

Materials

Kenrick et al. developed a brief questionnaire for interviewing the participants. 

Procedure

Students were interviewed individually by a same-sex experimenter. Each student was asked a number of questions about dating partners. Rather than simply asking "What is the age of the youngest/oldest person you'd consider going out with?" Kenrick et al. asked specific ages until they reached the upper and lower age limits. 
read.gif (919 bytes)   Reading the Research Questions to Consider
  Title Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion References