Literature Review Basics
In this class, you will conduct a literature review on a very basic level. You will use the provided Literature Review Example and Literature Review Template to guide you in a way that makes your review fit the needs of your final project.
Full Literature Reviews
If you were doing a full literature review, you would choose six to 12 research articles on your topic of interest. Normally, you would use the articles to either examine a controversy more closely or make a point that is supported by research. In this class, rather than choose all of the studies on your own, you will be provided with several studies and will also be expected to choose a couple of studies on your own. You will use these studies to identify a gap in the research that you can fill with a study you design.
The research you are being provided with in this class is somewhat broad to give you some freedom in your topic choice. If you were conducting a traditional literature review, you would look for a narrow scope of studies pertaining to a topic you would already have chosen. The Shapiro Library has a number of psychology-related databases you could use for your research.
In a typical literature review, you would start with the theme of your topic or the point that you plan to make with the literature. These are the typical points you would include:
? Your research question and how it relates to the studies you have chosen
? A brief outline of the way you have organized your review
? Detailed descriptions of each study, including your evaluation of each studys strengths and weaknesses
? What the studies show and what you believe this means
Adapted Literature Reviews for This Class
You will not go to that level of depth in this class. Instead, you will fill out the Literature Review Template (using the Literature Review Example as a guide), which has sections that directly relate to the final project rubric. However, if you are pursuing a degree in psychology, you will eventually do formal literature reviews. The exercise in this class will give you a foundation in the basics that you can build on in your future studies.
To fill out the template, you will read the three articles provided for your chosen track and the two articles you selected in the same way that you would read articles for a traditional literature review.
As you read, make sure to identify the following:
? The research question/purpose and specific hypothesis
? What factors and influences were studied
? What other studies found
? What type of research design was used and if the research was conducted ethically
Pay particular attention to the abstract, introduction, results, and discussion to quickly locate these elements.
Fill out the template using information from the article and applying concepts you learned in the text to successfully complete your literature review.
Literature Review Example
What is the title of the article? Provide a citation for the article in APA format.
de Haan, A. D., Dekovi?, M., & Prinzie, P. (2012). Longitudinal impact of parental and adolescent personality on parenting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(1), 189199. doi: 10.1037/a0025254
What is the purpose of the article and how does the purpose relate to personality development?
This study tried to add to existing knowledge about how personality shapes behaviors by studying Big Five characteristics and specific parenting behaviors. The study also looked at the influence of difficult versus easy adolescents and parental and adolescent gender.
What is the hypothesis of the study? In other words, what claims do the authors make in the article?
The authors expected that more extraverted and autonomous parents would use less overreactive discipline and that extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness in parents would be correlated with more warmth. The authors expected agreeable and emotionally stable adolescents to evoke less overreactive discipline from parents. The authors also concluded that when adolescents have easy personalities, parental personality should not be as influential to parenting outcomes.
What variables (factors) are being looked at as an influence on personality? How are these factors assessed or measured in the article?
The variables being looked at in this study were parental Big Five characteristics and adolescent Big Five characteristics using the NEO-PI-R. The variables of parental control and support were also examined. Using the The Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (PANPS), the authors also included the variables of temperament and gender of both parents and adolescents.
If these variables or the relationship between these variables have been studied before, what have other studies found? This shows historical significance. How does the view of personality in this article compare with historical views of personality?
In previous studies looking at Big Five traits, extraversion in children has been correlated with more supportive behaviors from parents but also more overreactive discipline. Agreeable children have been found to elicit more warmth, as well as less overreactive discipline. The trait of conscientiousness in children has been linked to less overreactive discipline, while emotional stability in children has been associated with more overreactive discipline.
What type of research design is used in the study? What instruments or measures did the researchers use to collect data?
Parental and adolescent personality characteristics, as well as warmth and overreactivity, were measured using self-report questionnaires. The results were then statistically analyzed using correlation coefficients to identify associations between the variables.
Do you think the research in this article was conducted in an ethical manner? Why or why not? In relation to the article, how have ethical considerations in personality psychology research changed over the years?
Yes, only questionnaires were used, which do not pose any harm to participants. Consent forms were completed by all participants and the study was approved by an ethics committee. These safeguards uphold the established ethical standards that protect participants.
Literature Review Template
Article One
What is the title of the article? Provide a citation for the article in APA format.
What is the purpose of the article and how does the purpose relate to personality development?
What is the hypothesis of the study? In other words, what claims do the authors make in the article?
What variables (factors) are being looked at as an influence on personality? How are these factors assessed or measured in the article?
If these variables or the relationship between these variables have been studied before, what have other studies found? This shows historical significance. How does the view of personality in this article compare with historical views of personality?
What type of research design is used in the study? What instruments or measures did the researchers use to collect data?
Do you think the research in this article was conducted in an ethical manner? Why or why not? In relation to the article, how have ethical considerations in personality psychology research changed over the years?
Article Two
What is the title of the article? Provide a citation for the article in APA format.
What is the purpose of the article and how does the purpose relate to personality development?
What is the hypothesis of the study? In other words, what claims do the authors make in the article?
What variables (factors) are being looked at as an influence on personality? How are these factors assessed or measured in the article?
If these variables or the relationship between these variables have been studied before, what have other studies found? This shows historical significance. How does the view of personality in this article compare with historical views of personality?
What type of research design is used in the study? What instruments or measures did the researchers use to collect data?
Do you think the research in this article was conducted in an ethical manner? Why or why not? In relation to the article, how have ethical considerations in personality psychology research changed over the years?
Article Three
What is the title of the article? Provide a citation for the article in APA format.
What is the purpose of the article and how does the purpose relate to personality development?
What is the hypothesis of the study? In other words, what claims do the authors make in the article?
What variables (factors) are being looked at as an influence on personality? How are these factors assessed or measured in the article?
If these variables or the relationship between these variables have been studied before, what have other studies found? This shows historical significance. How does the view of personality in this article compare with historical views of personality?
What type of research design is used in the study? What instruments or measures did the researchers use to collect data?
Do you think the research in this article was conducted in an ethical manner? Why or why not? In relation to the article, how have ethical considerations in personality psychology research changed over the years?
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