Case Study

Based on your understanding of the discussion section strategy, explain how Jacob can use this article's discussion section to solve his problem, and explain why the resulting research question is likely to be scientifically important.

Case context: A student, Jacob, is preparing a research proposal for his introductory psychology class. He wants to conduct a study on memory retention, but he is having difficulty formulating an empirically testable research question that is scientifically important. He decides to apply the 'discussion section' strategy by reading a recently published article on memory.

Question: Based on your understanding of the discussion section strategy, explain how Jacob can use this article's discussion section to solve his problem, and explain why the resulting research question is likely to be scientifically important.

Sample answer: Jacob can look closely at the discussion section of the article to find the directions for future studies proposed by the authors. By doing so, he can locate specific, suggested questions. These questions are likely to be scientifically important because they were proposed by experienced researchers who have already identified them as valuable areas for future research.

Key points:

  • Examine the discussion section of the memory article.
  • Locate the future study directions or questions suggested by the authors.
  • Understand that the suggestions are valuable because experienced researchers identified them as important.

Rubric: The answer should describe the action Jacob must take (closely examine the discussion section to find future research directions/questions) (1 point) and explain the rationale for why this is valuable (the questions are ready-made and identified as scientifically important by experienced researchers) (1 point).

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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