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Non-Scholarly Sources
Sources such as self-help books, pop psychology publications, dictionary and encyclopedia entries, and general websites are excluded from the scientific research literature. These materials are intended mainly for the general public and are considered unreliable for academic purposes because they do not undergo peer review and are frequently based on personal experience or common sense rather than rigorous empirical data.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Academic Database
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Goals of a Literature Search
Reviewing the Research Literature
Non-Scholarly Sources
Consulting Faculty for Research Literature
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Purpose of the Literature Review
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Which of the following sources is typically included as part of the research literature in psychology?
Match each type of information source with the description that correctly identifies its role and classification within the psychological research literature.
A student researching memory disorders finds a summary of a new experiment on a popular science news website and a full report of the same experiment in a peer-reviewed professional journal. True or False: In the field of psychology, both of these publications are classified as research literature.
A student is filtering search results to build a foundation for a new study. Based on the criteria for inclusion in the psychology research literature, arrange these sources from the most central and rigorously vetted (1) to those most explicitly excluded from the field's professional literature (4).
In a scientific field, sources intended for the general public, such as self-help books and websites, are classified as part of the professional research literature.
Why are sources like self-help books, dictionary entries, and public websites excluded from the formal 'research literature' of psychology, even if they describe actual psychological findings?
A researcher is vetting sources for a professional meta-analysis and decides to reject a factually accurate summary from a reputable news organization. To justify this evaluation, the researcher must identify that the source lacks _____, which is the defining requirement for inclusion in the formal research literature.
An undergraduate student is compiling sources for a literature review on cognitive development. Match each potential source with the correct classification decision based on the definition of research literature.
A research assistant analyzes why a chapter in a handbook of personality psychology is included in their literature database while a personality definition in an online dictionary is excluded. They conclude that the key analytical distinction is that the dictionary entry is intended for the general public and lacks the _____ required of formal scholarly sources.
A student is evaluating sources to build the scientific foundation for their research proposal. Order these potential sources from the highest evaluative suitability (the most central and vetted form of research literature) to the lowest (excluded from the formal research literature due to lack of peer review).
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Unsuitability of Wikipedia for Scientific Research
What is a defining characteristic of non-scholarly sources that makes them unreliable for academic research?
An encyclopedia entry summarizing a psychological disorder is considered a valid scholarly source for a research paper because encyclopedias are fact-checked and widely used for educational purposes.
Identify the primary reason each of the following sources is classified as 'non-scholarly' for a psychology research project by matching the source scenario to its specific limitation.
A student is evaluating several types of information for a psychology literature review. Arrange these sources in order from most rigorous (standard scholarly literature) to least rigorous (non-scholarly), based on their intended audience, vetting process, and the basis of their claims.
Which of the following is categorized as a non-scholarly source and is typically excluded from the scientific research literature in psychology?
Match each attribute of a non-scholarly source to the characteristic that excludes it from the formal scientific research literature in psychology.
When evaluating the academic suitability of a 'pop psychology' publication, a researcher rejects the source because its claims are typically based on personal experience rather than _____ data.
A student drafting a literature review on anxiety decides to exclude a self-help book written by a licensed therapist, even though it contains clinical recommendations, because it has not been reviewed by other researchers. This decision correctly applies the criteria for identifying non-scholarly sources.
A researcher analyzing a general website on psychology notes that, unlike scholarly sources, it is excluded from the scientific research literature primarily because it does not undergo _____.
A researcher needs to evaluate whether a newly published psychology website is suitable for an academic literature review. Order the evaluation steps from the initial audience check to the final classification.