Article Critique Paper 2 In APA Format
Table of Contents
Article Critique
hello my name is kristen. i need help with rewriting my paper to get a better grade. is there anyone that can help me out with this?
Running head: MIND OVER MILKSHAKES 2
MIND OVER MILKSHAKES 2
Mind Over Milkshakes:
Mindsets, Not Just Nutrients, Determine Ghrelin Response
Kristen Tomlinson
Florida International University
Mind Over Milkshakes
Summary:
Brownell, Corbin, Crum and Salovey (2011) designed a study to test the hypothesis of whether physiological satiation as measured by the gut peptide ghrelin may vary depending on the mindset in which one approaches consumption of food. The sample consisted of 46 participants from the New Haven Community in both on and off campus locations.
This study used an experimental research method because the independent variable is being manipulated and involves random assignment. There is only one main independent variable. It is the altered food labels that were used to isolate the effect of the mindset in the response to an experimental manipulation. They were scheduled for two, 2 1/2-hour sessions at the Yale Clinical Research Center Hospital Research Unit. The sessions were spread a week apart, one at 8:00 a.m. and the other at 8:20 a.m. after having an overnight fast.
At the first session, the participants were told that the metabolic kitchen at the research center was working on designing two different milkshakes with different nutritional contents in them. They would taste one milkshake one week and another the following week. They were told the goal of this study is to determine whether the milkshakes taste the same and to examine the body’s reaction to the contents. This independent variable is evaluated to see how it affects the dependent variable, which is their ghrelin levels and how their body reacts to it as well as, the participants thoughts on if the milkshakes tasted good, whether it was healthy, and their feelings of hunger.
For the researcher to control how quick the participants consume the shake, they were instructed to drink the whole shake within the first 10 mins of this interval. They were all normal weight, they were asked to do an overnight fast before, so that all their ghrelin levels were around the same the next morning and they were all between the ages of 18-35. They were also screened for diabetes, pregnancy, allergies and a variety of other medical conditions.The procedure goes as follows: Participants were told they were participating in a study to see whether the milkshakes tasted similar and to examine how to the body will react to the different nutrients in the shakes. What they don’t know is that the two milkshakes are identical. To complete this study, the participants were scheduled for two, 2 ½- hour sessions at the Yale research center. At each session, an internal catheter was placed to draw blood and after a 20-minute rest, the first blood sample is drawn, followed by samples being taken at the 60- and 90-minute marks. During the first interval, participants were asked to rate the labels. Then during the second interval, they were asked to drink and rate the shake. The order of how the milkshakes were presented to the participants was counterbalanced so half received the sensi-shake in the first session and the other half received the indulgent shake in the first session.
Critique:
Overall this study was well designed by testing the hypothesis on whether the physiological satiation that is being measured by ghrelin, may vary depending on the mindsets of the participants when they consumed the milkshakes. The method of using the same shake for two groups of participants and the responses are very similar to the proven phenomenon of counterregulatory eating. Counterregulatory eating refers to a situation in which a person will eat more after having eaten something previously then after having eaten nothing at all. Therefore, the results of Brownell, Corbin, Crum, and Salovey (2011) makes sense because when people think they have consumed a high-calorie food they report as being full and eat less in response, whereas when people believe they have consumed a low-calorie food they report as still being hungry and eat more in response.
Based on the results, chances are that the participants pattern of ghrelin responses is consistent with what one might observe if they were to consume drinks with different caloric contents, so in that sense this study can be considered reliable (meaning it can be repeatable). Also, in the current sample of people, reliability of the restraint eating subscale was adequate. Validity is not as strong, though. Validity refers to whether the study is measuring what it is supposed to measure. When the participants drank the indulgent shake, they had a decline in their ghrelin responses than when they drank the sensible shake. Incorporating subsequent consumption is important for putting these findings in the context of the literature on restrained eating. Even though restrained eating was not a significant piece in the ghrelin responses in the study, research supports the fact that restrained eaters will respond differently to food and label cues than those who are not restraining their eating. In this study, the ghrelin profiles, were psychologically mediated and were dependent on the expectations of the milkshakes nutritional contents as opposed to the nutritional differences. However, the analyses of the measure of hunger, produced no interaction effects as a function of the shake, time, or restrained eating. So how can they measure whether subtle changes in the mindset associated with eating might affect the release of ghrelin in response to consumption if they want participants to fast overnight? I’m not sure that they were measuring their variables right. It did show that even though there were no significant differences to their hunger regardless of mindset after having consumed the milkshake, findings state that the psychological mindset of sensibility during consumption may dampen the effect of ghrelin. The ethics in this study is questionable. The sensible label manipulation may have elicited the mindset of restraint even in the participants that did not consistently report themselves as being restrained. By doing this could have caused negative results at the end of the study. Nonetheless, participants drank the indulgent shake and had a steeper decline in ghrelin than when they drank the sensible shake. Due to the nature of this research question, there is no other way to measure if changes in the mindset will influence the release the ghrelin in the body.
The method that they used for this study is better than the alternatives because they recruited a sample of random participants by putting up flyers around the community. They explained to the participants what the goal of the study was while also keeping information from them about what the study is about so that way the researches can manipulate the labels on the milkshakes. They also did a good job choosing the age range for the sample, as well as running a screening to test them for allergies, pregnancy and other medical conditions so they can make sure everything goes good with the study and they won’t have any major differences with the results. Clearly this method is a great way of exhibiting an experimental research study. Also, by using the restraint subscale allowed the researchers to have a stable factor structure across genders and weight categories.
Based on the results, in order to assess the label manipulation on the health and taste of the milkshake, a model analysis had to be used to interpret the data. For the healthiness, there was significant effect on the type of shake and no interaction effect for the restrained eating or the order in which the shakes were consumed. There were no effects on the tastiness of the shakes. Simple tests suggest that participants rated the sensible shake as being healthier than the indulgent shake. To test the effect of ghrelin and hunger, researchers assessed the data using a mixed-model with time, the type of shake, and order (session 1 and 2). The model did fail to interpret the data and effects of the order of the shakes. The participants did exhibit a steeper rise in ghrelin as well as a steep decline in hunger when they consumed the indulgent shake. Whereas, when they consumed the sensible shake, the levels of ghrelin exhibited as being flat or slightly increased over the course of consumption and were not physiologically satiated despite having the same nutritional contents. As for the measure of the hunger, the analyses produced no effects as a function of the shake, the time or the restrained eating. However, in this case the ghrelin profiles were psychologically mediated. Although the effect of psychologically mediated differences on long term alterations in weight and following consumption were not measured in this study, future research on the impact of this phenomenon on metabolic maintenance is justified. Increased ghrelin levels can cause an increase in body weight and fat gain because of the amount of caloric consumption. The flat ghrelin profiles that were shown when the participants consumed the sensible shake, may be placing them in a psychologically challenging state by showing an increase in appetite and a decrease in their metabolic rate.
Brief summary
Brownell, Corbin, Crum and Salovey (2011) designed a study to test the hypothesis of whether physiological satiation as measured by the gut peptide ghrelin may vary depending on the mindset in which one approaches consumption of food. On 2 occasions, a sample of 46 participants consumed a 380-calorie milkshake under the pretense of two milkshakes (indulgent and sensi-shake). Ghrelin was measured via IV blood samples at 3 time points: baseline, anticipatory and post consumption. During the first interval, researchers asked the participants to view and rate the (mislead) label of the milkshake. During the second interval, they were asked to drink and rate the shake. The mindset the participants had when they consumed the indulgent shake produced a steeper decline in ghrelin, whereas the mindset they had when they consumed the sensible shake was a flat ghrelin response. The satiety was consistent throughout with what they believed rather than the actual nutritional value. The authors concluded that the effect of food consumption on ghrelin may be psychologically mediated, and the mindset affects physiological responses to food.
References
Brownell, K.D., Corbin, W.R., Crum, A.J., & Salovey, P. (2011). Mind over milkshakes: Mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response. Health Psychology, 30, 424-429. doi: 10.1037/a0023467
Checklist – Article Critique Paper
Use the check sheet below to make sure your paper is the best it can be! Make sure you answer “Yes” to all questions before submitting your paper or you will lose points!
| General Paper Format | ||
| Yes | No | |
| 1. Is everything in your paper (including headers, the main body of your mini-literature review, and your references) in 12 point Times New Roman font? | ||
| 2. Is everything in your paper double spaced, including references (here I mean the spacing above and below each line, not the spaces following a period)? | ||
| 3. Do you have one inch margins on all sides of the paper (one inch from the top of the page, one inch from the bottom, and one inch from each side) | ||
| 4. Are the first lines of all paragraphs indented roughly ½ inch? | ||
| 5. Are your paragraphs aligned left? (That is, text should be flush left, with lines lining up on the left of the page, but text should NOT line up on the right side of the page – it should look ragged) | ||
| 6. Do you need help figuring out how to configure a word document in APA format (inserting headers, page numbers, proper indents, etc.)? If YES or NO, I highly recommend watching this video which walks you through setting up an APA formatted paper! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pbUoNa5tyY | ||
| Title page | ||
| Yes | No | Header |
| 1. Do you have the phrase “Running head” in your header (with a lower case h)? | ||
| 2. Is the rest of your Running head title in ALL CAPS? | ||
| 3. Is your Running head in 12 point Times New Roman font? | ||
| 4. Do you have a page number that is flush right (also in 12 point Times New Roman font)? | ||
| Title / Name / Institution | ||
| 1. Is your title 12 words or less (as recommended by the APA)? | ||
| 2. Do all title words with four letters or more start with a capital letter? | ||
| 3. Are your name and institution correct? | ||
| 4. Are your title, name, and institution elements centered and in 12 point Times New Roman font? | ||
| Main Body of the Paper (Page Two) | ||
| Yes | No | Header |
| 1. Is your header title present and identical to your header title on the title page? | ||
| 2. Is your header title in ALL CAPS and 12 point Times New Roman font? | ||
| 3. Does your header on this second page omit the phrase “Running head” | ||
| 4. Do you have a page number starting on page 2 | ||
| Title for the literature review | ||
| 1. Do you have the identical title you used on the title page rewritten at the top of your literature review? | ||
| 2. Is this title centered? |
| Main Body of the Paper (Page Two) Continued | ||
| Yes | No | Global Summary of the Article |
| 1. Does your summary note the type of design (experimental vs. correlational)? | ||
| 2. Does your summary note the independent and dependent variables? | ||
| 3. Does your summary describe the methods for the article? | ||
| 4. Does your summary describe the findings? | ||
| Critique of the Article | ||
| 1. Does your critique identify at least four of the needed elements (validity and reliability, interpreting findings, ethics, follow-up study, weak vs strong results, implications not mentioned in the article, theory problems, why the methods used are better or worse than alternatives | ||
| Brief Summary | ||
| 1. Do you summarize the article in less than two paragraphs? | ||
| Citations for the main body of the paper | ||
| 1. Did you cite the article you read using APA format (That is, ONLY the last name of the author(s) and date of publication)?a. Note that you do NOT include first names, initials, or the title of the article the authors wrote when citing. That information belongs in the references pages only.b. Also note that you only use an ampersand – the & symbol – when it occurs within parentheses. In other instances, use the word “and” | ||
| 2. If you quoted, did you provide a page number for the direct quote? | ||
| 3. If you paraphrased in any way, did you cite the source of that information? |
| References Page | ||
| Yes | No | Title for the references page |
| 1. Do references start on their own page? | ||
| 2. Is the word “References” centered? | ||
| References – Make sure these are in APA format! | ||
| 1. If you have more than one reference, are references listed in alphabetical order (starting with the last name of the first author listed)? | ||
| 2. Are all citations that you include in the body of the paper referenced? | ||
| 3. Is the first line of the reference flush left while subsequent lines are indented (Note: Use the ruler function for this. DO NOT simply tab)? | ||
| 4. Did you use the “&” symbol when listing more than one author name? | ||
| 5. Did you include the date of publication | ||
| 6. For article references, is the article title (which is not italicized) present, with only the first word and proper names starting with a capital letter? | ||
| 7. For article references, is the name of the journal present with all major words starting with a capital letter (Note: this journal title is italicized)? | ||
| 8. For article references, is the volume number italicized | ||
| 9. For article references, are the page numbers present (not italicized) | ||
| 10. For article references, is the DOI present |
Running head: ARTICLE CRITIQUE INSTRUCTIONS 1
ARTICLE CRITIQUE INSTRUCTIONS 2
Article Critique Instructions (50 points possible)
Ryan J. Winter
Florida International University
Purpose of The Article Critique Paper
1). Psychological Purpose
This paper serves several purposes, the first of which is helping you gain insight into research papers in psychology. As this may be your first time reading and writing papers in psychology, one goal of Paper I is to give you insight into what goes into such papers. This article critique paper will help you learn about the various sections of an empirical research report by reading at least one peer-reviewed articles (articles that have a Title Page, Abstract*, Literature Review, Methods Section, Results Section, and References Page—I have already selected some articles for you to critique, so make sure you only critique one in the folder provided on Blackboard). This paper will also give you some insights into how the results sections are written in APA formatted research articles. Pay close attention to those sections, as throughout this course you’ll be writing up some results of your own!
2). APA Formatting Purpose
The second purpose of the Article Critique paper is to teach you proper American Psychological Association (APA) formatting. In the instructions below, I tell you how to format your paper using APA style. There are a lot of very specific requirements in APA papers, so pay attention to the instructions below as well as Chapter 14 in your textbook! I highly recommend using the Paper I Checklist before submitting your paper, as it will help walk you through the picky nuances of APA formatting.
3). Writing Purpose
Finally, this paper is intended to help you grow as a writer. Few psychology classes give you the chance to write papers and receive feedback on your work. This class will! We will give you feedback on this paper in terms of content, spelling, and grammar.
*Most peer-reviewed articles do include an abstract, but the articles you will see on Blackboard lack an Abstract. There is a good reason for this, which you’ll find out about in a later paper!
Article Critique Paper (50 points possible)
Each student is required to write an article critique paper based on one of the research articles present on Blackboard (only those articles listed on Blackboard can be critiqued – if you critique a different article, it will not be graded). The article critique paper will account for 50 points. In addition to deepening your understanding of conceptual issues discussed in lectures, this article critique assignment is designed to improve critical thinking and writing skills. Please follow the instructions and guidelines below. If you are unclear about any of this information, please ask.
What is an article critique paper?
An article critique is a written communication that conveys your understanding of a research article and how it relates to the conceptual issues of interest to this course. There are five elements emphasized in this critique: The title page (in APA formatting), summary of the article, critique of the article, brief (one paragraph) summary of the article, and appropriate referencing for the article. I suggest also looking at the example papers, which will give you a nice visual image of APA style that you can mimic in your own paper.
This article critique paper will include 5 things:
1. Title page: 1 page (4 points)
· Use APA style to present the appropriate information:
· A Running head must be included and formatted APA style
· The phrase “Running head” is at the top of the title page followed by a short title of your creation (no more than 50 characters) that is in ALL CAPS. This running head is left-justified (flush left on the page). Note that the “h” in head is all lower case! Look at the first page of these instructions, and you will see how to set up your Running head.
· There must be a page number on the title page that is right justified. It is included in the header
· Your paper title appears on the title page. This is usually 12 words or less, and the first letter of each word is capitalized. It should be descriptive of the paper (For this paper, you should use the title of the article you are critiquing. The paper title can be the same title as in the Running head or it can differ – your choice)
· Your name will appear on the title page
· Your institution will appear on the title page as well
· For all papers, make sure to double-space EVERYTHING and use Times New Roman font. This includes everything from the title page through the references.
· This is standard APA format. ALL of your future papers will include a similar title page
2. Summary of the Article: 1 ½ page minimum, 3 pages maximum – 14 points)
An article critique should briefly summarize, in your own words, the article research question and how it was addressed in the article. Below are some things to include in your summary.
· The CAPS portion of your running head should also appear on the first page of your paper, but it will NOT include the phrase “Running head” this time, only the same title as the running head from the first paper in ALL CAPS. Again, see the example paper. There is a powerpoint presentation on using Microsoft Word that can help you figure out how to have a different header on the title page (where “Running head” is present) and other pages in the paper (where “Running head” is NOT present). You can also find how-to information like this using youtube!
1. If you look at the header in pages 2 through 5 (including THIS current page 4 that you are reading right now!), you will see “Running head” omitted. It simply has the short title (ARTICLE CRITIQUE PAPER INSTRUCTIONS) all in caps, followed by the page number.
· The same title used on the title page should be at the top of the page on the first actual line of the paper, centered.
· For this paper, add the word “Summary” below the title, and have it flush left. Then write your summary of the article below that
· The summary itself will include the following: (Note – if the article involved more than one experiment, you can either choose to focus on one of the studies specifically or summarize the general design for all of the studies)
1. Type of study (Was it experimental or correlational? How do you know?)
2. Variables (What were the independent and dependent variables? Be specific with these. Define the terms independent and dependent variable and make sure to identify how they are operationally defined in the article)
3. Method (Was there a random sample of participants? Was there random assignment to groups? What did the participants do in the study?). How was data collected (online, in person, archival data, etc.)
4. Summary of findings (What were their findings?)
3. Critique of the study: 1 ½ pages minimum – 3 pages maximum – 16 points)
1. This portion of the article critique assignment focuses on your own thoughts about the content of the article (i.e. your own ideas in your own words). For this section, please use the word “Critique” below the last sentence in your summary, and have the word “Critique” flush left.
1. This section is a bit harder, but there are a number of ways to demonstrate critical thinking in your writing. Address at least four of the following elements. You can address more than four, but four is the minimum.
· 1). In your opinion, how valid and reliable is the study? Why? (make sure to define what reliable and valid mean, and apply these definitions to the study you are critiquing. Merely mentioning that it is valid and reliable is not enough – you have to apply those terms to the article)
· 2). Did the study authors correctly interpret their findings, or are there any alternative interpretations you can think of?
· 3). Did the authors of the study employ appropriate ethical safeguards?
· 4). Briefly describe a follow-up study you might design that builds on the findings of the study you read how the research presented in the article relates to research, articles or material covered in other sections of the course
· 5). Describe whether you feel the results presented in the article are weaker or stronger than the authors claim (and why); or discuss alternative interpretations of the results (i.e. something not mentioned by the authors) and/or what research might provide a test between the proposed and alternate interpretations
· 6). Mention additional implications of the findings not mentioned in the article (either theoretical or practical/applied)
· 7). Identify specific problems in the theory, discussion or empirical research presented in the article and how these problems could be corrected. If the problems you discuss are methodological in nature, then they must be issues that are substantial enough to affect the interpretations of the findings or arguments presented in the article. Furthermore, for methodological problems, you must justify not only why something is problematic but also how it could be resolved and why your proposed solution would be preferable.
· 8). Describe how/why the method used in the article is either better or worse for addressing a particular issue than other methods
4. Brief summary of the article: One or paragraphs (8 points)
· Write the words “Brief Summary”, and then begin the brief summary below this
· In ONE or TWO paragraphs maximum, summarize the article again, but this time I want it to be very short. In other words, take all of the information that you talked about in the summary portion of this assignment and write it again, but this time in only a few sentences.
· The reason for this section is that I want to make sure you can understand the whole study but that you can also write about it in a shorter paragraph that still emphasizes the main points of the article. Pretend that you are writing your own literature review for a research study, and you need to get the gist of an article that you read that helps support your own research across to your reader. Make sure to cite the original study (the article you are critiquing).
5. References – 1 page (4 points)
· Provide the reference for this article in proper APA format (see the book Chapter 14 for appropriate referencing guidelines or the Chapter 14 powerpoint).
· If you cited other sources during either your critique or summary, reference them as well (though you do not need to cite other sources in this assignment – this is merely optional IF you happen to bring in other sources). Formatting counts here, so make sure to italicize where appropriate and watch which words you are capitalizing!
6. Grammar and Writing Quality (4 points)
· Few psychology courses are as writing intensive as Research Methods (especially Research Methods Two next semester!). As such, I want to make sure that you develop writing skills early. This is something that needs special attention, so make sure to proofread your papers carefully.
· Avoid run-on sentences, sentence fragments, spelling errors, and grammar errors. Writing quality will become more important in future papers, but this is where you should start to hone your writing skills.
· We will give you feedback on your papers, but I recommend seeking some help from the FIU writing center to make sure your paper is clear, precise, and covers all needed material. I also recommend asking a few of your group members to read over your paper and make suggestions. You can do the same for them!
The key point is that your experimental paper should describe a “position” that you have taken with respect to the content of the article. Please note that you do not need to refer to any other sources other than the article on which you have chosen to write your paper. However, you are welcome to refer to additional sources if you choose.
Other guidelines for the article critique papers
1. 1). Pay attention to the page length requirements – 1 page for the title page, 1.5 pages to 3 pages for the summary, 1.5 pages to 3 pages for the critique, one or two paragraphs for the brief summary, and 1 page for the references page. If you are under the minimum, we will deduct points. If you go over the maximum, we are a little more flexible (you can go over by half page or so), but we want you to try to keep it to the maximum page.
1. 2). Page size is 8 1/2 X 11” with all 4 margins set one inch on all sides. You must use 12-point Times New Roman font (Note: these instructions are in 12 point Times New Roman font).
1. 3). As a general rule, ALL paragraphs and sentences are double spaced in APA papers. This includes the spacing in your Paper I: Article Critique Paper. It even includes the references, so make sure to double space EVERYTHING
1. 4). When summarizing the article in your own words, you need not continually cite the article throughout the rest of your critique. Nonetheless, you should follow proper referencing procedures, which means that:
3. If you are inserting a direct quote from any source, it must be enclosed in quotations and followed by a parenthetical reference to the source. “Let’s say I am directly quoting this current sentence and the next. I would then cite it with the author name, date of publication, and the page number for the direct quote” (Winter, 2013, p . 4).
0. Note: We will deduct points if you quote more than once per page, so keep quotes to a minimum. Paraphrase instead, but make sure you still give the original author credit for the material by citing him or using the author’s name (“In this article, Smith noted that …” or “In this article, the authors noted that…”)
3. If you choose to reference any source other than your chosen article, it must be listed in a reference list.
1. 5). PLEASE use a spell checker to avoid unnecessary errors. Proofread everything you write. I actually recommend reading some sentences aloud to see if they flow well, or getting family or friends to read your work. Writing quality will become more important in future papers, so you should start working on that now!
1. If you have any questions about the articles, your ideas, or your writing, please ask. Although we won’t be able to review entire drafts of papers before they are handed in, we are very willing to discuss problems, concerns or issues that you might have.
Paper I: Article Critique Grading Rubric (50 points possible)
1). Title Page (4 points)
Correct APA format on the Running head, page number, and title
2). Summary of the article (14 points – 1 ½ pages required minimum, 3 maximum)
Items of relevance:
A. Appropriate header, page numbers, and article title
B. Summary elements:
Description of the kind of study
Note the variables used
Note the method used
Note the participants used
Note the findings etc.
3). Critique of the study (16 points – 1 ½ pages required minimum, 3 maximum)
Items of relevance:
Must have at least 4 of the following (but can have more):
1). Reliability and validity of the study
2). Correct interpretations of the findings
3). Appropriate ethical considerations
4). Follow-up studies
5). Whether results are weak/strong or alternative interpretations
6). Additional implications of the findings
7). Problems with the theory or methods used
8). Are there more appropriate methods than those used in this research
4). Summary (8 points – 1 to 2 short paragraphs)
Items of relevance:
A. It must be one to two paragraphs, no longer
B. Did it highlight the main article points (hypothesis, methods, subjects)?
C. Did it highlight the conclusions drawn by the author?
5). References (4 points – all citations mentioned including the study critiqued)
Reference(s) must be in appropriate APA format
6). Grammar and Writing Quality (4 points – entire paper. Make sure to proofread!)
