PSYCH-ANALYSIS: READING FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

NWACC

READING

WORKSHOPS

SPRING 2014

“It was books that taught me that the

things that tormented me most were

the very things that connected me

with all the people

who were alive,

or who had ever been

alive.”

–James

Baldwin author,

playwright

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, WHICH INCLUDE HISTORY, ECONOMICS, PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY, SEEK TO EXPLAIN AND UNDERSTAND THE ESSENCE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN.

• Students often enjoy the social sciences

because they give an understanding of

the connections between themselves

and each other.

• The social sciences better enable

students to begin to understand some of

the most enigmatic and universal things

about human existence: politics, culture,

religion, love, hate, violence, money,

social status, family and other

interpersonal relationships, and much

more. These are things that humanity has been

trying to comprehend– and master– for a very

long time.

THE PURPOSES OF DIFFERENT READING MATERIALS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES:

Types of Materials Potential Purposes

Textbook Background knowledge, details, related

information

Peer-reviewed Papers, Abstracts Essay writing, class discussions, specific

examples of broader topics

News, Magazine Articles Class discussions, “real-world”

situations/application, details

Primary/Secondary Sources Essay writing, class discussions, “real-world”

situations/applications

Graphics (charts, graphs, pictures, tables, etc.) Class discussions, background knowledge,

details, to get the “big” picture

PURPOSE FOR READING IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Purpose could be any, all, or any combination of the following things:

• To identify arguments.

• To weigh evidence.

• To evaluate sources (and resources).

• To look for conflicts of interest and opinions disguised as facts.

• To question assumptions.

• To understand the “big picture.”

• To add additional details to other sources (such as lecture).

MAPPING IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL READING AND UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL SCIENCE TEXTS

• Mapping is a visual note taking style that emphasizes relationships

between ideas and the “big picture.”

• Mapping lends itself to the social sciences as it allows the student to see all

the details (so often emphasized by instructors) as well as how those details

fit into the larger subject.

• Mapping has many different ways it can be done depending on the material

itself. Mapping can be used in either lecture note taking or book note taking.

MAPPING IN ECONOMICS

GRAPHS

FLOW CHARTS

PROCESS GRAPHS

MAPPING IN HISTORY

TIMELINES

CAUSE/EFFECT CHART

MAPPING IN PSYCHOLOGY

VENN DIAGRAMS

FLOW CHARTS

CAUSE/EFFECT CHARTS

ANOTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF READING IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IS DISSECTING ACADEMIC

JOURNAL ARTICLES.

“WHAT IS AN ACADEMIC JOURNAL?”

• Academic journals are periodicals in which researchers

publish articles on their work. Most often these articles

discuss recent research.

• Journals also publish theoretical discussions and articles that

critically review already published work.

• Academic journals are typically peer-reviewed journals. Some

search engines that search for periodical sources identify

whether or not the sources are from peer-reviewed

publications, so look for that information when you do

searches.

HOW ARE JOURNAL ARTICLES ORGANIZED?SUBTITLES OFTEN INCLUDE…

• Abstract

• Theories & Evidence

• Background

• Methods or Data & Methods

• Results

• Discussion or Discussion &

Conclusion

• Notes

• References

• Acknowledgements

• Funding

“WHAT IS THIS ARTICLE ABOUT?”

•Abstract: Most articles start with a paragraph called

the abstract, which very briefly summarizes the

whole article.

• Introduction: This section introduces the topic of

the article completely and discusses what the article

contributes to existing knowledge on the topic.

“WHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS TOPIC, AND WHAT IS LEFT TO DISCOVER?”

• Literature review: A review of existing research and theory on the

topic is either included in the introduction or comes after the

introduction under its own subtitle.

• The review of literature is meant to discuss previous work on the topic,

point out what questions remain, and relate the research presented in

the rest of the article to the existing literature.

• Here should also be a clear discussion of what the hypotheses were

at the beginning of the project.

“HOW DID THE AUTHOR DO THE RESEARCH?”

• Methods and data gathering: There is always some

discussion of the methods used to conduct the study being

reported.

• Sampling: Information about who the subjects were, how

they were selected, and what roles they played (control or

variable group, etc.)

• Instrumentation: Interview guides, surveys, normed tests,

journals, questionnaires, etc.

“WHAT DID THE AUTHOR FIND AND HOW DID THEY FIND IT?”

• Analysis: Another important section or sections will be

devoted to discussing the kind of analysis that was

conducted on the data and

• Results: The research will then reveal the results of the

study. If it is quantitative in nature, the results will usually

have statistical significance and be in numerical form.

Qualitative results will reveal the words, essence, and/or

descriptive qualities of the subjects.

“WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?”

• Discussion and Conclusion: Articles typically end by

discussing what the results mean and how the study

contributes to existing knowledge.

• Here the research questions are answered, and it should be

clear at this point whether or not the hypotheses were

supported or not.

• The conclusion is usually the final section. It typically places

the research in a larger context, explaining the importance of

the research and discussing where future research on the

topic should be headed.

Read the

Abstract

First

Introductio

n and

Conclusion

Next

Analysis

and

Results

Next

Methods

Last

SHORT-CUTS TO READING JOURNAL ARTICLES

Here are some hints on how to sift through the multiple

possibilities, discard articles that are less helpful, and

recognize potentially important sources:

• Titles don’t always give much information. The abstract should give

you just enough information to let you know the basics of the article.

• From this you will know whether you should read on or look elsewhere

for your project.

• Some journals print a list of keywords pertaining to the article as well.

These are further clues about the article.

READ THE ABSTRACT FIRST

•These sections will give you the main argument of

the article, which should be helpful in determining its

relevance to you and your project.

•You’ll also get a glimpse of the findings of the

research being reported.

INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION NEXT

• If you decide that you are committed to this article, you

should read in more detail about this research.

• Do the results support or refute your hypothesis, thesis, or

argument?

• Are the results important or significant to you? Why or why

not?

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS NEXT

• If what you’ve read so far interests you, then spend some

time on understanding how the research was done.

• Is it a qualitative or quantitative project?

• What data are the study based on?

• What can you learn from the methodology about doing

research?

METHODS LAST

CONCLUSION

PURPOSES

Understand humanity

Evaluate scientific

evidence

Understand arguments

And more…

MAPPING

Venn diagrams

Flow charts

Cause/effect charts

Timelines

Process Charts

Graphs

JOURNAL ARTICLES

1. Abstract

2. Introduction and

Conclusion

3. Results and Analysis

4. Methods