The topic should be very, very specific so the student can focus on all the recent (within 10 years) research publications about the topic. Many times broad topics have too much published research available for the nature of this review of literature. The bulk of the dialog must focus on a critical examination of the research articles. The following guidelines are expected:
American Psychological Association (APA) format must be used in writing the paper.
Carefully select research sources from a library databases. In some cases articles will need to be ordered, which can take several days to arrive.
Sources must be primary reports of research (journal where actual research is reported). Examples include peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology or the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Non-research publications that are academic in nature can be used to support the dialogue but do not count toward the 5 minimum research studies in the review.
The content of the paper should focus on dialogue comparing and contrasting the studies as well as critiquing the analyses and methodology. For example, if you feel the author’s conclusions from the research are wrong, explain why they are wrong and suggest a better conclusion. If you feel the author’s methods were flawed, identify the flaws and explain how they should have been changed. Use citations and examples throughout strengthen your arguments.
A good paper will synthesize the information from all studies into a cohesive discussion. The tendency to focus on one article at a time should be avoided and summaries of articles, if included, should be kept to a minimum of a couple sentences.
Visit the EOU Library Website to find databases to search for articles. These databases are essential as you look up articles related to your topic. For sport psychology, you will want to look at the following search engines:
PsycNET: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES.
EbscoHost: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, SPORTDiscus, ERIC. Maybe a couple others. Check the “Peer Reviewed” box to help narrow your search.
When looking for primary sources, there are many factors that should be considered. One is the reputation of the source. Many articles that have a journal in the title are periodicals that are peer-reviewed and reputable. A good practice is to look at the journal titles listed in the bibliography of your textbook. Since authors are usually leaders in their field, they will have thoughtfully chosen reliable sources for their information. Most primary research articles have the following components: abstract at the beginning, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions. Articles written in this format are usually reliable primary sources when published in a reputable journal. First-hand web sources would include research papers published online in a web-based journal or university website. Use caution when using internet sources to ensure they are from a legitimate source. Secondary sources (second hand such as text books and web pages) should be avoided.
The Draft 1: Review of Literature Paper should only include reviews of one or two articles, but do include a more complete reference list. The second draft should be more comprehensive and characteristic of a nearly complete final draft.
Dialog will not be in the form of bullet points or numbered lists. It must be written paragraph form.
The use of quotations should be rare or nonexistent in the dialog.
Focus on 2 articles for this part of teh dialoge explaining the studies and comparing and contrasing the studies.
