Journal Article Reaction Paper
PSYC/NRSC 350 Cognitive Neuroscience Dr. Orr
Assignment Description
You will pick a journal article from the list of available papers to summarize and critique. These articles are those that have had a big impact on the field and/or represents new and cutting-edge research. Some papers may appear to be short (e.g., those from the journal Science) , but they will often have supplementary information on the journal website. You are responsible for reading any necessary supplementary materials. Half of the paper should be a summary of the article and the other half should critique/ evaluate the paper. Your paper should be 1000-1500 words (about 2 pages, single-spaced). Reviews of the papers are meant to be anonymous, therefore DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME/ID IN THE TEXT OR IN THE FILENAME. You will lose points for failing to follow directions.
Other critical points:
– Use APA citation format for the paper and textbook (in-text citations and references at the end of
the paper, but don’t need a separate references page). Other than citations, you don’t need to follow APA format, i.e., don’t include a cover page and don’t put anything in the header or footer.
– DO NOT USE QUOTES! Journal articles communicate research to other scientists and experts in the field. Use your own words! Write the paper for your grandmother, as my grad school professor would say.E.g., In the article: “As SSD was varied to yield ~50% P(inhibit), SSRT was estimable by subtracting average SS from median correct Go RT (according to the race model).” In your words, “The authors used an establish method to set the delay for the stop signal wherein participants would be unable to stop in time on about half of the trials.”
Key Components of a Summary
Summarize the research question being answered in the paper and what has been done to date (i.e., review what you learned from the literature review). Condense the content of the work by highlighting its main points and key supporting points.
Describe the participants, procedures and methods very briefly (to understand the methods, you may need to consult additional resources)
Describe the results including the primary analyses that were used and what they found
Describe the main conclusions that the authors arrived at
Article Critique/ Evaluation
You should heavily rely on information discussed in class for your critique
What were the strengths of the paper?
What are the implications of this research for our understanding of the mind/brain?
Did you notice any problems with the methodology, hypotheses, interpretation, other limitations?
Why do you think this paper is impactful or cutting edge?
Is the work related to problems in our present-day world? If so, how?
How is the material related to your life, experiences, feelings and ideas?
Did the work increase your understanding of a particular issue? Did it change your perspective in
any way?
