Reading a PaperThe order to read a journal article in, and what to check.PsychologyThe method decides whether the conclusion is worth anything.1AbstractWhat did they do and find? Decide whether to continue.2MethodSample, design, measures. This is where studies fail.3ResultsEffect sizes and confidence intervals, not just p-values.4DiscussionRead for overclaiming. Does the conclusion match the design?5LimitationsWhat the authors admit, and what they omit.RED FLAGSSample of 20 undergraduatesCausal language from a correlational designNo effect size reportedConclusions beyond the population studiedCheck the sample size and the design before the finding. A strikingresult from n = 15 is a hypothesis, not evidence.Reading a Paperlearnposters.com
Reading a Paper — printable life science wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Reading a Paper, step by step

The method decides whether the conclusion is worth anything.

  1. AbstractWhat did they do and find? Decide whether to continue.
  2. MethodSample, design, measures. This is where studies fail.
  3. ResultsEffect sizes and confidence intervals, not just p-values.
  4. DiscussionRead for overclaiming. Does the conclusion match the design?
  5. LimitationsWhat the authors admit, and what they omit.

Red flags

  • Sample of 20 undergraduates
  • Causal language from a correlational design
  • No effect size reported
  • Conclusions beyond the population studied

Check the sample size and the design before the finding. A striking result from n = 15 is a hypothesis, not evidence.

Questions about the Reading a Paper poster

What’s on the Reading a Paper poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The method decides whether the conclusion is worth anything. Abstract — What did they do and find? Decide whether to continue.; Method — Sample, design, measures. This is where studies fail.; Results — Effect sizes and confidence intervals, not just p-values.; Discussion — Read for overclaiming. Does the conclusion match the design?; Limitations — What the authors admit, and what they omit.. Check the sample size and the design before the finding. A striking result from n = 15 is a hypothesis, not evidence.
Who is the Reading a Paper poster for?
Reading a Paper belongs to the Psychology section rather than to a school year, because life science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning methods & statistics can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Reading a Paper poster?
Abstract, then method, then results. Read the discussion last and sceptically. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Reading a Paper belongs on the wall where that life science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Reading a Paper?
Choosing a Test, Descriptive Statistics and Research Ethics sit alongside Reading a Paper in the Psychology section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Choosing a TestDescriptive StatisticsResearch Ethics
Is the Reading a Paper poster free to download and print?
Yes. Reading a Paper downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Psychology section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Reading a Paper poster print at?
Reading a Paper is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Reading a Paper loses nothing.Printing guide

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