SurveySurvey

Purpose: To explore the experiences of a group of university students, regarding fears associated with media events in childhood. How do they compare to the findings of Harrison and Cantor (1999)?

Main Research Questions:

1) How many students recall being frightened by a media event?

2) How many are affected currently?

SurveySurvey

Participants:

160 Undergraduate students enrolled in Developmental Psychology St. Francis Xavier University,

Antigonish, NS 28 males, 132 females

Typically would include age and other demographics, but this info will not be requested from you

SurveySurvey

How many students recalled being frightened by a media event in childhood?

Yes: 88.1% (141/160 students)

No: 8.8% (14 students)

Do not wish to answer: 3.1% (5 students)

SurveySurvey

Of those that answered Yes:

Age at time of viewing:

2-7 Years: 45.4% (64/141 students)

8-12 Years: 53.2% (75 students)

Not answered: 1.4% (2 students)

SurveySurvey

Of those that answered Yes:

Intention of viewing:

Intended: 61.7% (87/141 students)

Unintended: 37.6% (53 students)

Not answered: 0.7% (1 student)

SurveySurvey

Of those that answered Yes:

Type of media:

TV Show: 15.6% (22/141 students)

News Story: 20.6% (29 students)

Movie: 63.8% (90 students)

SurveySurvey

Of those that answered Yes:

Duration of fear:

Short-term: 37.6% (53/141 students)

Long-term: 34.8% (49 students)

Current: 27.7% (39 students)

Comparing to Comparing to Harrison and Cantor (1999)Harrison and Cantor (1999)

We have strikingly similar numbers

Current Study Harrison & Cantor

160 University Students 150 University Students

88% recalled fear 90% recalled fear

28% still remained 26% still remained

HeadlinesHeadlines

Purpose: To see how many frightening stories were featured across Canada on a given day

Main Research Question:

Will there be a high number of frightening headlines across Canada?

HeadlinesHeadlines

Sample:

Looking at Top Stories on CTVNews and GlobalNews websites, for each of these 8 regions: Maritimes 17 different Top Stories were

featured Montreal 26 Top Stories Toronto 17 Top Stories Winnipeg 17 Top Stories Saskatoon 18 Top Stories Edmonton 20 Top Stories Calgary 18 Top Stories B.C. 19 Top Stories

HeadlinesHeadlines

Data Analysis notes:

Because different regions had a different number of Top Stories, percentages were calculated.

Looked at the percentage of Top Stories each student found to be frightening, and then averaged this number so that each region had an overall average percentage of frightening headlines

Percentage of Headlines Percentage of Headlines Noted as FrighteningNoted as Frightening

BC: Mean= 43.75, S.D.= 8.31

Winnipeg: Mean= 41.42, S.D.= 13.60

Maritimes: Mean= 41.42, S.D.= 12.20

Toronto: Mean= 35.08, S.D.= 8.98

Saskatoon: Mean= 30, S.D.= 10.57

Edmonton: Mean= 29.09, S.D.= 8.01

Montreal: Mean= 28.05, S.D.= 5.79

Calgary: Mean= 26.19, S.D.= 6.33

Ratings of Headlines Ratings of Headlines on 1-5 Severity Scaleon 1-5 Severity Scale

Toronto: Mean= 3.15, S.D.= 0.65

B.C.: Mean= 2.72 , S.D.= 0.64

Edmonton: Mean= 2.69, S.D.= 0.72

Winnipeg: Mean= 2.61, S.D.= 0.67

Maritimes: Mean= 2.59, S.D.= 0.52

Saskatoon: Mean= 2.42, S.D.= 0.72

Montreal: Mean= 2.41, S.D.= 0.64

Calgary: Mean= 2.20, S.D.= 0.60

HeadlinesHeadlines

Canada overall:

On average, 34.38% of Headlines were noted as potentially frightening (S.D.=6.99%)

2.59 was the average rating on the 1-5 severity scale (S.D.= 0.28)

Looking at these Looking at these numbersnumbers

Considering the averages for each region, we have a range of roughly 26% to 44% of stories being potentially frightening

Seems that, across Canada, there is a good chance children will be exposed to a frightening headline

Important for adults to recognize this; be aware of the potential for frightening news exposure

What are we writing What are we writing about?about?

The topic:

Discuss how media relates to fear and anxiety in children, with a focus on News Stories

The present experiment:

A survey to examine the experiences of university students in terms of being frightened by media as children

Examination of headlines to see how many frightening stories were featured across Canada on a given day

Where do you find Where do you find sources?sources?

You are using the articles linked on Moodle (3) required- you must discuss them in

your Intro and Discussion sections Harrison and Cantor (1999) was added to the

required list, as we are somewhat replicating their survey study

(1) optional If you’d like to use other articles as well, make

sure they are peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, and that you have a stable source that I can get from you, if need be

Only discuss articles that you have in fact read

Must use APA FormatMust use APA Format

Will be marked on your use of APA style

Refer to the Psych Department APA Manual linked on my homepage and Moodle www.stfx.ca/people/jlayes

Though there are new revisions to APA rules, I will mark based on the version currently in the Dept manual

Required Sections Required Sections

Introduction

Method (Participants, Sample, Materials, Procedure) Note that ‘Sample’ is not typically

included

Results

Discussion

References Note: If you see discrepancies between

requirements described in the Syllabus and here, follow these ones. Changes were made.

IntroductionIntroduction

Title of paper is centered at top

Goes from general to specific

Flow:

-Overall topic and purpose of the study (What is being researched? Why is this topic important?)

-Review past research (What has been found in the assigned readings? How are they relevant to the current study?)

….continues….

Introduction Introduction continuedcontinued

- Outline of the current study beginning with how it links to the past studies (How does it build from previous research? What does it add? How is it conducted?)

- Conclude by explicitly stating the research questions being explored. We will not have hypotheses, due to the exploratory nature of this study (we do not have specific predictions)

Notes on Reviewing Past Notes on Reviewing Past ResearchResearch

Avoid unnecessary detail when summarizing studies e.g. Participant demographics (unless relevant),

statistics, specifics of procedures, etc.

Briefly review what they did, with whom, and how

Focus more on their findings and the implications

Also, use information they have provided in their Intro and Discussions to support your statements e.g. if you’re discussing age differences, use

evidence from their findings if possible, but you can also discuss evidence that they discussed from other studies.

Keep in mind…Keep in mind…

This is not an opinion paper

Remember to write scientifically, precisely, and formally

Views on parenting styles and media content should not be included Don’t: “I do not think children should watch TV” Don’t: “As a child, I was scared by ___” Do: “Evidence from ___, suggests that young

children should be shielded from disturbing media”

Don’t make an assertion that can’t be supported with evidence Don’t: “Crime is higher than ever before” Do: “It may seem to some that crime is high”

MethodMethod

Will have 4 subsections Usually only 3, but we are adding a

Sample section

Participants

Sample

Materials

Procedure

Method continuedMethod continued

Remember: Write in full sentences throughout entire paper. No point form. No tables/lists.

Participants

Explain the participants that answered the Survey, using the information on Slide 3

Method continuedMethod continued

Sample

Provide the names of the websites that were visited, and the eight regions that were reviewed

Also state that this sample was collected during the period of Feb. 18th-21st, 2013

Method continuedMethod continued

Materials

Describe the survey, including each of the questions asked and the options that were provided as answers

Normally, the survey would be attached as an Appendix, but to save paper we will omit this

Method continuedMethod continued

Procedure Explain Data Collection

Describe what we did in detail, in past tense

First the survey, then the review of Headlines

Remember to review what the 260 class did as a whole, not just what your lab section did (i.e. we looked at 8 regions, not just one)

Do not use personal pronouns

Don’t say “We”, “Us”, “I”, “You”, etc. Do not write it as though giving directions

Example Wording for Example Wording for ProcedureProcedure

Do NOT copy these sentences in your paper

“Students were delivered the survey during class-time, and instructed that it was voluntary and anonymous”

“Students visited each website and selected the region assigned to their lab section”

“Students noted headlines that were potentially frightening on a sheet of paper”

ResultsResults

Report the findings specifically, providing the numbers reviewed in the beginning of this ppt

Start by briefly explaining how the data was analyzed Descriptive statistics were calculated:

The frequencies for each answer on the survey were found and converted to a percentage

The number of headlines each student noted was converted to a percentage

The average percentage for each region was calculated

The average ratings of the headlines were calculated

Results continuedResults continued

Do not discuss the implications of the Results at this point

Only report the numbers, including means and standard deviation

When providing numbers for each of the regions, present the regions in the order that they rank (This is how they are listed in the ppt slides)

Remember: Full sentences; No Tables; No Graphs

DiscussionDiscussion

Goes from specific to general

Flow:

-Discuss the main findings from the current study, now elaborating on what one can take away from such results (What do these findings suggest/mean?)

-Relate the findings back to past research. For example, how do the survey results compare to past survey findings on this topic?

Note that you should only discuss sources that have already been included in your Intro

Discussion Discussion continuedcontinued

-What are some limitations of the current study’s design? In other words, how could this study be improved on in the future? What are some short-comings that could have impacted the findings?

-What are the implications of the current study’s findings? In other words, what was learned of importance? How can this knowledge be applied in the real world? Who could benefit from this knowledge, and how so (e.g. parents)?

Discussion Discussion continuedcontinued

-Finally, what are some ideas for future research that could build off this current study? Provide 2 or 3 new (and realistic) research questions/designs that could add to the research in this area

ReferencesReferences

Beginning on a new page after the Discussion

Provide references for each of the articles that you read (do not reference research you read about in other articles; you must have actually read them)

They are listed down the page alphabetically, e.g. you would reference Harrison and Cantor (1999) above Riddle (2011)

Within a reference, you never change the order of the authors. E.g. Harrison and Cantor will always be presented as such.

Reference FormatReference Format

Example (note the use of Hanging Indent and Double-Spacing):

Layes, J.M., McInnis, R., & Wright, J. (2013).

This is the title of the article. The Name of

the Journal, 2, 1-38.

Info included: Names, last and initials Year of publication Title Journal Volume Pages

CitationsCitations

Very important!! Failure to cite sources adequately is

considered a form of plagiarism

Format: In a sentence:

“Harrison and Cantor (1999) found that…. At the end of a sentence:

“Age differences were found in fear reaction (Harrison & Cantor, 1999).

Citations continuedCitations continued

When there are 2 authors: Provide both names every time you cite

When there are 3-5 authors: Provide all names the first time,

subsequently just use the first name followed by ‘et al.’

E.g. First: (Layes, McInnis, & Wright, 2013)

After: (Layes et al., 2013)

When there are 6+ authors, use ‘et al.’ every time

Citations continuedCitations continued

Secondary sources:

Used when you discuss a study that you read about in an article, but did not actually read

Format:

“Harrison (as cited in Wilson, 2008) conducted a study on…”

Then, you only reference Wilson (your primary source)

Why cite? When?Why cite? When?

Gives credit to original

Provides support for your statements Reader should be able to fact-check your

statements by going to the source that you have cited for that info

When in doubt, use too many citations rather than too little

Sandwich info between citations: If discussing one piece of research consistently for several sentences, you can cite once in the first sentence, and once in the last sentence.

Inappropriate Inappropriate SourcesSources

You should only have citations for the articles provided

and other peer-reviewed, empirical articles from Scientific journals, if you choose to add others

DO NOT discuss or cite: Wikipedia Dictionary Websites Class/Lab Notes or ppts Professors/Instructors

Basic Formatting Rules to Basic Formatting Rules to RememberRemember

(not exhaustive- see the APA (not exhaustive- see the APA Manual)Manual)

Times New Roman, Size 12, Double-spaced (no extra spaces between sections, paragraphs)

Page numbers, top right, starting on first page

No personal pronouns

No Quotations- points deducted if used

Use scientific, concise language

Use formal language; avoid contractions and slang

Formatting Formatting continuedcontinued

Numbers 0-9 are written out, 10+ presented as digits When providing results, use all digits If a number begins a sentence, it is

written out

Verb Tense: Describe past studies, the current study,

and results in past tense “Researchers conducted the survey and

found….” Discuss the implications of findings in

present tense “These findings suggest that…”

Formatting Formatting continuedcontinued

Headings: First level headings are centered, bold,

in Title Case Second level headings are flush left,

bold, in Title Case

Method

Participants

Information about Participants for Survey.

Sample

Information about websites and regions.

Formatting Formatting continuedcontinued

Title page will have a Running head, which is a short version of your title See formatting in manual

This running head will then be used as a header on each page of your paper, presented top left, in CAPS

Note that you are expected to follow the formatting rules in the APA Manual, but you are only expected to include the sections covered in this ppt; some sections have been omitted in this report

Academic IntegrityAcademic Integrity

Do not share work

Paraphrase everything Do not copy anything word for word; make

sure it sounds different than the original, and doesn’t follow sentence by sentence (i.e. do not just rephrase the Abstract!)

Cite all of your information Make sure author names and dates are

correct

Make sure References contain all necessary info