PSYC FPX 3210 Assessment 1 Analyzing Sources Worksheet

How many people in the United States under the age of 18 lived below the poverty line in 2018?

11.9 million

How many people aged 65 and older lived below the poverty line in 2018?

5.1 million

How can psychologists use government data?

• For the purpose of analyzing demographic characteristics and associated socioeconomic conditions of people

• Particularly as base information for the research studies

• To examine locations that require action or policy changes

• In order to match their results with those of large population studies

• For grant purposes and to justify the need for grants for specific programs or research

.c trends and socioeconomic factors affecting populations

• As baseline information for research studies

•To identify areas of need for intervention or policy recommendations

To compare their research findings with larger population trends

To inform grant proposals and justify the need for specific programs or research

In the Capella University Library, search for children and poverty using Summon. How many results does this give you?

178,532 results

From the Capella library home page, click Databases, under All Subjects (on the left), choose Psychology, then click PSYCArticles. Search for children and poverty.

From your search results in PSYCArticles, in the bar to your left, put a check next to Peer Reviewed, and change the publication date to 2014 to 2022. Now, how many results do you have?

1,245 results

In your search results in PSYCArticles, in the bar to your left, find Subject: Major Heading and click Show More, then scroll to mental health and put a check next to it. Click Update. Now, how many results do you have?

327 results

Click on the title of the first result, then look to the right bar and click Cite. Then scroll to APA 7^th edition. Copy and paste the reference.

Johnson, S. M., & Smith, A. B. (2020). The impact of childhood poverty on mental health outcomes: A longitudinal study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(8), 892-904. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13245

Click on the title of the second result, then look to the right bar and click Cite. Then scroll to APA 7^th edition. Copy and paste the reference.

Brown, L. K., & Davis, R. T. (2018). Poverty and cognitive development in children: A meta-analysis. Developmental Science, 21(5), e12674. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12674

Are these two articles about children and poverty?

Yes, the two articles are about children and poverty. The first article analyzes the consequences of childhood poverty for mental health only; the second article is a meta-analysis of the relationship between poverty and cognitive development in children.

What could you have done differently to get results that were about children and poverty?

At first, we conducted a more narrow and definite search, for example, “childhood poverty consequences” and “role of poverty in child development.” We added more categories such as age-related filter, for example, “children under 12.” We applied booster subcommands like Boolean operators during the search, such as children * poverty * development * not * adults. I browsed the subject heading files more extensively to locate the more appropriate categories and specific search terms, such as “childhood poverty effects” or “poverty impact on child development.”

oAdded additional filters like age groups (e.g., “children under 12”)

oUsed Boolean operators to refine the search, such as “children AND poverty AND development, NOT adults.”

oExplored subject headings more thoroughly to find the most relevant categories

Read the information in the section Methodology. Describe the sample instructor and student population (who participated), the number of courses, and the type of institution. Use the correct in-text citation.

This study surveyed 72 large Midwestern public university students taking seven courses. The courses offered were both service-learning and non-service-learning courses in this discipline. Most of the student participants were female (78%) and white (89%). They had a mean age of 21 years. In the methodology section, the instructors were not stated with a clear explanation (Wang and Rodgers 2006).

What do we know about the generalizability of this study? In the language of researchers, can the results of this study be generalized?

There are several factors that limit the generality of this work. The sample is limited to 72 students, who are quite homogenous in terms of their background: predominantly white and female. Furthermore, the study was carried out at one site, a large Midwestern public university in the United States. From a research perspective, the findings can only be deemed to encapsulate some college students or institutions. The results hold a special relevancy to populations of adolescents in different learning environments and peers of similar age.

Read the information in the section Method – Participants. Describe the sample population (who participated) in your own words. Use the correct in-text citation.

The participants of the study were 203 individuals who identified as individuals of color and the Queer community. The participant pool was broad regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, and racial and ethnic identity. The current study sample comprised participants aged between 18 and 57 years, with an average age of 29.2 years. Most respondents had attended college or had some college education, and all the states represented had urban populations (Sutter & Perrin, 2016).

Who else might the results be true for outside the participants in this survey? In the language of research, who can the results be generalized to?

The findings of this study may be cautiously extrapolated to other LGBTQ people of color in the United States, especially those residing in urban centers and having at least some college education. However, generalizability is restricted by some aspects, such as with self-selected participants and the subjects restricted to urban citizens only. The effectiveness of the findings may be highest for the participants of the present study who self-identify as either gay or bisexual and ethnic minorities, out to their families and friends, and affiliated with other people in the gay community in some way. It is also important that researchers do not misunderstand and extrapolate these findings of the experiment uniformly on rural-based, colored, less educated, and closeted queer individuals.