Requirements
The mind map should clearly indicate in some form:
1. the research question(s) (which should form the central node of the mind map, providing the APA-style citation)
2. A discussion of 1-3 experiments (branching outward from research question node)
3. On these branches, you should have explanations of:
Hypotheses (predictions)
Some research methods (use pictures to illustrate)
The results including a breakdown of the statistics used, an explanation of why they were used, and what each part of the statistical “statement” from the paper is telling you.
Summary of conclusions made from the statistics
Students may also critique the article if they spot something relevant (e.g., p-values being reported but no effect sizes, no descriptive statistics, violations to statistical assumptions) – however, they are not required to do this (see the red branches on my mind map for critique examples).
Recommendations
1. Select an article that’s of personal interest
2. Select a brief article (1-2 experiments, 5-10 pages)
3. Select an article that’s easy to describe: has a clear research question, hypothesis and answer.
4. Avoid papers that summarize research (e.g., literature reviews, meta-analyses)
5. Avoid papers that use secondary data analysis or qualitative research methods
The assignment’s goal is to demonstrate to me and to the other students (as we will display our Mind Maps at the end of the course) how statistics are used to answer questions about the research.
Resources
Students can use the ANY mind mapping online platform or opt to illustrate it themselves on a piece of paper and then photograph it. For my example, used which is easy to use, and you can sign into it from your google account. The mind maps you generate here can also be publicly shared within Coggle’s community.
