WPO – Research Methods & Techniques 2
Class 1: scientific communication
Forms of communication
1. Scientific articles
2. Book chapters
3. Conference presentations
- Oral presentation
- Poster presentation (see picture)
4. Books meant for laypeople
5. Articles meant for laypeople
6. Media
7. Social media
Searching for scientific articles
• Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
• Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/
➢ Mostly used
➢ Tip: select VUB in library as ‘reference’ (more info in pwp)
Artificial intelligence
AI = the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems
Is currently being used in different industries:
• Shopping: AI recommends personalized ads based on your browsing interest
• Facial recognition and filters
• Gaming: making human-like NPC’s
• Science:
- Rewrite your tekst
- Getting answers to your scientific questions
- Predicting outcomes based on data
- Example: chatGPT
• Free-to-use AI system that’s used for gaining insights, solve problems & engage in
conversation
• Don’t share sensitive info. The chat history may be reviewed or used
• CHECK YOUR FACTS! ChatGPT uses databases on the internet to formulate a response/
solution. It can base its answer on inaccurate information
• The use of chatGPT should be mentioned in the referencelist
1
,APA rules
= American Psychological Association
• To standardize writing language within psychological & educational sciences and
corresponding scientific magazines
• APA rules
• APA writing style
Lay-out tekst
• Double line spacing
• 1-inch margins on both sides (=2,54cm)
• Indent the start of every body paragraph
• No blank lines
• Amounts and digits
- Digits (<10) written out
- Numbers (≥ 10) written as such
- If a number is the first element of the sentence, write it out
Lay-out tables
• Place table in text on a single page (don’t split it up)
• Double spacing
• No vertical lines
• Not too many and too few horizontal lines
• Potentially different font (size) to increase salience
• Title has a fixed form:
Table 1
Title table
• Notes below the table (Note. xxx), significance levels (p <.05) using probability notes
• Clear headings (= names) for rows and columns
2
,Lay-out figures
• Place figure in text on a single page (don’t split it up)
• Title above figure has a fixed form:
Figure 1
Title figure
• Clear denomination of x- axis and y- axis
• Potentially different font (size) to increase salience
• Always refer to figures and tables using their corresponding nature and number, e.g., “Table
1” and “Figure 1”
Lay-out statistics
• Statistical symbols (r, SD, M, …) always in italics
• Round decimals correctly (2, up from X.5 or X.X5)
• Use spaces
• WRONG:
- (F(2,43)=3.7012; p=.03012)
- (F(2,44)=0.22, p=.8098)
• CORRECT:
- (F(2,43) = 3.70, p = .03)
- (F(2,44) = 0.22, p = .81)
3
, Lay-out references in text
• Referring to an article – 1 author
- Sackett (2002) states that …
- Previous research showed ... (Sackett, 2002).
• Referring to an article – 2 authors
- Lam and Dreher (2004) state that …
- Previous research showed … (Lam & Dreher, 2004)
• Referring to an article- 3 authors or more
- Zemba et al. (2006) states that…
- Previous research showed… (Zemba et al., 2006)
• Referring to ChatGPT
- OpenAI (2026) states that…
- Previous research showed .. (OpenAI, 2026)
Lay-out list of references
• Order alphabetically
• Only use a capital letter for the first word of a title and first word after a colon or underscore
(even when every word of the title has a capital letter)
• The name of the journal is written with capital letters and in italics - Journal of Applied
Psychology
• Always mention the issue, volume and page numbers. If possible, provide a DOI (digital
object identifier). Do not forget to add ‘https://doi.org/’ before the number. - Journal of
Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
• When referring to a book, mention the edition/press (4th ed.), as well as the publisher
• Don't forget to add a hanging indent of 0.5:
When there are two publications of the same author(s), you mention the oldest one first
- Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2011).
- Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2012).
• When there are two publications of the same author(s) in the same year, add the letter ‘a’ to
the first mention of the year, ‘b’ to the second, and so on
- Vantilborgh, T., Bidee, J., Pepermans, R., Willems, J., Huybrechts, G., & Jegers, M.
(2011a).
- Vantilborgh, T., Bidee, J., Pepermans, R., Willems, J., Huybrechts, G., & Jegers, M.
(2011b).
4
Class 1: scientific communication
Forms of communication
1. Scientific articles
2. Book chapters
3. Conference presentations
- Oral presentation
- Poster presentation (see picture)
4. Books meant for laypeople
5. Articles meant for laypeople
6. Media
7. Social media
Searching for scientific articles
• Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
• Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/
➢ Mostly used
➢ Tip: select VUB in library as ‘reference’ (more info in pwp)
Artificial intelligence
AI = the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems
Is currently being used in different industries:
• Shopping: AI recommends personalized ads based on your browsing interest
• Facial recognition and filters
• Gaming: making human-like NPC’s
• Science:
- Rewrite your tekst
- Getting answers to your scientific questions
- Predicting outcomes based on data
- Example: chatGPT
• Free-to-use AI system that’s used for gaining insights, solve problems & engage in
conversation
• Don’t share sensitive info. The chat history may be reviewed or used
• CHECK YOUR FACTS! ChatGPT uses databases on the internet to formulate a response/
solution. It can base its answer on inaccurate information
• The use of chatGPT should be mentioned in the referencelist
1
,APA rules
= American Psychological Association
• To standardize writing language within psychological & educational sciences and
corresponding scientific magazines
• APA rules
• APA writing style
Lay-out tekst
• Double line spacing
• 1-inch margins on both sides (=2,54cm)
• Indent the start of every body paragraph
• No blank lines
• Amounts and digits
- Digits (<10) written out
- Numbers (≥ 10) written as such
- If a number is the first element of the sentence, write it out
Lay-out tables
• Place table in text on a single page (don’t split it up)
• Double spacing
• No vertical lines
• Not too many and too few horizontal lines
• Potentially different font (size) to increase salience
• Title has a fixed form:
Table 1
Title table
• Notes below the table (Note. xxx), significance levels (p <.05) using probability notes
• Clear headings (= names) for rows and columns
2
,Lay-out figures
• Place figure in text on a single page (don’t split it up)
• Title above figure has a fixed form:
Figure 1
Title figure
• Clear denomination of x- axis and y- axis
• Potentially different font (size) to increase salience
• Always refer to figures and tables using their corresponding nature and number, e.g., “Table
1” and “Figure 1”
Lay-out statistics
• Statistical symbols (r, SD, M, …) always in italics
• Round decimals correctly (2, up from X.5 or X.X5)
• Use spaces
• WRONG:
- (F(2,43)=3.7012; p=.03012)
- (F(2,44)=0.22, p=.8098)
• CORRECT:
- (F(2,43) = 3.70, p = .03)
- (F(2,44) = 0.22, p = .81)
3
, Lay-out references in text
• Referring to an article – 1 author
- Sackett (2002) states that …
- Previous research showed ... (Sackett, 2002).
• Referring to an article – 2 authors
- Lam and Dreher (2004) state that …
- Previous research showed … (Lam & Dreher, 2004)
• Referring to an article- 3 authors or more
- Zemba et al. (2006) states that…
- Previous research showed… (Zemba et al., 2006)
• Referring to ChatGPT
- OpenAI (2026) states that…
- Previous research showed .. (OpenAI, 2026)
Lay-out list of references
• Order alphabetically
• Only use a capital letter for the first word of a title and first word after a colon or underscore
(even when every word of the title has a capital letter)
• The name of the journal is written with capital letters and in italics - Journal of Applied
Psychology
• Always mention the issue, volume and page numbers. If possible, provide a DOI (digital
object identifier). Do not forget to add ‘https://doi.org/’ before the number. - Journal of
Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
• When referring to a book, mention the edition/press (4th ed.), as well as the publisher
• Don't forget to add a hanging indent of 0.5:
When there are two publications of the same author(s), you mention the oldest one first
- Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2011).
- Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2012).
• When there are two publications of the same author(s) in the same year, add the letter ‘a’ to
the first mention of the year, ‘b’ to the second, and so on
- Vantilborgh, T., Bidee, J., Pepermans, R., Willems, J., Huybrechts, G., & Jegers, M.
(2011a).
- Vantilborgh, T., Bidee, J., Pepermans, R., Willems, J., Huybrechts, G., & Jegers, M.
(2011b).
4
