| empirical question | A question that can be answered through objective observation.
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| file drawer phenomenon | A problem associated with publication practices and meta-analysis that occurs because results that fail to achieve statistical significance often fail to be published (i.e., get relegated to the researcher's file drawer).
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| literature review | A review of relevant research and theory conducted during the early stages of the research process to identify important variables and accepted methods and to establish a rationale for research hypotheses.
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| nonrefereed journal | A journal in which articles do not undergo prepublication editorial review.
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| operational definition | A definition of a variable in terms of the operations used to measure it.
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| paper session | A meeting at a scientific convention at which the most up-to-date research results are presented. A paper session may involve disseminating data by reading a paper or presenting a poster.
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| peer review | Process of editorial review used by refereed journals. Manuscripts are usually sent out to at least two reviewers who screen the research for quality and importance.
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| personal communication | Information obtained privately from another researcher (e.g., by letter or phone).
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| poster session | A way of disseminating research results at a conference, in which a presenter prepares a poster providing information about the research being reported.
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| primary source | A reference source that contains the original, full report of a study. It includes all the details needed to replicate and interpret the study.
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| PsycARTICLES | A computerized source of articles, downloadable in PDF format, that were published in the journals of the American Psychological Association.
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| Psychological Abstracts | A noncomputerized index of publications in psychological journals.
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| PsycINFO | A computerized database system that indexes journals and book chapters relevant to psychology and related fields.
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| refereed journal | A journal whose articles have undergone prepublication editorial review by a panel of experts in the relevant field.
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| secondary source | A reference source that summarizes information from a primary source and includes research reviews and theoretical articles.
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| Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms | A thesaurus available in hard copy or in computerized form that is used to help narrow or broaden a search of the psychological literature.
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