Archives: Research

In two previous posts (which you should read first!), I described introduced the idea of science writing as storytelling, and I explored two traits of effective writers. In this blog, I want to dive a bit deeper into the structure of scientific papers, how scientific papers document evidence that can contribute to our emerging understanding of “how the world works” (the goal of science). I will do this by discussing the purpose of different sections of an APA style paper¹.  

The Structure of Scientific Writing 

Introduction: The first part of a scientific paper is called an introduction (though the label may not appear on the paper itself). The introduction sets the stage for the science story. Here, the writer needs to frame the story by drawing from and connecting previous theory and research to the specific research in the paper. The framing of the story will be relatively big, but throughout the introduction the writer will consistently narrow in on the specific thread of the story that they are going to weave with their study.  

I like to think of the introduction as an upside-down triangle. The beginning of the intro lays out the big ideas: what is at stake and what ideas are on the table. But, as the reader (and writer) progresses through the introduction, the big ideas need to be narrowed to the realm of hypothesis. The whole science story (our discovery and construction of the way the world works) is like a giant tapestry in-progress. The whole section of the tapestry, when you step back to look at it, is the top of the upside-down triangle. (The WHOLE tapestry is the whole of human knowledge. Imagine zooming into a relatively large section of the tapestry where you can still see images and chunks of the tapestry’s story, without seeing individual threads. This section is the “whole” tapestry that the top of the upside-down triangle shows.) But individual research studies can’t deal with the whole tapestry, so throughout the introduction the reader starts to look closer at a specific part of the tapestry that is under construction. There are lots of threads here. The hypotheses of the research study, presented at/near the end of the introduction, is a zoomed-in view of one (maybe two) of these threads. The research is going to pull on these threads to see if they fit this way or that way. The individual research study is at this zoomed-in view, but the view itself won’t be meaningful without the larger picture. 

In an attempt to be explicit about my metaphors², the individual threads of the hypotheses are the very bottom point of the upside-down triangle where the plotline of the story is unfolding (scientific plot = discovery).  

In this way, the introduction absolutely has the flavor of a plot. You first set the scene, then you carefully guide your reader to pay attention to some (but not all) of the scene³. Importantly, the introduction also sets the stage for the drama of the plot, as in, “Look at all these things we know and, yet, we still cannot say with certainty how this thread fits into the tapestry. This is why my research study is needed.” 

Method: The method section is critical in the scientific story because this is where the writer starts to lay out their process for pulling the strings of the tapestry. When researchers clearly describe how they collected their data, who provided the data (in the case of human sciences), when the data were collected (etc.), then the readers have sufficient description of the process to evaluate the data that these methods and participants produced⁴.  

One of the things that makes psychology and the other social sciences so interesting (and difficult) is that the subject matter—people—are really complex. There are so many influences on human thinking and behavior, more influences than could ever be fully accounted for in any individual research study. Thus, the goal is not to measure absolutely everything, but to measure the most important things and to account for influences on how the data are produced and understood. The introduction will have brought all of these relevant influences on the table; here the science story slows down in order to really lay out the details of the process. If we return to the upside-down triangle/tapestry metaphor, the method and results sections are smaller still, zooming in to the smallest point of that triangle, examining the tapestry at the level of the thread content and composition of this particular section of the tapestry.  

If this individual research study is going to be added to the tapestry that the science story is a part of, it needs to be clear how and why the strings of the tapestry were pulled and prodded the way they were. 

 Results: The results section is where the author presents their scientific story in the language of math (and statistics)⁵. Results sections should be written without interpretation. They are designed to be a straightforward depiction of the statistical procedures and ensuing numbers. For example, “A 2 (book vs. video) by 2 (male vs. female) analysis of variance was conducted…” describes an analytic method that compared two conditions (book and video) across two genders (male and female), both of which are being treated as independent variables. The test will look at how males and females in the separate conditions of book or video scored on some dependent variable (unnamed in this example). The report would also provide the inferential statistics (e.g., t-test or, in the case of an ANOVA an F-statistic) and p-value. Let’s say that there was a statistically significant difference (i.e., p < .05) between how people responded to book versus video in this fictitious example⁶, the author would simply note that in a statistics sentence without interpreting the meaning of such a finding (e.g., “When exposed to books, problem-solving was higher (M = 5.67, SD = 1.21) than when exposed to videos (M = 2.12, SD = .34), F(1, 34) = 5.93, p < .05.)⁷ The implications of the higher problem solving scores for books compared to videos would not be interpreted here. 

Discussion: The discussion section starts with a rephrase of the results in plain English (or whatever language the paper is being written in). Take all the t-tests, ANOVAs, and multiple regressions and translate them here, omitting the statistical language. So, we might say, “Problem solving improved after exposure to books compared to videos” as a straightforward rephrase of the (fictional) test reported above. In one or two paragraphs, the key findings from the results section will be presented. This serves a few purposes. First, it helps your reader through the weeds of the analyses (especially those who skimmed it). Second, it prepares your discussion by providing a key opportunity to frame it. Throughout the discussion, the key findings will be discussed beyond what they are and extended to what they mean. Really, the discussion is the reversal of the triangle from the introduction section. The discussion turns the whole paper into an hourglass shape⁸. 

In the discussion, the key ideas introduced in the introduction get connected to the specific findings. Implications for the broader tapestry of the science story are addressed here. This is where the writer draws final connections and communicates the importance of this research story. When we know that these strings of the tapestry do that, what does that mean? How does (if it does) change our understanding of the neighboring tapestry strings? Do we have to rethink our reinterpretation of the tapestry at all, because of these findings? Does it extend our understanding in any way? Any one research paper won’t do all these things, but it will do something. This is where the writer helps the reader understand what, exactly, has been done in this paper. 

Importantly, the discussion section also highlights what this research does not do. Every study has limits and leaves open questions (either new questions or questions that remain unanswered or unclear). This section is not a trivial place to say, “we should have had a larger sample”, but a place to really wrestle with what we do and don’t know about our science story. It is also a great place to set up the next science story to help us figure out this particularly tricky part of the tapestry. Remember that good science writers are interested in improvement (growth mindset) and are genuinely curious about why things work the way they do. This means that they will not manufacture limitations where they do not exist, nor will they minimize limitations that do exist. 

The Beautiful Tapestry 

In this blog, I intended to provide a big picture framework for an individual paper; what the goals of the various paper elements are and how to think about their structure. I used the metaphor of scientific writing as the vehicle by which individual scientific studies weave small bits of a (very large) tapestry of knowledge. This is an important start, but still a bit vague on some of the details. (How do you weave?!) In blogs to com, I’ll start to unpack some specific things that I do in my own writing. It is my hope that by walking you through my example you will have the opportunity to duplicate, modify, or generate new practices that will help you develop into a better writer. 

For now, I want to hear from you: what parts of writing do you enjoy the most? What do you most loathe? Leave a comment below! 

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¹An “APA Style Paper” is a paper that is constructed according to the guidelines published by the American Psychological Association. APA style refers to the specific conventions (e.g., how to format citations) and to a style of writing. Here, I am not particularly interested in the formatting issues, but more so in the goals of the writing. These goals are shared across many scientific disciplines, even if the specific formatting style varies.

²As all members of my family, and many of my students, will attest, metaphors, idioms, and other similar language mechanisms are not my strong suit. And yet, here I am, working on my weaknesses…

³One important difference between a well-written fiction story and a scientific story is that fiction is exciting because of what is left out, what is left to the readers’ imagination. Fiction authors take advantage of allowing their readers to fill in the blanks in powerful and (often) personal ways. Science stories do not leave these same kinds of blanks. Although scientific stories have to be selective about what is included (thereby omitting some details), the goal is not to have readers fill in the blanks. One of the functions of peer-review is to ensure that important parts of the scene have not been ignored or omitted. The goal is for readers to clearly see all that is involved. Where there may be “fill-in-the-blanks” ideas, science stories will include citations for their readers to complete those omissions in a way that is consistent with previous research.

⁴Remember from Part 1: science stories are built on verifiable and compelling evidence. “Trust me, I’m a doctor” just won’t work.

⁵There are, of course, exceptions to this rule (i.e., qualitative research). However, the language of the results does change to reflect the actual analysis of the data, whatever those data are like.

⁶To connect this to methods language: a finding that there was a difference in books vs. videos on the dependent variable would be an example of a main effect; we could say that there is a main effect of media (book vs. video) on the dependent variable.

⁷The numbers in this example statistic sentence are totally made up. However, from this sentence the reader can discern important information about the main effect of the independent variable (book vs. video) on the dependent variable (problem-solving). How these variables were operationalized and measured would have been described in the method section.

⁸See the image about science papers and hourglasses here: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Framing-a-scientific-paper-The-structure-of-a-paper-mirrors-that-of-an-hourglass_fig1_307014555 If you are feeling ambitious, read the paper that it comes from, also available at this link.

If you found this blog helpful, check out the overview of the whole series here, so that you can find more useful information to develop your writing.

When I was in high school, I read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde¹. Since it was published in 1891, I’m just going to assume that what I’ll say here about the novel doesn’t require a spoiler alert. (But, alas, if you want to avoid such a spoiler, kindly skip to the next paragraph now.) What I loved about the novel was the extreme (and incredible) juxtaposition between this dashing young man and the gruesome portrait that hid his true inner reality. He was morally and psychologically bankrupt, a secret held by his portrait. On the inside, he was empty.  

Why bring up such a tale in a blog with the subtitle, scientific writing – part 2, you ask? In the paragraphs that follow, I want to argue that writing well, especially writing of the scientific variety, requires the development of certain internal characteristics. It’s not enough to have a Dorian Gray kind of face. We need to do some inner work to effectively engage scientific writing. That is what this post is about.  

Before I lose you on the thought, “this doesn’t apply to me because I’m not a scientist! I don’t need scientific writing!”, let me address this erroneous thought head on. In your classes you are engaging scientific work and talking about it, sometimes in written form. That is scientific writing. Many of you will continue to engage these primary resources in future careers. However, even those of you who don’t: the practice of clearly delineating and communicating evidence, at the core of scientific writing, is also key to communication in general. The specific formats and expectations about details (APA style, for example) may vary, but the practice of clear thinking and information storytelling—this is something you will use well beyond your classroom years. As such, in this and future blogs, when I talk about you, dear reader, as a “scientific writer,” this is not a mistake. This is for you.  

Now, back to the rodeo. 

Developing the Disposition of a Scientific Writer 

As a graduate student, I remember co-authoring a manuscript that would become my first peer-reviewed paper published in the well-respected journal Child Development. I remember the excitement of feeling like I had something to contribute, something to say. I had an emotional connection with my paper. It—and by proxy I—was awesome. 

And then came peer review. 

The peer review for this paper was critical and hard to digest. But in the lengthy process of revision (which took multiple rounds, each with new critical peer review comments), I started to learn some valuable lessons, lessons that I want to share with you today. Reflecting on my experiences with peer review that started in graduate school, I have learned that scientific writing is more effective when I, as the writer, am committed to the ongoing development of a growth mindset and a disposition of curiosity. I believe that good scientific writers share these traits, traits that can—good news—be learned.  

Good Scientific Writers have a Growth Mindset 

Elsewhere in the CSHB blog archives there are discussions on the growth mindset. Mindset is an idea developed by Dr. Carol Dweck, a developmental psychologist at Stanford University. She argues that there are different ways of thinking about traits such as intelligence. We can consider intelligence (and intellectual capacity) to be relatively fixed—stable and enduring across the lifespan—or malleable—able to be grown and developed with effort. These beliefs about intelligence being fixed or malleable represent two ends of a continuum, with people existing at and between the extremes.  

Although Dweck’s work started with intellectual ability, it has expanded to include beliefs about traits like artistic skill, athletic ability, business acumen/leadership, relational capacity, etc. It just makes sense that we could also talk about our beliefs about writing ability. Let’s take a quick check on your beliefs: do you believe that, with practice, feedback (including criticism!), and more practice (and criticism) that you could get better at writing? Or, do you think that you are, more or less, as good as you are going to be? Think about the last paper you wrote: how many times did you read and revise it? Do you think the revision process valuable? Did you seek out critical feedback? When your professor made a suggestion, what kind of reaction did you have? I would bet that students who believe that practice and feedback are a valuable part of improving their writing abilities will spend more time revising, visiting the University Writing Center, and meeting with their professor to review drafts. These efforts are not just because they want a good grade, but because they believe these behaviors are an important part of the process of their writing skill development. This is consistent with a growth-oriented mindset, the belief that effort is directly related to skill growth and associated outcomes. What Dweck’s work shows, in general, is that the belief that you can develop and improve in an ability, like writing, leads you to behave in a way that makes it so, for example by practicing, revising, and seeking out feedback for improvement.  

Moreover, an important feature of the growth mindset is the belief that you are not your work². The work that you produce reflects your effort, sure, but a critical comment (or comments—plural!) is not an inditement of you. Rather, it is feedback about your process, effort, or something that led to the work. This feedback is all a part of the learning and growing process. In a podcast on receiving critical feedback well, Mellody Hobson said something that really made me think: she argued that critical feedback is a gift, and not a right. When someone gives you feedback, no matter how hard it is to hear, it is because they love and care for you enough to give it to you. That, she says, is an opportunity that should not be squandered.  

When I receive critical peer review today—and I do!—instead of immediately succumbing to a negative emotional reaction, I reframe the feedback. This peer reviewer at least thought enough of my paper to take the time to read it and provide critical feedback. Their points are worth wrestling with. Even when I don’t incorporate the changes suggested by the peer reviewer, my paper is always better because I had to really think through why they thought what they did, what that means for my argument, and how I can strengthen what I have to say/how I’m saying it. This response is only possible when I don’t take the criticism personal, but instead use it as an opportunity to develop my ability to write more clearly, more persuasively, and more effectively. A growth mindset says that engaging feedback—especially critical feedback—is central to the development of writing well. 

Good Scientific Writers are Curious 

Although there are likely many more qualities of good scientific writers, the second I want to share here is that good scientific writers are curious. Curiosity is a core feature of good scientists (e.g., “why does the world work this way? What explains that phenomenon?), but it is also reflected in good scientific writing.  

Curiosity is reflected in a comprehensive literature review, a deep and developing understanding of all the relevant information to the present question. Curiosity is reflected in creative and clear methods, documented thoroughly to allow for an open and honest appraisal from others. Curiosity is also reflected in an openness to the data. When we, as researchers, look at data, we have our own ideas about why they are the way they are. These ideas come from a number of sources, including our command of the scientific literature and our own worldviews and experiences. Curiosity allows individuals to say, “this is how I see it,” without getting defensive when someone else says, “yes, but have you thought of this possibility?” That other possibility is just that—a possibility. For the curious, possibilities are exciting³.  

Back to Dorian 

Although the reading of Dorian Gray has stuck with me, high school was also many (too many) years ago. There are details of the story that I don’t remember. And still, I feel confident that Dorian Gray would not have been an effective science storyteller, as he lacked a growth mindset and curiosity (along with a bunch of other important traits). Of course, as a bit of an optimist, I think that even Gray could have, with the right motivation and mentorship, learned these skills. Just like I’m learning them and like I hope you will. It will benefit your writing—and so much more.  

I have more to say on scientific writing—and say I will. If you made it this far, I would love to hear from you: what do you find is your biggest barrier to writing well? Do these characteristics of good scientific writers resonate with you? What else might you consider adding to that list? Let me know with a comment below and stay tuned—there is more to come on writing well. 

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¹I have not seen the movie, so I can’t comment except to say, rooted in my own deep (non-scientific) convictions, the book is better.

²This is a great, short video introduction to the idea of mindset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn_TJTrnU. Pay special attention to the commentary on Jay and Anne’s work, and how that commentary (i.e., critical feedback) is interpreted.

³Here is a helpful guide for giving and receiving criticism in a way that is helpful: https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2021/03/science-relies-constructive-criticism-here-s-how-keep-it-useful-and-respectful

If you found this blog helpful, check out the overview of the whole series here, so that you can find more useful information to develop your writing.

My pastor has the most creative sermon titles. There is a game that we play at the end-of-year volunteers’ party which(inevitably) includes a question to try to spot the fake sermon title among all the real ones. It is next level difficult. It is in that vein that I label this blog, My Little Pony Dungeons and Dragons though, really, this blog is not about that. Not directly. Intrigued? Read on.

Now that you are (mildly) intrigued, I’ll be honest with you: I have played an adapted form of Dungeons and Dragons with My Little Ponies trying to save the world through the power of friendship. Before you think I’m weird(er than you already know me to be), let me contextualize this as a game that my whole family plays on game night. In addition to the art (see the excellent pony made by my daughter, 4 years old at the time), the math (constantly adding and subtracting dice of various numbers), and the time together, there is story. That is really what this blog is about: story.

Google defines story, in part, in reference to the plot of a thing, what it’s really about. Although our minds might immediately travel to fiction—or ponies protecting the world—in my work as a researcher I find it helpful to think about scientific writing as a particular kind of storytelling. Over the next few blog posts, I tackle scientific writing as story¹. (Can you see why I lead with ponies and dragons now? In theory, it has led you read at least this far.)

In this post, I want to introduce you to the basic premise of scientific writing. In future posts, I will explore how to approach the (sometimes daunting) task of writing well and I will frame some ideas around the different components in a scientific paper. If you’re lucky (or, as my dad would say, “a glutton for punishment”), I may even write a blog with some nitty gritty details, sharing examples from a recent paper I wrote (and re-wrote…and re-wrote again).

What is Scientific Writing?

Although you know what writing is, is anything changed by adding “scientific” as an adjective before it? To answer this question, we need to think about science. Science is the study of the natural world. Science describes how things are, explores how/why things work the way they do, and makes predictions about how things might/could/would work, given what we know. Science uses systematic observation—testing, observing, measuring things in the world in strategic and systematic ways—to draw conclusions about the world². There are many (many!) different empirical methods in science, but they share the common feature of systematic measurement and observation to acquire knowledge. Moreover, science is democratic and cumulative, meaning that debating conclusions based on (and building from) previous research in a public forum is inherent in how science works. The scientific community requires that statements about “the way things are/work” be backed up with verifiable and compelling evidence³.

By this understanding of science, then, scientific writing is the formal documentation of the scientific story with discovery as the core plotline. Scientific writing is how scientists document the verifiable and compelling evidence gathered by members of the scientific community to tell the story about how the world (and the people in it) work. Done well, scientific writing communicates the mystique and intrigue of discovery within the natural world⁴.

When I conduct a research study, I write it up in a manuscript which is submitted to a journal. The journal will send this manuscript to 2 or 3 reviewers (who are blind to my identity). This process of peer-review ensures that my paper—this piece of scientific writing—is of sufficient quality and caliber to contribute to science and warrant publication. Part of my job in writing the story is to tell the reader what they need to know in a logical, connected way⁵. (Remember, I can’t just write “this is how the world works: believe me, I’m cool; I play pony-dragons.” I have to, in my paper, document the whole process of my research so that when I ultimately claim that “this is how the world works”, my reader understands how my evidence—the research—led to that conclusion.)

So, in many ways, scientific writing is like all good writing; it differs in its content (an explication of empirically demonstrated evidence), but it is rooted in narratives of discovery.

This narrative of discovery has some formalized sections (i.e., the introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections of an APA paper). However, before we talk about these sections we need to talk about the scientific story writer. Before any words are on (digital) paper, it’s important for a scientific story writer to start with a helpful orientation to the process of writing, an orientation that is highly influential for writing successfully.

While you wait for part 2 (perhaps rolling up your own MLP dungeons and dragons character), I’d like to know: what kinds of experiences have you had with science writing? When I say “science writing,” what comes to mind/what assumptions do you have about what it is/isn’t?

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¹As I see it, writing on “writing well” is one of the most daunting topics I could choose. There are many who have written on this, and many who have written on this better than I will do here. Part of the point that I aim to make is that writing is a skill that is developed. That means that, like you, I am in development. However, if I waited until I could communicate about scientific writing skill development perfectly, then this blog would never be written and any potential benefit of this communication, imperfect as it may be, would be lost. As I will encourage you to do: start where you are and commit to developing, uncomfortable as it may be. Your product won’t be perfect, but perfect isn’t a requirement for progress. In writing this blog for you and I’m practicing what I’m preaching.

²Although many students might not immediately associate “psychology” with “science,” it should be clear that psychology is a science, even if it doesn’t share all the methods of natural sciences. That it would have different methods makes sense because it has different a subject matter; surely we can agree that we can (and should) study cells differently than human persons (even if the human persons are made up of cells).

³A very easy introduction to what science is, can be found here. If you are interested specifically in thinking about how psychological science works and fits into science, you can check out this introduction.

⁴Despite common assumptions, science is not a list of facts about the world. Science includes facts, but it not mainly a compilation of them. As such, effective scientific writing will communicate the mystique and intrigue of discovery, not just consolidate a list of findings.

⁵This has implications for the actual process of organization and writing that I will address in a future post. My metaphor hear is about maps and directions, but I’ll leave it be for now.

If you found this blog helpful, check out the overview of the whole series here, so that you can find more useful information to develop your writing.

A few months back, I decided to do something crazy. No, I didn’t sky dive (I’ve done that already). No, I didn’t wander out of a Beijing airport at 2am, totally jetlagged and confused, hoping I understood what I had been told to do (I’ve done that too). And no, I didn’t have a baby and then fly with said 3-week-old baby and her toddler sister to Oxford for 5 weeks (yep, I’ve done that crazy thing, too). This time I did something truly audacious: I sat down to write a three-part blog series on writing well, with the goal of helping my students (you!) think about research writing not as a chore to be dreaded (avoided, and finally—at the very last minute—begrudgingly completed) but instead as an opportunity to develop the skills required to turn ideas into words that inspire action and world change. Of the things I’ve listed in this paragraph, I’m not sure what the craziest item is. 

What I had originally set out to do in three blog posts is now eight (nine if you count this one). And, if I’m honest, I haven’t even said all the things I wanted to. But I still think that what I’ve done is crazy—and it just might be helpful. So, I wanted to spend a few more sentences outlining what to expect in this blog series. I will end with an invitation for you.  

In the first two blogs, I focus on some topics around orienting yourself to the task of writing. First, I address the question of what scientific writing is (hint: if you are reading this blog on this research website, you are likely have/are going to engage scientific writing at some point in your educational or professional career). Second, I explore two characteristics of effective science writers, characteristics that promote the skill development of writing well. 

In blogs three and four, I zoom in a bit and tackle how scientific papers are organized. Blog three covers the purpose of the different sections of an APA style research paper and blog four tackles how to organize a literature review of research as a stand-alone paper. For all things, including writing, I firmly believe that when we understand the purpose of something, we can engage in a way that increases the likelihood of fulfilling that purpose. In science writing, fulfilling the purpose includes clear and effective communication of discovery (e.g., what things are really like, why the world works the way it does), because discovery is the plotline of science.  

From there, blogs five through eight take a bit of a nosedive into the weeds of writing. I provide 4 examples of tools that I use in my own writing. I take the case example of a paper I recently wrote, a literature review, and I show a few of my steps from start to finish. I tell you about my Dear Mom Draft; I show you how I organize my early literature review search of research articles to deepen my understanding and preparation to start writing; I give you a peek inside my method for editing—especially how I go about deleting sentences that I know need to go but that are hard to let go of; I underscore how the writing process is the thinking process—revision isn’t just for more clarity of phrase, but for clarity of thought.  

Across all these blogs, my goal is to reinforce a basic truth about writing: it is a skill that is developed with practice. I hope that, across these blogs, you’ll be better prepared to engage in the practice of writing well and that you might learn a few tools that are useful in your own skill development.  

There are, of course, many other issues (tools, obstacles, ideas) about writing well that these blogs don’t cover. For example, I didn’t talk at all about reading as a fundamental to good writing (it is!) or specifics of focusing a research question and searching library databases for good sources (key concerns!). Another big one mentioned by a student of mine that I don’t really address is how to maintain motivation to write in the face of waning enthusiasm (and an approaching deadline). Perhaps I’ll take these up in another miniseries which I might call revenge of the writing well blog.  

Between now and the revenge, as these blogs go live over the coming weeks, I want to issue you an invitation. I invite you to engage these blogs as opportunities for your own development. Writing well is not just about the research, it’s about the world change that comes with effective communication and clear thinking. Sure, this might not come out of that paper you are writing for your class, but the skills that you are practicing may just prepare you to be able to do just that. In addition to this long-term invitation, I want to know at the outset: what is it about writing well that you want to learn more about? 

3/7/2022 Update: The University Writing Center, an excellent CBU resource for developing your writing skills, has also contributed their thoughts as a continuation of this blog series. You can (and should) check that blog out here.

By: Philip Breitenbucher, Raquel Ellis, with Nicholas Clift 

The opioid crisis in America is far-reaching and affects millions of children and families. The Office of the Surgeon General (2021) reports that 1 in 7 people will develop a substance use disorder in their lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control [CDC] (2021), nearly 500,000 people died from prescription and illicit opioid overdoses between 1999 – 2019 and latest numbers from the CDC suggest an acceleration of deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.   

As a result of this fast-growing problem, the Surgeon General has placed a high priority on controlling this crisis and protecting the well-being of Americans. In 2018, the Surgeon General released a spotlight on the issue of opioids entitled Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Spotlight on Opioids which compiles the best available evidence on the prevalence of substance use, opioid misuse, opioid use disorders, opioid overdoses, and related harms (Office of the Surgeon General, 2021). In conjunction with the spotlight, they released a public health advisory urging Americans to carry a lifesaving medication, naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Not all overdoses have to end in deaths. More than three out of five overdose deaths involved at least one potential opportunity to link people to care before an overdose or to implement life-saving actions when an overdose occurred (CDC, 2020). Learning more about the risks of opioids, along with the availability and use of naloxone, are ways that can help reduce the opioid spike that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The ongoing opioid epidemic is an area of great concern for those in the behavioral and social sciences. Professionals in these disciplines recognize the profound impact that opioid misuse has had on children, families, and communities. For example, the use of opioids by mothers during pregnancy can result in numerous physical ailments upon birth and long-term learning and behavioral challenges (Ross et al., 2015). Parental dependency on opioids has also been associated with child maltreatment, foster care reentries, and higher rates of children losing their parents to the criminal justice system or death by accidental overdose. These circumstances have led to increases in children being placed in foster care (Radel et al., 2018; United Hospital Fund, 2019). The opioid epidemic has hit vulnerable communities the hardest, exacerbating such areas as the employment rate, poverty rate, and child educational outcomes (Darolina & Tyler, 2020; Krueger, 2017). 

Early identification of parental substance use in child abuse or neglect cases is crucial because of the poorer outcomes for these families versus those for whom child welfare involvement not related to parental substance abuse. Unfortunately, parental substance use is often under-identified for many reasons, including training and resources.  To assist in making accurate and timely identifications of parental substance use, screening instruments similar to those utilized in the medical community have been encouraged in the literature (Brook et al., 2014).  An example is the SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) protocol. SBIRT is an evidence-based practice used to identify, reduce, and prevent problematic use, abuse, and dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs. This protocol has been used in various medical settings and has demonstrated positive outcomes for families involved in the child welfare system.  

In 2019, the Lafayette Family Preservation Court implemented the SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) protocol for child welfare involved families in identifying and appropriately treating parental substance use, depression, and risk opioid overdose early on in the life of the case. The SBIRT protocol was administered to parents at court before or after regularly scheduled hearings.   

The screeners were made available through an online wellness technology, Wellscreen, using a tablet-enabled interface.  The Wellscreen program led the Lafayette case managers step-by-step through the screening and intervention process. Case managers were able to identify parents at risk of substance use and/or mental health disorders, confidently conduct brief interventions, create individualized treatment plans and connect parents to local treatment providers in minutes. Wellscreen also ensured timely follow-up occurred through electronic tracking of treatment plans. After one year of implementation, the researchers found sizable reductions in risk scores, a 66% reduction in depression, and a 60% retention of knowledge on brief opioid overdoses (Breitenbucher et al., 2020).  

In the behavioral and social sciences, we work in mental health clinics, schools, hospitals, churches, law enforcement, adult and child protection agencies; each of these settings is an opportunity to implement the SBIRT protocol. Using SBIRT in non-traditional settings, we can intervene with clients before they overdose or develop a severe substance use disorder. In the Fall of 2021, students in CBU’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program will have an opportunity to utilize the Wellscreen product and conduct the SBIRT protocol in their field practicum sites due to a generous gift from Wellscreen Inc. 

Those interested in learning more about this social problem and how it is being addressed can go to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention or the National Institute on Drug Abuse websites. There are also community-based organizations tackling this issue right here in the Inland Empire. To learn more about these efforts, check out the Inland Empire Opioid Crisis Coalition website. To learn more about the intersectionality of the opioid epidemic and the child welfare system, you can go to the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare or the Child Welfare Information Gateway websites. 

References 

Breshears, E. M., Yeh, S. & Young, N. K. (2009). Understanding substance abuse and facilitating recovery: A guide for child welfare workers. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/files/Understanding-Substance-Abuse.pdf 

Breitenbucher, P., Coleman, K.L., & Byrd, P. (2020). Early Detection in Child Welfare: Connecting Families to Quality Treatment Services. Child Welfare League of America, Virtual Summit.  

Brook, J., Yan, Y., Lloyd, M. H., & McDonald, T. P. (2014). Screening for Substance Use Disorders as a Supplement to Caseworker Assessment Among Foster Care–Involved Families. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 8(3), 239–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2014.903221 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Overdose Deaths and the Involvement of Illicit Drugs: Urgent Need for Overdose Prevention Interventions. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pubs/featured-topics/VS-overdose-deaths-illicit-drugs.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fvitalsigns%2Fdrugoverdose%2Findex.html  

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Understanding the epidemic. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html

Darolina, R. & Tyler, J. (2020, April 13). The opioid crisis and community-level spillovers onto children‘s education. The Brookings Institution.  https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-opioid-crisis-and-community-level-spillovers-onto-childrens-education   

Krueger, A. B. (2017, September 7).  Where have all the workers gone? An inquiry into the decline of the  U.S. labor force participation rate. The Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/where-have-all-the-workers-gone-an-inquiry-into-the-decline-of-the-u-s-labor-force-participation-rate/  

Office of the Surgeon General. (2021). Surgeon General priority: Opioids and addiction. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/opioids-and-addiction/index.html  

Radel, L., Baldwin, M., Crouse, G., Ghertner, R. & Waters, A. (2018). ASPE research brief: Substance use, the opioid epidemic, and the child welfare system: Key findings from a mixed methods study. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/258836/SubstanceUseChildWelfareOverview.pdf  

Ross, E., Graham, D., Money, K., & Stanwood, G. D. (2015). Developmental consequences of fetal exposure to drugs: What we know and what we still must learn. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40, 61–87. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2014.147 

United Hospital Fund (2019, November). The ripple effect: National and state estimates of the U.S. Opioid Epidemic‘s impact on children. https://uhfnyc.org/media/filer_public/6e/80/6e80760f-d579-46a3-998d-1aa816ab06f6/uhf_ripple_effect_national_and_state_estimates_ chartbook.pdf  

Sophia Mun & Russ Bermejo

This is my second year at CBU. The thing that I love most working at CBU is that I am able to do faith integration in classrooms. One day in my first year, I got curious if I could measure the effectiveness of the faith integration I was doing in my classrooms. This led Professor Bermejo and I to start a small research project. In this blog, we would like to briefly share the process of this research and what we have found so far.  

Identify the General Study Idea

The integration of faith and learning is a key feature of Christian higher education. Faculty members in Christian institutions are encouraged to foster integration between students’ understanding of subjects and their faith. At CBU, professors integrate the “Core 4” outcomes in their course instruction so students are (1) academically prepared, (2) Biblically rooted, (3) globally minded, and (4) equipped to serve. Our shared vision of being “unapologetically Christian and academic rigorous” is challenging and inspiring. But how can we assess the effectiveness of faith integration in our classrooms?  

Choose the Research Topic  

First of all, we wanted to see whether our faith integration work in classrooms has an impact on the extent to which students work to integrate their faith with their discipline/class. Second, we also wanted to identify the factors contributing to student faith integration. The purpose of this project was to determine whether and how taking a class in a Christian institution predicts changes in students’ faith integration. Research questions of this project were “Is there any changes in the degree to which students engage in faith integration at the beginning and the end of semester?” And “What factors promote changes?”  

Formulate Plan and Methodology 

Professor Bermejo and I created an online survey to measure basic demographic information and student faith integration. Student faith integration was measured at Time 1 (beginning of semester) and Time 2 (end of semester) using the Psychology and Faith Integration (Psy-FI) Scale (Collison et al., 2019). The scale contains 27 items (e.g., “I often think about how psychology and my faith relate to each other.”) with response options ranging from 1 (Disagree strongly) to 6 (Agree Strongly). Changes in student faith integration were calculated by subtracting student faith integration Time 1 from Time 2. Other variables were also included as possible contributing factors: school year, the course they were taking (BEH or PSY), experience of taking psychology classes, instructor (Professor B. or M.), and spirituality (Instructor & Self).   

Collet Data  

The data was collected in 6 classrooms (PSY & BEH courses) in 2020 fall semester. Longitudinal data was collected from a sample of 161 students (students took the same survey twice at the beginning and the end of semester). The survey was distributed and data was collected via Qualtrics.  

Analyze Data & Present Findings   

We conducted a hierarchical multiple regression analysis to explore contributing factors in changes in student faith integration. Three significant predictors were found: student spirituality, experience of taking psychology classes, and students’ prior faith integration (Time 1, beginning of semester).  Regarding experience of taking psychology classes, we found that students who had not taken a psychology class before showed increases in the degree to which student engage in their faith integration. In addition, students with low faith integration at Time 1 reported increases in faith integration at the end of the semester. Overall, our results demonstrate that faith integration in our classrooms was promoted especially for students with lack of exposure to faith integration in lower-level courses and students with low prior faith integration.  

Summary & Discussion 

Our results show effects of faith integration in classrooms vary depending on students’ experiences and existing levels of faith integration. In summary, we found that faith integration in classrooms may not benefit all students in the degree to which student engage in faith integration. It should be attuned to differences among students in their experience and their prior level of faith integration (e.g., applying different approaches of faith integration to lower level and upper-level classes). 

References 

Collison, B., Eck, B. E., Edwards, J. M., & Allen, E. C. (2019). The Psy-FI Scale: A Measure of Psychology and Faith Integration. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 38(2), 67–80.  

Note: This is the final post in a three part series. You can start here, but you might find it worthwhile to read the first and the second post in the series!

As I’ve previously discussed, content analysis can be used to investigate picture books. It can, of course, also be used to explore patterns in traditional novels and young adult (YA) literature. One area of YA literature that has traditionally been considered “taboo” to include is religion—especially positive depictions of religion. But as YA literature embraces a more diverse portrayal of young adults, wouldn’t that also include diverse depictions of their religious beliefs? To answer this question, Dr. Alspach and I set out to conduct a content analysis of recent YA literature.

We had three primary research questions:

1.) To what extent is religion referenced in contemporary young adult fiction?

2.) How diverse is that representation? Which religions (or areligious beliefs) are most often included? How well does this reflect the actual landscape of young adult religious practice?

3.) When religion is discussed, is the representation positive, negative, neutral or mixed/complicated?

Sample

Selecting a sample for content analysis can greatly influence the results of the study. Are we looking at all published books? The popular ones? The award winners? We chose to use several lists compiled by the American Library Association since many teachers and librarians use these lists to select which new books to purchase and use in the classroom. We used several different lists so our sample would represent both “good” literature and “popular” literature. The lists we investigated produced a research sample of 38 books, including fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats.

Procedure

Each novel was read and coded independently by two of the three researchers. We examined the books looking for overt, explicit religious references, including the direct identification of religious ideas and affiliation (i.e., a narrator or character identifying someone as atheist or Protestant or Catholic, references to deities or religious organizations, etc.), religious personnel (priests, monks, bodhisattvas, etc.), religious artifacts and apparel (i.e., prayer beads, prayer mats, crucifixes, hijabs, etc.), or religious activity (i.e., service attendance, prayer, etc.). Our coding framework also included identifying which religion was mentioned and the depth of the reference: “background,” “supporting,” or “central” to the story. After each reader had independently coded the texts, we compared results and found a high level of inter-rater reliability in all categories.

Findings

Although we found many interesting aspects of the texts we coded (and wound up with many new questions), here’s a very brief summary. The majority (87%) of the books had some religious reference—ranging from mentioning a hijab to a deep exploration of religious identity. The most commonly depicted religion was Christianity, but other contemporary religions represented in the books included Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, atheism, voodoo, Baha’i, Zoroastrianism, and even fairly small sects such as Hutterites.

Previous literary scholars, such as Campbell (1994), had identified the propensity for young adult texts to portray religion and religious figures in a manner that merely vilifies those religious traditions. We were curious to see if texts had changed in that regard, and when we coded our sample, we found that they had. We noted 20% as neutral in their religious depictions, 10% as predominantly negative in their depiction, and about 13% of the texts as purely positive in their depictions. For the majority of the texts (55%), the religious representations were mixed or complicated.

Implications

Beyond satisfying our curiosity, this content analysis offers some insight into the current state of YA literature. The books in our sample depict a variety of religious viewpoints and reactions to those viewpoints, reflecting some of the diverse experiences young adults have in terms of religious engagement. These depictions offer young adults an opportunity to see themselves in their literature as well as to learn about the beliefs and practices of others.

Looking for these patterns and trends through content analysis offers a different way of looking at what’s important to our culture—the stories we create and consume both shape and are shaped by our perception of the world. The study of literature and social science research may at first seem an odd pairing, but at their heart, they are both ways of trying to understand human nature and behavior, investigating how we perceive the world and how we share our ideas, and, if we’re really lucky, sometimes that includes a really snazzy data visualization.

Think about what you’ve been reading lately: what do you think it might say about the culture that produced it and about you as someone who consumes it? Share your thoughts below.

References

Campbell, P. (1994). The sand in the oyster. Horn Book Magazine, 70(6), 756–759.

Travis, E.J., Alspach, B., & Keith, A. (2020). Let’s talk about it: Representations of religion in young adult literature. Manuscript in preparation. California Baptist University.

Treating pregnant women with opioid use and other mental health disorders can be complicated. The research is detailed; unfortunately, the stigma towards pregnant women remains high. According to a study out of Vanderbilt University, pregnant women are 20% more likely to be denied medication-assisted therapy than non-pregnant women (Patrick, S., 2020). Effective treatment requires a coordinated response across multiple systems at both practice and policy levels. On October 17, 2020, I presented at the National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter (NASW-CA) annual conference along with Dr. Kendra Flores-Carter D.S.W. on applying research-based practices for the care of pregnant women. In the session, we discussed prevalence rates of pregnant women struggling with substance use and mental health disorders and federal legislation (Comprehensive Addiction Reform Act, 2016) requiring a coordinated response. The session concluded with strategies for reducing the stigma that creates barriers to accessible and effective treatment, cultural humility, and research-based treatment interventions.

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare recommends a five-point prevention and intervention framework to identify and treat pregnant women with substance use disorders. Communities seeking to implement the five-point framework hope to improve the baby and mother’s health outcomes, reduce stigma related to substance use and mental health disorders, and improve treatment access and engagement. Effectively implementing the five-point framework requires multiple agencies from different academic disciplines to work together for effective outcomes. The literature has lots to say about collaborative teams and the importance of strategically developing, managing, and leading effective teams (Hickman, 2016). The research mainly focuses on collaborative teams within a single organization/agency where the team members work towards the same goal. Treating pregnant women with substance use and mental health disorders require obstetricians, substance use counselors, mental health professionals, and child welfare social workers to come together to form a common goal. The challenge is that each of these professionals come from a unique/distinct organization with its own purposes. They each view the client differently. They each speak a unique language, further complicated because each of their funding streams comes from different sources.

Collective leadership allows teams to move beyond one agency/system’s individual goals and shift to the collective outcomes celebrating the accomplishment of the collective. Hickman (2016) describes collective leadership outcomes as having a clear direction, alignment, and commitment (D.A.C.) within the collaborative group. Leading a multi-agency team with diverse training, specializations, talents, and attributes, such as the team needed to effectively treat pregnant women, requires expanding leadership development. The collective must come together and agree on the direction it’s seeking to achieve. There must be alignment in the activities and services provided, and there must be a commitment to the collective’s success. Thus, the collective leader must emphasize the values, principles, and practices of the collaborative to produce D.A.C., engage in boundary-spanning and manage the social networks that connect the individuals within the collective (Hickman, 2016).

The first step in the process for creating D.A.C. isn’t to bring the teams together to define the direction or to understand collective beliefs. The collaborative leadership process’s first step is to work with individual teams (organizations, agencies, or systems) separately to clarify and define the differences. Each group describes and articulates their specific strengths in treating pregnant women. They describe their weaknesses or gaps and communicate the outcomes they hope to accomplish through the collective work. Only once each group has been able to define themselves the groups/teams are brought together to share their strengths, weaknesses, and vision. This process of self-reflection reduces insecurities. The individual groups’ members begin to see how their strengths offset the other teams’ disadvantages and vice versa. In practice, there is often a tendency to want to jump right into developing a shared vision/mission, but this can lead to divineness and tension amongst agencies. However, suppose agencies are allowed the time and opportunity to define themselves first and understand where there is alignment between agencies. In that case, they can then move to the second step of finding common ground. With common ground established, the collective can develop a shared vision that will provide a clear direction. With clear direction and alignment, the collective can develop personal commitments to create unity through collaboration, identify shared outcomes/measurements of success, and then develop plans to manage challenges or barriers that may impede the collective’s success.

The practice of collective leadership can be challenging and requires skillful facilitation. Treating pregnant women with substance use and mental health disorders is complex and requires professionals from multiple agencies to work together effectively. Using a collective leadership developmental approach to form these highly diversified teams could lead to better outcomes for women and, ultimately, their infants. It is hoped that this article will encourage discussion amongst practitioners to find new ways of working together for better results for all.

About the Author:

Philip Breitenbucher has over 20 years of progressively responsible experience in managing public child welfare and community-based prevention services. Professor Breitenbucher currently serves as an assistant professor of social work in the Department of Social Work, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at California Baptist University. Also, Professor Breitenbucher serves as a research associate for the Center for the Study of Human Behavior. Mr. Breitenbucher is currently pursuing an educational doctorate in Organizational Leadership.

References:

Hickman, G.R. (2016). Leading organizations: Perspective for a new era (3rded.). Sage

Patrick SW, Barfield WD, Poindexter BB, AAP Committee on fetus and newborn, Committee on substance use and prevention (2020). Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome. Pediatrics. 146(5):e2020029074

By Dr. Sophia Mun

If there were a simple way to improve your academic performance, would you try it? If there were an easy way to help you live longer and more healthily, would you be willing to do it? If you said “Yes!” to either of the questions, you might want to read through this article.

Intro

When I studied gerontology a few years ago, there were some research findings that caught my attention. Wait, what? Gerontology? Geology? Geography? Okay—you might have not heard about gerontology. Gerontology is the scientific study of old age, the process of aging, and the particular problems of older adults. Let’s talk more about this in the next blog. Anyway, one fascinating study found that aging self-stereotypes (older individuals’ beliefs about older people) could influence longevity. The study showed that older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perception of aging (Levy et al., 2002). There are more: positive age beliefs protected against dementia (Levy et al., 2018), and negative age beliefs predicted a greater cardiovascular response to stress and worse health behaviors (Levyet al., 2000; Levy & Myers, 2004). Overall, these studies suggest that living with positive thoughts about aging could improve our psychological and physical health. Amazing, right?

What is a mindset?

How can beliefs about ourselves help us be healthier and live longer? This is closely tied to the concept of the mindset. Mindsets are beliefs we hold about ourselves and our most basic qualities, such as personality or talent (Dweck, 2019). It is also a way of thinking about the world. In other words, it is a lens or frame of mind we use to understand ourselves and the world. Scientific research has gathered massive evidence about the power of mindset. Here is a study you would be very interested in. Blackwell et al.(2007) found that the belief that intelligence is malleable (growth mindset) predicted an upward trajectory in grades over two years of junior high school, while a belief that intelligence is fixed (fixed mindset) predicted a flat trajectory. Beliefs about ourselves can increase academic performance, too!

What science says

Science says mindset plays a significant role in determining our well-being and achievements because mindsets are responsible for our behavioral, physiological, and psychological responses (Crumetal.,2017). Mindsets influence what we pay attention to, what we’re motivated to do, how we feel and expect to feel, and what our bodies are prepared to do. And we make decisions every day by our responses.

What the Bible says

The Bible is clear about the power of our minds and beliefs. The Bible says our minds are powerful. Our thoughts and beliefs shape who we are and will become, and our faith decides what we will do in our lives. Mark 9:23 “’If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’” Matthew 9:22, “Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well.” Matthew 9:29, “Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you.’” In the Bible, belief is a golden key to make things work including miracles.

The power of mind (faith) in an uncertain world

Do you want to prosper in this uncertain world? What you experience today is product of your mindset; what you experience in the future depends on your mindset today. The only thing you have to do is to choose to have a positive mindset. God gave us free will to choose. Science has done great work to explain the power of belief, but there is still a long way to go. It may not give us the whole picture of the power of mindset, but I like leaving some mysteries unsolved—that is what faith is about. What we believe matters.

Changeyour mindset.

Renew your mind (Romans 12:2).

References

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: a longitudinal study and an intervention.Child development,78(1), 246–263. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x

Crum, A. J., Leibowitz, K. A., & Verghese, A. (2017). Making mindset matter.Bmj,356, j674.https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j674Dweck, C. S. (2019). The Choice to Make a Difference. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(1), 21–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804180

Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Kunkel, S. R., & Kasl, S. V. (2002). Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging.Journal of personality and social psychology,83(2), 261–270. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.83.2.261

Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Pietrzak, R. H., & Ferrucci, L. (2018). Positive age beliefs protect against dementia even among elders with high-risk gene.PloS one,13(2), e0191004. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191004

Levy, B. R., Hausdorff, J. M., Hencke, R., & Wei, J. Y. (2000). Reducing cardiovascular stress with positive self-stereotypes of aging.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences,55(4), P205–P213. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/55.4.p205

Levy, B. R., & Myers, L. M. (2004). Preventive health behaviors influenced by self-perceptions of aging.Preventive medicine,39(3), 625–629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.02.029