Week Four: Finding Articles

I was fairly confident going into this week’s assignment, as most of the references I use tend to be articles. I had a lot more difficulty that I anticipated. I used Leatherby Library to find an article. I browsed through many links before finding The polygraph: The truth lies within. By Jerry A. Lewis and Michelle Cuppari. Through the knowledge I have gained so far from this course I have found it much easier to evaluate resources without as much effort. Using the CRAAP test is extremely helpful. The article I evaluated this week gave me a different perspective on polygraphs. Lewis and Cuppari spoke about how they are used in a law enforcement setting. More importantly they spoke about the pretest interview. They said this was the most important part of the polygraph exam and after finishing the article myself I concur. I think it is very beneficial to be able to see how polygraphs are used in the real world and how they are evaluated in those settings. It is important to evaluate first hand experience with these tests and these individual opinions towards their accuracy. Moving forward I would like to find more information pertaining to the different areas polygraphs are used in today’s world and hopefully find more first hand experiences. 

Week 3: Finding Books

There are many perks to online classes. One of the greatest things is that I can completely create my own schedule and in a sense learn at my own pace. With most positives there are also a few negatives. One of the biggest struggles with online courses is finding research materials, especially books. You tend to come to many dead in searches. You might not have enough time to ship a book to yourself or the ebook tends to be too costly for justification. I got lucky this week. When reading through the prompt for our assignment the first thing that caught my eye was books.google.com. I am usually against using Google for research but as Google Scholar has been a good tool for me at times I decided to try it. I used the search term “polygraph” as to not be too specific so I could get an array of different options to choose from. I came across a book that was fully available online for free! Forensic Psychophysiology Using the Polygraph: Scientific Truth Verification, Lie Detection by James Allan Matte. This book provided me with an abundance of information regarding polygraph exams and how they work. It discussed how various situations can affect the test and when these test are used. Moving forward with my research I would like to find more articles, journals, or books specifically discussing the accuracy behind these exams.

Week 2: Research

I wanted to find a topic that closely related to the career I would like to explore. So earlier in the week I conducted a Google search using the terms "forensic psychology research topics." I came across an article that discussed different topics that forensic psychologists research and deal with on a daily basis. One of those topics was polygraph tests. I remember discussing polygraph exams in my first year of college and thought they were an interesting topic of conversation. One thing I learned from the research I have done this week, is that most psychologists do not back up the validity of polygraph exams. This is an important bit of information towards my topic. Are these tests accurate? When and where can they be used? These are questions I would like to research further and use to help me develop a better understanding of these tests.

Through week two's assignment I was able to learn how to better search for and evaluate sources for validity and credibility. Not only can this task seem daunting, but it also consists of quite a few steps and a lot of questions. The CRAAP method posted withing week two was a very helpful tool. I think many students do not take this step in their research very seriously. It is extremely important to have valid resources. If your sources are not credible that in turn affects your own credibility.

Introduction

Hello everyone welcome to my blog! My name is Madison, mother of two. I grew up in New Mexico and eventually found myself in California, where I attended Hartnell College for a year majoring in psychology. I took a break to care for my first-born and two years later decided to go back to school. I have been taking classes online with Brandman University since the fall of 2015. My initial career aspiration was to become a clinical psychologist, but I also frequently considered law school. Recently when researching different graduate degrees I discovered forensic psychology, which seems to be the perfect blend of the two.

I would like to research further the different jobs one could hold with a forensic psychology degree and what their daily activities would consist of. If I am able to find a specific career path I would be interested in, I would then be able to research that specific career further. I would like to improve my research skills by learning how to better evaluate articles and determine if they are vetted sources. I can also improve by expanding my knowledge of resource citing. This would ultimately make me a better researcher and writer as well.