Missouri University of Science and Technology

English 1160: Writing and Research

“Dogs vs. Babies”

Understanding Methodology

Once you have accessed this worksheet, click "File" and "Make a copy" to edit. Then, submit to the
Canvas assignment as a Word or Google doc. (If submitting as a Google doc, make sure that your
professor is shared as "can edit")

A paper’s methodology, or “research design,” is a description of how the authors went about answering their research
questions. For a systematic review (aka literature review), the methodology usually contains these five elements:
1. A statement of the research question(s) or the problem the study is trying to solve
2. A description of where the author will search for the sources to be collected, including any databases or
websites (generally, we don’t mention specific scholarly journals here)
3. A description of inclusion criteria - that is, what kinds of sources the author will search for (should indicate
the content of the desired articles, not simply the fact that they would be “credible” or “peer reviewed”)
4. A description of exclusion criteria - that is, what kinds of sources the author will not include in the study (this
helps to narrow the study’s scope, so that you’re not expected to read everything on a particular subject)
5. A description of what the author will be doing with those articles - that is, what exactly the author is looking
for, and how that content will be evaluated or incorporated into the study

N.B. When you write your methodology for your proposal, you should include each of these five steps in future tense (“I
will use the following databases…”) because you have not yet conducted your research. When you describe your
methodology in your literature review you should touch on each of the five steps, but your language should be more
conversational (your readers will be more interested in your results than in your process), and you should write in past
tense (“I used the following databases…”) because the research has already been conducted.

For this activity, I have provided you with two sources that describe the studies’ methodologies, and you will be asked to
identify the five elements in the boxes provided. Your two sources are:
● “The Data Says Don’t Hug The Dog” by Stanley Coren
● “Breast milk and cognitive development—the role of confounders: a systematic review” by Asnat Walfisch et.al

“Don’t Hug the Dog” “Breast milk and cognitive development”

Is this source a popular or A scholarly sources because it is peer A scholarly source because it is a journal
a scholarly source? How do reviewed part of a database with a professor as a
you know? correspondence.

What is the study’s The reactions of dogs to being hugged. The relationship between breast milk
research question? consumption and cognitive development

What are the databases that
the author searched to
answer the research
question? Why did the
American Veterinary Society of Animal
Behavior (AVSAB) because this source is
relevant to expertise in the reactions of
dogs. Also references the authors books
MEDLINE(R) with Daily Update, Cochrane
Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of
Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Health
Technology Assessment, NHS Economic

Jossalyn G. Larson, Ph.D

larsonjo@mst.edu
Missouri University of Science and Technology
English 1160: Writing and Research
author choose those
databases?
What was the study’s
inclusion criteria? What
was the rationale for
including those items?
What was the study’s
exclusion criteria? What
was the rationale for
excluding those items?
How does the author
evaluate the items included
in the study? How does the
author suggest that this
evaluation will answer the
research question?
Jossalyn G. Larson, Ph.D
larsonjo@mst.edu
that also focus on the reactions of dogs to
human actions.
The author studied whether the dogs
were stressed, relaxed, or neutral in all
pictures. This would show the overall
trend of how dogs reacted to being
hugged.
Photos where the dog might be showing
stress for reasons other than being
hugged because that would not show data
specifically for how dogs react to being
hugged.
The author studies photos of dogs being
hugged by humans and looks for signs of
stress. They then calculate the
percentages proving that dogs are more
often than not quite stressed when being
hugged
Evaluation Database, EMBASE and PsycINFO
using the OvidSP interface and on Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED),
Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Conference Proceedings Citation Index-
Science (CPCI-S), and Conference
Proceedings Citation Index—Social Science &
Humanities (CPCI-SSH) using the Web of
Knowledge interface.
-One of the study aims was to address the
question of breastfeeding and cognitive
development;
-The authors used reliable validated methods
to evaluate cognitive development (eg, Bayley
scales of infant development, Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for Children Revised (WISC-
R));
-Prospective or retrospective documentation of
use and duration of breastfeeding was used;
The authors focused on healthy term infants
and not those at increased biological risk for
developmental delays (eg, prematurity,
intrauterine growth restriction).
-The study group included preterm or small for
gestational age babies. This could affect the
cognitive ability of the child and thus add
another variable to the study
-Evaluation of cognitive development was
carried out using only a non-reliable or
subjective tool (such as school grades, or
maternal report). The would lead to bias results
in the conclusion due to this information being
bias
-Dietary patterns and breastfeeding were not
evaluated since birth. This would lead to a
conclusion that might not take into account
unknown information that might have affected
the results.
A (good): A study that adheres mostly to the
commonly held concepts of high quality
including the following: clear description of the
population, setting, interventions and
comparison groups; clear description of the
comparison groups; appropriate measurement
of outcomes; appropriate statistical and
analytic methods and reporting; no reporting
errors; less than 20% dropout; clear reporting
of dropouts and appropriate consideration and
adjustment for potential confounders.
B (fair/moderate): Category B studies do not
meet all the criteria in category A because they
have some deficiencies, but none of them are
likely to cause major biases. The study may
have suboptimal adjustment for potential
confounders. The study may also be missing
information, making it difficult to assess
Missouri University of Science and Technology
English 1160: Writing and Research

limitations and potential problems.

C (poor): Category C studies either did not

consider potential confounders or did not
adjust for them appropriately. These studies
may have serious shortcomings in design,
analysis or reporting; have large amounts of
missing information, or discrepancies in
reporting.

Do you think that this Yes this methodology was able to show
methodology adequately the overarching reaction of dogs to
answers the research hugging enough to prove that hugging a
question? Why or why not? dog is not a recommended nor healthy
way to show affection for the dog.
The study does show that there is
correlation between breastfeeding and
cognitive development, but does not really
prove that improved cognitive
development is due to breastfeeding. It is
stated in the essay but things like wealth,
location, and resources could all contribute
to the same change in cognitive
development.

Jossalyn G. Larson, Ph.D

larsonjo@mst.edu