The purposes of this exercise are 1) to give you familiarity with looking for scientific

papers online at our library and on GoogleScholar, and 2) to get some practice at
extracting information from such papers. You will use these skills in the major writing
assignment of a commentary later. We have deliberately picked a target paper that is quite
easy as far as these scientific papers go, and hopefully of some interest.
Tasks 1-3 together are worth 1%, and Task 4 is worth 5%.
Target article for exercise
Coelho, C.J., Nusbaum, H.C., Rosenbaum, D.A. & Fenn, K.M. 2012. Imagined actions
arent just weak actions: Task variability promotes skill learning in physical practice but
not in mental practice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and
Cognition, 38: 1759-1764.
Task 1: locate and download the article by two methods, GoogleScholar and the
University library
With each method, copy and paste the urls of the links that you followed to get to the
paper.
1.1) Using GoogleScholar
Go to the GoogleScholar web site.
Copy and paste some information into the search box. In general, just the title will do.
Hit return.
From the list that GoogleScholar returns, you should see the paper that you are looking
for. And you should find a link that gives you a pdf.
List your urls here:
http://scholar.google.com.au/
http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?hl=en&q=Journal+of+Experimental+Psychology
%3A+Learning%2C+Memory%2C+and+Cognition%2C+38%3A+17591764.&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=
http://psychology.msu.edu/SleepLab/Files/Coelho_Nusbaum_Rosenbaum_Fenn.pdf
1.2) Using the Universitys library
Go to the librarys web site.
Click on journals.
Type in Journal Experimental Psychology (a part of the journal name) and hit return.
Find the correct journal and click on the link.
Open up the year 2012 and look for the issue that includes the pages of the target article.
Click on that issue and your target article should be on the list for downloading.
List your urls here:
https://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/

http://macquarie-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?
mode=Basic&vid=MQ&tab=books_more&
http://macquarie-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?
dscnt=0&scp.scps=scope%3A%28%22MQ%22%29%2Cscope%3A
%28MQ_VOYAGER+%29%2Cscope%3A%28reserve%29%2Cscope%3A%28exam
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&srt=rank&ct=search&mode=Basic&dum=true&indx=1&tb=t&vl(freeText0)=Journal
%20Experimental%20Psychology&fn=search&vid=MQ
http://macquarie-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?
ct=facet&fctN=facet_jtitle&fctV=Journal+of+Experimental+Psychology
%3a+Learning+Memory+and+Cognition&rfnGrp=1&rfnGrpCounter=1&dscnt=0&scp.s
cps=scope%3A(%22MQ%22)%2Cscope%3A(MQ_VOYAGER%20)%2Cscope
%3A(reserve)%2Cscope%3A(exam)
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rank&ct=search&mode=Basic&dum=true&indx=1&tb=t&vl(freeText0)=Journal
%20Experimental%20Psychology&vid=MQ&fn=search
http://macquarieprimo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?
frbrVersion=6&tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=TN_apa_articles10.1037%
2fa0029678&indx=1&recIds=TN_apa_articles10.1037%2fa0029678&recIdxs=0&eleme
ntId=0&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=6&dscnt=0&fctN=fac
et_jtitle&rfnGrp=1&frbg=&scp.scps=scope%3A%28%22MQ%22%29%2Cscope%3A
%28MQ_VOYAGER+%29%2Cscope%3A%28reserve%29%2Cscope%3A%28exam
%29%2Cprimo_central_multiple_fe&fctV=Journal+of+Experimental+Psychology
%3A+Learning+Memory+and+Cognition&tab=books_more&dstmp=1396565099485&s
rt=rank&mode=Basic&dum=true&tb=t&rfnGrpCounter=1&vl(freeText0)=Journal
%20Experimental%20Psychology&vid=MQ
http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/sp-3.11.0a/ovidweb.cgi?
QS2=434f4e1a73d37e8c9c245f63f5b4d54dab46118ffbcae2979b43646350b231d25ae276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3486c272219a3df36c3bb0b62c5885aa3dfb4c7debc58a5aff39c5ff5ec4ad1fb493719e2e62
a3fb97bc31fd8d455a1f399f7b425b16ba54980eed2cb2e42a88cdb6f950d44cd7d69d7be6f
08863138d94bcb5658cbd54b3b26ea1832e69afc3ad4c9daa8932174270205189b0dce811
d12cf68e39c74513c4c2626777ee7d35b0b605b9334506bf579a5be4cfa4edc959cc58b7ca
25a0fc52ef669e7353c24aba5bca963f58389626e27a13e52f55562f4cfa45f41e4bda5a2332
13e69f1be19119357179437dac9d81e5c41826705e49a44ad7e5961e74649368ca4929c99
08dcc544355ca1114b2507112581a206884aa02ae314a96e58f8dfbee29155f83ab87263b
http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/sp-3.11.0a/ovidweb.cgi?
&S=JAGLFPMBHGDDCMFJNCMKPEFBBDNDAA00&Link+Set=S.sh.22.23.27.31%
7c19%7csl_10
Task 2: extracting information about the methods of the study
Now that you have your pdf of the target article, you can use it to answer some questions
about the nature of the study. We start with the methods of the study, found in the section
called Method.
Who were the participants in the study?
Eighty One volunteers from the University of Chicago
A crucial manipulation of the study required participants to partake in mental practice.
What is the nature of mental practice used in the study?
To physically perform a series of golf putts and to also imagine themselves performing
the same putts.
Task 3: finding background to the study
No scientific study is conceived and designed in a vacuum. All studies build on a whole
lot of previous science on the topic. Such background can be found in the crucial
reference section of a journal paper. Go to the reference section for this task.
3.1) Find one paper, based on the titles, that you think is a primary empirical paper on the
topic of mental practice, like the target article. A primary empirical paper presents data of
a study in print for the first time, with Methods and Results describing the findings. The
term in print is added because sometimes, the data have already been presented in
verbal form in a talk at a conference. Stick to journal papers rather than book chapters
because book chapters are usually not downloadable online.
List this paper here:
Bartolomeo,P.(2008).Theneuralcorrelatesofvisualimagery:Anongoingdebate.Cortex,44,
107108.doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2006.07.001

Now, use one of the methods in Task 1 to find this paper, and check to see if you are
correct in guessing that it is a primary empirical paper.
Was your guess correct?

No
3.2) Find one journal paper from the year 2000 onwards that you think is a review paper
on the topic of mental practice. A review paper, called secondary literature, presents
summaries of a whole bunch of studies that have already been done and published
elsewhere.
List this paper here:
Guillot,A.,&Collet,C.(2005).Contributionfromneurophysiologicaland
psychologicalmethodstothestudyofmotorimagery.BrainResearch
Reviews,50,2,387397.doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2005.09.004

Now, use one of the methods in Task 1 to find this paper, and check to see if you are
correct in guessing that it is a review paper on the topic.
Was your guess correct?
Yes
3.3) Questions of basic theoretical interest, such as the effects of mental practice, may
often have practical applications. Find one journal paper from the reference list that
shows practical applications of mental practice.
List this paper here:

Driskell,J.E.,Copper,C.,&Moran,A.(1994).Doesmentalpracticeenhanceperformance?
JournalofAppliedPsychology,79,481492.
doi:10.1037/00219010.79.4.481

Now, use one of the methods in Task 1 to find this paper, and check to see if you are
correct in guessing that it is a paper that shows practical applications of mental practice.
Was your guess correct?
Yes
Task 4, and this will take some time
Write two paragraphs describing the findings of the target paper and one other empirical
paper on mental practice that is in the reference list of the target paper (with two
exceptions to be noted). Be sure to pick a primary empirical paper. Steer clear of reviews,
opinion pieces, theoretical pieces, and meta-analyses (a sure sign of a review paper).
Those are way harder to summarise. Use exactly one paragraph to describe each of the
empirical studies. Your job is to understand the key findings of the study, and describe the
gist of the methods and findings succinctly, as if these were two paragraphs in a much
bigger review of this literature, or part of an introduction to an empirical data set. You
should use the introduction of our target paper as a model, as this section often
describes relevant past literature. Paragraphs 2 and 3 on page 1760 in particular provide
models. Because Coelho and colleagues described these two studies, you are not to pick
them for your little review. Thus, Krigolson et al. (2006) and Toussaint et al. (2010) are
not allowed as choices for your assignment.

Refer to the papers that you are describing using the departmental Harvard style, both in
the paragraphs that you are writing, and at the end in a separate reference section. List all
the references that you cited (probably just two papers) in the reference section in the
departmental Harvard style as well. In particular, do not write the target paper (now
hows any nave reader supposed to figure out what that is?), one other paper or phrases
to that effect. You have to refer to the works in the departmental Harvard style.
Be sure to write the two paragraphs in your own words and not plagiarize or copy or
paraphrase from other sources. In any of the latter scenarios, marks will be deducted, or
you may not receive any marks for this assignment.
Keep these instructions in front of you as you write; we have seen too many students not
following instructions in minor or major ways.
Please upload this entire exercise, Tasks 1 to 4 all together, to the link for it in Box 15.