swipewisee.com

Methodology and Sources

This page explains how we decide what to write, which sources we trust, how we check them and what the Practice tool can and cannot claim.

How we choose topics

Each guide answers one question that students ask, such as “what is the Leitner system?” or “how do I memorize vocabulary?” We avoid writing two guides for the same question. Guides are grouped into five topics: how memory works, spaced repetition and active recall, mnemonics, memorizing by subject, and study routines.

Which sources we use

  • Peer-reviewed journal articles and review papers in psychology and education.
  • Original historical works when we describe a classic study, such as Ebbinghaus on forgetting.
  • Books that we could confirm in a trustworthy catalog.

Encyclopedias, blogs and social media can help us find leads, but we do not cite them as evidence.

How we check a source

  1. We open the page where the work is published, such as the journal site, a DOI link or an open archive.
  2. We confirm the title, authors, year and journal match what we plan to cite.
  3. We read what the source says. When only the abstract was open to us, we record that and we write only what the abstract supports.
  4. We note the limits: who took part, whether the study was done in a lab or a classroom, and whether later work repeated it.

If we cannot open and check a source, we do not cite it. Sources were last checked on November 12, 2026.

How we word findings

We say what a study found, not what we wish it had found. Words such as “suggests” and “tends to” are deliberate. Research on memory is often done with short lab tasks and small groups, so results may not carry over to your course in the same way.

How Practice schedules cards

Practice uses a simple Leitner box model with five boxes. A new card starts in box 1. When you get a card right, it moves up one box. When you get it wrong, it goes back to box 1. Cards in each box come back after a set wait:

Review waits by box
BoxWait before the next review
11 day
22 days
34 days
48 days
516 days

These waits are our own simple choice. They are not a law of memory, and the best wait differs between people and between kinds of material. The “due tomorrow” figure in My progress is an estimate based on this model, not a forecast of what you will remember.

What the rewards are

XP, levels, streaks, badges, guide stamps and card covers are there to encourage regular study. We do not claim that they improve memory. They have no cash value, there are no rankings, and nothing is tied to advertising.

Every guide opens with a short preview. To read the rest, you can play a round of five cards from that guide’s deck, which earns the guide’s stamp, or choose to read without playing, which does not. Nothing else is required: no account, no login and no payment.

Limits you should know about

  • Study methods work differently for different people.
  • We cannot promise grades or test results.
  • Our guides summarize research for beginners and leave out detail on purpose. Read the sources if you want the full picture.

Sources cited on swipewisee.com

These are the sources cited in our guides and built-in decks. After each one you can see how many guides or decks cite it and how much of it we could read.

  1. Atkinson, R. C. (1975). Mnemotechnics in second-language learning. American Psychologist, 30(8), 821-828. Open the source Cited in 6 guides and decks. We read the parts of the full text that we cite.
  2. Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Vol. 8 (pp. 47-89). Academic Press. Open the source Cited in 3 guides and decks. We read the parts of the full text that we cite.
  3. Bahrick, H. P., Bahrick, L. E., Bahrick, A. S., & Bahrick, P. E. (1993). Maintenance of Foreign Language Vocabulary and the Spacing Effect. Psychological Science, 4(5), 316-321. Open the source Cited in 3 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  4. Bahrick, H. P. (1984). Semantic memory content in permastore: Fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113(1), 1-29. Open the source Cited in 3 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  5. Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In Psychology and the Real World: Essays Illustrating Fundamental Contributions to Society (Worth Publishers), pp. 56-64. Open the source Cited in 11 guides and decks. We read the parts of the full text that we cite.
  6. Butler, A. C., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). Feedback enhances the positive effects and reduces the negative effects of multiple-choice testing. Memory & Cognition, 36(3), 604-616. Open the source Cited in 6 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  7. Carpenter, S. K., Cepeda, N. J., Rohrer, D., Kang, S. H. K., & Pashler, H. (2012). Using Spacing to Enhance Diverse Forms of Learning: Review of Recent Research and Implications for Instruction. Educational Psychology Review, 24(3), 369-378. Open the source Cited in 6 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  8. Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380. Open the source Cited in 6 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  9. Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (2008). Spacing Effects in Learning: A Temporal Ridgeline of Optimal Retention. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1095-1102. Open the source Cited in 10 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  10. Clark, J. M., & Paivio, A. (1991). Dual coding theory and education. Educational Psychology Review, 3(3), 149-210. Open the source Cited in 2 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  11. Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1), 87-114 (with open peer commentary to p. 185). Open the source Cited in 6 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  12. Craik, F. I. M., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671-684. Open the source Cited in 7 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  13. Diekelmann, S., & Born, J. (2010). The memory function of sleep. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 114-126. Open the source Cited in 4 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  14. Dresler, M., Shirer, W. R., Konrad, B. N., Müller, N. C. J., Wagner, I. C., Fernández, G., Czisch, M., & Greicius, M. D. (2017). Mnemonic Training Reshapes Brain Networks to Support Superior Memory. Neuron, 93(5), 1227-1235.e6. Open the source Cited in 2 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  15. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. Open the source Cited in 25 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  16. Ebbinghaus, H. (translated by H. A. Ruger & C. E. Bussenius) (1913). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University (English translation of Über das Gedächtnis, 1885). Open the source Cited in 3 guides and decks. We read the parts of the full text that we cite.
  17. Kang, S. H. K. (2016). Spaced Repetition Promotes Efficient and Effective Learning. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(1), 12-19. Open the source Cited in 13 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  18. Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping. Science, 331(6018), 772-775. Open the source Cited in 5 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  19. Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2008). Learning concepts and categories: Is spacing the 'enemy of induction'?. Psychological Science, 19(6), 585-592. Open the source Cited in 4 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  20. Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009. Open the source Cited in 4 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  21. Latimier, A., Peyre, H., & Ramus, F. (2021). A Meta-Analytic Review of the Benefit of Spacing out Retrieval Practice Episodes on Retention. Educational Psychology Review, 33(3), 959-987. Open the source Cited in 6 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  22. Legge, E. L. G., Madan, C. R., Ng, E. T., & Caplan, J. B. (2012). Building a memory palace in minutes: Equivalent memory performance using virtual versus conventional environments with the Method of Loci. Acta Psychologica, 141(3), 380-390. Open the source Cited in 9 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  23. Leitner, S. (1972). So lernt man lernen: Angewandte Lernpsychologie - ein Weg zum Erfolg. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder (illustrated by Rolf Totter). Open the source Cited in 1 guide or deck. We confirmed the catalog record, not the book itself, so we use it only to name the work.
  24. Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J. C. (1974). Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13(5), 585-589. Open the source Cited in 3 guides and decks. We read the parts of the full text that we cite.
  25. Maguire, E. A., Valentine, E. R., Wilding, J. M., & Kapur, N. (2003). Routes to remembering: the brains behind superior memory. Nature Neuroscience, 6(1), 90-95. Open the source Cited in 2 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  26. Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97. Open the source Cited in 7 guides and decks. We read the parts of the full text that we cite.
  27. Murre, J. M. J., & Dros, J. (2015). Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus' Forgetting Curve. PLOS ONE, 10(7), e0120644. Open the source Cited in 4 guides and decks. We read the parts of the full text that we cite.
  28. Richland, L. E., Kornell, N., & Kao, L. S. (2009). The pretesting effect: Do unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance learning?. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 15(3), 243-257. Open the source Cited in 5 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  29. Roediger, H. L., & Butler, A. C. (2011). The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(1), 20-27. Open the source Cited in 8 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  30. Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249-255. Open the source Cited in 15 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  31. Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2007). The shuffling of mathematics problems improves learning. Instructional Science, 35(6), 481-498. Open the source Cited in 6 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  32. Rowland, C. A. (2014). The effect of testing versus restudy on retention: A meta-analytic review of the testing effect. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1432-1463. Open the source Cited in 8 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  33. Slamecka, N. J., & Graf, P. (1978). The generation effect: Delineation of a phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(6), 592-604. Open the source Cited in 5 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  34. Standing, L. (1973). Learning 10000 pictures. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 25(2), 207-222. Open the source Cited in 8 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  35. Yang, C., Luo, L., Vadillo, M. A., Yu, R., & Shanks, D. R. (2021). Testing (quizzing) boosts classroom learning: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 147(4), 399-435. Open the source Cited in 4 guides and decks. We read the abstract and keep our claims within it.
  36. Yates, F. A. (1966). The Art of Memory. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Open the source Cited in 1 guide or deck. We confirmed the catalog record, not the book itself, so we use it only to name the work.