Psychology Research Methods

Auteur

Dr. Heath, winner of Rider University's Iorio Faculty Research Prize, earned her bachelor s in psychology at Boston University and a master s and a doctorate in Experimental Psychology with a focus in cognitive and social psychology at The University of Texas at Arlington. Ever since those early years at Boston University, she has found research exciting, and thus, she has enjoyed teaching research methods to and conducting research with undergraduates at Rider University for over 30 years. Dr. Heath has also shown her support for student research by creating the American Psychology-Law Society Award for Best Undergraduate Research Paper, awarded annually since 2006. She sees writing this textbook as another way to encourage students' involvement in research.

Texte du rabat

The second edition of Psychology Research Methods by Wendy Heath engages students with the same types of compelling studies that led them to major in psychology but in a research methods context. Heath also focuses on writing about research methods with examples from the literature as well as writing exercises.

Contenu

Preface
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Chapter 1: Introduction to Research Methodology
Why Do I Need to Know About Research Methods?
The Goals of Science
The Steps in the Research Process
Characteristics of Science
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 2: Developing Research Ideas and Hypotheses
Sources of Research Ideas
Finding Relevant Literature
The Basic Components of a Journal Article
Outlining Your Literature Review
Generating Hypotheses
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Let's Write About Research!
Chapter 3: Ethics
A Brief History of Research Ethics
General Principles of the American Psychological Association's Ethics Code
Ethical Standards of the American Psychological Association's Ethics Code: Research
Ethics and Research on the Internet
Ethical Standards of the American Psychological Association's Ethics Code: Publication
Open Science
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Let's Write About Research!
Chapter 4: Defining and Measuring Variables
Operational Definitions
Scales of Measurement
Characteristics of Good Measurement
Internal Validity and External Validity
Chapter Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Let's Write About Research!
Chapter 5: Descriptive Research Methods and Qualitative Research
Naturalistic Observation
Participant Observation
Archival Research
Case Studies
Qualitative Research
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 6: Correlational Research
The Basic Differences Between Experimentation and Correlational Research
The Correlation Coefficient
A Visual Representation of a Correlation
Factors Affecting the Strength of a Correlation Coefficient
Statistical Assessments of Relationships
Correlation and Causality
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 7: Survey Research
Types of Survey Questions
Question-Writing Guidelines
Administering the Survey
Response and Nonresponse Biases
Sample Size
Online Survey Research
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 8: Experimentation With One Independent Variable
Experimental Design
Controlling Extraneous Variables
Differentiating Between-Subject Designs from Within-Subject Designs
Manipulating Independent Variables
Measuring Dependent Variables
A Few Final Points About Dependent Variables
The Posttest Only Design Versus the Before-After Design
A Consideration of the Results
Creating an Online Experiment
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 9: Factorial Designs: Experiments With More Than One Independent Variable
Factorial Designs
Using a 2 x 2 Design
Using a 2 x 3 Design
Using a 3 x 3 Design
Mixed Designs
Higher Order Factorial Designs
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 10: Quasi-Experimental Designs
What Is a Quasi-Experimental Design?
More on Testing Preformed Groups
Possible Threats to Internal Validity
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 11: Small-N Designs
What Are Small-N Designs?
History of Small-N Designs
Small-N Designs: General Details
Multiple-Baseline Designs
Changing-Criterion Designs
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 12: External Validity
What Is External Validity?
Population Validity
Ecological Validity
Temporal Validity
Summary
Review Questions
Articles as Illustration
Suggested Activities
Chapter 13: Writing About and Presenting Your Research
The Organization of a Psychology Research Paper
Title Page
Abstract
The Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References
Tables and Figures
Summary
Review Questions
Additional Sources to Consider
Suggested Activities
Appendix A: Sample Research Paper
Appendix B: Table of Random Numbers
Appendix C: A Review of Selected Grammar Rules
Appendix D: The Research Paper Checklist