Research Methods

, by McBurney, Donald H.; White, Theresa L.

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ISBN: 9780495092087 | 0495092088
Cover: Hardcover
Copyright: 6/23/2006

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Donald McBurney and co-author Theresa White bring years of dedicated scholarship, research, and teaching experience to RESEARCH METHODS. This concise text puts psychological research into a larger scientific context, to show students how psychology fits into a scientific approach to understanding the world. The authors cover all stages of the research process using a step-by-step approach, from project selection, literature search and research protocol selection to publication processes. Utilizing a wide variety of problems that have been selected from psychological literature, McBurney and White successfully convey the excitement and creativity of designing and conducting research.

Psychology and Science	p. 1
Ways of Knowing about Behavior	p. 1
Nonempirical Methods	p. 2
Empirical Methods	p. 3
What Is Science?	p. 5
Characteristics of Science	p. 6
The Relation Between Science and Nonscience	p. 9
Working Assumptions of Science	p. 10
The Reality of the World	p. 10
Rationality	p. 10
Regularity	p. 11
Discoverability	p. 11
Causality	p. 11
The Goals of Science	p. 12
The Discovery of Regularities	p. 12
The Development of Theories	p. 16
The Role of Theories	p. 18
Hypotheses in Science	p. 20
Defining Theoretical Concepts	p. 20
The Nature of Scientific Progress	p. 22
A Note on Psychology and Science	p. 23
Summary	p. 24
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 25
A Case in Point	p. 26
Reading Between the Lines	p. 29
Exercises	p. 31
Developing a Research Question	p. 32
Choice of a Problem	p. 32
The Literature Review	p. 33
Using the Internet	p. 34
Guidelines for Evaluating Information from the Internet	p. 35
Search Engines	p. 36
Government and Organizational Web Sites	p. 36
Some Individual Web Sites for Psychology	p. 37
Proprietary Web Sites	p. 37
Email	p. 39
Psychology Databases	p. 40
An Extended Internet Search Example: Waist-Hip Ratio and Attractiveness	p. 40
Locating Important Articles	p. 45
Inter-Library Loan	p. 46
After You Locate the Important Articles	p. 46
The Research Question	p. 46
The Proposal	p. 47
Summary	p. 48
Exercises	p. 49
Ethics in Research	p. 52
The APA Ethics Code	p. 52
Commentary on Responsibility	p. 54
Commentary on Protection from Harm	p. 54
Commentary on Informed Consent	p. 56
Commentary on Privacy and Freedom from Coercion	p. 57
Commentary on Deception	p. 58
Commentary on Debriefing	p. 59
Role of the Research Participant	p. 59
Commentary on Ethics in Scientific Writing	p. 60
Fraud in Research	p. 62
Ethics and Animal Experimentation	p. 63
Animal Rights and Animal Welfare	p. 64
Speciesism?	p. 65
The Case of the Silver Spring Monkeys	p. 67
Nuts & Bolts	p. 68
Summary	p. 69
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 70
A Case in Point	p. 71
Reading Between the Lines	p. 75
Exercises	p. 76
Writing in Psychology	p. 78
The Written Report	p. 79
General	p. 79
Avoiding Sexism and Ethnic Bias in Writing	p. 81
The Parts of a Paper	p. 82
Documenting Your Paper	p. 85
Steps in the Publication Process	p. 88
Oral Presentations	p. 104
Poster Presentations	p. 104
Nuts & Bolts	p. 106
Summary	p. 110
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 111
A Case in Point	p. 111
Reading Between the Lines	p. 116
Exercises	p. 117
Variables	p. 119
Types of Variables	p. 120
Dependent and Independent Variables	p. 120
Confounded Variables	p. 121
Quantitative and Categorical Variables	p. 122
Continuous and Discrete Variables	p. 122
Measurement	p. 123
What Is Measurement?	p. 123
Types of Measurement Scales	p. 124
Comparison of the Scales	p. 126
Measurement and Statistics?	p. 128
Reliability and Validity of Measurements	p. 129
Variability and Error	p. 130
Validity of Measurements	p. 130
Nuts & Bolts	p. 132
Summary	p. 134
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 135
A Case in Point	p. 136
Reading Between the Lines	p. 136
Exercises	p. 137
Tabular and Graphical Description of Data	p. 141
Tables and Graphs of Frequency Data of One Variable	p. 141
Frequency Tables	p. 142
Frequency Distributions	p. 143
Cumulative Frequency Distributions	p. 144
Percentiles	p. 146
Tables and Graphs That Show the Relationship Between Two Variables	p. 146
Scattergrams	p. 146
Tables with One Independent and One Dependent Variable	p. 147
Graphs of Functions (Line Graphs)	p. 148
Bar Graphs	p. 149
Relation Between Frequency Distributions and Other Graphs	p. 150
Time-Series Graphs	p. 152
Indicating Variability of the Data in a Graph	p. 153
Preparing Data for Analysis	p. 154
Data Reduction	p. 155
The Coding Guide	p. 156
Checking for Invalid Data, Missing Data, and Outliers	p. 159
Proceeding with the Analysis	p. 160
Nuts & Bolts	p. 161
Summary	p. 163
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 164
A Case in Point	p. 164
Reading Between the Lines	p. 166
Exercises	p. 167
Validity	p. 169
Types of Validity	p. 169
Internal Validity	p. 170
Construct Validity	p. 171
External Validity	p. 172
Statistical Validity	p. 173
Threats to Validity	p. 173
Threats to Internal Validity	p. 173
Threats to Construct Validity	p. 176
Threats to External Validity	p. 177
Threats to Statistical Validity	p. 178
Summary Note on Validity	p. 179
Nuts & Bolts	p. 179
Summary	p. 182
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 183
A Case in Point	p. 183
Reading Between the Lines	p. 185
Exercises	p. 186
Control	p. 189
The Concept of Control	p. 189
Control Provides a Standard of Comparison	p. 189
Control Reduces Variability	p. 191
General Strategies	p. 192
Control in the Laboratory	p. 192
The Research Setting as a Preparation	p. 193
Instrumentation of the Response as Control	p. 194
Specific Strategies	p. 194
Subject as Own Control (Within-Subjects Control)	p. 194
Random Assignment	p. 196
Matching	p. 198
Building Nuisance Variables into the Experiment	p. 199
Statistical Control	p. 201
Replication, Replication	p. 202
Experimental Design as Problem Solving	p. 204
The Elegant Experiment	p. 205
Nuts & Bolts	p. 205
Summary	p. 209
Suggestion for Further Reading	p. 210
A Case in Point	p. 210
Reading Between the Lines	p. 211
Exercises	p. 212
Nonexperimental Research, Part 1: Observational, Archival, and Case-Study Research	p. 213
The Hermeneutic Approach	p. 215
Observational Research	p. 216
Naturalistic Observation	p. 216
Participant-Observer Research	p. 220
Archival Research	p. 222
Case Studies	p. 223
Theory Development and Testing in Observational and Archival Research	p. 224
Nuts & Bolts	p. 225
Summary	p. 230
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 231
Suggestions for Nonexperimental Research: Important Guidelines	p. 231
A Case in Point	p. 231
Reading Between the Lines	p. 234
Exercises	p. 234
Nonexperimental Research, Part 2: Survey Research	p. 237
How a Questionnaire Is Designed	p. 238
Determine the Purpose of the Questionnaire	p. 238
Determine the Types of Questions	p. 238
Write the Items	p. 239
Determine How the Data Will Be Analyzed	p. 243
Administering the Questionnaire	p. 243
Determine the Method of Administration	p. 243
The Problem of Response Rate	p. 246
Sampling	p. 247
Types of Samples	p. 247
Probability Samples and Random Selection	p. 248
Summary of Sampling Procedures	p. 253
Nuts & Bolts	p. 254
Summary	p. 255
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 256
A Case in Point	p. 256
Reading Between the Lines	p. 282
Exercises	p. 284
True Experiments, Part 1: Single-Factor Designs	p. 265
True Experiments	p. 265
Factors, Levels, Conditions, and Treatments	p. 266
The Basic Elements of a Valid Experimental Design	p. 266
Within-Subjects Designs	p. 267
Controlling for Order and Sequence Effects	p. 268
Two Conditions, Tested Within Subjects	p. 272
Multiple Conditions, Tested Within Subjects	p. 273
Between-Subjects Designs	p. 274
Two Conditions, Tested Between Subjects	p. 274
Multiple Conditions, Tested Between Subjects	p. 275
Some Designs to Avoid	p. 277
The One-Group Posttest-Only Design	p. 277
The Posttest-Only Design with Nonequivalent Control Groups	p. 277
The One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design	p. 278
Summary	p. 279
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 280
A Case in Point	p. 280
Reading Between the Lines	p. 282
Exercises	p. 284
True Experiments, Part 2: Factorial Designs	p. 286
A Simple Factorial Design	p. 287
Main Effects	p. 289
Interactions	p. 289
Interactions and Main Effects	p. 291
Types of Interactions	p. 295
Within-Subjects, Between-Subjects, and Mixed Designs	p. 297
Advantages of Within-Subjects Designs	p. 300
Control in Within-Subjects Factorial Experiments	p. 300
Some Representative Factorial Designs	p. 301
Factorial, Within-Subjects	p. 301
Factorial, Between-Subjects	p. 302
A Mixed Factorial Design	p. 302
Summary	p. 303
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 304
A Case in Point	p. 304
Reading Between the Lines	p. 305
Exercises	p. 307
Single-Subject Experiments	p. 310
Advantages of the Single-Subject Approach	p. 311
Focusing on Individual Performance	p. 312
Focusing on Big Effects	p. 313
Avoiding Ethical and Practical Problems	p. 314
Flexibility in Design	p. 314
Disadvantages of the Single-Subject Approach	p. 314
Basic Control Strategies in Single-Subject Research	p. 315
Obtaining a Stable Baseline	p. 315
Comparison (AB Design)	p. 316
Withdrawal of Treatment (ABA Designs)	p. 316
Repeating Treatments (ABAB Designs)	p. 316
Changing Only One Variable at a Time	p. 319
Using Multiple Baselines	p. 320
Employing a Changing Criterion	p. 322
Two Examples from Psychophysics	p. 322
Summary	p. 325
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 326
A Case in Point	p. 327
Reading Between the Lines	p. 327
Exercises	p. 328
Quasi Experiments	p. 330
The Principal Difference Between Quasi Experiments and True Experiments	p. 330
Other Features of Quasi Experiments	p. 332
Which Is the Best Research Method?	p. 332
Nonequivalent Control Group Designs	p. 333
Mixed Factorial Design with One Nonmanipulated Variable	p. 335
Designs Without Control Groups	p. 337
Interrupted Time-Series Designs	p. 337
Repeated-Treatment Designs	p. 340
Designs to Test Developmental Changes	p. 341
Program Evaluation	p. 344
Sources of Resistance to Program Evaluations	p. 345
Steps in Planning an Evaluation	p. 346
Two Examples of Program Evaluation	p. 348
Nuts & Bolts	p. 350
Summary	p. 352
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 353
A Case in Point	p. 354
Reading Between the Lines	p. 356
Exercises	p. 357
Epilogue: Biases and Limitations of Experimental Psychology	p. 360
Biases	p. 361
Science as Conservative	p. 361
Science as Liberal	p. 364
Limitations of Science	p. 365
Essential Limitations	p. 366
Practical Limitations	p. 367
The Responsibilities of the Scientist	p. 368
Summary Note on Biases and Limitations of Science	p. 369
Summary	p. 370
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 371
Reading Between the Lines	p. 371
Exercises	p. 371
Review of Statistics	p. 373
Some Basic Terms	p. 373
Descriptive Statistics	p. 374
Measures of Central Tendency	p. 374
Measures of Variability	p. 377
Correlation and Regression	p. 380
Inferential Statistics	p. 385
Sampling Distributions	p. 385
Testing Hypotheses	p. 387
Dealing with Uncertainty in Hypothesis Testing	p. 389
The Significance of Significance	p. 392
Effect Size	p. 393
Analysis of Variance	p. 394
Exercises	p. 401
Random-Number Table	p. 406
Population Data Set	p. 408
Suggested Answers to "Reading Between the Lines"	p. 410
Keys for Identifying Appropriate Graphs and Statistics	p. 417
References	p. 421
Indexes	p. 429
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Research Methods

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