Research Design Explained

The excitement of scientific discovery and the practical advice needed to read, conduct, and write up ethical research converge in this easy-to-grasp, student-oriented guide to research concepts and methods in psychology. Completely revised and rewritten, the third edition puts research design into a practical context that teaches students how to use theory. Students learn to think like a research psychologist as they appreciate the relevance of science to psychology and the logic behind the process of research designs. Features: * Organization around four principles - internal validity, external validity, construct validity, and ethics - unifies the chapters and helps students retain what they learn. * Survey methods are treated in a separate chapter (Chapter 13) with the understanding that this is the research method most students will encounter in real life. * Entire chapters are devoted to tasks students often find difficult, such as generating research ideas (Chapter 2) and reading research (Chapter 10). * Chapter 14 on writing proposals and articles includes material on the updated APA style and a model student paper, making it unnecessary to assign a separate APA handbook. * Summary tables are used frequently to reinforce main points. New to this edition: * Shorter chapters allow students to master new material thoroughly before moving to a new concept. * Greater flexibility is built into the design of chapters - by having self-contained modules that can be taught in different orders to suit the instructor. * Revised and reorganized material in every chapter sharpens the focus on critical thinking, including concepts such as reliability and viability, psychological testing, factor analyses, and types of errors. * New chapter 4 focuses on decisions involved in choosing a measure. * Enhanced design of figures and tables makes them an even more valuable learning aid. * Glossary at the end of each chapter organizes terms so students can more easily see how ideas are inter-related. * Information on computerized searches is included as a new appendix. Appendices also include new material on conducting the study and on field experiments.