Research Methods (with InfoTrac)

by McBurney, Donald H.

• ISBN13: 9780534577629
• ISBN10: 0534577628
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-07-28
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Table of Contents

Psychology and Science	1	(32)
Ways of Knowing about Behavior	1	(4)
Nonempirical Methods	1	(2)
Empirical Methods	3	(2)
What Is Science?	5	(4)
Characteristics of Science	6	(3)
The Relation Between Science and Nonscience	9	(1)
Working Assumptions of Science	9	(3)
The Reality of the World	10	(1)
Rationality	10	(1)
Regularity	10	(1)
Discoverability	11	(1)
Causality	11	(1)
The Goals of Science	12	(12)
The Discovery of Regularities	12	(4)
The Development of Theories	16	(2)
The Role of Theories	18	(2)
Hypotheses in Science	20	(1)
Defining Theoretical Concepts	21	(2)
The Nature of Scientific Progress	23	(1)
A Note on Psychology and Science	23	(1)
Summary	24	(2)
Suggestions for Further Reading	26	(1)
A Case in Point	27	(3)
Reading Between the Lines	30	(1)
Exercises	31	(2)
Developing a Research Question	33	(20)
Choice of a Problem	33	(1)
The Literature Review	34	(1)
Using the Internet	35	(6)
Guidelines for Evaluating Information from the Internet	36	(1)
Search Engines	37	(1)
Government and Organizational Web Sites	37	(1)
Some Individual Web Sites for Psychology	38	(1)
Proprietary Web Sites	38	(3)
E-mail	41	(5)
Inter-Library Loan	46
An Extended Internet Search Example: Waist-Hip Ratio and Attractiveness	41	(6)
After You Locate the Important Articles	47	(1)
The Research Question	48	(1)
The Proposal	48	(1)
Summary	49	(1)
Exercises	49	(4)
Ethics in Research	53	(22)
The APA Ethics Code	53	(9)
Commentary on Responsibility	55	(1)
Commentary on Protection from Harm	55	(1)
Commentary on Informed Consent	56	(1)
Commentary on Deception	57	(1)
Commentary on Privacy and Freedom from Coercion	58	(2)
Commentary on Debriefing	60	(1)
Role of the Research Participant	61	(1)
Ethics and Animal Experimentation	62	(4)
Animal Rights and Animal Welfare	62	(1)
Speciesism?	63	(2)
The Case of the Silver Spring Monkeys	65	(1)
Nuts and Bolts	66	(1)
Summary	67	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	68	(1)
A Case in Point	69	(1)
A Case in Point	70	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	71	(1)
Exercises	72	(3)
Writing in Psychology	75	(42)
The Written Report	76	(24)
General	76	(2)
Avoiding Sexism and Ethnic Bias in Writing	78	(1)
The Parts of a Paper	79	(3)
Documenting Your Paper	82	(3)
Steps in the Publication Process	85	(15)
Oral Presentations	100	(1)
Poster Presentations	101	(1)
Nuts and Bolts	102	(4)
Summary	106	(2)
Suggestions for Further Reading	108	(1)
A Case in Point	108	(5)
Reading Between the Lines	113	(1)
Exercises	114	(3)
Variables	117	(22)
Types of Variables	118	(3)
Dependent and Independent Vaiables	118	(1)
Confounded Variables	119	(1)
Quantitative and Categorical Variables	120	(1)
Continuous and Discrete Variables	120	(1)
Measurement	121	(6)
What Is Measurement?	121	(1)
Types of Measurement Scales	122	(2)
Comparison of the Scales	124	(2)
Measurement and Statistics?	126	(1)
Reliability and Validity of Measurements	127	(3)
Variability and Error	127	(1)
Validity of Measurements	128	(2)
Nuts and Bolts	130	(2)
Summary	132	(2)
Suggestions for Further Reading	134	(1)
A Case in Point	134	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	134	(1)
Exercises	135	(4)
Tabular and Graphical Description of Data	139	(30)
Tables and Graphs of Frequency Data of One Variable	140	(5)
Frequency Tables	140	(1)
Frequency Distributions	140	(3)
Cumulative Frequency Distributions	143	(1)
Percentiles	144	(1)
Tables and Graphs That Show the Relationship Between Two Variables	145	(4)
Scattergrams	145	(1)
Tables with One Independent and One Dependent Variable	146	(1)
Graphs of Functions (Line Graphs)	147	(1)
Bar Graphs	148	(1)
Relation Between Frequency Distributions and Other Graphs	149	(2)
Time-Series Graphs	151	(1)
Indicating Variability of the Data in a Graph	152	(2)
Preparing Data for Analysis	154	(7)
Data Reduction	154	(2)
The Coding Guide	156	(1)
Checking for Invalid Data, Missing Data, and Outliers	157	(3)
Proceeding with the Analysis	160	(1)
Nuts and Bolts	161	(1)
Summary	162	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	163	(1)
A Case in Point	163	(2)
Reading Between the Lines	165	(1)
Exercises	166	(3)
Validity	169	(20)
Types of Validity	169	(4)
Internal Validity	169	(2)
Construct Validity	171	(1)
External Validity	172	(1)
Statistical Validity	172	(1)
Threats to Validity	173	(6)
Threats to Internal Validity	173	(3)
Threats to Construct Validity	176	(2)
Threats to External Validity	178	(1)
Threats to Statistical Validity	179	(1)
Summary Note on Validity	179	(1)
Nuts and Bolts	179	(3)
Summary	182	(1)
Suggestion for Further Reading	183	(1)
A Case in Point	183	(1)
A Case in Point	184	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	185	(1)
Exercises	186	(3)
Control	189	(24)
The Concept of Control	189	(3)
Control Provides a Standard of Comparison	189	(2)
Control Reduces Variability	191	(1)
General Strategies	192	(2)
Control in the Laboratory	192	(1)
The Research Setting as a Preparation	192	(1)
Instrumentation of the Response as Control	193	(1)
Specific Strategies	194	(8)
Subject as Own Control (Within-Subjects Control)	194	(2)
Random Assignment	196	(2)
Matching	198	(2)
Building Nuisance Variables into the Experiment	200	(1)
Statistical Control	201	(1)
Replication, Replication	202	(2)
Experimental Design as Problem Solving	204	(1)
The Elegant Experiment	204	(1)
How to Use the Rest of this Book	205	(1)
Nuts and Bolts	206	(2)
Summary	208	(2)
Suggestion for Further Reading	210	(1)
A Case in Point	210	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	211	(1)
Exercises	212	(1)
Nonexperimental Research, Part 1: Observational, Archival, and Case-Study Research	213	(24)
The Hermeneutic Approach	215	(1)
Observational Research	215	(7)
Naturalistic Observation	216	(4)
Participant-Observer Research	220	(2)
Archival Research	222	(1)
Case Studies	223	(1)
Theory Development and Testing in Observational and Archival Research	224	(1)
Nuts and Bolts	225	(5)
Summary	230	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	231	(1)
A Case in Point	231	(2)
A Case in Point	233	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	234	(1)
Exercises	235	(2)
Nonexperimental Research, Part 2: Survey Research	237	(28)
How a Questionnaire Is Designed	237	(6)
Determine the Purpose of the Questionnaire	238	(1)
Determine the Types of Questions	238	(1)
Write the Items	239	(3)
Determine How the Data Will Be Analyzed	242	(1)
Administering the Questionnaire	243	(3)
Determine the Method of Administration	243	(2)
The Problem of Response Rate	245	(1)
Sampling	246	(6)
Types of Samples	246	(1)
Probability Samples and Random Selection	247	(4)
Summary of Sampling Procedures	251	(1)
Nuts and Bolts	252	(2)
Summary	254	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	255	(1)
A Case in Point	255	(3)
Reading Between the Lines	258	(1)
Exercises	258	(7)
True Experiments, Part 1: Single-Factor Designs	265	(22)
True Experiments	265	(1)
Factors, Levels, Conditions, and Treatments	266	(1)
Some Designs to Avoid	267	(2)
The One-Group Posttest-Only Design	267	(1)
The Posttest-Only Design with Nonequivalent Control Groups	267	(1)
The One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design	268	(1)
The Basic Elements of a Valid Experimental Design	269	(1)
Within-Subjects Designs	270	(7)
Controlling for Order and Sequence Effects	270	(4)
Two Conditions, Tested Within Subjects	274	(1)
Multiple Conditions, Tested Within Subjects	275	(2)
Between-Subjects Designs	277	(2)
Two Conditions, Tested Between Subjects	277	(1)
Multiple Conditions, Tested Between Subjects	277	(2)
Summary	279	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	280	(1)
A Case in Point	280	(1)
A Case in Point	281	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	282	(1)
Exercises	283	(4)
True Experiments, Part 2: Factorial Designs	287	(24)
A Simple Factorial Design	289	(2)
Main Effects	291	(1)
Interactions	291	(6)
Interactions When There Is No Main Effect	293	(2)
Types of Interactions	295	(2)
Within-Subjects, Between-Subjects, and Mixed Designs	297	(4)
Advantages of Within-Subjects Designs	300	(1)
Control in Within-Subjects Factorial Experiments	300	(1)
Some Representative Factorial Designs	301	(2)
Factorial, Within-Subjects	301	(1)
Factorial, Between-Subjects	301	(2)
A Mixed Factorial Design	303	(1)
Summary	303	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	304	(1)
A Case in Point	305	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	306	(1)
Exercises	306	(5)
Single-Subject Experiments	311	(22)
Advantages of the Single-Subject Approach	312	(3)
Focusing on Individual Performance	313	(1)
Focusing on Big Effects	314	(1)
Avoiding Ethical and Practical Problems	315	(1)
Flexibility in Design	315	(1)
Disadvantages of the Single-Subject Approach	315	(1)
Basic Control Strategies in Single-Subject Research	316	(6)
Obtaining a Stable Baseline	316	(1)
Using the Withdrawal of Treatment (ABA Designs)	317	(1)
Repeating Treatments (ABAB Designs)	317	(2)
Changing Only One Variable at a Time	319	(2)
Using Multiple Baselines	321	(1)
Employing a Changing Criterion	321	(1)
Examples of Single-Subject Designs	322	(5)
A Multiple-Baseline Design with Withdrawal of Treatment	322	(2)
Two Examples from Psychophysics	324	(3)
Summary	327	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	328	(1)
A Case in Point	328	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	329	(1)
Exercises	330	(3)
Quasi Experiments	333	(32)
The Principal Difference Between Quasi Experiments and True Experiments	333	(3)
Other Features of Quasi Experiments	335	(1)
Which Is the Best Research Method?	336	(1)
Nonequivalent Control Group Designs	336	(4)
Mixed Factorial Design with One Nonmanipulated Variable	338	(2)
Designs Without Control Groups	340	(5)
Interrupted Time-Series Designs	340	(4)
Repeated-Treatment Designs	344	(1)
Designs to Test Developmental Changes	345	(4)
Program Evaluation	349	(5)
Sources of Resistance to Program Evaluations	350	(1)
Steps in Planning an Evaluation	351	(1)
Two Examples of Program Evaluation	352	(2)
Nuts and Bolts	354	(3)
Summary	357	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	358	(1)
A Case in Point	358	(1)
A Case in Point	359	(2)
Reading Between the Lines	361	(1)
Exercises	362	(3)
Epilogue Biases and Limitations of Experimental Psychology	365	(16)
Biases	366	(3)
Science as Conservative	366	(2)
Science as Liberal	368	(1)
Limitations of Science	369	(4)
Essential Limitations	369	(2)
Practical Limitations	371	(2)
Fraud	373	(2)
The Responsibilities of the Scientist	375	(1)
Summary Note on Biases and Limitations of Science	376	(1)
Summary	376	(1)
Suggestions for Further Reading	377	(1)
A Case in Point	378	(1)
Reading Between the Lines	379	(1)
Exercises	380	(1)
Appendix A Review of Statistics	381	(34)
Some Basic Terms	381	(1)
Descriptive Statistics	382	(12)
Measures of Central Tendency	382	(4)
Measures of Variability	386	(2)
Correlation and Regression	388	(6)
Inferential Statistics	394	(15)
Sampling Distributions	394	(2)
Testing Hypotheses	396	(2)
Dealing with Uncertainty in Hypothesis Testing	398	(4)
Analysis of Variance	402	(6)
The Significance of Significance	408	(1)
Exercises	409	(6)
Appendix B Random-Number Table	415	(2)
Appendix C Population Data Set	417	(2)
Appendix D Suggested Answers to ``Reading Between the Lines''	419	(8)
Appendix E Key for Identifying Appropriate Graphs and Statistics	427	(4)
References	431	(7)
Name Index	438	(4)
Subject Index	442