Research Methods and Statistics

by Beins, Bernard C.; Mccarthy, Maureen A.

• ISBN13: 9780205624096
• ISBN10: 020562409X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-09-02
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Thinking critically about research and data analysis   Beins and McCarthy present a seamless introduction to statistics and research methods, identifying different research areas and how one approaches them statistically.   The text is designed for a one- or two-semester combined course in Statistics and Research Methods/Experimental Psychology. It helps students develop critical thinking skills about research and data analysis they see in the news and to evaluate claims people make based on that research.   Teaching & Learning Experience Personalize Learning ;The new MySearchLab with eText delivers proven results in helping students succeed and provides engaging experiences that personalize learning. Improve Critical Thinking ;The entire text helps students develop critical thinking skills about research and data analysis they see in the news and to evaluate claims people make about research. Engage Students ; ;Living ; research examples, as well as a Lab Manual and eText within MySearchLab capture student interest. Explore Research ;In-text research examples and a lab manual included in MySearchLab help engage students in the research process.  Support Instructors ;MyTest, PowerPoints, and an instructor's manual offer additional support for instructors. Note:MySearchLab with eText does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase MySearchLab with eText, please visit:www.mysearchlab.comor you can purchase a valuepack of the text + MySearchLab with eText (at no additional cost).

Author Biography

Barney Beins is Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department at Ithaca College. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his doctorate from City University of New York.  He is a Fellow of APA, and was president of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology in 2004; he served as its secretary from 1992 to 1994. He was Director of Precollege and Undergraduate Education at APA from 2000 to 2002.  He has served on APA’s Board of Educational Affairs and on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Psychological Association.

 

He wrote (with Agatha Beins) Effective Writing in Psychology: Papers, Posters, and Presentations and has co-edited the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology and five other volumes on various aspects of the teaching of psychology. He has written over 125 journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and newsletter articles and has given over 150 conference presentations. His undergraduates have presented over 75 paper and posters at research conferences.

 

He founded the Northeastern Conference for Teachers of Psychology in 1994. He also participated in the St. Mary’s Conference in 1991, in the Psychology Partnerships Project in 1999, and was on the Steering Committee for the second National Conference on Undergraduate Education in 2008.

 

He served as inaugural editor for the “Computers in Psychology” section of Teaching of Psychology from 1987 to 1996, and as an Associate Editor. He is a member of the American Psychological Society, Sigma Xi, Psi Chi, the American Statistical Association, the Eastern Psychological Association, the New England Psychological Association.

 

Maureen McCarthy is Professor of Psychology in the Department at Kennesaw State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, and her doctorate from Oklahoma State University. She is a Fellow of APA and APS. She served as President of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology in 2008. She is a member of the Division 35 - the Society for the Psychology of Women and Division 5 – Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics.  She also served as Associate Executive Director of Precollege and Undergraduate Education at APA from 2003 to 2005.  While serving in this role she successfully obtained a National Science Foundation grant for the Online Psychology Laboratory. This project continues to provide important resources for psychology faculty and students nationally and internationally.

 

She has authored and co-authored numerous publications including the American Psychologist article “Quality Benchmarks in Undergraduate Psychology Programs. An extension of this work—Using Quality Benchmarks for Assessing and Developing Undergraduate Programs—offers comprehensive approach to program assessment and evaluation to help programs and departments in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences use assessment data to improve undergraduate education. Maureen has written many journal articles, book chapters, and newsletter articles, and has delivered numerous conference presentations. Maureen has edited many works and currently serves as a reviewer for a section of Teaching of Psychology. Maureen currently serves as a member of the Advanced Placement Psychology Test Development Committee and the Social Studies Academic Advisory Committee for the College Board.

 

Table of Contents

BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 

Part I: Understanding Research

Chapter 1: Psychology, Science, And Life

 

Part II: The First Steps in Conducting Research

Chapter 2: Ethics In Research: Following The Golden Rule

Chapter 3: Planning Your Research: What Do We Already Know About The Topic?

Chapter 4: Research Basics: Samples And Measurements

Chapter 5: Organizing Data with Descriptive Statistics

 

Part III: Creating Experiments

Chapter 6: Basics of Experimental Design

Chapter 7: Inferential Statistics

Chapter 8: Looking For Differences Between Groups

Chapter 9: Looking For Differences Among Multiple Groups

Chapter 10: Expanding On Experimental Designs: Factorial Designs and Quasi-Experiments

 

Part IV: Correlational and Nonexperimental Research

Chapter 11: Survey Research

Chapter 12: Correlation, Regression, and Nonparametric Tests

Chapter 13: Research In Depth: Case Studies and Longitudinal Research

 

Part V: Culture and Research

Chapter 14: People Are Different: Cultural Considerations In Research

 

Appendices

Appendix A: Writing a Research Report

Appendix B: Creating an Oral Presentation

Appendix C: Creating a Poster Presentation

Appendix D: Answers to Homework Problems (Pulled From Chapters)

Appendix E: Statistical Tables

 

Tables

Table E.1 Significance Values for The Normal Distribution (Z)

Table E.2 Significance Values for The T Distribution (T)

Table E.3 Significance Values for The Analysis Of Variance (F Test)

Table E.4 Significance Values for The Pearson Product-Moment