Developmental Research Methods

by Scott A. Miller

• ISBN13: 9781412996440
• ISBN10: 1412996449
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-19
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

Developmental Research Methods, now in its Fourth Edition, successfully presents an overview of methods to prepare students to carry out, report on, and evaluate research on human development, with a focus on the whole lifespan. Updated and expanded coverage of the traditional topics blends seamlessly with new topics such as cross-cultural research, animal research, causal modeling, autobiographical memory, and peer relations to provide students with a wealth of current information. Author Scott A. Miller explores every step in the research process, from the initial concept to the final written result, covering conceptual issues of experimental design as well as the procedural skills necessary to translate design into research.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Goals of the Book	p. 3
Steps in a Research Program	p. 3
Plan of the Book	p. 7
Summary	p. 8
Exercises	p. 8
General Principles	p. 10
Variables	p. 11
Validity	p. 12
Sampling	p. 14
Control	p. 16
Subject Variables	p. 19
Box 2.1. Controlled Studies With Animals	p. 21
Outcomes	p. 23
Threats to Validity	p. 27
Summary	p. 29
Exercises	p. 30
Design	p. 31
Age Comparisons	p. 32
Box 3.1. The Microgenetic Method	p. 41
Condition Comparisons	p. 43
Correlational Research	p. 51
Summary	p. 55
Exercises	p. 56
Measurement	p. 58
Some Basic Concepts	p. 58
Box 4.1. Looking Inside the Brain: Methods of Measuring Brain Activity	p. 66
Quality of Measurement	p. 68
Tests	p. 70
Regression	p. 74
Observational Methods	p. 77
Box 4.2. The Experience Sampling Method	p. 82
Summary	p. 87
Exercises	p. 88
Procedure	p. 89
Standardization	p. 89
Some Sources of Bias	p. 93
Reactivity and Related Problems	p. 95
Box 5.1. Archival Data	p. 98
Experimenter Bias	p. 102
Loss of Participants	p. 104
Summary	p. 105
Exercises	p. 106
Contexts for Research	p. 107
Lab and Field	p. 107
Box 6.1. Research in Museums	p. 115
Ecological Systems	p. 117
Cross-Cultural Research	p. 121
Summary	p. 123
Exercises	p. 124
Qualitative Research	p. 126
Characteristics of Qualitative Research	p. 126
Methods of Study	p. 128
Box 7.1. Mixed Methods Research	p. 135
Overview and Evaluation	p. 137
Summary	p. 137
Exercises	p. 138
Applied Research	p. 139
Socially Important Issues	p. 141
Assessment	p. 145
Box 8.1. Research With Minority Populations	p. 147
Intervention	p. 149
Summary	p. 151
Exercises	p. 152
Statistics	p. 153
Uses of Statistics	p. 153
Some More About Significance	p. 158
Choosing a Statistical Test	p. 160
Correlations	p. 165
Alternatives to ANOVA	p. 168
Box 9.1. Meta-Analysis	p. 170
Some General Points	p. 173
Summary	p. 174
Exercises	p. 175
Ethics	p. 176
Guidelines and Procedures	p. 177
Rights of the Research Participant	p. 180
Summary	p. 189
Exercises	p. 190
Writing	p. 191
Some General Points	p. 192
Sections of an Article	p. 194
Some Specific Stylistic Points	p. 199
Summary	p. 203
Exercises	p. 204
Infancy	p. 205
General Issues	p. 205
Infant Perception	p. 211
Box 12.1. Perception of Faces	p. 219
Infant Cognitive Development	p. 221
Infant Social Development	p. 229
Box 12.2. Attachment and Infant Day Care	p. 236
Summary	p. 242
Exercises	p. 243
Cognitive Development	p. 245
The Piagetian Approach	p. 245
The Intelligence Test Approach	p. 251
Memory	p. 256
Theory of Mind	p. 266
Box 13.1. Executive Function	p. 272
Concepts	p. 274
Summary	p. 278
Exercises	p. 280
Social Development	p. 281
Moral Development	p. 281
Sex Differences	p. 297
Peer Relations	p. 305
Box 14.1. The Internet as a Context for Development	p. 310
Child Rearing	p. 311
Summary	p. 320
Exercises	p. 321
Aging	p. 323
General Issues (as Illustrated by the Study of IQ)	p. 324
Box 15.1. Wisdom	p. 338
Memory	p. 341
Personality and Social Development	p. 351
Box 15.2. Ageism	p. 354
Summary	p. 360
Exercises	p. 361
Glossary	p. 363
References	p. 371
Author Index	p. 408
Subject Index	p. 421
About the Author	p. 435
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