Summary

This comprehensive book explores the entire range of research methodologies in psychology, using a programmatic approach to introduce topics and build on earlier presentations to increase understanding.Research is a Process of Inquiry; The Scientific Process; Asking and Refining Questions; Types of Variables in Research; Validity and the Control of Extraneous Variables; Scales of Measurement; Measuring and Manipulating Variables; Organizing Data; Descriptive Statistics; Statistical Inference; Inferential Statistics; Low-Constraint Methods; Differential Research Methods; Correlational Research; Hypothesis Testing; Validity; Threats to Validity; Nonexperimental Approaches; Nonexperimental Approaches; Nonexperimental Approaches; Nonexperimental Approaches; Nonexperimental Approaches; Factorial Designs; Conducting Field Research; Quasi-Experimental Designs; Program Evaluation Research; Surveys.Anyone interested in research methods and design.

Author Biography

Anthony M. Graziano is Professor Emeritus, Psychology, at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He was Co-Director of the Research Center for Children and Youth and served as the Director of the Clinical Area. Graziano received the B.A. degree from Columbia College and Ph.D. from Purdue University. He completed a clinical internship and a postdoctoral fellowship in child-clinical psychology at the Devereux Foundation. From 1961 to 1968 he developed and operated the first behavioral treatment program in the country for children with autism. Graziano was the first to employ relaxation and systematic desensitization techniques to help teach self-control skills to children with autism. He also served briefly as the Acting Director of the Kennedy Center for children with developmental disabilities. He has been a consultant to agencies in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.

Graziano's research and writing has focused on children and families, and has included: child psychopathology; developmental disabilities; the treatment of childhood disorders; children's fears and phobias; behavior modification; parent training; community psychology; child abuse and neglect; family therapy; and cultural history. His most recent research was on the use of corporal punishment in child rearing, and he has been a long-time opponent of corporal punishment. He is editor, co-author, or author of fifteen books, 86 journal articles and presentations at professional meetings, and a dozen op-ed newspaper columns. Dr. Graziano has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Psychological Association, People, Inc., a Western New York agency serving persons with developmental disabilities, and the editorial board of the journal, Behavior Modification. When not playing with his grandchildren, Graziano passionately pursues cooking, tennis, carpentry, masonry, drawing cartoons, and traveling Europe with Sheila, his wife of 50 years.

Michael Raulin is a clinical associate professor at the State University of New York, Buffalo, where he has been a faculty member since 1978. He received his BS and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. At Buffalo, he was the director of the Psychological Services Center--the research and training clinic for the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology--and also headed the Ph.D. clinical psychology program for several years. He founded and directed the department’s Anxiety Disorders Clinic and maintained a small private practice for 20 years.

Dr. Raulin’s research has always focused on psychopathology, with most of his work on risk factors in schizophrenia. He has published 30 articles or chapters and is author of an abnormal psychology text. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and reviewed papers for nearly 20 different journals and grant applications for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He has been active in psychological affairs, locally, regionally, and nationally. He was president of the Psychological Association of Western New York, chaired the program committees for the Society for Research in Psychopathology and the Eastern Psychological Association, and was president of the National Association of Directors of Psychology Training Clinics and secretary of Society for Research in Psychopathology. He has an excellent reputation for his teaching, with evaluations that consistently place him among the top instructors at the university. He has won awards for teaching and public service and is listed in Who’s Who in Among Rising Young Americans, Who’s Who Among Health Service Professionals, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, and Who’s Who in Medicine and Health Care.

Curiosity, Creativity, and Commitment
Science
Science Is a Way of Thinking
Asking Questions
Science and Art
Acquiring Knowledge
Tenacity
Intuition
Authority
Rationalism
Empiricism
Science
Emergence of Science
Early Civilization
Greek Science
Medieval Science
The Scientific Revolution
Psychology
The History of Psychology
Women and Minorities in Psychology
Modern Psychology
The Science of Psychology
Ethical Principles
Using the Resources of this Text
Exploring the Student Resource Website
Using SPSS for Windows
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Research is a Process of Inquiry
The Scientific Process
Basic Assumptions of Science
Observation and Inference: Facts and Constructs
Inductive and Deductive Thinking
Models and Theories in Science
A Model of the Research Process
Phases of Research
Levels of Constraint
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
The Starting Point: Asking Questions
Asking and Refining Questions
Pursuing Your Personal Interests
Following Up on the Work of Others
Applied and Basic Research
Refining Questions for Research
Types of Variables in Research
Classifying Variables Based on Their Nature
Classifying Variables Based on Their Use in Research
Validity and the Control of Extraneous Variables
Ethical Principles
Ethical Principles for Human Research
Ethical Principles for Animal Research
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Data and the Nature of Measurement
Measurement
Scales of Measurement
Nominal Scales
Ordinal Scales
Interval Scales
Ratio Scales
Measuring and Manipulating Variables
Measurement Error
Operational Definitions
Evaluating Measures
Reliability
Effective Range
Validity
The Need for Objective Measurement
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Statistical Analysis of Data
Individual Differences
Organizing Data
Frequency Distributions
Graphical Representation of Data
Descriptive Statistics
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Variability
Measures of Relationship
Standard Scores
Statistical Inference
Populations and Samples
The Null Hypothesis
Statistical Decisions and Alpha Levels
Type I and Type II Errors
Inferential Statistics
Testing for Mean Differences
The Power of a Statistical Test
Effect Size
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Field Research: Naturalistic and Case-Study Research
The Challenge of Low-Constraint Research
Examples of Naturalistic Observation
Examples of Case-Study Research
The Value of Low-Constraint Methods
Conditions for Using Low-Constraint Research
Information Gained from Low-Constraint Research
Using Low-Constraint Methods
Problem Statements and Research Hypotheses
Making Observations
Sampling of Participants
Sampling of Situations
Sampling of Behaviors
Evaluating and Interpreting Data
Limitations of Low-Constraint Methods
Poor Representativeness
Poor Replicability
Causal Inference and Low-Constraint Research
Limitations of the Observer
Going Beyond the Data
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Correlational and Differential Methods of Research
Correlational Research Methods
Differential Research Methods
Cross-Sectional versus Longitudinal Research
Artifacts and Confounding
Understanding Correlational and Differential Methods
Comparing These Methods
When to Use These Methods
Conducting Correlational Research
Problem Statements
Secondary Analyses
Measuring the Variables
Sampling
Analyzing the Data
Interpreting the Correlation
Conducting Differential Research
Problem Statements
Measuring the Variables
Selecting Appropriate Control Groups
Sampling
Analyzing the Data
Interpreting the Data
Limitations of Correlational and Differential Research
Problems in Determining Causation
Confounding Variables
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Hypothesis Testing, Validity, and Threats to Validity
Hypothesis Testing
Starting Research with an Initial Idea
Statement of the Problem
Operational Definitions
Research Hypothesis
The Contribution of Theory to the Research Hypothesis
Testing the Research Hypothesis
Validity and Threats to Validity
Statistical Validity
Construct Validity
External Validity
Internal Validity
Major Confounding Variables
Maturation
History
Testing
Instrumentation
Regression to the Mean
Selection
Attrition
Diffusion of Treatment
Sequence Effects
Examples of Confounding
Subject and Experimenter Effects
Subject Effects
Experimenter Effects
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Controls to Reduce Threats to Validity
General Control Procedures
Preparation of the Setting
Response Measurement
Replication
Control over Subject and Experimenter Effects
Single- and Double-Blind Procedures
Automation
Using Objective Measures
Multiple Observers
Using Deception
Control through Participant Selection and Assignment
Participant Selection
Participant Assignment
Advantages of Random Assignment
Control through Experimental Design
Ethical principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Single-Variable, Independent-Groups Designs
Variance
Sources of Variance
Controlling Variance in Research
Nonexperimental Approaches
Ex Post Facto Studies
Single-Group, Posttest-Only Studies
Single-Group, Pretest-Posttest Studies
Pretest-Posttest, Natural Control-Group Studies
Experimental Designs
Randomized, Posttest-Only, Control-Group Design
Randomized, Pretest-Posttest, Control-Group Design
Multilevel, Completely Randomized, Between-Subjects Design
Pretest-Manipulation Interaction: A Potential Problem
Analyses of Variance
Specific Means Comparisons in ANOVA
Graphing the Data
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Correlated-Groups and Single-Subject Designs
Within-Subjects Designs
Using Within-Subjects Designs
Analyzing Within-Subjects Designs
Strengths and Weaknesses of Within-Subjects Designs
Matched-Subjects Designs
Using Matched-Subjects Designs
Analyzing Matched-Subjects Designs
Strengths and Weaknesses of Matched-Subjects Designs
Single-Subject Experimental Designs
ABA Reversal Design
Multiple-Baseline Design
Single-Subject, Randomized, Time-Series Design
Replication in Single-Subject Designs
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Factorial Designs
Factorial Designs
Main Effects and Interactions
Possible Outcomes of Factorial Designs
An Example: Children's Dark-Fears Study
Analysis of Variance in Factorial Designs
Variations of Basic Factorial Design
Within-Subjects or Repeated-Measures Factorial
Mixed Designs
ANOVA: A Postscript
Analysis of Covariance
Multivariate Analysis of Variance
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
A Second Look at Field Research: Field Experiments, Program Evaluation, and Survey Research
Conducting Field Research
Reasons for Doing Field Research
Difficulties in Field Research
Flexibility in Research
Quasi-Experimental Designs
Nonequivalent Control-Group Designs
Interrupted Time-Series Designs
Program Evaluation Research
Practical Problems in Program Evaluation Research
Issues of Control
Typical Program Evaluation Designs
Program Evaluation Research: An Example
Surveys
Types of Surveys
Steps in Survey Research
Types of Survey Instruments
Developing the Survey Instrument
Sampling Participants
Survey Research Design
Ethical Principles
Summary
Putting It into Practice
Exercises
Final Note
Using the Student Resource Website
Resources Available
What to Do If You Have Problems
Getting Help
Appendix Summary
Writing a Research Report in APA Style
Structure of a Research Article
Writing the Research Report
Writing Style
Summary
Conducting Library Research
Using the Library
How Research Materials Are Organized
Finding the Relevant Research
Search Strategies
Summary
Selecting Statistical Procedures
Selecting Appropriate Statistical Procedures
Summary
Exercises
Research Design Checklist
Initial Problem Definition
Clarity of the Research Hypotheses
Statistical Analysis Procedures
Theoretical Basis and Operational Definitions
Adequacy of the Independent Variable Manipulation
Adequacy of Dependent Measures
Are All Controls in Place?
Participants
Preparation of the Setting
Adequacy of Participant Preparation, Instruction, and Procedures
Random Numbers
Answers to Quick-Check Review Questions
Meta-Analysis
Glossary
References
Name Index
Subject Index
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