Doing Psychology: An Introduction to Research Methodology and Statistics

Abstract

Introduction Research in Psychology Objectives and Ideals Research Methods Experimental Design Survey Design Descriptive Statistics Some Principles of Statistical Inference Examining Differences between Means The t-test Examining Relationships between Variables Correlation Research Ethics Conclusion Managing Uncertainty in Psychological Research The chapters in detail Chapter One: Introduction 'Why do I have to do this?' the structure of this book and an overview of the chapters how to use this book Chapter Two: Research in Psychology: Objectives and Ideals What is psychological research and why do it? how does psychological research progress? principles of good research some notes of caution Chapter Three: Research Methods Psychological measurement the experimental method the quasi-experimental method the survey method the case study method overview Chapter Four: Experimental Design Choosing an independent variable choosing a dependent variable choosing an experimental sample threats to internal validity threats to external validity Chapter Five: Survey Design The differences between surveys and experiments setting the question finding a sample types of survey overview: designing a survey Chapter Six: Descriptive Statistics Different forms of research data describing a typical score: measures of central tendency the relationship between measures of central tendency and a response distribution describing the spread of scores: measures of dispersion observed distributions Chapter Seven: Some Principles of Statistical Inference Statistical inference inferences about individual scores inferences about means overview Chapter Eight: Examining Differences between Means: The t-test Student's t-distribution comparing the results for a single sample to a specific value within-subjects t-tests between-subjects t-tests the controversy about what to do with t-values handling the results of t-te Chapter Nine: Examining Relationships between Variables: Correlation Some basic principles of correlation the measurement of correlation interpreting and making inferences about correlations some notes of caution conclusion Chapter Ten: Research Ethics Science and society participation in research research with animals final comment Chapter Eleven: Conclusion: Managing Uncertainty in Psychological Research 'Where has all this got us?' managing uncertainty in psychological research final comment Appendices: Step-by-step guides to computing t-tests and correlations statistical tables *