Research Methods in Psychology: A Handbook, Fourth Edition

402 Pages·2021·5.4 MB·English

by  Wendy A. Schweigert

Fourth Edition
Research Methods
in Psychology
A Handbook
Wendy A. Schweigert
Fourth Edition
Research Methods
in Psychology
A Handbook
Wendy A. Schweigert
Bradley University
For information about this book, contact:
Waveland Press, Inc.
4180 IL Route 83, Suite 101
Long Grove, IL 60047-9580
[phone]
[email protected]
www.waveland.com
Cover image by agsandrew (Shutterstock.com)
Copyright © 2021, 2012, 2006, 1998 by Wendy A. Schweigert
10-digit ISBN 1-4786-4525-3
13-digit ISBN 978-1-4786-4525-2
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing
from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
I dedicate this book to the memory of my mother,
Josephine B. Schweigert.
She taught me by her example
that if I wanted to do something I just needed to do it.

Contents
Preface xi
1
1
Introduction to the Scientific Method
The Scientific Method as a Way of Knowing 2
Intuition and Superstition 2
Authority 3
Rational-Inductive Argument 4
The Scientific Method 5
The Objectives of Science and the Scientific Method 9
Description as a Research Objective 9
Explanation and Prediction as Research Objectives 9
Control as a Research Objective 10
A Word About Theories 10
Research Criticism 13
Summary 14
™ Important Terms and Concepts 15
™ End of Chapter Questions 15
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 18
2
21
Ethics in Research
Ethical Treatment of Research Participants 22
Ethical Treatment of Human Participants:
Guidelines and Codes 22
Ethical Dilemmas 31
Ethical Treatment of Animal Participants 33
Ethics and the Reporting of Research Results 35
Ethics and the Sponsorship of Research 37
v
vi Contents
Summary 38
™ Important Terms and Concepts 38
™ End of Chapter Questions 39
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 41
3
43
The Research Process
Reliability and Validity 45
Internal Validity and Confounds 45
External Validity 46
Hypotheses and Predictions 48
Hypothesis Testing 50
Errors in Hypothesis Testing 51
The Probability of Making a Type I Error 53
The Probability of Making a Type II Error 54
Why We Do Not Accept the Null Hypothesis 56
How to Do Science 57
Summary 61
™ Important Terms and Concepts 62
™ End of Chapter Questions 62
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 63
4
65
Research Reports
and Literature Searches
Research Reports and Scholarly Journals 66
The Review Process 67
The Organization of Research Reports 68
How to Find Research Reports: The Literature Search 68
Using the Internet for Literature Searches 69
An Internet Search Example 70
Information Provided in Search Results 71
Other Sources of Potentially Useful Citations 71
Citing References in the Text 73
A Citation 74
The Reference List 74
Summary 75
™ Important Terms and Concepts 76
™ End of Chapter Questions 76
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 76
Contents vii
5
77
The Role of Statistics in Research
Scales of Measurement 78
Nominal Scale 79
Ordinal Scale 79
Interval Scale 80
Ratio Scale 81
Importance of Scales of Measurement 81
Types of Statistical Techniques 82
Describing the Data 82
Measures of Relationships 85
Comparing Scores 88
Summary 91
™ Important Terms and Concepts 93
™ End of Chapter Questions 93
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 94
6
97
Introduction to Experimentation
and the Between-Groups Design
Experiments Versus Correlational Studies: Causation 98
Equivalent Groups 100
Temporal Priority 104
Control Over Extraneous Variables 104
Internal Validity and Common Confounds 106
Experimenter Bias and Demand Characteristics 107
Instrumentation Effects 108
Subject Attrition 109
Different Treatment of Groups 109
Error Variance and Sensitivity of the Dependent Variable 110
Summary 112
™ Important Terms and Concepts 112
™ End of Chapter Questions 113
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 115
7
117
The Within-Subjects Design
Types of Within-Subjects Designs 118
Advantages of the Within-Subjects Design 119
Disadvantages of the Within-Subjects Design 121
viii Contents
Order Effects and Counterbalancing 124
Complete Within-Subjects Design 124
Incomplete Within-Subjects Design 127
Summary 129
™ Important Terms and Concepts 130
™ End of Chapter Questions 130
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 131
8
133
Quasi-Experimental Designs
Types of Research Designs 134
Types of Preexperimental
and Quasi-Experimental Designs 134
Preexperimental Designs 134
Quasi-Experimental Designs 136
Time-Series Designs 138
Threats to the Internal Validity of
Quasi-Experimental Designs 141
Summary 142
™ Important Terms and Concepts 144
™ End of Chapter Questions 144
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 146
9
149
More Complex Designs
and Research Questions
Factorial Designs 149
Using a Factorial Design 152
Interpreting Main Effects 155
Graphing the Cell Means 156
Other Types of Two-Factor Designs 157
Other Higher-Order Designs and Their Interactions 159
Questions of Relationships and Making Predictions 161
Summary 163
™ Important Terms and Concepts 164
™ End of Chapter Questions 165
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 168
10
171
Using Natural Settings: Observational
Studies and Field Experiments
Uses of Observational Studies and Field Experiments 172
Contents ix
Types of Observational Research Designs 173
Naturalistic Observation 173
Participant Observation 174
Field Experiments 176
Problems and Pitfalls of Observational Studies 177
Influence of the Observer on Behavior 177
Observer Bias 178
Biases Resulting From the Use of Nonhuman Observers 179
Choosing the Type of Observational Design 180
Data Collection 180
Reliability 180
Techniques for Data Collection 181
Narrative Records 181
Checklists 183
Types of Data Collected 184
Sampling Techniques 185
Behavior Sampling 185
Situation Sampling 186
Summary 186
™ Important Terms and Concepts 187
™ End of Chapter Questions 187
™ Answers to Select End of Chapter Questions 189
11
193
Surveys and Interviews
Surveys Versus Questionnaires 194
Surveys: How and Why to Use Them 195
Written Surveys 195
Mail Surveys 195
Internet Surveys 199
Group-Administered Surveys 201
Interviews 201
Telephone Surveys 201
Personal Interviews 202
Survey Construction 205
Layout of Questions 205
Wording of Questions and Response Options 207
Closed and Open-Ended Questions 207
Question Wording and Structure 210
Measurement Tools 213
Survey Development and Pilot Study 214
Sampling Techniques 215