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Read more about Research Methods in Psychology - 2nd Canadian Edition

Research Methods in Psychology - 2nd Canadian Edition

(2 reviews)

Rajiv S. Jhangiani, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

I-Chant A. Chiang, Quest University Canada

Copyright Year: 2015

Publisher: BCcampus

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of Use

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA

Reviews

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Reviewed by Bettina Spencer, Professor of Psychology, Saint Mary's College on 12/4/23

This book covers all of the main topics in research methods for psychology students. I appreciate that it also includes sections on qualitative methods as well as how to present results. read more

Reviewed by Lisa Elliott, Assistant Teaching Professor, Pennsylvania State University- The Behrend College on 2/1/18

The book covers all of the standard research methods topics that I cover in class. I believe that it is more comprehensive than most commercial texts as it includes how to write survey questions, a chapter on the significance/replicability... read more

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Science of Psychology

  • Understanding Science
  • Scientific Research in Psychology
  • Science and Common Sense
  • Science and Clinical Practice

Chapter 2: Getting Started in Research

  • Basic Concepts
  • Generating Good Research Questions
  • Reviewing the Research Literature

Chapter 3: Research Ethics

  • Moral Foundations of Ethical Research
  • From Moral Principles to Ethics Codes
  • Putting Ethics Into Practice

Chapter 4: Theory in Psychology

  • Phenomena and Theories
  • The Variety of Theories in Psychology
  • Using Theories in Psychological Research

Chapter 5: Psychological Measurement

  • Understanding Psychological Measurement
  • Reliability and Validity of Measurement
  • Practical Strategies for Psychological Measurement

Chapter 6: Experimental Research

  • Experiment Basics
  • Experimental Design
  • Conducting Experiments

Chapter 7: Nonexperimental Research

  • Overview of Nonexperimental Research
  • Correlational Research
  • Quasi-Experimental Research
  • Qualitative Research

Chapter 8: Complex Research Designs

  • Multiple Dependent Variables
  • Multiple Independent Variables
  • Complex Correlational Designs

Chapter 9: Survey Research

  • Overview of Survey Research
  • Constructing Survey Questionnaires
  • Conducting Surveys

Chapter 10: Single-Subject Research

  • Overview of Single-Subject Research
  • Single-Subject Research Designs
  • The Single-Subject Versus Group “Debate”

Chapter 11: Presenting Your Research

  • American Psychological Association (APA) Style
  • Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style
  • Other Presentation Formats

Chapter 12: Descriptive Statistics

  • Describing Single Variables
  • Describing Statistical Relationships
  • Expressing Your Results
  • Conducting Your Analyses

Chapter 13: Inferential Statistics

  • Understanding Null Hypothesis Testing
  • Some Basic Null Hypothesis Tests
  • Additional Considerations
  • From the “Replicability Crisis” to Open Science Practices

Ancillary Material

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About the Book

The present adaptation constitutes the second Canadian edition and was co-authored by Rajiv S. Jhangiani (Kwantlen Polytechnic University) and I-Chant A. Chiang (Quest University Canada) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Revisions include the following:

Chapter 1: Added a description of the “Many Labs Replication Project,” added a reference to the Neurobonkers website, and embedded videos about open access publishing, driver distraction, two types of empirical studies, and the use of evidence to evaluate the world around us.

Chapter 2: Updated the exemplar study in the chapter overview, added relevant examples and descriptions of contemporary studies, provided a link to an interactive visualization for correlations, added a description of double-blind peer review, added a figure to illustrate a spurious correlation, and embedded videos about how to develop a good research topic, searching the PsycINFO database, using Google Scholar, and how to read an academic paper.

Chapter 3: Added in LaCour ethical violation. Revised chapter headings and order to reflect TCPS-2 moral principles.

Chapter 4: Added in difference between laws and effects and theoretical framework.

Chapter 5: Added fuller descriptions of the levels of measurement, added a table to summarize the levels of measurement, added a fuller description of the MMPI, removed the discussion of the IAT, and added descriptions of concurrent, predictive, and convergent validity.

Chapter 6: Added in construct validity, statistical validity, mundane realism, psychological realism, Latin Square Design. Updated references.

Chapter 7: Added in mixed-design studies and fuller discussion of qualitative-quantitative debate.

Chapter 8: Added an exercise to sketch the 8 possible results of a 2 x 2 factorial experiment.

Chapter 9: Added information about Canadian Election Studies, more references, specific guidelines about order and open-ended questions, and rating scale. Updated online survey creation sites.

Chapter 11: Updated examples and links to online resources.

Chapter 13: Added discussion of p-curve and BASP announcement about banning p-values. Added a section that introduces the “replicability crisis” in psychology, along with discussions of questionable research practices, best practices in research design and data management, and the emergence of open science practices and Transparency and Openness Promotion guidelines.

Glossary of key terms: Added.

In addition, throughout the textbook, we revised the language to be more precise and to improve flow, added links to other chapters, added images, updated hyperlinks, corrected spelling and formatting errors, and changed references to reflect the contemporary Canadian context.

About the Contributors

Authors

Rajiv S. Jhangiani. Faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where I conduct research on open education, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and political psychology.

I am also an Open Learning Faculty Member at Thompson Rivers University, an OER Research Fellow with the Open Education Group, and an Associate Editor of Psychology Learning & Teaching. I formerly served as the Associate Editor of NOBA Psychology and as a Faculty Fellow with the BC Open Textbook Project

My professional affiliations include the Association for Psychological Science, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, the Society for Personality & Social Psychology, the Social Psychology Network, Sigma Xi, and the International Society of Political Psychology.

I-Chant A. Chiang. Growing up in a bilingual environment was the start of I-Chant’s interest in the intersection of language, culture, and thinking. Through studying English, she pursued her love of literature, writing and words. At the same time, I-Chant became fascinated with studying human behaviour through psychology. She received a BA and BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before heading to Stanford University for an MA and PhD in psychology. Her dual interests are combined by studying the psychology of language in the context of other disciplines, such as political science, communication, and education. Prior to Quest, I-Chant was at Aberystwyth University in Wales where she was a founding member of their psychology department. She recently published a textbook, Research Methods in Psychology – 2nd Canadian Edition, and an edited volume, Explorations in Political Psychology.

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