Description
Research Methods in Psychology: Evaluating a World of Information, Fourth Edition
Most psychology majors will never run a laboratory study, but nearly all of them will spend their careers reading claims that say they are backed by research. Beth Morling built this research methods in psychology text around that gap: it treats the reader of research as seriously as the producer of it, and asks students to identify what kind of claim is being made, what design would support it, and whether the study in front of them actually delivers.
The book runs on one analytical framework instead of a parade of unconnected designs, and its examples come from popular media, so the skill transfers outside the classroom.
Three kinds of claims and the validities behind them
Chapters organize evidence around three kinds of claims: frequency, association and causal, each requiring different evidence. Four validities, construct, external, statistical and internal, work as a consistent set of questions students apply throughout the book. Measurement chapters cover operational definitions and the reliability and validity of the measures themselves.
From surveys to small-N designs
Coverage runs from surveys and observation through correlational studies, simple and multivariate experiments, quasi-experiments and small-N designs. The statistics chapters explain what results mean rather than how to calculate them. Separate chapters cover ethics in psychological research and replication, including the field’s own reckoning with reproducibility.
Who reads this book
- Undergraduate psychology students taking a required research methods course.
- Sociology, education, nursing and criminal justice students who need the same skills.
- Graduate students revisiting design and validity before a thesis.
- Readers who want to evaluate science journalism and health claims for themselves.
Book details
- Title: Research Methods in Psychology: Evaluating a World of Information
- Author: Beth Morling
- Edition: Fourth Edition
- Publisher: W. W. Norton and Company
- ISBN-13: 9780393536263
- Format: Paperback, 672 pages
Questions buyers ask
Who is this research methods book for?
Undergraduate psychology majors taking a required research methods course, plus sociology, education, nursing and criminal justice students who need the same evaluation skills. Graduate students also use it to review design and validity before a thesis.
Do I need a strong statistics background?
No. The statistics chapters explain what results mean rather than how to calculate them, so the book does not assume heavy math preparation.
What makes this edition different from other research methods texts?
It treats the reader as a consumer of research, not only a future producer of it, and organizes every chapter around three kinds of claims, with four validities used throughout as a consistent set of questions.
What format does it ship in?
Paperback, 672 pages, published by W. W. Norton and Company.
Does the book cover replication and reproducibility?
Yes. A chapter addresses replication and generalization, including the field’s own reckoning with reproducibility.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.