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Starting Out in Methods and Statistics for Psychology: a Hands-on Guide to Doing Research takes first year psychology students through the entire process of doing research in psychology, from exploring designs and methods, to conducting step-by-step, by-hand data analysis, and writing up their findings, all in a friendly and accessible way.
The text begins by presenting a thorough overview of research, explaining its central role in psychology as a science and exploring how to read and present research findings before introducing students to both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. The author then explores experimental and correlational designs in detail, introducing the general principles before addressing the logic of the specific data analyses used in these forms of design. Dedicated chapters show students how
to calculate independent and repeated t tests, and independent measures ANOVA in the experimental design section, and correlation and regression analyses in the correlation section. After guiding students through these essentials, the author moves on to a detailed explanation of when to use
non-parametric tests, and again takes students through these data analyses in a carefully-paced series of hand calculations. The text concludes with a clear guide to when to use which test, and takes a look forward to the sorts of statistical analyses students will encounter in both published research and the next phase of their studies.
Online Resource Centre
For students:
- A diagnostic maths test to help students identify their - strengths and weaknesses
- Example lab reports (good and bad)
- Example ethics applications forms
- Full answers to the in-text study questions
- SPSS screencasts
- Links to papers and websites
For lecturers:
- Worksheets with additional datasets
- Fully worked answers to worksheets
- Testbank
- Figures and tables from the book, ready to download
- Animated solutions to the hand calculations
List of contents
- Part One: Introduction
- 1: An overview of how to do research
- 2: How to design a psychological study: the basics of methodology
- 3: How to find, read, write and think about research papers
- 4: Qualitative methods in psychological research
- 5: The basics of statistical analysis
- Part Two: Experimental Design
- 6: How to design an experiment
- 7: How can I tell if scores differ between two groups? Independent t test
- 8: How can I tell if scores differ between two conditions? Repeated t test
- 9: How can I tell if scores differ between three or more groups? One-way independent measures ANOVA
- Part Three: Correlational Design
- 10: How to design a correlational study
- 11: How can I tell if two variables are correlated? Pearson's correlation
- 12: How can I tell if one variable can predict another? Simple linear regression
- Part Four: Non-parametric Statistics
- 13: When and why might I need to use non-parametric statistics?
- 14: Do my data fit the expected frequencies? Chi square
- 15: Are there differences between groups or conditions? Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon signed rank tests
- 16: Is there a relationship between two variables? Spearman's correlation
- Part Five: Beyond the Basics
- 17: Which statistical test should I use?
- 18: Moving beyond the basics of research and analysis: how do I understand more complicated research designs?
About the author
Victoria Bourne is Senior Lecturer (Teaching Focussed) at Royal Holloway, University of London. She has taught research methodology and statistical analysis at all levels from first year undergraduate students through to advanced postdoctoral researchers. At Royal Holloway she is the overall coordinator for research methods and statistical training throughout the undergraduate degree. Dr Bourne is the co-author, with Graham Hole, of
Face Processing: Psychological, Neuropsychological, and Applied Perspectives, published by OUP in 2010.
Summary
Starting Out in Methods and Statistics for Psychology: a Hands-on Guide to Doing Research takes first year psychology students through the entire process of doing research in psychology from exploring designs and methods, to conducting step-by-step, by-hand data analysis, and writing up their findings, in a friendly and accessible way.
Additional text
The writer seems genuinely excited and interested in the topic - and most importantly shows it through her writing! It's a really enjoyable, educational read and encourages reader interaction with the material throughout. I would definitely recommend this book!
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A well-written and accessible text, perfectly positioned for a year one student Julia Robertson, Buckinghamshire New University
