Doing Psychology

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 ?