Research methods and statistics / Ian Walker.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

How do you design a research project? What is the difference in method between qualitative and quantitative research? How should psychologists go about considering the ethics of research methodology? For the 'students who ask questions', this concise text provides an informative introduction to the methods of psychological research, offering an overview of the primary stages in research. From learning how to construct the initial aims and criterion of a study to presenting the final resulting data into tables and graphs, this book aims to guide psychologists through the tools that make psychological research and the understanding of its resulting data possible. Written with enthusiasm and lucidity, Walker guides readers through the appropriate methods for undertaking research, explaining the discerning features of the core types of research, the primary measurements of statistics such as the chi-squared , t and Mann-Whitney U tests and brings an apt consideration of what makes a psychological study ethical. Whether desiring to learn about how to empirically record and measure the psychological experience of an individual or the behavioural factors of an entire population, Research Methods and Statistics is the introductory short-text for learning how to undertake successful research.

This title stands as part of the Insights series edited by Nigel Holt and Rob Lewis, containing versatile, quick guides to the cornerstone theories, main topics and theoretical perspectives of their subjects and are useful for pre-undergraduate students looking to find incisive introductions to subjects that they may be considering for undergraduate study or those looking for helpful preparatory reading for undergraduate modules in the prospective subject. Also useful for undergraduate psychology-students who feel that they could benefit from some background reading in this often less-understood area of psychology.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of figures (p. viii)
• Note from series editors (p. x)
• Preface (p. xii)
• Section 1 Research Methods (p. 1)
• 1 Introduction (p. 3)
• 2 The first three stages of designing a research project (p. 10)
• 3 Who will you test and what will this tell you? Understanding populations and samples (p. 21)
• 4 Major types of quantitative research (p. 29)
• 5 Qualitative research and questionnaires (p. 45)
• 6 Research ethics (p. 54)
• Section 2 Statistics (p. 63)
• 7 Using statistics to describe research findings (p. 67)
• 8 Displaying data with graphs and tables (p. 86)
• 9 Hypothesis testing, and the only two errors you can possibly make with statistics (p. 96)
• 10 Did you see what you expected to see? Understanding the chi-squared test (p. 116)
• 11 One of the most useful things you'll ever learn: the normal distribution (p. 132)
• 12 When is a number not a number? Understanding levels of measurement (p. 146)
• 13 How to tell whether two sets of numbers are different from each other (p. 156)
• 14 Looking at relationships - measures of correlation (p. 181)
• 15 Analysing and presenting qualitative data (p. 197)
• Section 3 Reports, and some thoughts (p. 203)
• 16 Writing research reports (p. 205)
• 17 A few short warnings about statistics (p. 212)
• 18 Statistics in the real world (p. 218)
• Appendix A Normal distribution table (p. 220)
• Appendix B Worked examples of tests for comparing two means: t-tests, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test (p. 224)
• Appendix C Calculating correlations (p. 241)
• Glossary (p. 245)
• Index (p. 252)
• Reading guide (p. 258)

Author notes provided by Syndetics