Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences

Gregory J. Privitera is a professor of psychology at St. Bonaventure University where he is a recipient of its highest teaching honor, The Award for Professional Excellence in Teaching, and its highest honor for scholarship, The Award for Professional Excellence in Research and Publication. Dr. Privitera received his PhD in behavioral neuroscience in the field of psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo and continued with his postdoctoral research at Arizona State University. He is a nationally award-winning author and research scholar. His textbooks span across diverse topics in psychology and the behavioral sciences, including an introductory psychology text, four statistics texts, two research methods texts, and multiple other texts bridging knowledge creation across health, health care, and analytics. In addition, Dr. Privitera has authored more than three dozen peer-reviewed papers aimed at advancing our understanding of health and informing policy in health care. His research has earned recognition by the American Psychological Association, and in media to include Oprah’s Magazine, Time Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. He mentors a variety of undergraduate research projects at St. Bonaventure University, where dozens of students, many of whom have gone on to earn graduate and doctoral degrees at various institutions, have coauthored and presented research work. In addition to his teaching, research, and advisement, Dr. Privitera is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, is an identical twin, and is married with two daughters, Grace Ann and Charlotte Jane, and two sons, Aiden Andrew and Luca James.  

Section 1: Scientific Inquiry
Chapter 1: Introduction to Scientific Thinking
1.1 Science as a Method of Knowing
1.2 The Scientific Method
1.3 Other Methods of Knowing
1.4 The Goals of Science
1.5 Approaches in Acquiring Knowledge
1.6 Distinguishing Science From Pseudoscience
Chapter 2: Generating Testable Ideas
2.1 Generating Interesting and Novel Ideas
2.2 Converting Ideas to Hypotheses and Theories
2.3 Developing Your Idea: Deduction and Induction
2.4 Performing a Literature Review
2.5 Ethics in Focus: Giving Proper Credit
2.6 The “3 Cs” of an Effective Literature Review
2.7 Testing Your Idea: Confirmation and Disconfirmation
2.8 Ethics in Focus: Publication Bias
Chapter 3: Research Ethics
3.1 Ethics in Behavioral Research
3.2 The Need for Ethics Committees in Research: A Historical Synopsis
3.3 Ethics in Focus: Examples From Psychology
3.4 Human Participant Research: IRBs and the APA Code of Conduct
3.5 Ethics in Focus: Anonymity and Confidentiality
3.6 Animal Subject Research: IACUCs and the APA Code of Conduct
3.7 Additional Ethical Considerations: Scientific Integrity
Section II: Defining and Measuring Variables, Selecting Samples, and Choosing an Appropriate Research Design
Chapter 4: Identifying Scientific Variables
4.1 Criteria for Defining and Measuring Variables
4.2 Constructs and Operational Definitions
4.3 Types of Variables
4.4 Scales of Measurement
4.5 Reliability of a Measurement
4.6 Validity of a Measurement
4.7. Selecting a Measurement Procedure
4.8 Ethics in Focus: Replication as a Gauge for Fraud?
4.9 SPSS in Focus: Entering and Coding Data
Chapter 5: Sampling From Populations
5.1 Why Do Researchers Select Samples?
5.2 Subjects, Participants, and Sampling Methods
5.3 Methods of Sampling: Nonprobability Sampling
5.4 Methods of Sampling: Probability Sampling
5.5 Sampling Error and Standard Error of the Mean
5.6 SPSS in Focus: Estimating the Standard Error of the Mean
5.7 Potential Biases in Sampling
5.8 Ethics in Focus: Participant Pools
5.9 SPSS in Focus: Identifying New Populations Using the One-Sample t Test
Chapter 6: Choosing a Research Design
6.1 Designing a Study to Answer a Question
6.2 Categories of Research Design
6.3 Internal and External Validity
6.4 Demonstrating Cause in an Experiment
6.5 Ethics in Focus: Beneficence and Random Assignment
6.6 Threats to the Internal Validity of a Research Study
6.7 Threats to the External Validity of a Research Study
6.8 External Validity, Experimentation, and Realism
6.9 A Final Thought on Validity and Choosing a Research Design
Section III: Nonexperimental Research Designs
Chapter 7: Naturalistic, Qualitative, and Existing Data Research Designs
Naturalistic Observation
7.1 An Overview of Naturalistic Observation
7.2 The Research Setting: Natural and Contrived Settings
7.3 Techniques for Conducting Naturalistic Observation
7.4 Ethics in Focus: Influencing Participant Behavior
Qualitative Designs
7.5 An Overview of Qualitative Designs
7.6 Qualitative Research Designs
7.7 Ethics in Focus: Anonymity in Qualitative Research
Existing Data Designs
7.8 An Overview of Existing Data Designs
7.9 Existing Data Designs
7.10 Ethics in Focus: Existing Data and Experimenter Bias
Chapter 8: Survey and Correlational Research Designs
Survey Designs
8.1 An Overview of Survey Designs
8.2 Types of Survey Items
8.3 Rules for Writing Survey Items
8.4 Administering Surveys
8.5 Surveys, Sampling, and Nonresponse Bias
8.6 Ethics in Focus: Handling and Administering Surveys
Correlational Designs
8.7 The Structure of Correlational Designs
8.8 Describing the Relationship Between Variables
8.9 Limitations in Interpretation
8.10 Correlation, Regression, and Prediction
8.11 SPSS in Focus: Correlation and Linear Regression
Section IV: Quasi- Experimental and Experimental Research Designs
Chapter 9: Quasi-Experimental and Single-Case Experimental Designs
Quasi-Experimental Designs
9.1 An Overview of Quasi-Experimental Designs
9.2 Quasi-Experimental Design: One-Group Designs
9.3 Quasi-Experimental Design: Nonequivalent Control Group Designs
9.4 Quasi-Experimental Design: Time Series Designs
9.5 Quasi-Experimental Design: Developmental Designs
9.6 Ethics in Focus: Development and Aging
Single-Case Experimental Designs
9.7 An Overview of Single-Case Designs
9.8 Single-Case Baseline-Phase Designs
9.9 Validity, Stability, Magnitude, and Generality
9.10 Ethics in Focus: The Ethics of Innovation
Chapter 10: Between-Subjects Experimental Designs
10.1 Conducting Experiments: Between-Subjects Design
10.2 Experimental Versus Control Group
10.3 Manipulation and the Independent Variable
10.4 Variability and the Independent Variable
10.5 Ethics in Focus: The Accountability of Manipulation
10.6 Comparing Two Independent Samples
10.7 SPSS in Focus: Two-Independent-Sample t Test
10.8 Comparing Two or More Independent Samples
10.9 SPSS in Focus: One-Way Between-Subjects ANOVA
10.10 Measuring the Dependent Variable
10.11 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Between-Subjects Design
Chapter 11: Within-Subjects Experimental Designs
11.1 Conducting Experiments: Within-Subjects Design
11.2 Controlling Time-Related Factors
11.3 Ethics in Focus: Minimizing Participant Fatigue
11.4 Individual Differences and Variability
11.5 Comparing Two Related Samples
11.6 SPSS in Focus: Related-Samples t Test
11.7 Comparing Two or More Related Samples
11.8 SPSS in Focus: One-Way Within-Subjects ANOVA
11.9 An Alternative to Pre-Post Designs: Solomon Four-Group Design
11.10 Comparing Between-Subjects and Within-Subjects Designs
Chapter 12: Factorial Experimental Designs
12.1 Testing Multiple Factors in the Same Experiment
12.2 Selecting Samples for a Factorial Design in Experimentation
12.3 Types of Factorial Designs
12.4 Ethics in Focus: Participant Fatigue and Factorial Designs
12.5 Main Effects and Interactions
12.6 Identifying Main Effects and Interactions in a Graph
12.7 Including Quasi-Independent Factors in an Experiment
12.8 Reasons for Including Two or More Factors in an Experiment
12.9 Higher-Order Factorial Designs
12.10 SPSS in Focus: General Instructions for Conducting a Factorial ANOVA
Section V: Analyzing, Intrepreting, and Communicating Research Data
Chapter 13: Analysis and Interpretation: Exposition of Data
13.1 Descriptive Statistics: Why Summarize Data?
13.2 Frequency Distributions: Tables and Graphs
13.3 Measures of Central Tendency
13.4 Measures of Variability
13.5 SPSS in Focus: Central Tendency and Variability
13.6 Graphing Means and Correlations
13.7 Using Correlation to Describe Reliability
13.8 SPSS in Focus: Cronbach’s Alpha and Cohen’s Kappa
13.9 Ethics in Focus: Deception Due to the Distortion of Data
Chapter 14: Analysis and Interpretation: Making Decisions About Data
14.1 Inferential Statistics: What Are We Making Inferences About?
14.2 Types of Error and Power
14.3 Parametric Tests: Applying the Decision Tree
14.4. Nonparametric Tests: Applying the Decision Tree
14.5 SPSS in Focus: The Chi-Square Tests
14.6 Effect Size: How Big Is an Effect in the Population?
14.7 Estimation: What Are the Possible Values of a Parameter?
14.8 Confidence Intervals, Significance, and Effect Size
14.9 Issues for Interpretation: Precision and Certainty
14.10 Ethics in Focus: Full Disclosure of Data
Chapter 15: Communicating Research: Preparing Manuscripts, Posters, and Talks
15.1 Elements of Communication
15.2 Writing a Manuscript: Writing Style and Language
15.3 Elements of an APA-Style Manuscript
15.4 Literature Reviews
15.5 Reporting Observations in Qualitative Research
15.6 Ethics in Focus: Credit and Authorship
15.7 Presenting a Poster
15.8 Giving a Professional Talk