Research Methods and Statistics

Janie Wilson received her PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina in 1994. Since that time, she has been teaching and conducting research at Georgia Southern University. In the classroom, Dr. Wilson specializes in teaching and learning in statistics and research methods. Research interests include rapport in teaching based on empirical data on the first day of class, electronic communications, interactions with students in a traditional classroom, syllabus design, and the development and validation of the Professor-Student Rapport Scale. Recent publications include two brief texts with SAGE: An EasyGuide to Research Presentations and An EasyGuide to Research Design and SPSS. Along with her colleague, Shauna Joye, she recently published Research Methods and Statistics: An Integrated Approach with SAGE. Dr. Wilson has contributed numerous chapters to edited books and has co-edited several books related to teaching and learning. She has published extensively on the scholarship of teaching and learning and has offered over 60 conference presentations, including several invited keynote addresses. Dr. Wilson is the Past President of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP), Division Two of APA.  Dr. Shauna Joye I earned a B.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Florida State University. During graduate and post-doctoral training, my research and clinical work focused on early childhood learning, attention disorders, temperament, and autism spectrum disorder, with an emphasis on measurement of these constructs. Currently, I am a faculty member at Georgia Southern University, and I examine clinical interventions to enhance self-control, including empirical research in mindfulness. I also work with combat veterans to determine the impact of therapeutic wilderness experiences on wellness. Finally, I continue to pursue a long-standing commitment to teaching and learning through scholarship in that area. I enjoy working with undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in learning more about the process of research, from study design and analysis to APA-style writing. Outside of teaching at Georgia Southern University, I maintain a private practice where I work as a child and adolescent therapist. My association memberships include the American Psychological Association, Society for Teaching of Psychology, Wilderness Medical Society, and Association for Psychological Science. 

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Section I- Foundations of Design and Analysis
Chapter 1- The Scientific Method
Empirical Data
Step 1: Ask a Question
Choose a Topic
Ask a Simple Question
Step 2: Read the Published Literature
Locate Research
Choose a Specific Question
Step 3: Create a Method
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Data
Step 5: Answer the Research Question
Step 6: Share Your Results
Research in Psychology: APA Style
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Chapter 2- Ethical Research
Ethical Treatment of Participants
Assessing Risk to Participants
Literature Review
Hypothesis
The Sample
Method
Statistics and the Data
Benefits
Risk
Appendices
Personnel
Certification of Ethics Training
Deception
Testing of Special Populations
Medical Procedures
Animal Research
Informed Consent
Treating Participants Ethically
Ethics After Testing Participants
Data Entry
Data Analysis
Writing a Presentation or Manuscript
Authorship Issues
Presenting and Publishing Research
Who Is Harmed by Unethical Behavior?
Ethical Data-Collection Methods
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Chapter 3- Research Designs and Variables
Correlational Design
Longitudinal Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Experimental Design
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Cause and Effect
Random Assignment
Extraneous Variables
Internal Validity
Levels of Measurement
Nominal Variable
Ordinal Variable
Interval Variable
Ratio Variable
Why Do We Care?
Summarizing Variables: Central Tendency
Mode
Median
Mean
Summarizing Variables: Variability
Range
Standard Deviation
SPSS: Summarizing Variables
Nominal Data
Ordinal Data
Interval and Ratio Data
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
Reference
Chapter 4- Learning About a Population From a Sample
Selecting a Sample
Random Sampling
Cluster Sampling
Stratified Random Sampling
Convenience Sampling
Bias in a Sample
Inferential Statistics
Sampling Error
Probability
Hypothesis Testing
Significance
p-values and Effect Size
Power and Sample Size
Degrees of Freedom
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
Section II- Categorical Variables and Simple Frequency
Chapter 5- One Variable With Frequency Data
Research Design: Categorizing Participants
One-Way Chi Square With Equal Expected Frequencies
SPSS: One-Way Chi Square With Equal Expected Frequencies
Effect Size: Cohen’s w
APA Style for the One-Way Chi Square With Equal Expected Frequencies
Power
One-Way Chi Square With Unequal Expected Frequencies
SPSS: One-Way Chi Square With Unequal Expected Frequencies
APA Style for the One-Way Chi Square With Unequal Expected Frequencies
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Chapter 6- Two Variables With Frequency Data
Research Design: Two Categorical Variables
Two-Way Chi Square: 2 × 3 Design
Power
SPSS: 2 × 3 Chi Square
Effect Size: Contingency Coefficient and Cramer’s V
APA Style for the 2 × 3 Chi Square
Two-Way Chi Square: 2 × 2 Design
Effect Size: Phi Coefficient
SPSS: 2 × 2 Chi Square
APA Style for the 2 × 2 Chi Square
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Section III- Research Without Grouping
Chapter 7- Examining Relationships
Pearson’s r: Seeking a Relationship
SPSS: Pearson’s r (Seeking a Relationship)
Two-Tailed Test
One-Tailed Test
Power
Graphs as Figures: Scatterplot
APA Style for Pearson’s r: Correlational Design
Pearson’s r: Seeking Cause and Effect
Previewing Data With a Scatterplot
SPSS: Pearson’s r (Seeking Cause and Effect)
Effect Size: Coefficient of Determination
APA Style for Pearson’s r: Experimental Design
Inaccurate Pearson’s r
When Pearson’s r Falsely Shows No Relationship
Outliers That Weaken Pearson’s r
Nonlinear Relationship
Restriction of Range
When Pearson’s r Falsely Shows a Relationship
Restriction of Range on a Curvilinear Relationship
Outliers That Strengthen Pearson’s r
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Chapter 8- Scale Development
Pearson’s r and Reliability of Measures
Test-Retest Reliability
Alternate-Forms Reliability
Split-Half Reliability
Cronbach’s Alpha and Reliability of Measures
SPSS: Scoring and Interpreting Measures
Reverse Scoring Items
Cronbach’s Alpha on SPSS
Scoring a Measure
Reliability With Subjective Measures: Interrater Reliability
Pearson’s r and Validity
Face Validity
Content Validity
Convergent Construct Validity
Discriminant Construct Validity
Predictive Validity
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Chapter 9- Prediction
Prediction and Correlation
Linear Regression: Prediction Using One Predictor
Correlation First
Linear Regression
Error in Predictions
SPSS: Linear Regression
Effect Size: Cohen’s f 2
APA Style for Linear Regression
Power
Multiple Linear Regression: Prediction With Two Predictors
SPSS: Multiple Linear Regression
APA Style for Multiple Linear Regression
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Section IV- Grouped Designs With Independent Samples
Chapter 10- One Variable With Two Independent Groups
Research Design: One IV With Two Levels
SPSS: Independent-Samples t-test With an IV
Directional Hypothesis
Effect Size: Cohen’s d
Confidence Intervals
Power
APA Style for the Independent-Samples t-test: Experimental Design
Graphs as Figures: Bar Graph
Outliers
Using a Quasi-IV to Establish a Relationship
SPSS: Independent-Samples t-test With a Quasi-IV
APA Style for the Independent-Samples t-test: Correlational Design
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Chapter 11- One Variable With More Than Two Independent Groups
Research Design: One IV With More Than Two Levels
SPSS: One-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA With an IV
Effect Size: Eta Squared
Post Hoc Comparisons
Confidence Intervals
Power
APA Style for the One-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA: Experimental Design
Analyzing a Quasi-IV With More Than Two Levels
SPSS: One-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA With a Quasi-IV
APA Style for the One-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA: Correlational Design
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Section V- Grouped Designs With Related Samples
Chapter 12- One Variable with Two Related Groups
Testing the Same People Twice
Problems With Testing the Same People Twice
Practice Effect
Fatigue Effect
History Effect
Maturation
Solving Order Problems by Counterbalancing
Avoiding Confounds
Research Design: One IV With Two Related Groups
SPSS: Related-Samples t-test (Experimental Design)
Confidence Intervals
Effect Size: Cohen’s d
APA Style for the Related-Samples t-test: Experimental Design
Power
Research Design: One Quasi-IV With Two Related Groups
SPSS: Related-Samples t-test (Correlational Design)
APA Style for the Related-Samples t-test: Correlational Design
Research Design: Testing Different People (Matched Pairs)
Matching Participants
Matching in a Two-Condition Study
The Matching Process
SPSS: Matched-Pairs t-test
APA Style for the Matched-Pairs t-test
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Chapter 13- One Variable With Repeated Measures: More Than Two Groups
Research Design: One IV With Repeated Measures
SPSS: One-Way, Repeated-Measures ANOVA (Experimental Design)
Sphericity
Effect Size: Eta Squared
Confidence Intervals
Power
APA Style for the One-Way, Repeated-Measures ANOVA: Experimental Design
Research Design: One Quasi-IV With Repeated Measures
SPSS: One-Way, Repeated-Measures ANOVA (Correlational Design)
APA Style for the One-Way, Repeated-Measures ANOVA: Correlational Design
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Section VI- Advanced Design
Chapter 14- Two Variables With Independent Samples
Research Design: Two IVs With Independent Samples
SPSS: Two-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA (No Significant Interaction)
Effect Size: Eta Squared
Post Hoc for a Main Effect
Confidence Intervals
Power
Graphing a Main Effect
APA Style for Two-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA With Main Effects
Research Design: One IV and One Quasi-IV With Independent Groups
SPSS: Two-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA (Significant Interaction)
Examining the Interaction
Post Hoc for an Interaction
Graphing an Interaction
APA Style for the Two-Way, Between-Groups ANOVA With an Interaction
Summary
Review of Terms
Practice Items
References
Appendices
Appendix A- Power Analysis Table
Appendix B- Graphing in Excel
Scatterplots
Bar Graphs
Line Graphs
Interaction Graphs
Appendix C- APA-Style Manuscript Guidelines
Key Elements in APA-Style Writing
The Basics
Title Page
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References
Tables, Figures, and Appendices
Common Mistakes and Tips for Writing
Example Paper With Comments
Example Paper Without Comments
Appendix D- Selected Answers to Practice Items
Appendix E- Glossary of Terms
Index