Discovering Research Methods in Psychology: A Student's Guide presents an accessible introduction to the research methodology techniques that underpin the field of psychology
Offers a unique narrative approach to introducing the complexities of psychological research methods to first year students
Introduces the reader to the three main types of research methods used in psychology - observation, experimentation and survey methods
Provides clear summaries of 21st-century published studies that reflect diversity and best illustrate issues in research methodology
Includes an emphasis on topics of most interest to students, from those with a personal perspective such as romantic relationships, prejudice and career decisions, to clinical topics including eating disorders, heavy drinking and paranoia
Features a comprehensive glossary of all research terminology used in the narrative
Acknowledgements vii
1. Introduction and How To Use This Book 1
2. Ethics 4
3. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 15
Experiment - A Randomised Controlled Trial
4. Music and Stress 27
Experiment - A Matched Pairs Design
5. Competitive Anxiety 41
Experiment - A Repeated Measures Design
6. Change Blindness 51
Experiment - A Single Sample Design
7. Acoustic Preferences 67
Programme of Experiments - Animal Studies
8. Cognitive Costs of Racial Prejudice 83
Experiment - Unrelated Three-Factor Design, Between Groups and Between Conditions
9. Mate-Selection Strategies 96
Experiment - A Mixed Two-Factor Design, Within and Between Groups
10. The Autistic Spectrum 110
Structured Observation
11. Cognitive Maps 121
Clinical/Laboratory Observation
12. Eating Disorders and the Media 134
Observation - Quantitative Content Analysis
13. Eating Disorders: The Experience 146
Observation - Qualitative Content Analysis
14. Face Recognition 157
Observation - Clinical Case Study
15. Choices and Decisions 166
Survey Methods - Quantitative Questionnaire
16. Measuring Romance 181
Survey Methods - Scale Development
17. Paranoia 196
Survey Methods - Interview
18. Understanding Heavy Drinking 207
Survey Methods - Qualitative and Quantitative
19. Attributing Success and Failure 217
Cross-Cultural Study Using Mixed Methods
20. Contrasting the Methods 231
An Overview
Key Topics 246
BPS Ethical Principles for Conducting Research with Human Participants 268
Glossary 275
References 309
Index 320
