Book Description

"In the pages of this handbook, you will find descriptions of many techniques that psychologists and others have developed to help them pursue a shared understanding of why humans think, feel, and behave the way they do. These are the tools that we use to conduct our rational analyses. At the broadest level, when choosing a method you make decisions about (a) what data or measurement techniques will best capture the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that interest you; (b) what research design best fits the question that you want to answer; and (c) what strategies for data analysis best match the characteristics of your design and measurements. The simplest choice for organizing the presentation of material is the temporal sequence in which you will make these decisions. This is roughly what we have done. So, the earliest chapters in Volume 1, Parts I and II, address the broadest questions related to research designs. These involve both (a) which research designs are most appropriate for which question and (b) how to think about the ethicality and feasibility of the designs that address your question and the measures available to you. Next, the chapters in Volume 1, Parts III and IV, describe the types of data that psychologists most often collect and how to determine whether the measurement techniques that you might choose are the best ones for your purpose"--Introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).