How to Design and Report Experiments


Book Description

How to Design and Report Experiments is the perfect textbook and guide to the often bewildering world of experimental design and statistics. It provides a complete map of the entire process beginning with how to get ideas about research, how to refine your research question and the actual design of the experiment, leading on to statistical procedure and assistance with writing up of results. While many books look at the fundamentals of doing successful experiments and include good coverage of statistical techniques, this book very importantly considers the process in chronological order with specific attention given to effective design in the context of likely methods needed and expected results. Without full assessment of these aspects, the experience and results may not end up being as positive as one might have hoped. Ample coverage is then also provided of statistical data analysis, a hazardous journey in itself, and the reporting of findings, with numerous examples and helpful tips of common downfalls throughout. Combining light humour, empathy with solid practical guidance to ensure a positive experience overall, How to Design and Report Experiments will be essential reading for students in psychology and those in cognate disciplines with an experimental focus or content in research methods courses.




Designing And Reporting Experiments In Psychology


Book Description

The third edition of this text offers expanded advice and updated guidelines to students on designing and writing reports of experimental and other studies in psychology.




Designing and Reporting Experiments in Psychology


Book Description

This book will help undergraduate psychology students to write practical reports of experimental and other quantitative studies in psychology. It is designed to help with every stage of report writing and provides a resource that students can refer to throughout their degree, up-to and including when writing up a final year undergraduate project. Now fully updated in its fourth edition, this book maps to the seventh edition of the APA guidelines and offers more comprehensive advice, guidelines and recommendations than ever before. Students will benefit from: •Coverage of different forms of quantitative study, including online studies and studies that use questionnaires, as well as experiments •A range of handy test yourself questions (with answers at the end of the book) •Self-reflection questions to prompt deeper understanding •Summary sections that articulate the main points and provide a useful revision aid •An Index of Concepts indicating where in the book every concept is introduced and defined •Updated advice on how to find and cite references •Expanded coverage of ethics in quantitative research, including how to write ethically •Common mistake symbols, flagging areas where its easy to be caught out Peter Harris is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK where he led the Social and Applied Psychology Group. He has taught research design and statistics for many years. He has published extensively in social and health psychology. Matthew J. Easterbrook is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK. He has taught statistics at a national and international level. Jessica S. Horst is Reader in Psychology at the University of Sussex, UK, where she is also the Director of Teaching and Learning. She has taught research methods in both the USA and the UK.




Doing Psychology Experiments


Book Description

Even if you have no background in experimentation, this clear, straightforward book can help you design, execute, interpret, and report simple experiments in psychology. David W. Martin's unique blend of informality, humor, and solid scholarship have made this concise book a popular choice for methods courses in psychology. Doing Psychology Experiments guides you through the experimentation process in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step manner. Decision-making aspects of research are emphasized, and the logic behind research procedures is fully explained.




Experiments in Psychology


Book Description

This book combines the salient features of the methodology of experiments in psychology, the concepts of general experimental psychology, and the advantages of laboratory manual. It aims at developing in the student the understanding and skill to pose a problem, and to plan and conduct an experiment to answer it. Complete reports of a number of experiments have been given which, though based on hypothetical data, will enable students to realise that every step has a rationale behind it. Accounts of related problems and, in several cases, description of the ways to answer them, supplement the detailed reports. Aware of the importance of group experiments in the world of today, the author has included experiments highlighting some special features of group experiments like selection of sample, design of group experiments and treatment of group data. The author has also taken care to avoid use of costly apparatus to carry out the experiments worked out in the book, depending largely on locally improvised materials. This is an unvaluable book for students and teachers of psychology, especially for those in Indian universities.




Designing Experiments for the Social Sciences


Book Description

"This book is a must for learning about the experimental design–from forming a research question to interpreting the results this text covers it all." –Sarah El Sayed, University of Texas at Arlington Designing Experiments for the Social Sciences: How to Plan, Create, and Execute Research Using Experiments is a practical, applied text for courses in experimental design. The text assumes that students have just a basic knowledge of the scientific method, and no statistics background is required. With its focus on how to effectively design experiments, rather than how to analyze them, the book concentrates on the stage where researchers are making decisions about procedural aspects of the experiment before interventions and treatments are given. Renita Coleman walks readers step-by-step on how to plan and execute experiments from the beginning by discussing choosing and collecting a sample, creating the stimuli and questionnaire, doing a manipulation check or pre-test, analyzing the data, and understanding and interpreting the results. Guidelines for deciding which elements are best used in the creation of a particular kind of experiment are also given. This title offers rich pedagogy, ethical considerations, and examples pertinent to all social science disciplines.




Quasi-Experimentation


Book Description

Featuring engaging examples from diverse disciplines, this book explains how to use modern approaches to quasi-experimentation to derive credible estimates of treatment effects under the demanding constraints of field settings. Foremost expert Charles S. Reichardt provides an in-depth examination of the design and statistical analysis of pretest-posttest, nonequivalent groups, regression discontinuity, and interrupted time-series designs. He details their relative strengths and weaknesses and offers practical advice about their use. Reichardt compares quasi-experiments to randomized experiments and discusses when and why the former might be a better choice. Modern moethods for elaborating a research design to remove bias from estimates of treatment effects are described, as are tactics for dealing with missing data and noncompliance with treatment assignment. Throughout, mathematical equations are translated into words to enhance accessibility.




EXPERIMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY


Book Description

Primarily intended for the undergraduate and postgraduate students of psychology, this book will help understand the methodology of experiments and the basic concepts of experimental psychology. Since the experiments are described in detail with the help of purely hypothetical data, the readers will easily understand the procedure and the steps involved in each experiment. Complete reports of more than fifty experiments will certainly help understand the significance of each step in an experiment. The detailed description of experiments will also help in conceptualising relevant problems and designing appropriate experiments. Another feature is that, more than half of the experiments described in the book do not require sophisticated apparatus. Key Features • Sample data are provided in each experiment. • Theoretical background of experiments is sufficient and clear. • Sample data are analysed with the help of statistical techniques. • Language is lucid and easy to comprehend. • Experiments on most of the topics have been covered.




Methods in Psychological Research


Book Description

Methods in Psychological Research introduces students to the rich world of research in psychology through student-friendly writing, compelling real-world examples, and frequent opportunities for practice. Using a relaxed yet supportive tone that eases student anxiety, the authors present a mixture of conceptual and practical discussions, and spark reader interest in research by covering meaningful topics that resonate with today’s students. In-text features like Conceptual Exercises, FYI sections, and FAQ sections with accompanying visual cues support learning throughout the research experience. The Fourth Edition equips students with the tools they need to understand research concepts, conduct their own experiments, and present their findings.




The Design of Experiments in Neuroscience


Book Description

Originally published in 2006, the second edition of The Design of Experiments in Neuroscience continues to be an excellent and eminently readable guideline for students beginning their scientific careers. Although all of the examples are specific to neuroscience, this slender volume offers valuable illumination on core practices, principles, and experimental approaches pertinent for all new researchers. Chapter topics cover recognizing pseudoscience, ethics, how to critically read journal articles, how to pick an experimental question, basic research design, controlling variables, and tips for becoming an independent investigator. Each of the eight chapters provides descriptive figures and extra information boxes, questions to check reader comprehension, additional thought questions, further reading suggestions, and Web resources. The six appendixes are as valuable as the main text, including information on working with data, writing research papers, a sample paper, questions and exercises for review, a glossary, and answers to chapter questions. Neuroscientist Harrington (Smith College) has created a wonderful resource that should be a must read for every neuroscientist in training, if not all novice scientists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students. Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students. Reviewed by C. L. Iwema.