Beginning Behavioral Research: A Conceptual Primer

Continuing the Chain of Discovery and Understanding

Beginning Behavioral Research introduces students to the broad base and conceptual underpinnings of basic principles of ethical research with human participants from (a) the development of ideas and testable hypotheses, to (b) the selection of appropriate methods of measurement and data collection, to (c) the design and implementation of empirical research, to (d) the statistical analysis and interpretation of results, and finally, to (e) the reporting of findings and conclusions. The authors emphasize good research, empirical reasoning, and the continuity of psychological science in the continuing cycle of discovery and understanding.

The beginning in the title of this text is intended to have a double meaning. It not only describes the level of the material but also conveys the idea of a journey. For some students, the journey will be completed at the end of the course in which this text is used. For others, the journey will have just begun. In either case, students will have a deeper understanding of the applicability and limits of the scientific method. They will also have learned how to frame questions about the scientific results they read or hear about in the media in ways that will allow them to reach beyond other people’s conclusions or assertions and decide for themselves what is true.

Additional Learning Goals

Upon completing this book, students who are expected to conduct a research study should be able to:

• Craft a research idea that can be empirically tested
• Choose methods of data collection and measurement
• Develop a research proposal
• Design and implement the research study
• Approach the research data
• Test and evaluate hypotheses and explore the results
• Report the research project in the APA style

ValuePack ISBN-10: 0205871895 / ValuePack ISBN-13: 9780205871896

The book contains predominantly black-and-white illustrations, with some color illustrations.

Ralph L. Rosnow is now Thaddeus Bolton Professor Emeritus at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, where he taught courses in research methods and statistics for many years and directed the Ph.D. program in social and organizational psychology. He also taught research methods at Boston University in a master’s degree program in communication research and at Harvard University as a visiting professor in the psychology department.

http://astro.temple.edu/~rosnow

Robert Rosenthal is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California at Riverside and Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Harvard University. In the realm of statistical data analysis, his special interests are in experimental design and analysis, contrast analysis, and meta-analysis. He served as co-chair of the Task Force on Statistical Inference of the American Psychological Association.

http://psych.ucr.edu/faculty/rosenthal