Research Methods: A Modular Approach

APPROACH Sherri Jackson's RESEARCH METHODS: A MODULAR combines a lively writing style with a novel approach to offer a refreshing alternative for the research methods course. Topics are treated in relatively compact units that, though logically sequenced, can be used in any order. The critical thinking theme that threads through the book engages your thinking by asking you to continually evaluate evidence. Brief, yet comprehensive, this text will help you master the material in an engaging way

Table of Contents:
1. THINKING LIKE A SCIENTIST. Module 1. Science and Psychology. Module 2. An Introduction to Research Methods. 2. GETTING STARTED. Module 3. Research ideas. Module 4. Ethical Research. 3. VARIABLES. Module 5. Defining, Measuring, and Manipulation Variables. Module 6. Reliability and Validity. 4. DESCRIPTIVE METHODS. Module 7. Observational and Qualitative Methods. Module 8. Survey Methods. 5. PREDICTIVE (RELATIONAL) METHODS. Module 9. Conducting Correlational Research. Module 10. Quasi-Experimental Designs. Module 11. Conducting Single-Case Research. 6. EXPLANATORY METHODS. Module 12. Between-Participants Experimental Designs. Module 13. Correlated 'Groups and Developmental Designs. Module 14. Advanced Experimental Designs. 7. UNDERSTANDING RESULTS: DESCRIBING DATA. Module 15. Data Organization, Central Tendency, and Variance. Module 16. Transformation Scores and Correlation Coefficients. 8. UNDERSTANDING RESULTS: MAKING INFERENCES I. Module 17. Hypothesis Testing. Module 18. The r Test for Independent Groups. 9. UNDERSTANDING RESULTS: MAKING INFERENCES II. Module 19. r Test for Correlated Groups (Samples). Module 20. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). 10. APA COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES. Module 21. Communicating Research Findings. Module 22. APA Sample Manuscript. Appendix A. Answers to Odd-Numbered Exercises. Appendix B. Statiustical Tables. Appendix C. Excel, SPSS, and TI-84 Exercises. Appendix D. Computational Formulas for ANOVA's.

About the Author :
Sherri L. Jackson is professor of psychology at Jacksonville University (JU), where she has taught since 1988 and currently serves as Chair of the Division of Social Sciences. At JU, she has won Excellence in Scholarship (2003), University Service (2004), and Teaching (2009) awards; the university-wide Professor of the Year Award in 2004; the Woman of the Year Award in 2005; and the Institutional Excellence Award in 2007. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in cognitive/experimental psychology from the University of Florida. Her research interests include human reasoning and the teaching of psychology, and she has published numerous articles in both areas. She is also the author of RESEARCH METHODS & STATISTICS: A CRITICAL THINKING APPROACH, 5th Edition (Wadsworth/Cengage, 2016), RESEARCH METHODS: A MODULAR APPROACH, 3rd Edition (Wadsworth/Cengage, 2015) and A CONCISE GUIDE TO STATISTICAL ANALYSES USING EXCEL, SPSS, AND THE TI-84 CALCULATOR (Cengage, 2013).