PSY 3213C - Research Methods in Psychology (Hubertz)

Psychology is of interest to academics from many fields, as well as to the thousands of academic and clinical psychologists and general public who can't help but be interested in learning more about why humans think and behave as they do. This award-winning twelve-volume reference covers every aspect of the ever-fascinating discipline of psychology and represents the most current knowledge in the field. This ten-year revision now covers discoveries based in neuroscience, clinical psychology's new interest in evidence-based practice and mindfulness, and new findings in social, developmental, and forensic psychology.

Can qualitative and quantitative methods be combined effectively in psychology? What are the practical and theoretical issues involved? Should different criteria be used to judge qualitative and quantitative research? The acceptance of qualitative research methods in psychology has lead to a split between qualitative and quantitative methods and has raised questions about how best to assess the validity of research practice. While the two approaches have traditionally been seen as competing paradigms, more recently, researchers have begun to argue that the divide is artificial. Mixing Methods in Psychology looks in detail at the problems involved in attempting to reconcile qualitative and quantitative methods both within and across subjects. All angles of the debate are discussed, covering areas as diverse as health, education, social, clinical and economic psychology. The contributors, who are some of the leading figures in the field, present theoretical and methodological guidance as well as practical examples of how quantitative and qualitative methods can be fruitfully combined. By aiming to bridge the gap between the two methods, this book reveals how each can inform the other to produce more accurate theories and models of human behaviour. This groundbreaking text will be essential reading for students and researchers wishing to combine methods, or for anyone who simply wants to get a better understanding of the debate.

This text provides readers with the knowledge to plan ethically responsible social and behavioural research. It includes instructions on development of an effective protocol; methods for handling issues of confidentiality, consent, privacy and deception; ways to assess risk and benefit to optimize research outcomes; and more.

"a comprehensive web-based textbook that addresses all of the topics in a typical introductory undergraduate or graduate course in social research methods. It covers the entire research process including: formulating research questions; sampling (probability and nonprobability); measurement (surveys, scaling, qualitative, unobtrusive); research design (experimental and quasi-experimental); data analysis; and, writing the research paper. It also addresses the major theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of research including: the idea of validity in research; reliability of measures; and ethics."

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"This handbook covers the qualitative methods used in psychology combining 'how-to-do-it' summaries with examination of historical and theoretical foundations. Examples from recent research are used to illustrate how each method has been applied, the data analysed and the insights gained. The Handbook is divided into three main sections.
- Part 1: Methods contains fourteen chapters on methodological approaches, ranging from established ones like Ethnography and Grounded Theory to more recent ones such as Memory Work.
- Part 2: Perspectives & Techniques includes chapters on Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research, key alternative standpoints such as Feminism, the use of computer technologies and the internet in qualitative research.
- Part 3: Applications reviews qualitative methods applied to13 sub-disciplines ranging from Cognitive to Post-colonial Psychology."

Coming Up with a Research Question -- Planning & Ethics -- Managing the Project -- Doing a Literature Review -- Collecting Your Data -- Analysing Your Data -- Evaluating Qualitative Research -- Writing Up a Qualitative Project

"Analysing Qualitative Data in Psychology equips students and researchers in psychology and the social sciences to carry out qualitative data analysis, focusing on four major methods (grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, discourse analysis and narrative analysis). Assuming no prior knowledge of qualitative research, chapters on the nature, assumptions and practicalities of each method are written by acknowledged experts. To help students and researchers make informed methodological choices about their own research the book addresses data collection and the writing up of research using each method, while providing a sustained comparison of the four methods, backed up with authoritative analyses using the different methods."