Research Methods for Psychological Science

William J. Ray is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Pennsylvania State University. He received his PhD from Vanderbilt University and was a Fellow in Medical Psychology at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. He received his undergraduate degree from Eckerd College, where he learned about the value of primary sources and the need to integrate information from a number of perspectives. As part of his clinical training, he has worked in a number of mental hospitals and clinics across the country, where he developed an appreciation of the experiences of those with mental disorders. In his career, he has served as a visiting professor and researcher at the University of Hawaii, Münster University, University of Rome, Tübingen University, and Konstanz University. At Penn State, he was the Director of the SCAN (Specialization in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience) program and was previously the Director of the Clinical Psychology Program. His research has focused on approaching clinical questions from a neuroscience perspective. He has used psychophysiological and brain imaging techniques such as EEG, MEG, DTI, and fMRI to study emotionality, psychopathology, and individual differences. These studies can be found in his numerous articles, book chapters, and books. His work has been published in such journals as Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Neuroscience, Psychophysiology, Physiological Reviews, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Cognitive Brain Research, Biological Psychology, NeuroImage, and Clinical Neurophysiology. This work has been funded by both national and international agencies including NIH, NIMH, NASA, NATO, and the DAAD. In addition to research, teaching has been an important part of his career. His textbooks include Abnormal Psychology, Methods Toward a Psychology of Behavior and Experience, Psychophysiological Methods (with Robert Stern & Karen Quigley), and Evolutionary Psychology: Neuroscience Perspectives Concerning Human Behavior and Experience.

• PrefaceAbout the AuthorIntroductionChapter 1 • What Is Science?Learning ObjectivesScience as a Way of KnowingThe Scientific ApproachStudying Behavior and ExperienceChapter 2 • Introduction to the Methods of ScienceLearning ObjectivesNaturalistic ObservationThe Correlational ApproachThe Experimental MethodLogic and Inference: The Detective Work of ScienceScientific Observation: The Raw Data of ScienceChapter 3 • Developing the HypothesisLearning ObjectivesMaking Our Hypotheses ConcreteMaking Our Hypotheses LogicalCreating Testable Research Hypotheses and the Problem of MeasurementThe Scientist’s Guide to Having an IdeaTools for Library ResearchChapter 4 • EthicsLearning ObjectivesEthical Considerations of Psychological ExperimentationIngredients of the Initial Scientist–Participant DialogueThe Rights of the Research Participant and the Responsibilities of the ExperimenterDeception StudiesAnimals as SubjectsChapter 5 • Description of Behavior Through Numerical RepresentationLearning ObjectivesMeasurementMeasurement and StatisticsMeasures of Central TendencyMeasures of VariabilityPictorial and Transforming Numerical DataMeasures of AssociationChapter 6 • Inferential Statistics: Making Statistical DecisionsLearning ObjectivesProbabilityThe Normal DistributionHypothesis TestingChapter 7 • Testing the Hypothesis: A Conceptual IntroductionLearning ObjectivesThe Context of Experimentation: An ExampleTypes of VariationStatistical Hypothesis TestingThreats to Internal ValidityConclusionChapter 8 • Control: The Keystone of the Experimental MethodLearning ObjectivesControl Achieved Through Participant Assignment and SelectionRandomizationControl Achieved Through Experimental DesignControl as Related to the Logic of ExperimentationChapter 9 • Applying the Logic of Experimentation: Between-Subjects DesignsLearning ObjectivesBetween-Subjects Design TerminologyFactorial DesignFactorial Designs: The Logic of Experimentation and the Interaction EffectChapter 10 • Extending the Logic of Experimentation: Within-Subjects and Matched-Subjects ApproachesLearning ObjectivesWithin-Subjects DesignsMixed DesignsMatched-Subjects DesignsChapter 11 • The Ecology of the Experiment: The Scientist and Research Participant in Relation to Their EnvironmentsLearning ObjectivesEcologyExperimenter FactorsSubject FactorsCultural and Social BiasChapter 12 • Quasi-Experimental, Correlational, and Naturalistic Observational DesignsLearning ObjectivesDoing Research in the Real World: Closed and Open SystemsQuasi-Experimental DesignsCorrelational ProceduresNaturalistic ObservationsChapter 13 • Single-Subject DesignsLearning ObjectivesHistory of Single-Subject DesignsCase Study DesignsExperimental Single-Subject DesignsAlternative Types of Single-Subject ResearchChapter 14 • Questionnaires, Survey Research, and SamplingLearning ObjectivesSurvey Question Construction and FormatsMethods of Administering a SurveySamplingChapter 15 • Sharing the ResultsLearning ObjectivesCommunication With Other Scientists: The Scientific ArticlePublishing Your ArticleChapter 16 • Beyond MethodLearning ObjectivesDimensions of ResearchLimitations to Finding AnswersScience as a Complex Human ProcessScience as a Means of TranscendenceGlossaryReferences