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Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences

Research methods for the behavioral sciences involve systematic strategies used to study human and animal actions, thoughts, and emotions. The core approaches include experiments, surveys, and observational studies.

Social Sciences

Author: Jason Warnick
Publisher: Arkansas Tech University
Source: LibreTexts
License: CC BY-NC-SA
Language: EN
Category: Basic Sciences

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Contents· 136 sections

01: About this textbook
02: The Science of Psychology
2.01: Why Should We Care
2.02: How Do We Know What We Know
2.03: Methods of Knowing
2.04: Understanding Science
2.05: Goals of Science
2.06: Science and Common Sense
2.07: Experimental and Clinical Psychologists
03: Overview of the Scientific Method
3.01: Prelude to the Scientific Method
3.02: A Model of Scientific Research in Psychology
3.03: Finding a Research Topic
3.04: Generating Good Research Questions
3.05: Developing a Hypothesis
3.06: Designing a Research Study
3.07: Analyzing the Data
3.08: Drawing Conclusions and Reporting the Results
04: Reading and Evaluating Literature
4.01: Reading an empirical journal article
4.02: Evaluating sources
4.03: Refining your question
05: Research Ethics
5.01: Prelude to Research Ethics
5.02: Moral Foundations of Ethical Research
5.03: From Moral Principles to Ethics Codes
5.04: Putting Ethics Into Practice
06: Psychological Measurement
6.01: Prelude to Psychological Measurement
6.02: Understanding Psychological Measurement
6.03: Reliability and Validity of Measurement
6.04: Practical Strategies for Psychological Measurement
07: Experimental Research
7.01: Prelude to Experimental Research
7.02: Experiment Basics
7.03: Experimental Design
7.04: Experimentation and Validity
7.05: Practical Considerations
08: Non-Experimental Research
8.01: Prelude to Nonexperimental Research
8.02: Overview of Non-Experimental Research
8.03: Correlational Research
8.04: Complex Correlation
8.05: Qualitative Research
8.06: Observational Research
09: Survey Research
9.01: Prelude to Survey Research
9.02: Overview of Survey Research
9.03: Constructing Surveys
9.04: Conducting Surveys
10: Interviews- Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
10.01: What Is It and When Should It Be Used
10.02: Qualitative Interview Techniques and Considerations
10.03: Quantitative Interview Techniques and Considerations
10.04: Issues to Consider for All Interview Types
11: Field Research- A Qualitative Technique
11.01: What Is It and When to Use It
11.02: Pros and Cons of Field Research
11.03: Getting In
11.04: Field Notes
11.05: Analysis of Field Research Data
12: Unobtrusive Research- Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
12.01: What Is It and When to Use It
12.02: Pros and Cons of Unobtrusive Research
12.03: Unobtrusive Data Collected by You
12.04: Analyzing Others Data
12.05: Reliability in Unobtrusive Research
13: Other Methods of Data Collection and Analysis
13.01: Focus Groups
13.02: Experiments
13.03: Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis
14: Quasi-Experimental Research
14.01: Prelude to Quasi-Experimental Research
14.02: One-Group Designs
14.03: Non-Equivalent Groups Designs
15: Factorial Designs
15.01: Factorial Designs
15.02: Setting Up a Factorial Experiment
15.03: Interpreting the Results of a Factorial Experiment
16: Single-Subject Research
16.01: Single-Subject Research
16.02: Overview of Single-Subject Research
16.03: Single-Subject Research Designs
16.04: The Single-Subject Versus Group Debate
17: Descriptive Statistics
17.01: Describing Single Variables
17.02: Describing Statistical Relationships
17.03: Expressing Your Results
17.04: Conducting Your Analyses
18: Inferential Statistics
18.01: Prelude to Inferential Statistics
18.02: Understanding Null Hypothesis Testing
18.03: Some Basic Null Hypothesis Tests
18.04: Additional Considerations
18.05: From the Replicability Crisis to Open Science Practices
19: Presenting Your Research
19.01: Prelude to Presenting Your Research
19.02: American Psychological Association (APA) Style
19.03: Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style
19.04: Academic Writing
19.4.01: Introduction- Effective Academic Writing
19.4.02: The Basics
19.4.03: Many Genres Many Masters
19.4.04: Eight More Tips For Every Analysis
19.4.05: Additional Resources
19.05: Publishing Your Research
19.5.01: Introduction- Contemplating Publication
19.5.02: Understanding Peer-Review
19.5.03: Where to Submit
19.5.04: Assessing the Journal and Improving Publication Success
19.5.05: Further Considerations for Journal Submission- Open Access Cover Letters and Predatory Journals
19.5.06: Some Tips for Good Writing Revisited
19.5.07: Receiving and Dealing with Decisions
19.5.08: Additional Resources
19.06: Other Presentation Formats
19.07: Presenting Your Research
19.7.01: Introduction- Speech
19.7.02: Types of Conference Presentations
19.7.03: Applying to Conferences
19.7.04: Oral Presentations
19.7.05: Poster Presentations
19.7.06: Question Period
19.7.07: Additional Resources
19.08: Conducting a Literature Review
19.8.01: What is a literature review
19.8.02: Synthesizing literature
19.8.03: Writing the literature review
20: Researching with Self-Care
20.01: Introduction- What is self-care
20.02: Time Management
20.03: Rituals and Self-Care When Writing
20.04: Mindfulness
20.05: Working With a Supervisor
20.06: Peer Support
20.07: Imposter Syndrome
20.08: Additional Resources