Research Methods in Psychology

Using contemporary examples from primary sources, RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY, Eighth Edition encourages students to become engaged in the basics of scientific investigation through an example-based approach. This text displays the authors' commitment to ensuring that the student has a thorough understanding of the research process from the very beginning. Highly readable, it avoids the heavy statistical tone that some introductory students find difficult to understand. Rather, it is conceptually driven to offer students a big picture view of the experimental approach to research. Empirical examples and applications are consistently used throughout to foster critical thinking skills. In many chapters, a unifying empirical example at the beginning of the chapter is cited throughout the chapter to help clarify terms or design problems. By presenting concepts with concrete examples, the text aids students in applying related ideas to their areas of research interest.

David G. Elmes is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Washington and Lee University, where he taught for forty years. He earned his B.A. with high honors from the University of Virginia and completed the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in psychology there. Dr. Elmes was an adjunct professor at Hampden-Sydney College, a research associate for a year in the Human Performance Center of the University of Michigan, and a Visiting Fellow of University College at the University of Oxford. At Washington and Lee, he co-directed the Cognitive Science Program and chaired the Department of Psychology for ten years. Professor Elmes edited READINGS IN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY and DIRECTORY OF RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY AT PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS, and is coauthor of RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY (Cengage, 2012, with B. H. Kantowitz and H. L. Roediger III).

Barry H. Kantowitz is Professor of Psychology, Professor of Industrial and Operational Engineering, and Director of the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan. He has written and edited more than a dozen books. His research on human attention, mental workload, reaction time, human-machine interaction, and human factors has all been supported by the Office of Education, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He is co-author of EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, Eighth Edition (Wadsworth 2005).

Henry L. Roediger, III, is the James S. McDonnell University Professor of Psychology and Dean of Academic Planning in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, where he has taught since 1996. He received a B.A. in psychology from Washington and Lee University and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University. He has taught at Rice University, Purdue University, and the University of Toronto. His research interests lie in cognitive psychology, particularly in human learning and memory. Dr. Roediger has published more than 250 articles and chapters and has authored or edited 10 other books, including RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY, 9th Edition (Cengage, 2012).