Research Methods: A Tool for Life

Research Methods: A Tool for Life will bring research to life for readers. Firmly based in the scientific method, the book explains how the result of psychological research makes a difference for people every day. This book explains how to conduct meaningful research using a wide array of methodologies and to assess ideas critically. Readers will also appreciate the social and cultural factors that influence how they carry out research and how they interpret it. Readers will explore contemporary research, the latest developments in research strategies and data analysis, and a discussion of issues important to psychologists. The book is written in a clear and engaging style that illuminates difficult concepts. Each chapter also presents controversies that illustrate the methods of that chapter. The goal is to ensure the development of research skills and understanding for all readers.

Barney Beins is Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department at Ithaca College. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his doctorate from City University of New York.  He is a Fellow of APA, and was president of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology in 2004; he served as its secretary from 1992 to 1994. He was Director of Precollege and Undergraduate Education at APA from 2000 to 2002.  He has served on APA’s Board of Educational Affairs and on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Psychological Association.

 

He wrote (with Agatha Beins) Effective Writing in Psychology: Papers, Posters, and Presentations and has co-edited the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology and five other volumes on various aspects of the teaching of psychology. He has written over 125 journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and newsletter articles and has given over 150 conference presentations. His undergraduates have presented over 75 paper and posters at research conferences.

 

He founded the Northeastern Conference for Teachers of Psychology in 1994. He also participated in the St. Mary’s Conference in 1991, in the Psychology Partnerships Project in 1999, and was on the Steering Committee for the second National Conference on Undergraduate Education in 2008.

 

He served as inaugural editor for the “Computers in Psychology” section of Teaching of Psychology from 1987 to 1996, and as an Associate Editor. He is a member of the American Psychological Society, Sigma Xi, Psi Chi, the American Statistical Association, the Eastern Psychological Association, the New England Psychological Association.