Kantowitz, Roediger, and Elmes, all prominent researchers, take an example-based approach to the fundamentals of research methodology. The book is organized by topic--such as research in human factors, learning, thinking, and problem solving--and the authors discuss and clarify research methods in the context of actual research conducted in these specific areas. This unique feature helps readers connect the concepts of sound methodology with their practical applications. Carefully selected real-world examples allow readers to see for themselves the issues and problems that can occur in conducting research. More importantly, readers develop a sense of how to anticipate and adjust for problems in their own research.
- "Psychology in Action" features suggest safe and simple experimental demonstrations that require little or no equipment and that can be used in or out of class--giving students a perfect chance to apply what they've studied. For example, Chapter 7 includes a demonstration of the Stroop effect, and Chapter 14 illustrates the effects of noise on two kinds of memory.
- This text is organized by topics, rather than methods. As the only undergraduate experimental psychology text on the market organized by content/research area, it helps students connect the concepts of sound methodology with their practical applications.
- The foundational chapters in Part I introduce readers to theory construction, observational and experimental research techniques, ethical issues, and reading and writing research reports.
- "From Problem to Experiment: The Nuts and Bolts" features present the rationale behind experimental design decisions--how many subjects should be used, why variable x is selected instead of variable y, and so on--when hypotheses are taken from a general form to the specifics of an experiment.
- Chapter 5, "How to Read and Write Research Papers," has been rewritten to align with the new edition of the APA Publication Manual, and now includes a new sample journal article and a new sample manuscript.
- Chapter 9, "Conditioning and Learning," has been entirely rewritten to put more emphasis on learning while maintaining material on the importance of conditioning, creating a balance between early examples of conditioning and contemporary research on human learning.
- New coverage and more recent references have been added in every chapter, and some chapters have been rewritten to reflect recent findings and topics. New examples and updated figures are also included.
Part I: FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH.
1. Explanation in Scientific Psychology.
2. Research Techniques: Observations and Correlation.
3. Research Techniques: Experiments.
4. Ethics in Psychological Research.
5. How to Read and Write Research Papers.
Part II: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY.
6. Psychophysics.
7. Perception.
8. Attention and Reaction Time.
9. Conditioning and Learning.
10. Remembering and Forgetting.
11. Thinking and Problem Solving.
12. Individual Differences and Development.
13. Social Psychology.
14. Environmental Psychology.
15. Human Factors.
Barry H. Kantowitz
Barry H. Kantowitz is Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Operational Engineering, and former Director of the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan. Prior to that, he was Chief Scientist of the Human Factors Transportation Center of the Battelle Memorial Institute in Seattle. He received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Wisconsin in 1969. He has written and edited more than two dozen books. His research on human attention, mental workload, reaction time, human-machine interaction, and transportation human factors has been supported by the Office of Education, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, NHTSA, and FHWA.
Henry L. Roediger
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).
David G. Elmes
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).
