Experimental Psychology: Research Methods and Statistics

This book has been written to meet several needs. Firstly there is a need for a book which integrates statistics, research design, ex­ periments and report writing so that none is learned in a vacuum, as commonly is the case, isolated from the others. The aim is to make the student an active learner encouraged to carry out experiments, so ex­ periencing and understanding the design problems and statistical analyses in the practical context where he can see exactly what he is doing and why. The aim is that by the end of the book, the student should be able to evaluate the research of others, to define a problem, formulate a hypothesis about it, design and carry out the experiment, apply the correct statistics, discuss the results and implications, and write it all up in a logical and sensible fashion. The principle is that old pedagogic one of learning by doing. Secondly, there is a need for an introductory text on statistics, research design and experimental work for the many students who meet psychology and social science for the first time. The initiate in behavioural science needs to gain a conceptual understanding of statistical procedures and design techniques in order to carry out his own investigations and to understand and evaluate constructively the investigations of others. However, experience has shown us that many students (and even some fellow teachers) are somewhat reluctant to study this area as they believe it is difficult and involves mathematics.