Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: Importance of Research Methods -- Ways of Knowing -- Goals of Behavioral Science -- Basic and Applied Research -- Illustrative Article: Introduction -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Answers -- Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Predictions -- Who We Study: A Note on Terminology -- Sources of Ideas -- Exploring Past Research -- Literature Reviews -- Anatomy of a Research Article -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Milgram's Obedience Experiment -- Historical Context of Current Ethical Standards -- APA Ethics Code -- Assessment of Risks and Benefits -- Informed Consent -- The Importance of Debriefing -- Institutional Review Boards -- Research With Nonhuman Animal Subjects -- Being an Ethical Researcher: The Issue of Misrepresentation -- Conclusion: Risks and Benefits Revisited -- Illustrative Article: Replication of Milgram -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Answers -- Validity: An Introduction -- Variables -- Operational Definitions of Variables -- Relationships Between Variables -- Nonexperimental Versus Experimental Methods -- Choosing a Method -- Evaluating Research: Summary of the Three Validities -- Illustrative Article: Studying Behavior -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Answers -- Reliability of Measures -- Construct Validity of Measures -- Reactivity of Measures -- Variables and Measurement Scales -- Illustrative Article: Measurement Concepts -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches -- Naturalistic Observation -- Systematic Observation -- Case Studies -- Archival Research -- Illustrative Article: Observational Methods -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Answers -- Why Conduct Surveys? -- Constructing Questions to Ask -- Responses to Questions -- Finalizing the Questionnaire -- Administering Surveys -- Survey Designs to Study Changes Over Time -- Sampling From a Population -- Sampling Techniques -- Evaluating Samples -- Reasons for Using Convenience Samples -- Illustrative Article: Survey Research -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Answers -- Confounding and Internal Validity -- Basic Experiments -- Assigning Participants to Experimental Conditions -- Independent Groups Design -- Repeated Measures Design -- Matched Pairs Design -- Illustrative Article: Experimental Design -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Selecting Research Participants -- Manipulating the Independent Variable -- Measuring the Dependent Variable -- Additional Controls -- Additional Considerations -- Analyzing and Interpreting Results -- Communicating Research to Others -- Illustrative Article: Conducting Experiments -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Answers -- Increasing the Number of Levels of an Independent Variable -- Increasing the Number of Independent Variables: Factorial Designs -- Illustrative Article: Complex Experimental Designs -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Single-Case Experimental Designs -- Quasi-Experimental Designs -- Developmental Research Designs -- Illustrative Article: A Quasi-Experiment -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Scales of Measurement: A Review -- Describing Results -- Frequency Distributions -- Descriptive Statistics -- Graphing Relationships -- Correlation Coefficients: Describing the Strength of Relationships -- Effect Size -- Regression Equations -- Multiple Correlation/Regression -- The Third-Variable Problem -- Structural Equation Modeling -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Answers -- Samples and Populations -- Inferential Statistics -- Null and Research Hypotheses -- Probability and Sampling Distributions -- Example: The t and F Tests -- Type I and Type II Errors -- Choosing a Significance Level -- Interpreting Nonsignificant Results -- Choosing a Sample Size: Power Analysis -- The Importance of Replications -- Significance of a Pearson r Correlation Coefficient -- Computer Analysis of Data -- Selecting the Appropriate Statistical Test -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Generalizing to Other Populations -- Generalizing Across Methods -- Supporting Good External Validity -- Using Research to Improve Lives -- Illustrative Article: Generalizing Results -- Study Terms -- Review Questions -- Activities -- Introduction -- Writing Your Report -- Formatting Your Report -- Organization of the Report -- The Use of Headings -- Citing and Referencing Sources -- Abbreviations -- Reporting Numbers and Statistics -- Conclusion -- Paper and Poster Presentations -- Illustrative Article: APA Style -- Sample Paper -- Preamble -- General Principles -- Standard 8: Research and Publication -- Descriptive Statistics -- Statistical Significance and Effect Size.

Intends to guide students toward success by helping them study smarter and more efficiently. In tandem with LearnSmart, this adaptive and personalized learning program provides helpful pedagogy, rich examples, and a clear voice in the authors' approach to methodological decision-making.