Introducing Psychological Research

Crucially, the foundations of good psychology, in both practice and knowledge, are the ability to understand and carry out effective methods in psychological research. Introducing Psychological Research offers clear and engaging summaries of the key research studies that have had an enormous impact on the discipline of psychology. Each summary descibes and evaluates how the study was carried out whilst encouraging the student to consider the wider implications of the research findings. The studies have been organised into sections covering the major areas of psychology including social, developmental, biological and cognitive, with a short introduction preceding each part. This third edition has been revised and expanded to include fourteen more studies, along with a new focus on methodology, that offers an illuminating insight into how this discipline continues to advance upon previously established ideas and includes explorations in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. The book provides lively and lucid summaries of both classic and contemporary studies making this the perfect text for students first studying psychology. Crucially, the foundations of good psychology, in both practice and knowledge, are the ability to understand and carry out effective methods in psychological research. Subsequently, this title aims to introduce students to a thorough history of the key psychological studies across the sub-disciplines of social, developmental, cognitive and biological psychology as well as neuroscience. Research case-studies are described and critiqued encouraging students to critically think about the wider implications of how research is conducted and the subsequent findings that they produce. The pivotal case studies covered have been specifically chosen to illustrate how psychological methods in research have evolved over the history of the discipline and to showcase as broad an overview as possible of the various ways in which research may be conducted; including controlled experiments, in-depth interviewing and literature searches.The book is essential for undergraduate students looking for a comprehensive and clearly written guide to both the classic and contemporary studies that have informed the research methods in the discipline of psychology today. This book has been written to provide clear and well-explained summaries that encourage critical reflection and discussion of the material learnt, making this an apt introduction for students wishing to learn about the valid methods of carrying out empirical research.

This text provides full summaries of over 70 research studies in psychology. The summaries illustrate the major themes and the methodologies that psychologists use, and contain details of the major findings. The studies have been chosen to illustrate the major areas of psychology: social psychology, developmental psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology and the psychology of human diversity. It also contains a number of studies that illustrate the application of psychology in the areas of health and education. The second edition contains ten new studies and an additional chapter on methodology. This chapter gives readers an overview of the scientific method as it is used in psychology, and illustrates the various issues by extensive referencing to the studies that are summarized elsewhere in the book. Covering both classic and contemporary studies, Introducing Psychological Research should be of interest to all students and teachers of introductory psychology.