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Research Methods, Statistics, and Applications
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Research Methods, Statistics, and Applications by Kathrynn A. Adams and Eva K. McGuire is designed to give students the experience of being a researcher by combining the interrelated concepts of research methods and statistics to better explain how the research process incorporates both elements. Employing a conversational tone throughout, coupled with an emphasis on decision-making, this best-selling text will spark students’ interest in conducting research and improve their ability to critically analyze research in their daily lives.

The Third Edition includes a new chapter on measurement to better highlight its critical importance, updates for the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, new examples related to social justice, additional sections on qualitative research methods, and more thorough integration of research ethics information and tips throughout each chapter.

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Research Methods, Statistics, and Applications, Third Edition + Student Study Guide With IBM® SPSS® Workbook for Research Methods, Statistics, and Applications, Third Edition
Bundle ISBN: 978-1-0718-8933-6

 
Preface
 
About the Authors
 
Chapter 1 • Thinking Like a Researcher
Learning Objectives

 
Critical Thinking

 
The Scientific Approach

 
Overview of the Research Process (a.k.a. The Scientific Method)

 
Thinking Critically About Ethics

 
The Big Picture: Proof and Progress in Science

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 2 • Build a Solid Foundation for Your Study Based on Past Research
Learning Objectives

 
Types of Sources

 
Strategies to Identify and Find Past Research

 
Reading and Evaluating Primary Research Articles

 
Crediting Sources

 
The Big Picture: Use the Past to Inform the Present

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 3 • Measuring Your Variables
Learning Objectives

 
Constructs and Operational Definitions

 
Four Scales of Measurement

 
Self-Report Measures

 
Behavioral and Physiological Measures

 
Archival Research

 
The Big Picture: How to Choose Measures For Your Study

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 4 • The Cornerstones of Good Research: Reliability and Validity
Learning Objectives

 
Reliability and Validity Defined

 
Reliability and Validity of Measurement

 
Assessing Reliability of Measures

 
Assessing Validity of Measures

 
Reliability and Validity at the Study Level

 
The Big Picture: Consistency and Accuracy

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 5 • Basics of Research Design: Description and Sampling
Learning Objectives

 
When is a Descriptive Study Appropriate?

 
Validity in Descriptive Studies

 
Defining the Population and Obtaining a Sample

 
Probability Sampling

 
Nonprobability Sampling

 
The Big Picture: Choosing a Sampling Method

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 6 • Describing Your Sample
Learning Objectives

 
Ethical and Practical Issues in Describing Your Sample

 
Descriptive Statistics

 
Choosing the Appropriate Descriptive Statistics

 
Comparing Interval/Ratio Scores with z Scores and Percentiles

 
The Big Picture: Know Your Data and Your Sample

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 7 • Beyond Descriptives: Making Inferences Based On Your Sample
Learning Objectives

 
Inferential Statistics

 
Hypothesis Testing

 
Errors in Hypothesis Testing

 
Effect Size, Confidence Intervals, and Practical Significance

 
The Big Picture: Making Sense of Results

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 8 • Comparing Your Sample to a Known or Expected Score
Learning Objectives

 
Choosing the Appropriate Test

 
One-Sample t Tests

 
Calculating an Effect Size

 
Calculating a Confidence Interval

 
The Big Picture: Examining One Variable at a Time

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 9 • Examining Relationships Among Your Variables: Correlational Design
Learning Objectives

 
Correlational Design

 
Basic Statistics to Evaluate Correlational Research

 
Regression

 
The Big Picture: Correlational Designs Versus Correlational Analyses

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 10 • Examining Causality
Learning Objectives

 
Testing Cause and Effect

 
Eight Key Threats to Internal Validity

 
Basic Issues in Designing an Experiment

 
Validity in Experiments

 
The Big Picture: Benefits and Limits of Experimental Design

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 11 • Independent-Groups Designs
Learning Objectives

 
Designs with Independent Groups

 
Designing a Simple Experiment

 
Analysis of Two Independent-Groups Designs

 
FORMULAS and CALCULATIONS: Independent-Samples t Test

 
Using a Data Analysis Program to Calculate Independent Samples t Tests

 
Designs with More than Two Independent Groups

 
Analysis of Multiple Independent-Groups Designs

 
Formulas and Calculations: One-Way Independent-Samples ANOVA

 
Using a Data Analysis Program to Calculate One-Way Independent-Samples ANOVAs

 
The Big Picture: Identifying and Analyzing Independent-Groups Designs

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 12 • Dependent-Groups Designs
Learning Objectives

 
Designs with Dependent Groups

 
Designs with More than two Dependent Groups

 
Analysis of Dependent Multiple-Groups Designs

 
Formulas and Calculations: Within-Subjects ANOVA

 
The Big Picture: Selecting Analyses and Interpreting Results for Dependent-Groups Designs

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 13 • Factorial Designs
Learning Objectives

 
Basic Concepts in Factorial Design

 
Rationale for Factorial Designs

 
2 × 2 DESIGNS

 
Two-Way Between Subjects ANOVA

 
Beyond the 2 × 2 Independent-Groups Design

 
The Big Picture: Embracing Complexity

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 14 • Nonparametric Statistics
Learning Objectives

 
Parametric Versus Nonparametric Statistics

 
Chi-Square Goodness of Fit

 
Chi-Square Test For Independence

 
Dependent-Groups Designs with Nominal Outcome Measures

 
Spearman’s Rho to Examine Relationships Between Ordinal (Ranked) Data

 
Nonparametric Statistics for Independent- and Dependent-Groups Designs with Ordinal Data

 
The Big Picture: Selecting Parametric Versus Nonparametric Tests

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 15 • Focusing on the Individual: Case Studies and Single N Designs
Learning Objectives

 
Samples Versus Individuals

 
The Case Study

 
Qualitative Analyses

 
Single N Designs

 
The Big Picture: Choosing Between a Sample, Case Study, or Single N Design

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Chapter 16 • How to Decide? Choosing a Research Design and Selecting the Correct Analysis
Learning Objectives

 
Choosing a Research Design

 
Selecting Your Statistical Analyses

 
The Big Picture: Beyond This Class

 
Chapter Resources

 
 
Appendix A • Answers to Practice Questions
 
Appendix B • APA Style and Format Guidelines
 
Appendix C • Statistical Tables
 
Appendix D • Statistical Formulas
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Site
Online resources included with this text

The online resources for your text are available via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site, which offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank, editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides, lecture notes, downloadable datasets for accompanying material in the book, and answers to end of chapter statistics exercises.
Student Site
edge.sagepub.com/adams3e
 
The open-access Student Study Site offers datasets for accompanying material in the book are available for download.

Unfortunately, I did not receive a copy of the book Research Methods, Statistics and Applications
Third Edition by
Adams. Kathrynn
McGuire (aka: Lawrence) Eva

Dr Heather Allison
Department of Education, London Metropolitan University
October 28, 2023

Focus on practical applications.

Dr Mark Fulford
School Of Business/Economics, Campbellsville University
August 29, 2022
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • A new chapter on measurement tackles this critical topic with more depth so students can conduct precise research.
  • APA Style Manual 7th Edition updates provide students with guidance on proper citation style, bias-free language, and report writing.
  • Additional sections on qualitative research emphasize case study research and other methods to help students complete their picture of research methods.
  • An updated SAGE companion website provides practice datasets, lecture slides, homework assignments, answers to statistics exercises, and test banks for instructors.
  • New examples from the current research literature from psychology, criminal justice, politics, and education build on the currency of the text.
  • Current examples relating to social justice, more inclusive language in line with new APA guidelines, and integrated ethics tips within the chapters enhance the book’s hallmark sustained focus on ethics.
KEY FEATURES:
  • Thorough integration of research methods and statistics helps students gain a full picture of the research process.
  • Examples from current research literature provide a real-life context for understanding methods and statistics and demonstrate how a research topic can be examined in multiple ways.
  • Directions for calculating statistics using formulas, as well as data analysis programs (SPSS, with jamovi available online), enhance student understanding of analyses.
  • Ethics coverage throughout the book—with tips for how to conduct ethical research in every chapter—reinforces its importance in all stages of the research process.
  • Practice boxes in every chapter and end-of-chapter reviews of key concepts provide repeated exposure to important ideas, as well as opportunities to apply concepts soon after learning about them.
  • A final “putting it all together” chapter provides a summary of the major questions to answer when designing and carrying out research.
  • A focus on academic honesty is woven throughout the book and reinforced in an APA-style research paper and published manuscript in the appendix.

 We used the first and second editions in our own research methods and analysis courses for several years and with great success. Our students appreciated the conversational tone of the writing, the practice opportunities, and the applications of key concepts. Other professors who adopted or reviewed the previous editions commented positively about the writing style and organization, and the integration of current research. Many mentioned that they found the final “putting it all together” chapter to be a unique and important feature of the text. In writing this third edition, we aimed to build on and strengthen those aspects that students and professors found most useful.

The third edition includes new examples from the current research literature from psychology, criminal justice, politics, and education. We updated our citation and reference guidelines based on the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2020). We provide an annotated APA-style research paper and published manuscript in the Appendix that we updated with the 7th edition guidelines for this edition. A unique feature of the book continues to be a sustained focus on ethics, and as such we updated the language to be more inclusive and in line with new APA guidelines, added current examples relating to social justice, and integrated ethics tips within the chapter. Because measurement is such a critical part of research design, we reorganized material in the book and added a full chapter devoted to this topic. Although we continue to focus on quantitative analyses, we added a section on qualitative analyses as they relate to the case study. We also rearranged some chapters to improve the flow, updated the illustrations, and made a stronger connection with the companion Student Study Guide and IBM® SPSS® Workbook. For professors who are using jamovi instead, we created an alternative workbook for jamovi that is available on the instructor resource site.

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