The Psychology Research Handbook: A Guide for Graduate Students and Research Assistants

by Frederick Leong (Editor), James Austin (Editor)

Overview

In the Third Edition of The Psychology Research Handbook editors Frederick T. L. Leong and James T. Austin have assembled experienced expert researchers to provide graduate students and research assistants with a comprehensive framework for conducting many types of psychology research. The book is organized around the idea of a "research script," following the step-by-step process of research planning, design, data collection, analysis, and disseminating research. Many chapters are coauthored by advanced graduate students to give their fellow students a sense of real-world research, adding to the clarity and practicality of many chapters. Students and instructors alike will appreciate chapters on topics typically missing from introductory methods texts, including applying for research grants, dealing with journal editors and reviewers, working within research teams, and conducting cross-cultural research. Structures such as recommended readings and exercises guide students to develop and expand their research skills. New chapters include Power and Evidence, IRB as Critical Collaborators in Research, Alternative Data Collection Strategies, Structural Equation Modeling and Replicability and Reproducibility. A comprehensive, easy-to-understand guide to the entire research process, this book quickly and efficiently equips advanced students and research assistants to conduct a full research project.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452217673
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/16/2024
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	760
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Frederick T. L. Leong, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology (Industrial/Organizational and Clinical Psychology Programs) and Psychiatry. He is also the Director of the Center for Multicultural Psychology Research at Michigan State University. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 journal articles and book chapters. In addition, he has edited or co-edited 12 books. Dr. Leong is a Fellow of the APA (Divisions 1, 2, 5, 12, 17, 29, 45, 52), Association for Psychological Science, Asian American Psychological Association, and the International Academy for Intercultural Research. His major research interests center around culture and mental health, cross-cultural psychotherapy (especially with Asians and Asian Americans), and cultural and personality factors related to career choice and work adjustment. He is past president of APA′s Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues), the Asian American Psychological Association, and the Division of Counseling Psychology in the International Association of Applied Psychologists. He has served on the APA Board of Scientific Affairs, the Minority Fellowship Program Advisory Committee, and the Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training (CEMRRAT2) Task Force. He received the Dalmas Taylor Distinguished Contributions Award from the APA Minority Fellowship Program and the Stanley Sue Award for Distinguished Contributions to Diversity in Clinical Psychology from APA Division 12. He is also the 2007 co-recipient of the APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology.

James T. Austin (Ph.D., Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Virginia Tech University, 1987) is a Research Specialist 2 at The Ohio State University, specializing in the psychometrics of test creation and evaluation for Career-Technical Education at the secondary and community college levels. He served as Assistant Professor of I-O Psychology from 1991-1997 at Ohio State. His research on goal-setting, criterion measurement, and research methodology has appeared in Psychological Bulletin, Annual Review of Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decisions Processes. He is currently cowriting a book on analysis and prioritization of needs assessment data in program evaluation.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	ix
	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction: Scripts for Research: Thoughts on the Organization of the Psychology Research Handbook	xiii
Part I	Research Planning	1
1	Research as a Script	3
2	Finding a Research Topic	23
3	Bibliographic Research	41
4	Reviewing and Evaluating a Research Article	59
5	Program Evaluation: Concepts and Perspectives	75
Part II	Design, Instrument Selection or Development, and Sampling	91
6	Designing a Research Study	93
7	Evaluating and Selecting Psychological Measures for Research Purposes	104
8	Designing Surveys and Questionnaires for Research	114
9	Scale Development	125
10	Applying Sampling Procedures	147
11	Statistical Power	161
Part III	Data Collection	173
12	Applying for Approval to Conduct Research With Human Participants	175
13	Conducting Mail and Internet Surveys	186
14	Conducting Telephone Surveys	210
15	Collecting Data in Groups	227
Part IV	Data Analysis	239
16	Cleaning Up Data and Running Preliminary Analyses	241
17	Qualitative Methods	254
18	A Basic Guide to Statistical Research and Discovery: Planning and Selecting Statistical Analyses	275
19	Basic Statistical Analyses	293
20	Using Advanced Statistics	306
21	Conducting a Meta-Analysis	315
22	Archival Data Sets: Revisiting Issues and Considerations	326
Part V	Research Writing	343
23	Writing in APA Style: Why and How	345
24	Writing Rough Drafts	360
25	Revising a Research Manuscript	370
26	Dealing With Journal Editors and Reviewers	381
Part VI	Special Topics	387
27	Coordinating a Research Team: Maintaining and Developing a Good Working Laboratory	389
28	Multilevel Research	401
29	Computational Modeling	419
30	Applying for Research Grants	433
31	Cross-Cultural Research Methodology	443
32	Applying Theories to Research: The Interplay of Theory and Research in Science	455
33	The Research Script: One Researcher's View	465
	Index	481
	About the Editors	505
	About the Contributors	507

Editorial Reviews

Covers the psychology research process from identifying a topic to applying for grants. Sections are organized in a sequential model representing the steps of the research process, with each chapter containing detailed "scripts" on various procedures. Discusses topics such as cross-cultural research, dealing with journal editors, conducting meta-analysis, and using archival data sets. For psychology undergraduate students, especially those taking independent research courses with faculty. Paper edition (unseen), $27.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"The Psychology Research Handbook: A Primer for Graduate Students and Research Assistants, Second Edition,  edited by Fred Leong and James Austin, fully fulfills its mission to provide graduate students with knowledge of the entire research process from thinking about research, formulating a design, conducting the research, and publishing a paper. But the book and its many contributors do much more. In explaining the research process to students, the authors help to demystify why things are done they way they are, to understand the logic of science, and to appreciate the research endeavor - tasks that are often not conveyed in graduate programs. The Handbook makes an important and valuable contribution to graduate education. "

Stanley Sue

"A sound, step-by-step, practical, clearly written guide to how to initiate, do, and publish psychological research. The excellent coverage of the relevant literature is broad and up-to-date. It includes a chapter on the methodology of cross-cultural research that covers most of the essential points. "

Harry C. Triandis

"The Psychology Research Handbook is a true handbook. It provides guidance in planning, designing, and carrying out research and data analysis, as well as instruction in writing up the research and applying for grants. Each chapter offers good practical advice on topics ranging from 'cleaning up data,' 'revising a research manuscript,' and so on to 'coordinating a research team' and 'applying theories in research.' Although the subtitle is 'A Guide for Graduate Students and Research Assistants,' I expect to refer to it next year in my 51st year of doing psychological research and writing. "

Wilbert Mc Keachie

"In every field of endeavor, in order for someone to be considered competent there is a set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that must be developed. Often, this takes place in formal settings like the classroom. But much of this development can only occur in the context of working with a 'master' or subject matter expert. This is often referred to as the acquisition of tacit knowledge. A real strength of the Leong and Austin primer is that it assembles a fine set of experts and has them present in a very readable format the tacit or proceduralized knowledge that they have accumulated as a result of years of practical exposure to the design, development, implementation, and documentation of research in psychology. In this regard, I feel that the section on research writing and some of the special topics covered are especially noteworthy. When read in conjunction with an instructor's input, these chapters in particular should increase the student's capacity for professional-level work immensely. All things considered, this handbook should meet an important set of needs among advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in psychology. "

Richard Klimoski

"The Psychology Research Handbook is destined to become a standard reference work for students seeking to master psychology research methods and procedures. The editors, Dr. Frederick T. L. Leong and Dr. James T. Austin, are to be congratulated for providing students with a comprehensive guide for conducting many types of psychology research on human subjects. It's all here in clear and lucid prose: the reader is treated to an intellectually stimulating and fun-filled journey into the world of psychology research, from 'identifying a research topic' to 'applying for research grants.' The volume contains 29 chapters, some of which are co-authored by advanced graduate students. This touch of the 'real world' adds to the clarity and practicality of many chapters. Unlike other research handbooks that are filled with arcane material that frightens the budding researcher, this volume will spark a lifelong love affair with the psychology research process. Of special value are the chapters on topics typically missing from other texts, including 'cross-cultural research,' 'dealing with journal editors and reviewers,' 'conducting meta-analyses,' and 'using archival datasets.' In my opinion, this is the book of choice for introducing the psychology research process to students and research assistants. "

Foreword by Anthony J. Marsella

If there were a "Who's Who" of outstanding teachers of psych, it would include most, or perhaps all, of the authors of the chapters of this book. They are not only teachers, but also scholars of teaching, who have useful advice for both novice and experienced teachers of psychology.

Bill Mc Keachie

"A valuable grand tour—from the ground up—of everything a beginning researcher wants to know but is usually afraid to ask. For both the new graduate student and the serious undergraduate. "

Martin Seligman

"The Psychology Research Handbook is a true handbook. It provides guidance in planning, designing, and carrying out research and data analysis, as well as instruction in writing up the research and applying for grants. Each chapter offers good practical advice on topics ranging from 'cleaning up data,' 'revising a research manuscript,' and so on to 'coordinating a research team' and 'applying theories in research.' Although the subtitle is 'A Guide for Graduate Students and Research Assistants,' I expect to refer to it next year in my 51st year of doing psychological research and writing."

Wilbert McKeachie

If there were a "Who's Who" of outstanding teachers of psych, it would include most, or perhaps all, of the authors of the chapters of this book. They are not only teachers, but also scholars of teaching, who have useful advice for both novice and experienced teachers of psychology.

Bill McKeachie

"The Psychology Research Handbook is destined to become a standard reference work for students seeking to master psychology research methods and procedures. The editors, Dr. Frederick T. L. Leong and Dr. James T. Austin, are to be congratulated for providing students with a comprehensive guide for conducting many types of psychology research on human subjects. It's all here in clear and lucid prose: the reader is treated to an intellectually stimulating and fun-filled journey into the world of psychology research, from 'identifying a research topic' to 'applying for research grants.' The volume contains 29 chapters, some of which are co-authored by advanced graduate students. This touch of the 'real world' adds to the clarity and practicality of many chapters. Unlike other research handbooks that are filled with arcane material that frightens the budding researcher, this volume will spark a lifelong love affair with the psychology research process. Of special value are the chapters on topics typically missing from other texts, including 'cross-cultural research,' 'dealing with journal editors and reviewers,' 'conducting meta-analyses,' and 'using archival datasets.' In my opinion, this is the book of choice for introducing the psychology research process to students and research assistants. "

Anthony J. Marsella