Experimentology: An Open Science Approach to Experimental Psychology Methods

by Michael C. Frank, Mika Braginsky, Julie Cachia, Nicholas A. Coles, Tom E. Hardwicke

Overview

An engaging research methods text integrating a classic approach to conducting experiments in psychology with open science practices and values.

How does a researcher run a high-quality psychology experiment? What time-tested methods should be used, and how can more robust and accurate results be achieved? A dynamic collaboration between groundbreaking cognitive scientist Michael Frank and a diverse cohort of researchers innovating in the field—Mika Braginsky, Julie Cachia, Nicholas Coles, Tom Hardwicke, Robert Hawkins, Maya Mathur, and Rondeline Williams—Experimentology introduces the art of the modern psychological experiment with an emphasis on open science values of accessibility and transparency.

Experimentology follows the timeline of an experiment, with sections covering basic foundations, planning, execution, data-gathering and analysis, and reporting. Narrative examples from a range of subdisciplines, including cognitive, developmental, and social psychology, model each component and account for the pitfalls that can undermine the reliability, validity, and replicability of results. Through an embrace of open science strategies such as data sharing and preregistration, Experimentology shows how the challenges of the replication crisis can be met constructively and collaboratively. Written for a global audience, Experimentology updates a classic research methods textbook with a new focus on ethics and the benefits of open science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262552561
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	07/01/2025
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Michael C. Frank is the Benjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology at Stanford University.

Mika Braginsky is a software developer at the Language and Cognition Lab at Stanford University.

Julie Cachia is the cofounder of Flourish Science.

Nicholas A. Coles is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida.

Tom E. Hardwicke is a Research Fellow at the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne.

Robert D. Hawkins is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Stanford University.

Maya B. Mathur is Assistant Professor at the Quantitative Sciences Unit at Stanford University.

Rondeline Williams is a PhD candidate in Psychology at Stanford University.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
PREFACE
I FOUNDATIONS
1 EXPERIMENTS
2 THEORIES
3 REPLICATION
4 ETHICS
II STATISTICS
5 ESTIMATION
6 INFERENCE
7 MODELS
III PLANNING
8 MEASUREMENT
9 DESIGN
10 SAMPLING
IV EXECUTION
11 PREREGISTRATION
12 DATA COLLECTION
13 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
V REPORTING
14 WRITING
15 VISUALIZATION
16 META-ANALYSIS
17 CONCLUSION
CONTENTS
APPENDICES
A INSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE
B GITHUB (ONLINE ONLY)
C R MARKDOWN (ONLINE ONLY)
D TIDYVERSE (ONLINE ONLY)
E GGPLOT (ONLINE ONLY)

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Psychology's reform movement has called for improving research methods. Experimentology provides the blueprint. Frank and colleagues provide an accessible, comprehensive, and practical overview for rigorous experimentation. This remarkable book will bring students right to the forefront of experimental methodology."
—Brian Nosek, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia

“Many lecturers struggle with the question of how to teach their students the nuts and bolts of the modern, open science approach to experimentation. This book provides the perfect answer."
—Eric-Jan Wagenmakers, Department of Psychological Methods, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

"Experimentology is absolutely stunning and a pleasure to read. It covers all aspects of experimentation in the behavioral sciences, from foundations over statistics to planning, execution, and reporting. It describes and fosters the set of practices, findings, and approaches that enable the construction of robust, precise, and generalizable experiments. The book is unique and precious; there is nothing like it. It is both introductory and sophisticated; it combines depth with accessibility and is as philosophical as it is practical. Conceived in the spirit of open science, it provides the conceptual and methodological framework for overcoming the replication crisis in psychology. The more behavioral scientists who read this book, the better for psychology and behavioral sciences in general."
—Dr. Ulman Lindenberger, Professor of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development