Research Methods in Psychology

Because the research methods course can be overwhelming to students, Chapter 3 of Research Methods in Psychology lays out a basic “Three Claims, Four Validities” framework for systematically evaluating research claims. The framework gives guidelines for identifying and evaluating different sorts of research claims, and it is referred back to throughout the book to reinforce student learning. Beth Morling has based her course at the University of Delaware on the “Three Claims, Four Validities” framework for years with great success.

Research Methods in Psychology breathes life into this critical course for psychology majors, including examples from the popular media as well as scholarly journals to convey the importance of evaluating reports of research from various sources. Four-color illustrations and a clear and lively writing style help to hold readers’ interest.

Each chapter is framed by "A Year From Now" learning objectives that help students focus their attention on the most important concepts. Each major section ends with a “Check Your Understanding” quiz, allowing students to assess how much they know before moving to the next section. Each chapter ends with author-tested “Learning Actively” exercises that train students to analyze chapter material and apply it to real-life research claims and scenarios. Additional quizzes and study tools are available on StudySpace, a free and open student website.

The real-world headlines, studies, and stories that are a hallmark of the textbook are also the centerpiece of the media package: Beth Morling’s blog contains video, speeches, studies, and news articles. Each entry is tagged with a learning objective from the text and contains questions for critical thinking and discussion. Additionally, free, customizable coursepacks come pre-loaded with our evidence-centered, quality-controlled Test Bank questions as well as quizzes and chapter outlines from StudySpace.