Ninth Edition Ninth Edition highlights of the ninth eDition: • expanded material enriches the text, including enhancements to the sections on peer review, values in research, external validity, deception in research, content analysis, and judging stable diferences in performance across phases • The “Questions to Ponder” feature disperses thought-provoking questions in various places in each chapter, helping students master material as they read What people aRe saying aBout ReseaRch design and Methods: “Great text! Good information, presented well.” –Nicole Dorey, University of Florida “It is a well-balanced, well-written book There is enough depth to make it challenging, without being overwhelming.” –Victoria Kazmerski, Penn State Erie BoRDens | aBBott Visit www.mhhe.com/bordens9e for a wealth of student and instructor resources! ReseaRch Design and MethoDs A Process Approach Kenneth s BoRDens | BRuce B aBBott MD DALIM 1240192 06/06/13 CYAN MAG YELO BLACK “ This is the textbook you need to use to show psychology students how to research.” –John S Rosenkoetter, Missouri State University A Process Approach • new research examples make use of contemporary subjects relevant to today’s students, including texting while walking, and the ethics involved in doing research using social media ReseaRch Design and MethoDs Research design and Methods: a Process approach takes students through the research process, from developing a research idea, to designing and conducting a study, through analyzing and reporting data Information on the research process is presented in a lively and engaging way, highlighting the numerous decisions, both big and small, that must be made when designing and conducting successful research Final PDF to printer Research Design and Methods A Process Approach NINTH EDITION Kenneth S Bordens Bruce B Abbott Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd i 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A PROCESS APPROACH, NINTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill Education, Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121 Copyright © 2014 by McGrawHill Education All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Previous editions © 2011, 2008, and 2005 No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States This book is printed on acid-free paper DOC/DOC ISBN 978-0-07-8035456 MHID 0-07-8035457 Senior Vice President, Products & Markets: Kurt L Strand Vice President, General Manager, Products & Markets: Michael Ryan Vice President, Content Production & Technology Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Executive Director of Development: Lisa Pinto Managing Director: Bill Glass Senior Brand Manager: Nancy Welcher Marketing Specialist: Alexandra Schultz Managing Development Editor: Penina Braffman Editorial Coordinator: Adina Lonn Director, Content Production: Terri Schiesl Project Manager: Judi David Buyer: Laura Fuller Cover Image: Royalty-Free/CORBIS Compositor: Laserwords Private Limited Typeface: 10/12 Goudy Old Style std Printer: R R Donnelley All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bordens, Kenneth S Research design and methods: a process approach / Kenneth S Bordens, Bruce B Abbott.—Ninth edition pages cm ISBN 978-0-07-803545-6 (alk paper) Psychology—Research Psychology—Research—Methodology I Abbott, Bruce B II Title BF76.5.B67 2014 150.72—dc23 2013018531 The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites www.mhhe.com bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd ii 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer We dedicate this book to our parents, who provided us with the opportunity and inspiration to excel personally and professionally Lila Bordens and Walter Bordens Irene Abbott and Raymond Abbott bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd iii 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd iv 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer CONTENTS Preface xvii Chapter 1: Explaining Behavior What Is Science, and What Do Scientists Do? Science as a Way of Thinking How Do Scientists Do Science? Basic and Applied Research Framing a Problem in Scientific Terms Learning About Research: Why Should You Care? Exploring the Causes of Behavior Explaining Behavior Science, Protoscience, Nonscience, and Pseudoscience Scientific Explanations 11 Commonsense Explanations Versus Scientific Explanations 14 Belief-Based Explanations Versus Scientific Explanations 16 When Scientific Explanations Fail 18 Failures Due to Faulty Inference 18 Pseudoexplanations 19 Methods of Inquiry 21 The Method of Authority 21 The Rational Method 22 The Scientific Method 23 The Scientific Method at Work: Using a Cell Phone While Walking 25 The Steps of the Research Process 26 Summary 29 Key Terms 31 Chapter 2: Developing and Evaluating Theories of Behavior 32 What Is a Theory? 32 Theory Versus Hypothesis 33 Theory Versus Law 34 v bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd v 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer vi Contents Theory Versus Model 35 Mechanistic Explanations Versus Functional Explanations Classifying Theories 38 Is the Theory Quantitative or Qualitative? 38 At What Level of Description Does the Theory Operate? What Is the Theory’s Domain? 43 Roles of Theory in Science 43 Understanding 43 Prediction 44 Organizing and Interpreting Research Results Generating Research 44 37 39 44 Characteristics of a Good Theory 46 Ability to Account for Data 46 Explanatory Relevance 46 Testability 46 Prediction of Novel Events 47 Parsimony 47 Strategies for Testing Theories 48 Following a Confirmational Strategy 48 Following a Disconfirmational Strategy 48 Using Confirmational and Disconfirmational Strategies Together Using Strong Inference 49 49 Theory-Driven Versus Data-Driven Research 50 Summary 54 Key Terms 55 Chapter 3: Getting Ideas for Research 56 Sources of Research Ideas Experience 57 Theory 60 Applied Issues 61 57 Developing Good Research Questions Asking Answerable Questions 63 Asking Important Questions 64 63 Developing Research Ideas: Reviewing the Literature 65 Reasons for Reviewing the Scientific Literature 66 Sources of Research Information 66 Performing Library Research 73 The Basic Strategy 74 Using PsycINFO 74 Using PsycARTICLES 77 General Internet Resources 77 bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd vi 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer Contents vii Computer Searching for Books and Other Library Materials 77 Reading a Research Report 78 Obtaining a Copy 78 Reading the Literature Critically 79 Factors Affecting the Quality of a Source of Research Information 84 Publication Practices 84 Statistical Significance 84 Consistency With Previous Knowledge 87 Significance of the Contribution 88 Editorial Policy 88 Peer Review 89 Values Reflected in Research 92 Developing Hypotheses 95 Summary 96 Key Terms 98 Chapter 4: Choosing a Research Design 99 Functions of a Research Design 99 Causal Versus Correlational Relationships 100 Correlational Research 101 An Example of Correlational Research: Cell Phone Use and Accidents 102 Behavior Causation and the Correlational Approach 102 Why Use Correlational Research? 103 Experimental Research 105 Characteristics of Experimental Research 106 An Example of Experimental Research: Cell Phone Use While Driving Strengths and Limitations of the Experimental Approach 109 Experiments Versus Demonstrations 110 108 Internal and External Validity 111 Internal Validity 111 External Validity 115 Internal Versus External Validity 117 Research Settings 117 The Laboratory Setting 118 The Field Setting 119 A Look Ahead 120 Summary 120 Key Terms 122 Chapter 5: Making Systematic Observations 123 Deciding What to Observe 123 Choosing Specific Variables for Your Study bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd vii 124 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer viii Contents Research Tradition 124 Theory 124 Availability of New Techniques 125 Availability of Equipment 125 Choosing Your Measures 126 Reliability of a Measure 126 Accuracy of a Measure 128 Validity of a Measure 129 Acceptance as an Established Measure 130 Scale of Measurement 131 Variables and Scales of Measurement 133 Choosing a Scale of Measurement 134 Adequacy of a Dependent Measure 137 Tailoring Your Measures to Your Research Participants 139 Types of Dependent Variables and How to Use Them 141 Choosing When to Observe 144 The Reactive Nature of Psychological Measurement 145 Reactivity in Research with Human Participants 145 Demand Characteristics 146 Other Influences 147 The Role of the Experimenter 148 Reactivity in Research with Animal Subjects 152 Automating Your Experiments 153 Detecting and Correcting Problems 154 Conducting a Pilot Study 154 Adding Manipulation Checks 155 Summary 155 Key Terms 157 Chapter 6: Choosing and Using Research Subjects 158 General Considerations 158 Populations and Samples 159 Sampling and Generalization 160 Nonrandom Sampling 161 Is Random Sampling Always Necessary? 164 Acquiring Human Participants for Research 164 The Research Setting 164 The Needs of Your Research 166 Institutional Policies and Ethical Guidelines 166 Voluntary Participation and Validity 167 Factors That Affect the Decision to Volunteer 167 Volunteerism and Internal Validity 170 Volunteerism and External Validity 171 Remedies for Volunteerism 172 bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd viii 24/05/13 12:02 PM Final PDF to printer Contents ix Research Using Deception 173 Research Deception in Context 174 Types of Research Deception 175 Problems Involved in Using Deception 175 Solutions to the Problem of Deception 177 Considerations When Using Animals as Subjects in Research 182 Contributions of Research Using Animal Subjects 182 Choosing Which Animal to Use 183 Why Use Animals? 183 How to Acquire Animals for Research 184 Generality of Animal Research Data 184 The Animal Rights Movement 186 Animal Research Issues 187 Alternatives to Animals in Research: In Vitro Methods and Computer Simulation 190 Summary 191 Key Terms 192 Chapter 7: Understanding Ethical Issues in the Research Process 193 Ethical Research Practice With Human Participants 193 John Watson and Little Albert 193 Is It Fear or Is It Anger? 195 Putting Ethical Considerations in Context 195 The Evolution of Ethical Principles for Research With Human Participants 196 The Nuremberg Code 196 The Declaration of Helsinki 197 The Belmont Report 197 APA Ethical Guidelines 198 Government Regulations 198 Internet Research and Ethical Research Practice 201 Ethical Guidelines, Your Research, and the Institutional Review Board 205 Ethical Considerations When Using Animal Subjects 207 The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee 208 Cost–Benefit Assessment: Should the Research Be Done? 209 Treating Science Ethically: The Importance of Research Integrity and the Problem of Research Fraud 210 What Constitutes Fraud in Research? 212 The Prevalence of Research Fraud 212 Explanations for Research Fraud 213 Dealing With Research Fraud 214 Summary 216 Key Terms bor35457_fm_i-xxii.indd ix 218 24/05/13 12:02 PM ... Correlational Research 101 An Example of Correlational Research: Cell Phone Use and Accidents 102 Behavior Causation and the Correlational Approach 102 Why Use Correlational Research? 103 Experimental Research. .. industrial psychology (among others) Overlap Between Basic and Applied Research The distinction between applied and basic research is not always clear Some research areas have both basic and applied... literature searches, research participants, data analysis, plagiarism, and evaluating web sources Instructors will have access to an instructor’s manual, test bank, and PowerPoint presentations, all