Research in Psychology: A Practical Guide to Methods and Statistics [Paperback]

The 1st edition of Beginning Research in Psychology was published in 1995, with life sales of 6800 copies (MAT 220). It was quite well received but is generally accepted to be far too wordy, bulky and long, and it is now very dated in terms of design and presentation. It was also designed for both A level and beginning undergraduate course This second edition will be entirely rewritten to produce a pared down, concise and accessible textbook, and the emphasis will be shifted from A level to HE, mainly with less able undergraduate students in mind, studying at new universities. The aim will be to produce an introductory methods and statistics text for psychology students that:Provides thorough coverage of key areas and topics Meets the current needs of undergraduates (particularly those at Level 1) Provides consistently clear exposition and explanation, while remaining succinct and concise Recognises that students at the introductory level need a clear focus on the practicalities of research (the "how to do it" element). Will include qualitative, as well as quantitative, approaches. This is very important given the increased emphasis on qualitative methods in UK universities, and this really does set the book apart from the rest.The basic structure of the first edition of the book (i.e. the division between methods and statistics) will be retained. After a single chapter to introduce the epistemological essentials the Methods section will consist of four chapters, (Observation, Experiment, Interview and Survey - since these are the methods most likely to be encountered by students at the introductory level). This will be followed by a section of approximately equal length on data analysis. The changes envisaged for this section will include a new chapter on dealing with qualitative data and a reduction of the material on the theoretical background to statistical testing to a single chapter. The new final chapter deals with aspects of planning and writing up not dealt with elsewhere. All chapters will be completely re-written from the first edition, and provided with a variety of 'pedagogic apparatus': Chapter maps, key terms and concepts (start of each chapter): information supplementary to the main argument, definitions of technical terms and the like, located in separate topic boxes (within each chapter): chapter summary, extension questions and activities (if appropriate), references and suggestions for further reading (end of each chapter) The aim will be to position the proposed book between the two Coolican productions, one of which is too brief and informationally skimpy while the other is too large and informationally rich. This will mean writing concisely and with a strict focus on essentials across a limited range of key topics, in order to produce a book that provides a solid introduction to research methods and statistics for beginniing undergraduates. SMB comments: This is a highly competitive field, but also a huge market, and Dyer writes accessibly and well (see reviews). The text will be thoroughly developed at all stages, with further market research and reviewing of the text. I have high hopes of ongoing yearly sales in excess of 2,000 - if we get it right, it could be much more.