Research Methods and Statistics

Macmillan Insights in Psychology

by Ian Walker

Whether it's designing a study, conducting an experiment, or analyzing the results, research methods are an integral part of Psychology. In this student-friendly introduction, Walker covers the different types of study, quantitative data, statistics and ethics. This book is the perfect tool to help build students' confidence in this vital area.

Genres: Psychology

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2010

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious and entertaining way to grasp the essentials of statistics! I will be recommending this book to anyone struggling in undergraduate courses or wanting a lighthearted refresher of statistical concepts.

[Jessy Fisk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good entry level book. It even has bad jokes. Makes things really simple to understand, and is for people who have a literary mind rather than mathematical so I found it really useful. My only whine about it is it's a bit too simplistic for degree level, I would have liked a chapter on how to read statistical findings in papers because the language he uses is brilliant. Although, I guess when he teaches me in semester 2 (i think?) that might help :B

[Chris Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put of the many research methods books I bought this was the only one that I could read.

[Ugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was recently appointed editor of a healthcare journal, and although I did maths at A level, I avoided practical work while studying biochemistry at university, and so I felt a need to brush up on my basic statistics. I spent a long time browsing in the statistics section of Foyles, but even the introductory titles looked much too heavy going, with far too much emphasis on how to actually carry out statistical analyses for my needs. I'd pretty much given up and decided to opt for the Very Short Introduction to Statistics - which has fairly average reviews on Amazon - when I wandered into the Psychology section and happened upon this.
The eye-catching cover no doubt helped me spot it, and indeed the book itself is a lovely thing. The cover, the print, the organisation of the contents, the tables and graphs - all are wonderful. It's simply a delightful volume, and I fell in love with it immediately.
And the content itself happily also proved to be excellent. The concepts are very clearly explained, often in more than one way and always with very useful examples. The book is aimed at research novices, i.e. A level and undergraduate students, and for me it hits the mark perfectly. The writing style is engaging and amusing (without being annoying, as is often the case when people try to target youngish readers) as well as informative and authoritative. I came away thinking that Ian Walker must be not only a very good scientist but also a great teacher. Credit is no doubt also due to the editors.
The only complaint I have is that I would have liked a bit more detail on qualitative research methods, which I'll be encountering a lot - here they're only briefly dealt with. If those had been given just a little more attention then I could probably have started and ended my stats reseach right here. As it is I'll probably have to seek out a second book that deals specifically with that subject.
There surely aren't many books on statistics that you can sit and read from cover to cover. That's exactly what I did here, and the experience was about as enjoyable as it could possibly have been. This book was almost perfect for my requirements, and I'm very glad that I stumbled across it. I might even go read a few of Ian's own research papers for some examples of how it ought to be done!

[Richard Tait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good intro. As enjoyable a read as a stats book will ever be.