The Fifth Edition of the classic Developmental Research Methods presents an overview of methods to prepare students to carry out, report on, and evaluate research on human development across the lifespan. The book explores every step in the research process, from the initial concept to the final written product, covering conceptual issues of experimental design, as well as the procedural skills necessary to translate design into research. Incorporating new topics, pedagogy, and references, this edition conveys an appreciation of the issues that must be addressed, the decisions that must be made, and the obstacles that must be overcome at every phase in a research project, capturing both the excitement and the challenge of doing quality research on topics that matter.
1: Introduction
Goals of the Book
Steps in a Research Program
Plan of the Book
Summary
Exercises
2: General Principles
Variables
Validity
Sampling
Control
Subject Variables
Outcomes
Threats to Validity
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
3: Design
Age Comparisons
Condition Comparisons
Correlational Research
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
4: Measurement
Some Basic Concepts
Quality of Measurement
Tests
Regression
Observational Methods
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
5: Procedure
Standardization
Some Sources of Bias
Reactivity and Related Problems
Experimenter Bias
Loss of Participants
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
6: Contexts
Lab and Field
Ecological Systems
Cross-Cultural Research
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
7: Qualitative Research
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
Methods of Study
Overview and Evaluation
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
8: Applied Research
Assessment
Socially Important Issues
Intervention
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
9: Statistics
Uses of Statistics
Some More about Significance
Choosing a Statistical Test
Correlations
Multiple Regression
Meta-Analysis
Some General Points
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
10: Ethics
Guidelines and Procedures
Rights of the Research Participant
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
11: Writing
Sections of an Article
Some Specific Stylistic Points
Summary
Exercises
12: Infancy
General Issues
Infant Perception
Infant Cognitive Development
Infant Social Development
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
13: Cognitive Development
The Piagetian Approach
The Intelligence Test Approach
Memory
Theory of Mind
Concepts
Executive Function
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
14: Social Development
Moral Development
Emotions
Gender Differences and Gender Typing
Peer Relations
Child Rearing
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
15: Aging
General Issues (as Illustrated by the Study of IQ)
Memory
Wisdom
Memory
Personality and Social Development
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
