Research Methods in Psychology: A Primer

Tay Wilson is an associate professor of psychology at Laurentian
University.

The questions concerning this book are, “Who will read it, when, and
to what effect?” Experience in teaching research methods and
statistics over two decades on two sides of the Atlantic has taught me
that what is needed, particularly with the mathematically weak students
now entering university, is immediate immersion in the mathematical
probabilistic language of the field. Such “watered down” approaches
as this one, in which topics are barely broached and there may be not
one single mathematical expression in the whole work, simply delude
students, particularly those who are mathematically weak, into thinking
they are understanding and becoming effective in the field when they are
doing no such thing. The topics touched on, virtually without the use of
symbols, include observation-survey interviews, statistical concepts,
psychometric tests, one-factor and multifactor experiments, and
quasi-experiments.

For the neophyte, recourse to a book like this simply wastes valuable
time. If a primer is wanted, it would be better to write something of
perhaps 100 pages along the model of G.M. Smith’s (1962) simplified
guide, in which basic mathematical tools are developed and concepts are
then explained using these tools. My experience is that efficient
recourse to the latter type of presentation quickly and effectively
equips good and poor students with the skills needed to handle research
design material. Students who are not neophytes, of course, would
benefit most from a more thorough and (where appropriate) mathematical
treatment of the topics covered in Chow’s book. It is difficult,
therefore, to think of a readership that might profit from this book.