RESEARCH METHODS IN
PSYCHOLOGY AT JCCC
Cory Washington
Johnson County Community College
, Research Methods in Psychology
Rajiv S. Jhangiani, I-Chant A. Chiang, Carrie Cuttler, & Dana C.
Leighton
,This text is disseminated via the Open Education Resource (OER) LibreTexts Project (https://LibreTexts.org) and like the
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Pilot Project, the California Education Learning Lab, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California
State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. This material is based upon work supported by the National
Science Foundation under Grant No. 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation nor the US Department of Education.
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protected against unauthorized use.
This text was compiled on 09/18/2026
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Licensing
Authors
Preface
About this Text
Acknowledgements
1: Research Ethics
1.1: Prelude to Research Ethics
1.2: Moral Foundations of Ethical Research
1.3: From Moral Principles to Ethics Codes
1.4: Putting Ethics Into Practice
1.5: Research Ethics (Summary)
2: The Science of Psychology
2.1: Prelude to the Science of Psychology
2.2: 2 Ways of Knowing
2.3: Understanding Science
2.4: Goals of Science
2.5: Science and Common Sense
2.6: Experimental and Clinical Psychologists
2.7: The Science of Psychology (Summary)
3: Overview of the Scientific Method
3.1: Prelude to the Scientific Method
3.2: A Model of Scientific Research in Psychology
3.3: Finding a Research Topic
3.4: Generating Good Research Questions
3.5: Developing a Hypothesis
3.6: Designing a Research Study
3.7: Analyzing the Data
3.8: Drawing Conclusions and Reporting the Results
3.9: Overview of the Scientific Method (Summary)
4: Psychological Measurement
4.1: Prelude to Psychological Measurement
4.2: Understanding Psychological Measurement
4.3: Reliability and Validity of Measurement
4.4: Practical Strategies for Psychological Measurement
4.5: Psychological Measurement (Summary)
iii
PSYCHOLOGY AT JCCC
Cory Washington
Johnson County Community College
, Research Methods in Psychology
Rajiv S. Jhangiani, I-Chant A. Chiang, Carrie Cuttler, & Dana C.
Leighton
,This text is disseminated via the Open Education Resource (OER) LibreTexts Project (https://LibreTexts.org) and like the
thousands of other texts available within this powerful platform, it is freely available for reading, printing, and "consuming."
The LibreTexts mission is to bring together students, faculty, and scholars in a collaborative effort to provide an accessible,
and comprehensive platform that empowers our community to develop, curate, adapt, and adopt openly licensed resources
and technologies; through these efforts we can reduce the financial burden borne from traditional educational resource costs,
ensuring education is more accessible for students and communities worldwide.
Most, but not all, pages in the library have licenses that may allow individuals to make changes, save, and print this book. Carefully
consult the applicable license(s) before pursuing such effects. Instructors can adopt existing LibreTexts texts or Remix them to
quickly build course-specific resources to meet the needs of their students. Unlike traditional textbooks, LibreTexts’ web based
origins allow powerful integration of advanced features and new technologies to support learning.
LibreTexts is the adaptable, user-friendly non-profit open education resource platform that educators trust for creating,
customizing, and sharing accessible, interactive textbooks, adaptive homework, and ancillary materials. We collaborate with
individuals and organizations to champion open education initiatives, support institutional publishing programs, drive curriculum
development projects, and more.
The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by NICE CXone Expert and were supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook
Pilot Project, the California Education Learning Lab, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California
State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. This material is based upon work supported by the National
Science Foundation under Grant No. 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation nor the US Department of Education.
Have questions or comments? For information about adoptions or adaptions contact or visit our main website
at https://LibreTexts.org.
The LibreTexts name, logo, and book covers are trademarked by LibreTexts, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization) and
protected against unauthorized use.
This text was compiled on 09/18/2026
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Licensing
Authors
Preface
About this Text
Acknowledgements
1: Research Ethics
1.1: Prelude to Research Ethics
1.2: Moral Foundations of Ethical Research
1.3: From Moral Principles to Ethics Codes
1.4: Putting Ethics Into Practice
1.5: Research Ethics (Summary)
2: The Science of Psychology
2.1: Prelude to the Science of Psychology
2.2: 2 Ways of Knowing
2.3: Understanding Science
2.4: Goals of Science
2.5: Science and Common Sense
2.6: Experimental and Clinical Psychologists
2.7: The Science of Psychology (Summary)
3: Overview of the Scientific Method
3.1: Prelude to the Scientific Method
3.2: A Model of Scientific Research in Psychology
3.3: Finding a Research Topic
3.4: Generating Good Research Questions
3.5: Developing a Hypothesis
3.6: Designing a Research Study
3.7: Analyzing the Data
3.8: Drawing Conclusions and Reporting the Results
3.9: Overview of the Scientific Method (Summary)
4: Psychological Measurement
4.1: Prelude to Psychological Measurement
4.2: Understanding Psychological Measurement
4.3: Reliability and Validity of Measurement
4.4: Practical Strategies for Psychological Measurement
4.5: Psychological Measurement (Summary)
iii
