Research Methods and Applied Statistics
A Practical Guide to Conducting Research

This psychology textbook offers approachable, step-by-step guidance developing a research study using SPSS or R.

Anthony J. Girasoli (Author)

9781009361439, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 October 2025

552 pages
28 x 19 x 3.2 cm, 1.284 kg

'Many research methods and statistics books are available for the social sciences. This new textbook, Research Methods and Applied Statistics by Girasoli, is a combination of both. The book walks students through the research process, from writing a proposal and performing the study to analyzing the results and creating a report and presentation.' Jianling Xie, University of Houston–Downtown

Students have an almost insurmountable task in understanding statistics in the psychological sciences and applying them to a research study. This textbook tackles this source of stress by guiding students through the research process, start to finish, from writing a proposal and performing the study, to analysing the results and creating a report and presentation. This truly practical textbook explains psychology research methods in a conversational style, with additional material of interest placed in focus boxes alongside, so that students don't lose their way through the steps. Every step is detailed visually with processes paralleled in both SPSS and R, allowing instructors and students to learn both statistical packages or to bridge from one to the other. Students perform hands-on statistical exercises using real data, and both qualitative and mixed-methods research are covered. They learn effective ways to present information visually, and about free tools to collect and analyse data.

Preface
Introduction
1. Developing a Research Study Proposal
2. Developing a Research Question and Hypotheses, Choosing Statistics, and Estimating the Sample Size
3. Experimental vs. Correlational Studies, Measuring Constructs, and Internal Consistency Reliability
4. Demographics, Creating Surveys, and Data Management
5. Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Approaches
6. Beginning Your Analysis: Descriptive Statistics and Correlations
7. Relationships Between Nominal Data: Chi-Square and McNemar's Tests
8. Comparing Means with Two Groups: The t and U Tests
9. Comparing Means with Multiple Groups: The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
10 Multiple Regression Analysis: Predicting a Continuous Variable
11. Binary Logistic Regression Analysis: Predicting a Dichotomous Variable
12. Data Visualization and Interpretation
13. Pulling it All Together: The Research Paper, the Research Poster, and Everything
Appendix A: Installing R.

Subject Areas: Psychological methodology [JMB]