Main description:

The development of a field or an area of inquiry is often marked by changes in measurement techniques, shifts in analytic emphasis, and disputes over the best ways of doing research. In many areas of psychology, a number of issues have characterized methodological evolution of the discipline, including questions regarding context and reductionism, or laboratory versus field research. For some of the newer areas in psychology, such as environment or health psychology, this is not an issue of either/or. Although there has been some debate about these trade-offs, it is generally regarded by people in this field that some combination of the two approaches is essential. Depending on the question being studied this balance may change. However, the questions asked are less likely to inquire 'which way is better' and concentrate on how both may be used.

This observation serves to illustrate the fact that different research endeavours have different methodological issues. Originally published in 1985, this volume explores some of the issues characterizing work on health, environment, and behavior.

Contents:

List of Contributors. Preface. 1. Ecological Validity Issues in Field Research Settings Gary H. Winkel 2. Research on the Chronically Ill: Conceptual and Methodological Perspectives Rosemary Lichtman, Shelley E. Taylor, and Joanne V. Wood 3. Working with Victims: Changes in the Researcher's Assumptive World Ronnie Janoff-Bulman and Christine Timko 4. Simulation and Related Research Methods in Environmental Psychology Siegfried Streufert and Robret W. Swezey 5. Environmental Exposure and Disease: An Epidemiological Perspective on Some Methodological Issues in Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine Stanislav V. Kasl 6. Survey Research Methods in Environmental Psychology Judith M. Tanur 7. Understanding Environmental Stress: Strategies for Conceptual and Methodological Integration Andrew Baum, Raymond Fleming and Jerome E. Singer. Author Index. Subject Index.