Editor-in-chief Harris Cooper (psychology and neuroscience, U. of Missouri) provides an extensive introductory essay on the objectives of psychological research and their relations to research methods, and on the objectives and organization of this three-volume reference. The primary aim is to guide researchers toward informed choices of investigation methods appropriate to the questions under consideration. Cooper, a team of five associate editors, and roughly 150 contributors prepared this fourth offering in the publisher's series, APA Handbooks in Psychology. Volume 1 is subtitled Foundations, Planning, Measures, and Psychometrics; volume 2: Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, Neuropsychological, and Biological; and volume 3: Data Analysis and Research Publication. The three volumes offer comprehensive coverage beginning with foundations--including philosophical, ethical, and societal underpinnings of psychological research--and ending with various types of quantitative data analysis and preparing a manuscript for publication. Previous volumes in the series are the APA Dictionary of Psychology (2006), the APA Concise Dictionary of Psychology (2008), and the APA College Dictionary of Psychology (2009). Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)