Editorial: Research Methods Pedagogy: Engaging Psychology Students in Research Methods and Statistics

Across disciplines, many introductory research methods students present as uninterested and unmotivated to learn a topic they see as lacking in relevance (Earley, 2014); psychology is no exception (Ruggeri et al., 2008). This is problematic as research methods and statistics are central to the development of professional competence and evidence based psychological practice. Reflecting this, the ability to interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research forms part of the " scientific inquiry and critical thinking " goal of the APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major: Version 2.0 (American Psychological Association, 2016), with research methods and statistics a requirement of almost all undergraduate psychology programs (Norcross et al., 2016). Furthermore, the ability to interpret and apply research findings contributes to the development of psychological literacy, the primary outcome of an undergraduate education in psychology (Cranney and Dunn, 2011). This Research Topic brings together current research, innovative evidence-based practice and critical discourse related to engaging undergraduate psychology students in learning quantitative and qualitative methods research. In the first of fourteen articles, Lacot et al. present a perspective on two methods of stimulating first year undergraduate students' interest in research methods within an introductory psychology course, with the aim of promoting critical thinking about research right from the beginning of the undergraduate degree. Teaching students to critically question what they hear and read, to " evidence check " and propose ways of testing are important components underlying the development of research methods competence. While interest in research methods can be stimulated in introductory psychology course, most teaching of research methods occurs within dedicated research methods courses. Three articles explore the role of active learning within research methods courses in psychology, a strategy with demonstrated effectiveness for increasing student performance across science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses (Freeman et al., 2014). Allen and Baughman report that in comparison to students in didactic workshops, students in activity based workshops demonstrated greater knowledge of, and confidence in using, research methods, but did not differ in their satisfaction with the learning experience. Rock et al. describe how eLearning systems might be used to actively engage psychology students in research methods and statistics through the application of eLearning pedagogical principles, providing examples of teaching advanced research methods within a virtual world. Lim et al. report that retrieval practice produces better long-term retention of statistical knowledge than does repeated studying. These articles share a focus on the benefits …