ABSTRACT
Teaching about research methods always has been an integral part of the psychology curriculum in the United States. From 1901 to 1905, Edward Titchener authored a series of ‘Experimental Psychology’ manuals for students and instructors. The detailed manuals introduced graduate students to laboratory equipment and procedures and defined the subject matter of the new science of psychology. By the middle of the twentieth century, most psychology undergraduates learned about research methods in experimental psychology courses and from textbooks expressing some variation of the course title. At present most psychology undergraduates learn about quantitative methods and analysis (that is, statistics), philosophy of science and research ethics in research methods courses and from similarly titled textbooks. In this chapter, we explore this transformation in teaching research methods by psychologists in the United States. Our chapter is a first step in reviewing the history of teaching research methods and one that we hope will stimulate further inquiry.
