Bøger i Methodology in the Social Sciences serien

Walking readers step by step through complex concepts, this book translates missing data techniques into something that applied researchers and graduate students can understand and utilize in their own research. Enders explains the rationale and procedural details for maximum likelihood estimation, Bayesian estimation, multiple imputation, and models for handling missing not at random (MNAR) data. Easy-to-follow examples and small simulated data sets illustrate the techniques and clarify the underlying principles. The companion website (www.appliedmissingdata.com) includes data files and syntax for the examples in the book as well as up-to-date information on software. The book is accessible to substantive researchers while providing a level of detail that will satisfy quantitative specialists.

Interpersonal phenomena such as attachment, conflict, person perception, helping, and influence, when studied by examining individuals in isolation, falls short of capturing their interpersonal nature. This book offers solutions to this problem by presenting data-analytic approaches useful in investigating processes that take place among dyads.

Which types of validity evidence should be considered when determining whether a scale is appropriate for a given measurement situation? What about reliability evidence? Using clear explanations illustrated by examples from across the social and behavioral sciences, this engaging text prepares students to make effective decisions about the selection, administration, scoring, interpretation, and development of measurement instruments. Coverage includes the essential measurement topics of scale development, item writing and analysis, and reliability and validity, as well as more advanced topics such as exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, diagnostic classification models, test bias and fairness, standard setting, and equating. End-of-chapter exercises (with answers) emphasize both computations and conceptual understanding to encourage readers to think critically about the material.

Regression toward the mean is a complex statistical principle that plays a crucial role in any research involving the measurement of change. This primer is designed to help researchers more fully understand this phenomenon and avoid common errors in interpretation.

Offering pragmatic guidance for planning and conducting a meta-analytic review, this book is written in an engaging, nontechnical style that makes it ideal for graduate course use or self-study. The author shows how to identify questions that can be answered using meta-analysis, retrieve both published and unpublished studies, create a coding manual, use traditional and unique effect size indices, and write a meta-analytic review. An ongoing example illustrates meta-analytic techniques. In addition to the fundamentals, the book discusses more advanced topics, such as artifact correction, random- and mixed-effects models, structural equation representations, and multivariate procedures. User-friendly features include annotated equations; discussions of alternative approaches; and "e;Practical Matters"e; sections that give advice on topics not often discussed in other books, such as linking meta-analytic results with theory and the utility of meta-analysis software programs.

While most books on missing data focus on applying sophisticated statistical techniques to deal with the problem after it has occurred, this volume provides a methodology for the control and prevention of missing data. In clear, nontechnical language, the authors help the reader understand the different types of missing data and their implications for the reliability, validity, and generalizability of a studys conclusions. They provide practical recommendations for designing studies that decrease the likelihood of missing data, and for addressing this important issue when reporting study results. When statistical remedies are needed--such as deletion procedures, augmentation methods, and single imputation and multiple imputation procedures--the book also explains how to make sound decisions about their use. Patrick E. McKnight's website offers a periodically updated annotated bibliography on missing data and links to other Web resources that address missing data.

Examining the major approaches to hypothesis testing and model selection, this book blends statistical theory with recommendations for practice, illustrated with real-world social science examples. It systematically compares classical (frequentist) and Bayesian approaches, showing how they are applied, exploring ways to reconcile the differences between them, and evaluating key controversies and criticisms. The book also addresses the role of hypothesis testing in the evaluation of theories, the relationship between hypothesis tests and confidence intervals, and the role of prior knowledge in Bayesian estimation and Bayesian hypothesis testing. Two easily calculated alternatives to standard hypothesis tests are discussed in depth: the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC). The companion website ([ital]www.guilford.com/weakliem-materials[/ital]) supplies data and syntax files for the books examples.

This book offers a complete, practical guide to doing an intensive longitudinal study with individuals, dyads, or groups. It provides the tools for studying social, psychological, and physiological processes in everyday contexts, using methods such as diary and experience sampling. A range of engaging, worked-through research examples with datasets are featured. Coverage includes how to: select the best intensive longitudinal design for a particular research question, apply multilevel models to within-subject designs, model within-subject change processes for continuous and categorical outcomes, assess the reliability of within-subject changes, assure sufficient statistical power, and more. Several end-of-chapter write-ups illustrate effective ways to present study findings for publication. Datasets and output in SPSS, SAS, Mplus, HLM, MLwiN, and R for the examples are available on the companion website (www.intensivelongitudinal.com).

Written in a friendly, conversational style, this book offers a hands-on approach to statistical mediation and moderation for both beginning researchers and those familiar with modeling. Starting with a gentle review of regression-based analysis, Paul Jose covers basic mediation and moderation techniques before moving on to advanced topics in multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, and hybrid combinations, such as moderated mediation. User-friendly features include numerous graphs and carefully worked-through examples; "e;Helpful Suggestions"e; about procedures and pitfalls; "e;Knowledge Boxes"e; delving into special topics, such as dummy coding; and end-of-chapter exercises and problems (with answers). The companion website (www.guilford.com/jose-materials) provides downloadable data and syntax files for the book's examples and exercises, as well as links to Jose's online programs, MedGraph and ModGraph. Appendices present SPSS, Amos, and Mplus syntax for conducting the key types of analyses.

Emphasizing conceptual understanding over mathematics, this user-friendly text introduces linear regression analysis to students and researchers across the social, behavioral, consumer, and health sciences. Coverage includes model construction and estimation, quantification and measurement of multivariate and partial associations, statistical control, group comparisons, moderation analysis, mediation and path analysis, and regression diagnostics, among other important topics. Engaging worked-through examples demonstrate each technique, accompanied by helpful advice and cautions. The use of SPSS, SAS, and STATA is emphasized, with an appendix on regression analysis using R. The companion website (www.afhayes.com) provides datasets for the books examples as well as the RLM macro for SPSS and SAS. Pedagogical Features: *Chapters include SPSS, SAS, or STATA code pertinent to the analyses described, with each distinctively formatted for easy identification. *An appendix documents the RLM macro, which facilitates computations for estimating and probing interactions, dominance analysis, heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors, and linear spline regression, among other analyses. *Students are guided to practice what they learn in each chapter using datasets provided online. *Addresses topics not usually covered, such as ways to measure a variable's importance, coding systems for representing categorical variables, causation, and myths about testing interaction.

Grounded in current knowledge and professional practice, this book provides up-to-date coverage of psychometric theory, methods, and interpretation of results. Essential topics include measurement and statistical concepts, scaling models, test design and development, reliability, validity, factor analysis, item response theory, and generalizability theory. Also addressed are norming and test equating, topics not typically covered in traditional psychometrics texts. Examples drawn from a dataset on intelligence testing are used throughout the book, elucidating the assumptions underlying particular methods and providing SPSS (or alternative) syntax for conducting analyses. The companion website presents datasets for all examples as well as PowerPoint slides of figures and key concepts. Pedagogical features include equation boxes with explanations of statistical notation, and end-of-chapter glossaries. The Appendix offers extensions of the topical chapters with example source code from SAS, SPSS, IRTPRO, BILOG-MG, PARSCALE, TESTFACT, and DIMTEST.

This text provides a thorough introduction to methods for detecting and describing cyclic patterns by clarifying key concepts and covering topics such as research design issues, preliminary data screening and identification and description of cycles.

This book provides practical guidance for using MMR to better assess whether the relationship between two quantitative variables is moderated by group membership.