Nonparametric Models for Longitudinal Data with Implementations in R presents a comprehensive summary of major advances in nonparametric models and smoothing methods with longitudinal data. It covers methods, theories, and applications that are particularly useful for biomedical studies in the era of big data and precision medicine. It also provides flexible tools to describe the temporal trends, covariate effects and correlation structures of repeated measurements in longitudinal data. This book is intended for graduate students in statistics, data scientists and statisticians in biomedical sciences and public health. As experts in this area, the authors present extensive materials that are balanced between theoretical and practical topics. The statistical applications in real-life examples lead into meaningful interpretations and inferences. Features: * Provides an overview of parametric and semiparametric methods * Shows smoothing methods for unstructured nonparametric models * Covers structured nonparametric models with time-varying coefficients * Discusses nonparametric shared-parameter and mixed-effects models * Presents nonparametric models for conditional distributions and functionals * Illustrates implementations using R software packages * Includes datasets and code in the authors' website * Contains asymptotic results and theoretical derivations

Big Data for Qualitative Research covers everything small data researchers need to know about big data, from the potentials of big data analytics to its methodological and ethical challenges. The data that we generate in everyday life is now digitally mediated, stored, and analyzed by web sites, companies, institutions, and governments. Big data is large volume, rapidly generated, digitally encoded information that is often related to other networked data, and can provide valuable evidence for study of phenomena. This book explores the potentials of qualitative methods and analysis for big data, including text mining, sentiment analysis, information and data visualization, netnography, follow-the-thing methods, mobile research methods, multimodal analysis, and rhythmanalysis. It debates new concerns about ethics, privacy, and dataveillance for big data qualitative researchers. This book is essential reading for those who do qualitative and mixed methods research, and are curious, excited, or even skeptical about big data and what it means for future research. Now is the time for researchers to understand, debate, and envisage the new possibilities and challenges of the rapidly developing and dynamic field of big data from the vantage point of the qualitative researcher.

Interpreting Statistics for Beginners teaches readers to correctly read and interpret results of basic statistical procedures as they are presented in scientific literature, and to understand what they can and cannot infer from such results.

The first of its kind, this book explains key elements of scientific paradigms and philosophical concepts that the use of statistics is based on and introduces readers to basic statistical concepts, descriptive statistics and basic elements and procedures of inferential statistics. Explanations are accompanied with detailed examples from scientific publications to demonstrate how the procedures are used and correctly interpreted. Additionally, Interpreting Statistics for Beginners shows readers how to recognize pseudoscientific claims that use statistics or statements not based on the presented data, which is an important skill for every professional relying on statistics in their work.

Written in an easy-to-read style and focusing on explaining concepts behind statistical calculations, the book is most helpful for readers with no previous training in statistics, and also those wishing to bridge the conceptual gap between doing the statistical calculations and interpreting the results.

Unexpected events during an evaluation all too often send evaluators into crisis mode. This insightful book provides a systematic framework for diagnosing, anticipating, accommodating, and reining in costs of evaluation surprises. The result is evaluation that is better from a methodological point of view, and more responsive to stakeholders. Jonathan A. Morell identifies the types of surprises that arise at different stages of a program's life cycle and that may affect different aspects of the evaluation, from stakeholder relationships to data quality, methodology, funding, deadlines, information use, and program outcomes. His analysis draws on 18 concise cases from well-known researchers in a variety of evaluation settings. Morell offers guidelines for responding effectively to surprises and for determining the risks and benefits of potential solutions.

The leading text that covers both the theory and practice of evaluation in one engaging volume has now been revised and updated with additional evaluation approaches (such as mixed methods and principles-focused evaluation) and new methods (such as technologically based strategies). The book features examples of small- and large-scale evaluations from a range of fields, many with reflective commentary from the evaluators; helpful checklists; and carefully crafted learning activities. Major theoretical paradigms in evaluation--and the ways they inform methodological choices--are explained. Readers learn effective strategies for clarifying their own theoretical assumptions; working with stakeholders; developing questions; using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods designs; selecting data collection and sampling strategies; analyzing data; and communicating and utilizing findings. The new companion website provides extensive recommended online resources and tools, organized by chapter. New to This Edition *Additional evaluation approaches: collaborative evaluation, principles-focused evaluation, and desk reviews. *Coverage of new data collection technologies and methods of qualitative coding. *Expanded discussions of logic models, cost-benefit analysis, and mixed methods designs. *Many new and updated sample studies. Pedagogical Features *Reflection questions that prepare students to read each chapter. *"Extending Your Thinking" questions and practical activities. *Boxes delving into key concepts and example studies. *End-of-book Glossary, and highlighted key terms throughout. *Companion website with links to helpful resources on all aspects of evaluation.

In 2010, the International Cyberbullying Think Tank was held in order to discuss questions of definition, measurement, and methodologies related to cyberbullying research. The attendees goal was to develop a set of guidelines that current and future researchers could use to improve the quality of their research and advance our understanding of cyberbullying and related issues. This book is the product of their meetings, and is the first volume to provide researchers with a clear set of principles to inform their work on cyberbullying. The contributing authors, all participants in the Think Tank, review the existing research and theoretical frameworks of cyberbullying before exploring topics such as questions of methodology, sampling issues, methods employed so far, psychometric issues that must be considered, ethical considerations, and implications for prevention and intervention efforts. Researchers as well as practitioners seeking information to inform their prevention and intervention programs will find this to be a timely and essential resource.

* It offers an original answer to this question: evaluation spreads because we want to be evaluated. * Developing a critical reflection from a psychoanalytic perspective, it argues that workers are not mere victims of evaluation systems but are complicit in them. * Benedicte Vidaillet focuses on the aspects of our subjectivity that come into play in evaluation at work -our expectations, desires, need for recognition, our conceptions of ourselves at work, as well as our relationship with others such as colleagues, managers or clients - to explore how evaluation affects us, where it gets its evocative power, and what it stirs within us to make us want it, despite its detrimental effects in its currently practiced form. * Chapters draw on real-life examples, case studies from a variety of organizations, and observations from clinical practice, to provide insight into the many mechanisms that have enabled evaluation to spread unimpeded through our subjective complicity in the process, revealing how they came to seem so innocuous. * This book will be of interest to scholars studying the topic of evaluation at work from a critical perspective as well as professionals who use evaluation systems or are under the pressure of evaluation in all sectors and organizations. * By exposing the psychological mechanisms that evaluation uses to appeal to us, it gives each of us the tools we need to break free of its grasp.

Contains information for using R software with the examples in the textbook Sampling: Design and Analysis, 3rd edition by Sharon L. Lohr.

Polls are conducted every day all around the world for almost everything (especially during elections). But not every poll is a good one. A lot depends on the type of questions asked, how they are asked and whether the sample used is truly representative. And these are not the only aspects of a poll that should be checked. So how does one separate the chaff from the wheat? That's where Understanding Public Opinion Polls comes in. Written by a well-known author with over thirty years of experience, the book is built around a checklist for polls that describes the various aspects of polls to pay attention to if one intends to use its results. By comprehensively answering the questions in the checklist, a good idea of the quality of the poll is obtained. Features: Provides readers with a deeper understanding of practical and theoretical aspects of opinion polls while assuming no background in mathematics or statistics Shows how to determine if a poll is good or bad Provides a historical perspective and includes examples from real polls Gives special attention to online and election polls The book gives an overview of many aspects of polls - questionnaire design, sample selection, estimation, margins of error, nonresponse and weighting. It is essential reading for those who want to gain a better understanding of the ins and outs of polling including those who are confronted with polls in their daily life or work or those who need to learn how to conduct their own polls.

The new edition of An Introduction to Statistical Concepts is designed to help students really understand statistical concepts, the situations in which they can be used, and how to apply them to data. Hahs-Vaughn and Lomax discuss the most popular, along with many of the lesser-known, procedures and models, whilst also exploring nonparametric procedures used when standard assumptions are violated. They provide in-depth coverage of testing assumptions and highlight several online tools for computing statistics (e.g., effect sizes and their confidence intervals and power). This comprehensive, flexible, and accessible text includes a new chapter on mediation and moderation; expanded coverage of effect sizes; and discussions of sensitivity, specificity, false positive, and false negative, along with using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. In addition to instructions and screen shots for using SPSS, new to this edition is annotated script for using R. This book, noted for its crystal-clear explanations, and its inclusion of only the most crucial equations, is an invaluable resource for students undertaking a course in statistics in any number of social science and behavioral disciplines-from education, business, communication, exercise science, psychology, sociology and more.

This book examines and explores Jacques Lacan's controversial topologisation of psychoanalysis, and seeks to persuade the reader that this enterprise was necessary and important. In providing both an introduction to a fundamental component of Lacan's theories, as well as readings of texts that have been largely ignored, it provides a thorough critical interpretation of his work. Will Greenshields argues that Lacan achieved his most pedagogically clear and successful presentations of his most essential and notoriously complex concepts - such as structure, the subject and the real - through the deployment of topology. The book will help readers to better understand Lacan, and also those concepts that have become prevalent in various intellectual discourses such as contemporary continental philosophy, politics and the study of ideology, and literary or cultural criticism.

Dieser Buchtitel ist Teil des Digitalisierungsprojekts Springer Book Archives mit Publikationen, die seit den Anfangen des Verlags von 1842 erschienen sind. Der Verlag stellt mit diesem Archiv Quellen fur die historische wie auch die disziplingeschichtliche Forschung zur Verfugung, die jeweils im historischen Kontext betrachtet werden mussen. Dieser Titel erschien in der Zeit vor 1945 und wird daher in seiner zeittypischen politisch-ideologischen Ausrichtung vom Verlag nicht beworben.

Modeled after Barbara Byrne's other best-selling structural equation modeling (SEM) books, this practical guide reviews the basic concepts and applications of SEM using Mplus Versions 5 & 6. The author reviews SEM applications based on actual data taken from her own research. Using non-mathematical language, it is written for the novice SEM user. With each application chapter, the author "walks" the reader through all steps involved in testing the SEM model including:

• an explanation of the issues addressed
• illustrated and annotated testing of the hypothesized and post hoc models
• explanation and interpretation of all Mplus input and output files
• important caveats pertinent to the SEM application under study
• a description of the data and reference upon which the model was based
• the corresponding data and syntax files available at http: //www.psypress.com/sem-with-mplus/datasets .

The first two chapters introduce the fundamental concepts of SEM and important basics of the Mplus program. The remaining chapters focus on SEM applications and include a variety of SEM models presented within the context of three sections: Single-group analyses, Multiple-group analyses, and other important topics, the latter of which includes the multitrait-multimethod, latent growth curve, and multilevel models.

Intended for researchers, practitioners, and students who use SEM and Mplus, this book is an ideal resource for graduate level courses on SEM taught in psychology, education, business, and other social and health sciences and/or as a supplement for courses on applied statistics, multivariate statistics, intermediate or advanced statistics, and/or research design. Appropriate for those with limited exposure to SEM or Mplus, a prerequisite of basic statistics through regression analysis is recommended.

This latest edition has been fully updated to accommodate the needs of users of SPSS Releases 17, 18 and 19 while still being applicable to users of SPSS Releases 15 and 16. As with previous editions, Alan Bryman and Duncan Cramer continue to offer a comprehensive and user-friendly introduction to the widely used IBM SPSS Statistics. The simple, non-technical approach to quantitative data analysis enables the reader to quickly become familiar with SPSS and with the tests available to them. No previous experience of statistics or computing is required as this book provides a step-by-step guide to statistical techniques, including: Non-parametric tests Correlation Simple and multiple regression Analysis of variance and covariance Factor analysis. This book comes equipped with a comprehensive range of exercises for further practice, and it covers key issues such as sampling, statistical inference, conceptualization and measurement and selection of appropriate tests. The authors have also included a helpful glossary of key terms. The data sets used in Quantitative Data Analysis with IBM SPSS 17, 18 and 19 are available online at http://www.routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/_author/bryman-9780415579193/; in addition, a set of multiple-choice questions and a chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint lecture course are available free of charge to lecturers who adopt the book.

Now in its fifth, expanded edition, Using Sources Effectively, Fifth Edition targets the two most prominent problems in current research-paper writing: the increase in unintentional plagiarism and the ineffective use of research source material. Designed as a supplementary textbook for both undergraduate and graduate courses, this book will help every student who uses research in writing. Included in this edition are coverage of research strategies and source selection (Chapter 2), a chapter on quoting sources effectively (Chapter 4), and a chapter on sentence patterns (Chapter 10). APA and MLA citation styles have been updated throughout the text. To the student: This book was written to give you the knowledge and tools you can use to make your research-based writing more powerful and effective. Here are some examples: Mini-Research Projects at the end of each chapter to sharpen your research and evaluation skills A set of practical, useful rhetorical devices to help improve the clarity and impact of your writing Increased emphasis on synthesis writing-weaving source use into your own thinking-to give your writing more interest and persuasive power Instruction in close reading to help you better grasp what an author is discussing or arguing Strategies for organizing and positioning your sources to strengthen your central argument.

A new take on therapeutic mindfulness with specific applications to troubled and delinquent youth is the focus of this innovative text. It introduces Family Mode Deactivation Therapy (FMDT) and its core concepts and methodologies, differentiating it from other cognitive and mindfulness therapies for adolescents with problem behaviors and comorbid conditions. Step by step applications of FMDT from case conceptualization to assessment and treatment are featured, with detailed case studies demonstrating its effectiveness in treating mood disorders, aggressive behavior and trauma and guidelines for its use with abusive families and other complex cases. The book's depth of clinical detail and appendix of therapist tools make it especially practical. Included in the coverage: A comparison of MDT with other cognitive approaches. The empirical status of MDT. Mindfulness in MDT process, and in the treatment room. FMDT and sexual offender youth. MDT and mindfulness in the context of trauma. Treating the "untreatable": FMDT and challenging populations. While Treating Adolescents with Family-Based Mindfulness is immediately useful to practicing psychotherapists, it should also be of interest to other professionals with a role in adolescent health care, such as policymakers, social workers, supervisors, juvenile corrections and youth center personnel and students and researchers.

Studying Complex Interactions and Outcomes Through Qualitative Comparative Analysis: A Practical Guide to Comparative Case Studies and Ethnographic Data Analysis offers practical, methodological, and theoretically robust guidelines to systematically study the causalities, dynamics, and outcomes of complex social interactions in multiple source data sets. It demonstrates how to convert data from multisited ethnography of investment politics, mobilizations, and citizen struggles into a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). In this book, Markus Kroeger focuses on how data collected primarily via multisited political ethnography, supplemented by other materials and verified by multiple forms of triangulation, can be systematically analyzed through QCA. The results of this QCA offer insight on how to study the political and economic outcomes in natural resource conflicts, across different contexts and political systems. This book applies the method in practice using examples from the author's own research. With a focus on social movement studies, it shows how QCA can be used to analyze a multiple data source database, that includes results from multiple case studies. This book is a practical guide for researchers and students in social movement studies and other disciplines that produce ethnographic data from multiple sources on how to analyze complex databases through the QCA.

The Theoretical Framework in Phenomenological Research: Development and Application is an introduction to phenomenology in which the authors overview its origin, main ideas and core concepts. They show the application and relevancy of phenomenological tenets in practical qualitative research, as well as demonstrate how aligning theory and method enhances research credibility. In this detailed but digestible explanation of phenomenological theories, the authors explore the ideas of the main founders pertaining to the meaning of perceived reality and the meaning of being, and how these founders articulated their methodologies. In doing so, The Theoretical Framework in Phenomenological Research fills the well-documented gap between theory and practice within phenomenology by providing a much-needed bridge between the foundational literature and applied research on the subject, focusing equally on theory and practice. The book includes practical demonstrations on how to create theoretical/conceptual frameworks in applied phenomenological research. It also features detailed, step-by-step illustrations and examples regarding how researchers can develop frameworks and use their concepts to inform the development of themes at the data analysis stage. A reliable guide underpinned by foundational phenomenology literature, The Theoretical Framework in Phenomenological Research is an essential text for researchers, instructors, practitioners and students looking to design and conduct phenomenological studies in a manner that ensures credible outcomes.

Cases and Stories of Transformative Action Research builds on its companion book, Principles and Methods of Transformative Action Research, by describing and analyzing dozens of examples of successful action research efforts pursued in the past five decades by students and faculty of the Western Institute for Social Research. Some projects are large-scale, and some are modest interventions in the everyday lives of those participating. Some are formal organizational efforts; others are the results of individual or small group initiatives. Included are chapters on community needs assessments and innovative grassroots approaches to program evaluation; the challenges of improving our decision-making during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic; strategies of intellectual activism in addressing the growing problem of workplace bullying; action research to preserve and share the history of the Omaha tribe; and plans for an innovative school-based project based on collaborative action-and-inquiry between students and Artificial Intelligence. In addition, there are a number of detailed stories about the use of transformative action research in such areas as somatic and trauma counseling, ethnic studies, health disparities, gender differences, grassroots popular education, and the improvement of statewide steps for preventing child abuse, among many others. This book can serve as an undergraduate or graduate social sciences text on research methods. It is also a guidebook for action-oriented research by academics, professionals, and lay people alike.

Case study research is a versatile approach that allows for different data sources to be combined, with its main purpose being theory development. This book goes a step further by combining different case study research designs, informed by the authors' extensive teaching and research experience. It provides an accessible introduction to case study research, familiarizes readers with different archetypical and sequenced designs, and describes these designs and their components using both real and fictional examples. It provides thought-provoking exercises, and in doing so, prepares the reader to design their own case study in a way that suits the research objective. Written for an academic audience, this book is useful for students, their supervisors and professors, and ultimately any researcher who intends to use, or is already using, the case study approach.

The question of whether someone is psychologically healthy or mentally ill, and the fundamental nature of mental health underlying that question has been debated in cultural, academic, and clinical settings for millennia. This book provides an overview of how people have conceptualized and understood mental illness through the ages. The book begins by looking at mental illness in humanity's evolutionary past then moves through the major historical epochs: the mythological, the Classical, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and modern, and the postmodern. At each point, it focuses on major elements that emerged regarding how people judged sanity and insanity and places major emphasis on the growing fields of psychiatry and psychology as they emerged and developed. As the book moves into the twenty-first century, Dr. Jenkins presents his integrated model of knowledge, a systemic, holistic model of the psyche that creates a conceptual foundation for understanding both psychological wellness and disorder and approaching assessment and diagnosis. This text provides a valuable exploration of mental health and illness across the ages and gives those already well versed in the subject matter a fresh perspective on the past and new model of knowledge and assessment for the future.

Qualitative interviewing is among the most widely used methods in the social sciences, but it is arguably the least understood. In The Science and Art of Interviewing, Kathleen Gerson and Sarah Damaske offer clear, theoretically informed and empirically rich strategies for conducting interview studies. They present both a rationale and guide to the science-and art-of in-depth interviewing to take readers through all the steps in the research process, from the initial stage of formulating a question to the final one of presenting the results. Gerson and Damaske show readers how to develop a research design for interviewing, decide on and find an appropriate sample, construct a questionnaire, conduct probing interviews, and analyze the data they collect. At each stage, they also provide practical tips about how to address the ever-present, but rarely discussed challenges that qualitative researchers routinely encounter, particularly emphasizing the relationship between conducting well-crafted research and building powerful social theories. With an engaging, accessible style, The Science and Art of Interviewing targets a wide range of audiences, from upper-level undergraduates and graduate methods courses to students embarking on their dissertations to seasoned researchers at all stages of their careers.

The Data Book: Collection and Management of Research Data is the first practical book written for researchers and research team members covering how to collect and manage data for research. The book covers basic types of data and fundamentals of how data grow, move and change over time. Focusing on pre-publication data collection and handling, the text illustrates use of these key concepts to match data collection and management methods to a particular study, in essence, making good decisions about data. The first section of the book defines data, introduces fundamental types of data that bear on methodology to collect and manage them, and covers data management planning and research reproducibility. The second section covers basic principles of and options for data collection and processing emphasizing error resistance and traceability. The third section focuses on managing the data collection and processing stages of research such that quality is consistent and ultimately capable of supporting conclusions drawn from data. The final section of the book covers principles of data security, sharing, and archival. This book will help graduate students and researchers systematically identify and implement appropriate data collection and handling methods.

Leading therapists and researchers have come to understand that many psychological disorders share common features and respond to common therapeutic treatments. This deepened understanding of the nature of psychological disorders, their causes, and their symptoms has led to the development of new, comprehensive treatment programs that are effective for whole classes of disorders. Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders is one such program. Designed for individuals suffering from emotional disorders, including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression, this program focuses on helping you to better understand your emotions and identify what you're doing in your responses to them that may be making things worse. Throughout the course of treatment you will learn different strategies and techniques for managing your emotional experiences and the symptoms of your disorder. You will learn how to monitor your feelings, thoughts, and behaviors; confront uncomfortable emotions; and learn more effective ways of coping with your experiences. By proactively practicing the skills presented in this book-and completing the exercises, homework assignments and self-assessment quizzes provided in each chapter, you will address your problems in a comprehensive and effective way so you can regulate your emotional experiences and return to living a happy and functional life.

A daily glass of wine prolongs life-yet alcohol can cause life-threatening cancer. Some say raising the minimum wage will decrease inequality while others say it increases unemployment. Scientists once confidently claimed that hormone replacement therapy reduced the risk of heart disease but now they equally confidently claim it raises that risk. What should we make of this endless barrage of conflicting claims? Observation and Experiment is an introduction to causal inference by one of the field's leading scholars. An award-winning professor at Wharton, Paul Rosenbaum explains key concepts and methods through lively examples that make abstract principles accessible. He draws his examples from clinical medicine, economics, public health, epidemiology, clinical psychology, and psychiatry to explain how randomized control trials are conceived and designed, how they differ from observational studies, and what techniques are available to mitigate their bias. "Carefully and precisely written...reflecting superb statistical understanding, all communicated with the skill of a master teacher." -Stephen M. Stigler, author of The Seven Pillars of Statistical Wisdom "An excellent introduction...Well-written and thoughtful...from one of causal inference's noted experts." -Journal of the American Statistical Association "Rosenbaum is a gifted expositor...an outstanding introduction to the topic for anyone who is interested in understanding the basic ideas and approaches to causal inference." -Psychometrika "A very valuable contribution...Highly recommended." -International Statistical Review