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Books > Social sciences > Psychology > Psychological methodology > General
Generalized Linear Models for Categorical and Continuous Limited Dependent Variables is designed for graduate students and researchers in the behavioral, social, health, and medical sciences. It incorporates examples of truncated counts, censored continuous variables, and doubly bounded continuous variables, such as percentages. The book provides broad, but unified, coverage, and the authors integrate the concepts and ideas shared across models and types of data, especially regarding conceptual links between discrete and continuous limited dependent variables. The authors argue that these dependent variables are, if anything, more common throughout the human sciences than the kind that suit linear regression. They cover special cases or extensions of models, estimation methods, model diagnostics, and, of course, software. They also discuss bounded continuous variables, boundary-inflated models, and methods for modeling heteroscedasticity. Wherever possible, the authors have illustrated concepts, models, and techniques with real or realistic datasets and demonstrations in R and Stata, and each chapter includes several exercises at the end. The illustrations and exercises help readers build conceptual understanding and fluency in using these techniques. At several points the authors bring together material that has been previously scattered across the literature in journal articles, software package documentation files, and blogs. These features help students learn to choose the appropriate models for their purpose.
Age-Period-Cohort Analysis: New Models, Methods, and Empirical Applications is based on a decade of the authors' collaborative work in age-period-cohort (APC) analysis. Within a single, consistent HAPC-GLMM statistical modeling framework, the authors synthesize APC models and methods for three research designs: age-by-time period tables of population rates or proportions, repeated cross-section sample surveys, and accelerated longitudinal panel studies. The authors show how the empirical application of the models to various problems leads to many fascinating findings on how outcome variables develop along the age, period, and cohort dimensions. The book makes two essential contributions to quantitative studies of time-related change. Through the introduction of the GLMM framework, it shows how innovative estimation methods and new model specifications can be used to tackle the "model identification problem" that has hampered the development and empirical application of APC analysis. The book also addresses the major criticism against APC analysis by explaining the use of new models within the GLMM framework to uncover mechanisms underlying age patterns and temporal trends. Encompassing both methodological expositions and empirical studies, this book explores the ways in which statistical models, methods, and research designs can be used to open new possibilities for APC analysis. It compares new and existing models and methods and provides useful guidelines on how to conduct APC analysis. For empirical illustrations, the text incorporates examples from a variety of disciplines, such as sociology, demography, and epidemiology. Along with details on empirical analyses, software and programs to estimate the models are available on the book's web page.
Test fairness is a moral imperative for both the makers and the users of tests. This book focuses on methods for detecting test items that function differently for different groups of examinees and on using this information to improve tests. Of interest to all testing and measurement specialists, it examines modern techniques used routinely to insure test fairness. Three of these relevant to the book's contents are: * detailed reviews of test items by subject matter experts and members of the major subgroups in society (gender, ethnic, and linguistic) that will be represented in the examinee population * comparisons of the predictive validity of the test done separately for each one of the major subgroups of examinees * extensive statistical analyses of the relative performance of major subgroups of examinees on individual test items.
The Psychology Research Companion: From student project to working life not only gives you the skills and confidence to conduct your psychology research project at university, but is the first book to show how these skills will help you get ahead in your first job in the workplace. Jessica S. Horst, an American psychologist teaching in the UK, takes you through every step of the research process; from conceiving your research question and choosing a research methodology, to organizing your time and resources effectively. The book includes sections on ethics, data management, working with research participants and report writing, but each chapter is also informed by the wider aim of providing a toolkit for working life. Each chapter is packed with tips and skills that can be taken into the workplace, including working collaboratively and organising your workload, as well as discussing your research project in interview situations and when applying for jobs. This invaluable guide will appeal to all undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students whose aim is to learn a set of transferable research skills as well as to obtain a good degree result.
This text introduces teachers to research methods they can use to examine their own classrooms in order to become more effective teachers. Becoming familiar with classroom-based research methods not only enables teachers to do research in their own classrooms, it also provides a basis for assessing the findings of existing research. McKay emphasizes throughout that what a teacher chooses to examine will dictate which method is most effective. Each chapter includes activities to help readers apply the methods described in the chapter, often by analyzing research data. *Chapter I, Classroom Research, introduces the reader to major research purposes and research types as they relate to classroom research, the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research, the formulation of research questions and research designs, and ethical issues in research. *Chapter II, Researching Teachers and Learners, presents research methods that can be used to examine teachers' and learners' attitudes and behaviors: action research, survey research, interviews, verbal reports, diary studies, case studies, and ethnographies. *Chapter III, Researching Classroom Discourse, deals with methods that can be used to study the oral and written discourse of classrooms: interaction analysis, discourse analysis, text analysis, and ways to examine the social and political assumptions underlying the choice and presentation of content in second language teaching materials. *Chapter IV, Writing Research Reports, provides guidelines for both thesis writing and journal articles. Researching Second Language Classrooms is an ideal text for TESOL research methods courses and an essential resource for inservice teachers who wish to undertake classroom research.
In this collection, international contributors come together to discuss how qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in psychotherapy research. The book considers the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and recognises how each method can enhance our understanding of psychotherapy. Divided into two parts, the book begins with an examination of quantitative research and discusses how we can transfer observations into numbers and statistical findings. Chapters on quantitative methods cover the development of new findings and the improvement of existing findings, identifying and analysing change, and using meta-analysis. The second half of the book comprises chapters considering how qualitative and mixed methods can be used in psychotherapy research. Chapters on qualitative and mixed methods identify various ways to strengthen the trustworthiness of qualitative findings via rigorous data collection and analysis techniques. Adapted from a special issue of Psychotherapy Research, this volume will be key reading for researchers, academics, and professionals who want a greater understanding of how a particular area of research methods can be used in psychotherapy.
In this book, William R. Uttal continues his analysis and critique of theories of mind. This book considers theories that are based on macroneural responses (such as those obtained from fMRI) that represent the averaged or cumulative responses of many neurons. The analysis is carried out with special emphasis on the logical and conceptual difficulties in developing a theory but with special attention to some of the current attempts to go from these cumulative responses to explanations of the grand question of how the mind is generated by the brain. While acknowledging the importance of these macroneural techniques in the study of the anatomy and physiology of the brain, Uttal concludes that this macroneural approach is not likely to produce a valid neural theory of cognition because the critical information-the states of the individual neurons-involved in brain activity becoming mental activity is actually lost in the process of summation. Controversial topics are considered in detail including discussions of empirical, logical, and technological barriers to theory building in cognitive neuroscience.
Power Analysis of Trials with Multilevel Data covers using power and sample size calculations to design trials that involve nested data structures. The book gives a thorough overview of power analysis that details terminology and notation, outlines key concepts of statistical power and power analysis, and explains why they are necessary in trial design. It guides you in performing power calculations with hierarchical data, which enables more effective trial design. The authors are leading experts in the field who recognize that power analysis has attracted attention from applied statisticians in social, behavioral, medical, and health science. Their book supplies formulae that allow statisticians and researchers in these fields to perform calculations that enable them to plan cost-efficient trials. The formulae can also be applied to other sciences. Using power analysis in trial design is increasingly important in a scientific community where experimentation is often expensive, competition for funding among researchers is intense, and agencies that finance research require proposals to give thorough justification for funding. This handbook shows how power analysis shapes trial designs that have high statistical power and low cost, using real-life examples. The book covers multiple types of trials, including cluster randomized trials, multisite trials, individually randomized group treatment trials, and longitudinal intervention studies. It also offers insight on choosing which trial is best suited to a given project. Power Analysis of Trials with Multilevel Data helps you craft an optimal research design and anticipate the necessary sample size of data to collect to give your research maximum effectiveness and efficiency.
Factor Analysis and Dimension Reduction in R provides coverage, with worked examples, of a large number of dimension reduction procedures along with model performance metrics to compare them. Factor analysis in the form of principal components analysis (PCA) or principal factor analysis (PFA) is familiar to most social scientists. However, what is less familiar is understanding that factor analysis is a subset of the more general statistical family of dimension reduction methods. The social scientist's toolkit for factor analysis problems can be expanded to include the range of solutions this book presents. In addition to covering FA and PCA with orthogonal and oblique rotation, this book's coverage includes higher-order factor models, bifactor models, models based on binary and ordinal data, models based on mixed data, generalized low-rank models, cluster analysis with GLRM, models involving supplemental variables or observations, Bayesian factor analysis, regularized factor analysis, testing for unidimensionality, and prediction with factor scores. The second half of the book deals with other procedures for dimension reduction. These include coverage of kernel PCA, factor analysis with multidimensional scaling, locally linear embedding models, Laplacian eigenmaps, diffusion maps, force directed methods, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding, independent component analysis (ICA), dimensionality reduction via regression (DRR), non-negative matrix factorization (NNMF), Isomap, Autoencoder, uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) models, neural network models, and longitudinal factor analysis models. In addition, a special chapter covers metrics for comparing model performance. Features of this book include: Numerous worked examples with replicable R code Explicit comprehensive coverage of data assumptions Adaptation of factor methods to binary, ordinal, and categorical data Residual and outlier analysis Visualization of factor results Final chapters that treat integration of factor analysis with neural network and time series methods Presented in color with R code and introduction to R and RStudio, this book will be suitable for graduate-level and optional module courses for social scientists, and on quantitative methods and multivariate statistics courses.
Item Response Theory clearly describes the most recently developed IRT models and furnishes detailed explanations of algorithms that can be used to estimate the item or ability parameters under various IRT models. Extensively revised and expanded, this edition offers three new chapters discussing parameter estimation with multiple groups, parameter estimation for a test with mixed item types, and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. It includes discussions on issues related to statistical theory, numerical methods, and the mechanics of computer programs for parameter estimation, which help to build a clear understanding of the computational demands and challenges of IRT estimation procedures.
This book will help readers understand the practice of qualitative research--whether they want to do it, teach it, or just learn about it. All the major research phases are encompassed (startup, design, data collection, analysis, and composing), including newly emerging trends. Numerous easy-to-read vignettes show how other scholars have successfully implemented specific procedures. Equally distinctive, the book presents qualitative research as an adaptive craft. The array of choices among different procedures and methods enables readers to customize their own studies and to accommodate different worldviews and genres. New to This Edition: *Stronger discussion of different worldviews (e.g., constructivism, postpositivism, and pragmatism) and how they relate to different methodological choices. *Clearer emphasis on doing a generalized qualitative study, while acknowledging 12 specialized genres (e.g., action-based research, arts-based research, autoethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, and others). *Expanded discussions of different kinds of qualitative study samples and of mixed methods. *New ideas on how to avoid getting stalled when analyzing qualitative data. *Consideration of an additional way of concluding a qualitative study: by taking action. Pedagogical Features *Chapters start with an abstract and end with a suggested exercise. *Key terms and concepts appear in boldface throughout the text and are listed in end-of-chapter recaps as well as in the book's glossary. *Sections within each chapter start with a preview box: "What you should learn from this section." *An appendix presents a semester- or yearlong field-based project.
A Sound Basis for the Theory of Statistical Inference Measuring Statistical Evidence Using Relative Belief provides an overview of recent work on developing a theory of statistical inference based on measuring statistical evidence. It shows that being explicit about how to measure statistical evidence allows you to answer the basic question of when a statistical analysis is correct. The book attempts to establish a gold standard for how a statistical analysis should proceed. It first introduces basic features of the overall approach, such as the roles of subjectivity, objectivity, infinity, and utility in statistical analyses. It next discusses the meaning of probability and the various positions taken on probability. The author then focuses on the definition of statistical evidence and how it should be measured. He presents a method for measuring statistical evidence and develops a theory of inference based on this method. He also discusses how statisticians should choose the ingredients for a statistical problem and how these choices are to be checked for their relevance in an application.
The topic of ego development developed when psychoanalysis did not fulfill all the initial hopes during its early period of prominence. Clinicians--psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors--realized that they needed to know more than their patients' or clients' psychopathology or normalcy and their psychosexual behavior and drives. The method for scoring sentence completions presented in this manual was originally developed for a study of women and adolescent girls. By the time it was first published in 1970, however, the method had already come into use in studies of men and boys. Since then, it has been used with widely varying samples, and the test has been translated into several other languages. This wide adoption testifies to the need for such a test. The present version of the manual incorporates three major improvements: * it is based on data from, and is intended for use with, both males and females, * its format is easier to use, and * the examples cited reflect current public attitudes. The format of the scoring manual for the Sentence Completion Test (SCT) is radically changed from the original, making it easier to find the correct rating for a response. The rating scale itself is kept simple and the basic concept of ego development is the same. A tutorial is included to assist in calculating the Total Protocol Ratings (TPRs). ALTERNATIVE BLURB!!! The Washington University Sentence Completion Test, which was developed by Jane Loevinger, is a free-response, semi-projective instrument for the assessment of ego development. The first manual for administering and scoring the test was published in 1970. In addition to its widespread use in the United States, it has also been adopted for use in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, India, and South Africa. The WUSCT has been used for research in the fields of adolescent personality development, moral development, infancy and parenting, family and gender studies, multiculturalism, religion, psychopathology and psychotherapy, vocational studies, and social and organizational psychology. It is most frequently used by researchers and practitioners in psychology, counseling, social work, and education. This book represents a revised edition of the WUSCT scoring manual, including all items in the 1981 forms, which were revised for use with both men and women. The content reflects current social attitudes, which have changed on some topics since the publication of the original 1970 manual. Although there have been minor changes in terminology, the conception of ego development is unchanged, and the stages of the construct are essentially the same. The format of the scoring manual, however, has been radically changed for ease of use in rating responses. (The rating scale itself, which is the same for all items, is kept simple.) A tutorial is included to assist in calculating the Total Protocol Ratings.
This edited volume introduces the latest advances in quantitative methods and illustrates ways to apply these methods to important questions in substance use research. The goal is to provide a forum for dialogue between methodologists developing innovative multivariate statistical methods and substance use researchers who have produced rich data sets. Reflecting current research trends, the book examines the use of longitudinal techniques to measure processes of change over time. Researchers faced with the task of studying the causes, course, treatment, and prevention of substance use and abuse will find this volume helpful for applying these techniques to make optimal use of their data. This innovative volume: introduces the use of latent curve methods for describing individual trajectories of adolescent substance use over time; explores methods for analyzing longitudinal data for individuals nested within groups, such as families, classrooms, and treatment groups; demonstrates how different patterns of missing data influence the interpretation of results; reports on some recent advances in longitudinal growth modeling; illustrates methods to assess mediation when there are multiple mediating pathways underlying an intervention effect; describes methods to identify moderating relations in structural equation models; demonstrates the use of structural equation models to evaluate a preventive intervention; applies epidemic modeling techniques to understand the spread of substance use in society; illustrates the use of latent transition analysis to model substance use as a series of stages; and applies logistic regression to prospectively predict smoking cessation.
Although many archaeologists have a good understanding of the basics in computer science, statistics, geostatistics, modeling, and data mining, more literature is needed about the advanced analysis in these areas. This book aids archaeologists in learning more advanced tools and methods while also helping mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists with no previous knowledge of the field realize the potential of the methods in archaeological experiments.
How Can You Improve Your Learning Capabilites? How Can You Enhance Your Potential for Change and Personal Growth? Most of us accept that education does not meet the needs of learners today, or their employers. This mismatch is a key reason why a high level of demotivated youth, as well as workers and managers remain unable to develop themselves. They have been other-organised and are unprepared for the world of work and the challenges of life. First published in 1991, this title offers a radical approach to human learning and personal change. Based on the reflective procedures of Learning Conversations, it enables a deep exploration of the learning process and allows individuals, teams and even whole organisations to create dynamic learning cultures capable of adaptive, constructive and continuing growth. Available again after some years this book is as relevant, if not of greater value, in our ever-changing society than when originally published.
This edited volume shows the relationship between dream research and its usefulness in treating patients. Milton Kramer and Myron Glucksman show that there is support for searching for the meaning of dream as experiences extended in time. Dreaming reflects psychological changes and is actually an orderly process, not a random experience. Several chapters in this book explore interviewing methodologies that will help clients reduce the frequency of their nightmares and thus contribute to successful therapy.
See How Graphics Reveal Information Graphical Data Analysis with R shows you what information you can gain from graphical displays. The book focuses on why you draw graphics to display data and which graphics to draw (and uses R to do so). All the datasets are available in R or one of its packages and the R code is available at rosuda.org/GDA. Graphical data analysis is useful for data cleaning, exploring data structure, detecting outliers and unusual groups, identifying trends and clusters, spotting local patterns, evaluating modelling output, and presenting results. This book guides you in choosing graphics and understanding what information you can glean from them. It can be used as a primary text in a graphical data analysis course or as a supplement in a statistics course. Colour graphics are used throughout.
Phil Fennell's tightly argued study traces the history of treatment of mental disorder in Britain over the last 150 years. He focuses specifically on treatment of mental disorder without consent within psychiatric practice, and on the legal position which has allowed it. Treatment Without Consent examines many controversial areas: the use of high-strength drugs and Electro Convulsive Therapy, physical restraint and the vexed issue of the sterilisation of people with learning disabilities. Changing notions of consent are discussed, from the common perception that relatives are able to consent on behalf of the patient, to present-day statutory and common law rules, and recent Law Commission recommendations. This work brings a complex and intriguing area to life; it includes a table of legal sources and an extensive bibliography. It is essential reading for historians, lawyers and all those who are interested in the treatment of mental disorder.
How to Structure a Thesis, Report or Paper provides concise practical guidance for students to help make their writing more structured at any level. It assists students in demonstrating what they have learned in the relevant course or degree programme in a way that is accessible to the supervisor and the examiner. Drawing on almost 20 years of supervision experience, the author presents the eight sections of a well-structured thesis, report or paper, together with discussing other relevant issues. Each chapter provides a detailed description of why each section of a thesis, report or paper is structured in the way it is, and its relationship to the whole piece of work. Good and bad examples are provided throughout the book, and there is a focus on key areas such as the six parts of an Introduction and its relationship to the Conclusion, how to phrase clear research questions and hypotheses to the use of references and how to make the thesis, report or paper easier to read. The structure presented in this book can be used to support many courses on the student's entire degree programme, as the structure can be adapted by re-arranging or deleting sections. This book is an invaluable aid to students at all stages in higher education, from their first report or paper until they write their final thesis. It provides clear guidelines for when students should ask their supervisors for advice, and when students can use their own initiative to learn the most. It makes writing a thesis, report or papers more straightforward!
Gathering scholars from different disciplines, this book is the first on how to study emotions using sociological, historical, linguistic, anthropological, psychological, cultural, and mixed approaches. Bringing together the emerging lines of inquiry, it lays foundations for an overdue methodological debate. The volume offers entrancing short essays, richly illustrated with examples and anecdotes, that provide basic knowledge about how to pursue emotions in texts, interviews, observations, spoken language, visuals, historical documents, and surveys. The contributors are respectful of those being researched and are mindful of the effects of their own feelings on the conclusions. The book thus touches upon the ethics of research in vivid first person accounts. Methods are notoriously difficult to teach-this collection fills the gap between dry methods books and students' need to know more about the actual research practice.
Choosing Methods in Mental Health Research develops a new framework for mental health research. It is concerned with how to choose the most appropriate mental health research method, not only to address a specific question, but to maximize the potential impact on shaping mental health care. Mike Slade and Stefan Priebe focus attention on the types of audience that the researcher is seeking to influence, the types of evidence each audience accepts as valid, and the relative strengths and limitations of each type of methodology. A range of research methodologies are described and critically appraised, and the use of evidence by different groups is discussed. This produces some important findings about the interplay between research production and consumption, and highlights directions for future mental health research theory and practice. The findings presented here will be relevant to mental health service users and professionals who use research evidence to inform decision-making. It will also prove an invaluable resource for students and researchers in the field of mental health.
This edited volume shows the relationship between dream research and its usefulness in treating patients. Milton Kramer and Myron Glucksman show that there is support for searching for the meaning of dream as experiences extended in time. Dreaming reflects psychological changes and is actually an orderly process, not a random experience. Several chapters in this book explore interviewing methodologies that will help clients reduce the frequency of their nightmares and thus contribute to successful therapy.
The editors of this volume suggest that there are missing elements in the conceptualization upon which standard test theory is based. Those elements are models for just how people know what they know and do what they can do, and the ways in which they increase these capacities. Different models are useful for different purposes; therefore, broader or alternative student models may be appropriate. The chapters in this volume consider a variety of directions in which standard test theory might be extended. Topics covered include: the role of test theory in light of recent work in cognitive and educational psychology, test design, student modeling, test analysis, and the integration of assessment and instruction.
The political and legislative changes which took place in South Africa during the 1990s, with the dissolution of apartheid, created a unique set of social conditions. As official policies of segregation were abolished, people of both black and white racial groups began to experience new forms of social contact and intimacy. By examining these emerging processes of intergroup contact in South Africa, and evaluating related evidence from the US, Racial Encounter offers a social psychological account of desegregation. It begins with a critical analysis of the traditional theories and research models used to understand desegregation: the contact hypothesis and race attitude theory. It then analyzes every day discourse about desegregation in South Africa, showing how discourse shapes individuals' conception and management of their changing relationships and acts as a site of ideological resistance to social change. The connection between place, identity and re-creation of racial boundaries emerge as a central theme of this analysis. This book will be of interest to social psychologists, students of intergroup relations and all those interested in post-apartheid South Africa. |
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