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To become informed consumers of research, students need to thoughtfully evaluate the research they read rather than accept it without question. This second edition of a classic text gives students what they need to apply critical reasoning when reading behavioral science research. This second edition updates the original text with recent developments in research methods, including a new chapter on meta-analyses. Part I gives a thorough overview of the steps in a research project. It focuses on how to assess whether the conclusions drawn in a behavioral science report are warranted by the methods used in the research. Topics include research hypotheses, sampling, experimental design, data analysis, interpretation of results, and ethics. Part II allows readers to practice critical thinking with a series of fictitious journal articles containing built-in flaws in method and interpretation. Clever and engaging, each article is accompanied by a commentary that points out the errors of procedure and logic that have been deliberately embedded in the article. This combination of instruction and practical application will promote active learning and critical thinking in students studying the behavioral sciences.

In compelling, user-friendly prose, the authors explain how young scholars can create high-quality research that attains a high impact. They describe how to generate strong, original ideas, how to design experiments, and how to organize findings into clear and compelling research articles. They then examine the work of widely-admired scholars who have developed innovative assessment tools and research methods, and researchers whose work has shifted paradigms, bridged disciplines, and challenged long-held assumptions. Throughout, the authors convey an infectious enthusiasm for colleagues whose work has inspired them in their own careers.

When determining the most appropriate method for analyzing longitudinal data, you must first consider what research question you want to answer. In this book, McArdle and Nesselroade identify five basic purposes of longitudinal structural equation modeling. For each purpose, they present the most useful strategies and models. Two important but underused approaches are emphasized: multiple factorial invariance over time and latent change scores. The book covers a wealth of models in a straightforward, understandable manner. Rather than overwhelm the reader with an extensive amount of algebra, the authors use path diagrams and emphasize methods that are appropriate for many uses.

Single Case Design (SCD) is a highly flexible method of conducting applied research where there is no control group/condition or possibility of collecting data from large groups of participants. Thanks to remarkable methodological and statistical advances in recent years, single case design (SCD) research has become a viable and often essential option for researchers in applied psychology, education, and related fields. This book, with contributions from leading experts, not only summarizes the state of the field today but offers the latest information and tools for researchers. It is a compendium of information and tools for researchers considering SCD research, a methodology in which a subject serves as the experimental control.