Emerging researchers are often surprised to learn that instrument selection is a complex and important step in the process of research design. This concise guide explains how to identify appropriate instruments, select the best ones for the job, and properly describe the instruments so that others will know how and why they were chosen. Each…

Could the research you read be fundamentally flawed? Could critical defects in methodology slip by you undetected? 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 the tools they need to apply critical…

The purpose of this case study is to highlight the importance and limitations of methodology and research design in the exploration of highly subjective behavioural research. People are social creatures, and as such, their 'reality' is what they perceive to be true, which can be very difficult to 'prove' (by them or others). Two people can observe…

On July 26, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) with the purpose of soliciting comments on how current regulations for protecting research participants could be modernized and revised. The rationale for revising the regulations was as follows: this ANPRM seeks comment on…

Describing the state of the science of ABA, this comprehensive handbook provides detailed information about theory, research, and intervention. The contributors are leading ABA authorities who present current best practices in behavioral assessment and demonstrate evidence-based strategies for supporting positive behaviors and reducing problem…

This document discusses and critically reviews problems existing with utilizing traditional experimental methods in psychology and the behavioral sciences. Experimental and correlational data collection methods are reviewed and a new data collection method merging the more productive features of each is proposed. The philosophy, strategy, and…

This monograph is one of a continuing series initiated to provide materials for teachers, parents, school administrators, and governmental decision-makers that might encourage reexamination of a range of evaluation issues and perspectives about schools and schooling. This monograph is a description and analysis of two contrasting paradigms: one…

Areas of behavioral and social science research that have achieved significant breakthroughs in knowledge or application or that show future promise of achieving such breakthroughs are discussed in 12 papers. For example, the paper on formal demography shows how mathematical or statistical techniques can be used to explain and predict change in…

The concept of behavior settings--the environments shaping individual behavior--was originated by Roger Barker in 1950 in connection with his community surveys in a small Kansas town, code-named Midwest. This book seeks to provide rural social scientists with an understanding of Barker's eco-behavioral approach and proposed adaptations of it to…

An evaluation was made of the methodology and findings presented in "Television and Antisocial Behavior. Field Experiments," by Stanley Milgram and R. Lance Shotland (New York: Academic Press, 1973). In the book, seven experiments were reported, all concerned with antisocial behavior toward a medical charity. Three episodes of Medical…

A three-week research project in a high-school behavioral science class is described. The design of the classroom sessions is described in detail to help other teachers use or adapt it to their own situation. Three benefits to the students of such a project are cited: (1) appreciation of methods behind research conclusions and heightened critical…

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent music and art can arouse imagery experiences in an audience. Because of the relationship found between imagery and the arts in past research, it was hypothesized that artistic stimuli would have a greater influence on imagery than other kinds of stimuli (art-information or non-artistic).…

This commemorative book contains 10 papers that provide a selective sample of behavioral and social science research accomplishments and trends over a 50-year period, and comparisons are made with research presented in the 1933 report, "Recent Social Trends in the United States" (The Ogburn Report). Four chapters in part 1,…

A broad search of the scientifically relevant literature on television and human behavior began in the fall of 1973 and extended over a year; the search concentrated on the literature since 1960, although it attempted to include all significant earlier works. In addition, special emphasis was placed on obtaining very recent, hard to locate, and…

Psychosocial adaptations are sometimes affected by experiences that are ordinarily considered to be amusements. In 1974, a field study was undertaken by the Program on Psychosocial Adaptation and the Future to determine if it is possible to measure the effect of television on adult viewers. A sample of 260 couples, controlled for demographic…