Methods in Behavioral Research (.PDF) File

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Methods in Behavioral Research in PDF

Download Here : Methods in Behavioral Research by Cozby, Paul, Bates, Scott (Paperback).pdf

Description: McDonald's is proud to introduce the second Canadian edition of their popular text, Methods in Behavioural Research by Paul C. Cozby, UBC. This second Canadian edition provides a clear and concise approach to systematic decision-making, grounded on four themes: Theory and Method, Measurement and Analysis, Development and Policy. The editors sought to provide a similar level of detail found in the first edition, while improving on some areas for consideration. They also made several changes that enhance the usability of the text. The resulting text is an important text on behavioural science methodology.

I enjoyed this book. As a practitioner, I appreciated the emphasis on empirical findings and their general relevance to particular problem situations. Mr. Cozby seems to have recognized the importance of research design, which he defines as the process of designing experiments that reveal associations between variables, then comparing those associations to data on the existing variation in a variable (such as income or poverty) to establish whether they are positively related or otherwise unrelated. That is, an analysis of the existing variation in a variable cannot establish a trend or simply to point to any relation between a variable and some other variable. It requires further analysis to determine whether these relationships are statistically significant or otherwise insignificant.

Mr. Cozby also emphasizes that a method should be tested before applying it to any real-world setting. This is an excellent point. It is not enough to use a method in a journal article or small research paper; such methods should be tested in real-world settings. That said, the general approach in this text makes it suitable for rigorous and sophisticated analysis of a wide variety of topics in behavioural science, including numerous experimental designs and specifications, as well as random sampling methods.