Experimental Design in the Behavioral and Social Sciences [Multiple-component retail product]

This four-volume collection of previously published, classic and mostly contemporary articles and book chapters highlights the historical, theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic factors affecting the choice and use of experimental designs in the behavioral and social sciences. Readings have been chosen because they are among the most highly cited and because they include the perspectives of key thinkers in diverse fields, such as economics, psychology, education, and sociology. Many of the articles serve as both conceptual and practical guides, offering recommendations for the use of specific methodologies. Volume 1 deals with the experimental approach to behavioral and social sciences research, offering historical perspectives and an overview of the nomothetic-idiographic debate on the nature of behavioral and social sciences. Issues related to bringing the laboratory to natural settings and constraints on experimental design are also addressed. Volume 2 covers hypothesis testing and inference, with readings grouped in sections on history, the reasoning processes in hypothesis testing, null hypothesis significance testing, and power and effect size. Volume 3 examines experimental controls and confounds, with material on sample selection and assignment, the control group, generalizability and representative design, expectancy effects, and context and causality.Volume 4 reviews design choices and future directions in behavioral and social sciences research design. Major themes are between-subjects and within-subjects designs, multivariate designs, modeling and summarizing experimental data, and ethical considerations. The final section in Volume 4 reports on future directions, in areas such as experimental research in political science, and data collection via the Internet. Annotation ©2014 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This collection brings together literature to inform researchers about the many issues that have influenced and continue to refine the use of experimental designs in the behavioral and social sciences. The collection includes articles, primarily from scholarly journals, that highlight perspectives of recognized leaders on historical, theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic considerations affecting the role of experimental designs within the behavioral and social sciences. The selected articles are problem-focused, include illustrative examples and provide comprehensible input for a broad audience spanning multiple disciplines.

This comprehensive and illustrative collection brings together literature to inform researchers about the many issues that have influenced and continue to refine the use of experimental designs in the behavioral and social sciences.