Multivariate Analysis for the Biobehavioral and Social Sciences

Bayesian methods are increasingly being used in the social sciences, as the problems encountered lend themselves so naturally to the subjective qualities of Bayesian methodology. This book provides an accessible introduction to Bayesian methods, tailored specifically for social science students. It contains lots of real examples from political science, psychology, sociology, and economics, exercises in all chapters, and detailed descriptions of all the key concepts, without assuming any background in statistics beyond a first course. It features examples of how to implement the methods using WinBUGS – the most-widely used Bayesian analysis software in the world – and R – an open-source statistical software. The book is supported by a Website featuring WinBUGS and R code, and data sets.

An updated edition of a classic text on applying statistical analyses to the social sciences, with reviews, new chapters, an expanded set of post-hoc analyses, and information on computing in Excel and SPSS Now in its second edition,Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences has been revised and updated and continues to offer an essential guide to the conceptual foundations of statistical analyses (particularly inferential statistics), placing an emphasis on connecting statistical tools with appropriate research contexts. Designed to be accessible, the text contains an applications-oriented, step-by-step presentation of the statistical theories and formulas most often used by the social sciences. The revised text also includes an entire chapter on the basic concepts in research, presenting an overall context for all the book’s statistical theories and formulas. The authors cover descriptive statistics and z scores, the theoretical underpinnings of inferential statistics, z and t tests, power analysis, one/two-way and repeated-measures ANOVA, linear correlation and regression, as well as chi-square and other nonparametric tests. The second edition also includes a new chapter on basic probability theory. This important resource: • Contains information regarding the use of statistical software packages; both Excel and SPSS • Offers four strategically positioned and accumulating reviews, each containing a set of research-oriented diagnostic questions designed to help students determine which tests are applicable to which research scenarios • Incorporates additional statistical information on follow-up analyses such as post-hoc tests and effect sizes • Includes a series of sidebar discussions dispersed throughout the text that address, among other topics, the recent and growing controversy regarding the failed reproducibility of published findings in the social sciences • Puts renewed emphasis on presentation of data and findings using the APA format • Includes supplementary material consisting of a set of “kick-start” quizzes designed to get students quickly back up to speed at the start of an instructional period, and a complete set of ready-to-use PowerPoint slides for in-class use Written for students in areas such as psychology, sociology, criminology, political science, public health, and others, Statistical Applications for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Second Edition continues to provide the information needed to understand the foundations of statistical analyses as relevant to the behavioral and social sciences.

A comprehensive introduction to research methods and best practices for designing,conducting, interpreting, and reporting findings This text is designed to develop in students a passion for conducting research and an understanding of the practical value of systematic information- gathering and decision-making. It features step-by-step coverage of the research process including research design, statistical considerations, and guidance on writing up and presenting results. Recognized leaders in the field—authors Bart Weathington, Christopher Cunningham, and David Pittenger—present: Introductions to multiple research designs—including single-participant, multi-group, longitudinal, correlational, and experimental designs—accompanied by examples Bibliographic research and methods for appropriate sampling Identifying, developing, and evaluating reliable and valid approaches to measurement The issues and steps common to all single-factor and multifactor studies, as well as single-subject and nonexperimental methods How to summarize research in writing that conforms to the editorial guidelines of the American Psychological Association A comprehensive review of research methods and the statistical concepts that support them, Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences offers the best techniques for studying behavior and social phenomena.

Guides readers through the quantitative data analysis process including contextualizing data within a research situation, connecting data to the appropriate statistical tests, and drawing valid conclusions Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis in the Behavioral and Social Sciences presents a clear and accessible introduction to the basics of quantitative data analysis and focuses on how to use statistical tests as a key tool for analyzing research data. The book presents the entire data analysis process as a cyclical, multiphase process and addresses the processes of exploratory analysis, decision-making for performing parametric or nonparametric analysis, and practical significance determination. In addition, the author details how data analysis is used to reveal the underlying patterns and relationships between the variables and connects those trends to the data’s contextual situation. Filling the gap in quantitative data analysis literature, this book teaches the methods and thought processes behind data analysis, rather than how to perform the study itself or how to perform individual statistical tests. With a clear and conversational style, readers are provided with a better understanding of the overall structure and methodology behind performing a data analysis as well as the needed techniques to make informed, meaningful decisions during data analysis. The book features numerous data analysis examples in order to emphasize the decision and thought processes that are best followed, and self-contained sections throughout separate the statistical data analysis from the detailed discussion of the concepts allowing readers to reference a specific section of the book for immediate solutions to problems and/or applications. Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis in the Behavioral and Social Sciences also features coverage of the following: • The overall methodology and research mind-set for how to approach quantitative data analysis and how to use statistics tests as part of research data analysis • A comprehensive understanding of the data, its connection to a research situation, and the most appropriate statistical tests for the data • Numerous data analysis problems and worked-out examples to illustrate the decision and thought processes that reveal underlying patterns and trends • Detailed examples of the main concepts to aid readers in gaining the needed skills to perform a full analysis of research problems • A conversational tone to effectively introduce readers to the basics of how to perform data analysis as well as make meaningful decisions during data analysis Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis in the Behavioral and Social Sciences is an ideal textbook for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level research method courses in the behavioral and social sciences, statistics, and engineering. This book is also an appropriate reference for practitioners who require a review of quantitative research methods. Michael J. Albers, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of English at East Carolina University. His research interests include information design with a focus on answering real-world questions, the presentation of complex information, and human–information interaction. Dr. Albers received his Ph.D. in Technical Communication and Rhetoric from Texas Tech University.

Enables readers to start doing actual data analysis fast for a truly hands-on learning experience This concise and very easy-to-use primer introduces readers to a host of computational tools useful for making sense out of data, whether that data come from the social, behavioral, or natural sciences. The book places great emphasis on both data analysis and drawing conclusions from empirical observations. It also provides formulas where needed in many places, while always remaining focused on concepts rather than mathematical abstraction. SPSS Data Analysis for Univariate, Bivariate, and Multivariate Statistics offers a variety of popular statistical analyses and data management tasks using SPSS that readers can immediately apply as needed for their own research, and emphasizes many helpful computational tools used in the discovery of empirical patterns. The book begins with a review of essential statistical principles before introducing readers to SPSS. The book then goes on to offer chapters on: Exploratory Data Analysis, Basic Statistics, and Visual Displays; Data Management in SPSS; Inferential Tests on Correlations, Counts, and Means; Power Analysis and Estimating Sample Size; Analysis of Variance – Fixed and Random Effects; Repeated Measures ANOVA; Simple and Multiple Linear Regression; Logistic Regression; Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Discriminant Analysis; Principal Components Analysis; Exploratory Factor Analysis; and Non-Parametric Tests. This helpful resource allows readers to: Understand data analysis in practice rather than delving too deeply into abstract mathematical concepts Make use of computational tools used by data analysis professionals. Focus on real-world application to apply concepts from the book to actual research Assuming only minimal, prior knowledge of statistics, SPSS Data Analysis for Univariate, Bivariate, and Multivariate Statistics is an excellent “how-to” book for undergraduate and graduate students alike. This book is also a welcome resource for researchers and professionals who require a quick, go-to source for performing essential statistical analyses and data management tasks.

An essential guide on high dimensional multivariate time series including all the latest topics from one of the leading experts in the field Following the highly successful and much lauded book, Time Series Analysis—Univariate and Multivariate Methods, this new work by William W.S. Wei focuses on high dimensional multivariate time series, and is illustrated with numerous high dimensional empirical time series. Beginning with the fundamentalconcepts and issues of multivariate time series analysis,this book covers many topics that are not found in general multivariate time series books. Some of these are repeated measurements, space-time series modelling, and dimension reduction. The book also looks at vector time series models, multivariate time series regression models, and principle component analysis of multivariate time series. Additionally, it provides readers with information on factor analysis of multivariate time series, multivariate GARCH models, and multivariate spectral analysis of time series. With the development of computers and the internet, we have increased potential for data exploration. In the next few years, dimension will become a more serious problem. Multivariate Time Series Analysis and its Applications provides some initial solutions, which may encourage the development of related software needed for the high dimensional multivariate time series analysis. Written by bestselling author and leading expert in the field Covers topics not yet explored in current multivariate books Features classroom tested material Written specifically for time series courses Multivariate Time Series Analysis and its Applications is designed for an advanced time series analysis course. It is a must-have for anyone studying time series analysis and is also relevant for students in economics, biostatistics, and engineering.

An introductory guide to smoothing techniques, semiparametric estimators, and their related methods, this book describes the methodology via a selection of carefully explained examples and data sets. It also demonstrates the potential of these techniques using detailed empirical examples drawn from the social and political sciences. Each chapter includes exercises and examples and there is a supplementary website containing all the datasets used, as well as computer code, allowing readers to replicate every analysis reported in the book. Includes software for implementing the methods in S-Plus and R.

A modern, comprehensive treatment of latent class and latent transition analysis for categorical data On a daily basis, researchers in the social, behavioral, and health sciences collect information and fit statistical models to the gathered empirical data with the goal of making significant advances in these fields. In many cases, it can be useful to identify latent, or unobserved, subgroups in a population, where individuals' subgroup membership is inferred from their responses on a set of observed variables. Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis provides a comprehensive and unified introduction to this topic through one-of-a-kind, step-by-step presentations and coverage of theoretical, technical, and practical issues in categorical latent variable modeling for both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The book begins with an introduction to latent class and latent transition analysis for categorical data. Subsequent chapters delve into more in-depth material, featuring: A complete treatment of longitudinal latent class models Focused coverage of the conceptual underpinnings of interpretation and evaluationof a latent class solution Use of parameter restrictions and detection of identification problems Advanced topics such as multi-group analysis and the modeling and interpretation of interactions between covariates The authors present the topic in a style that is accessible yet rigorous. Each method is presented with both a theoretical background and the practical information that is useful for any data analyst. Empirical examples showcase the real-world applications of the discussed concepts and models, and each chapter concludes with a «Points to Remember» section that contains a brief summary of key ideas. All of the analyses in the book are performed using Proc LCA and Proc LTA, the authors' own software packages that can be run within the SAS® environment. A related Web site houses information on these freely available programs and the book's data sets, encouraging readers to reproduce the analyses and also try their own variations. Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis is an excellent book for courses on categorical data analysis and latent variable models at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in the social, behavioral, and health sciences who conduct latent class and latent transition analysis in their everyday work.

Praise for the Second Edition «This book is a systematic, well-written, well-organized text on multivariate analysis packed with intuition and insight . . . There is much practical wisdom in this book that is hard to find elsewhere.» —IIE Transactions Filled with new and timely content, Methods of Multivariate Analysis, Third Edition provides examples and exercises based on more than sixty real data sets from a wide variety of scientific fields. It takes a «methods» approach to the subject, placing an emphasis on how students and practitioners can employ multivariate analysis in real-life situations. This Third Edition continues to explore the key descriptive and inferential procedures that result from multivariate analysis. Following a brief overview of the topic, the book goes on to review the fundamentals of matrix algebra, sampling from multivariate populations, and the extension of common univariate statistical procedures (including t-tests, analysis of variance, and multiple regression) to analogous multivariate techniques that involve several dependent variables. The latter half of the book describes statistical tools that are uniquely multivariate in nature, including procedures for discriminating among groups, characterizing low-dimensional latent structure in high-dimensional data, identifying clusters in data, and graphically illustrating relationships in low-dimensional space. In addition, the authors explore a wealth of newly added topics, including: Confirmatory Factor Analysis Classification Trees Dynamic Graphics Transformations to Normality Prediction for Multivariate Multiple Regression Kronecker Products and Vec Notation New exercises have been added throughout the book, allowing readers to test their comprehension of the presented material. Detailed appendices provide partial solutions as well as supplemental tables, and an accompanying FTP site features the book's data sets and related SAS® code. Requiring only a basic background in statistics, Methods of Multivariate Analysis, Third Edition is an excellent book for courses on multivariate analysis and applied statistics at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The book also serves as a valuable reference for both statisticians and researchers across a wide variety of disciplines.

An accessible guide to the multivariate time series tools used in numerous real-world applications Multivariate Time Series Analysis: With R and Financial Applications is the much anticipated sequel coming from one of the most influential and prominent experts on the topic of time series. Through a fundamental balance of theory and methodology, the book supplies readers with a comprehensible approach to financial econometric models and their applications to real-world empirical research. Differing from the traditional approach to multivariate time series, the book focuses on reader comprehension by emphasizing structural specification, which results in simplified parsimonious VAR MA modeling. Multivariate Time Series Analysis: With R and Financial Applications utilizes the freely available R software package to explore complex data and illustrate related computation and analyses. Featuring the techniques and methodology of multivariate linear time series, stationary VAR models, VAR MA time series and models, unitroot process, factor models, and factor-augmented VAR models, the book includes: • Over 300 examples and exercises to reinforce the presented content • User-friendly R subroutines and research presented throughout to demonstrate modern applications • Numerous datasets and subroutines to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the material Multivariate Time Series Analysis is an ideal textbook for graduate-level courses on time series and quantitative finance and upper-undergraduate level statistics courses in time series. The book is also an indispensable reference for researchers and practitioners in business, finance, and econometrics.