Becoming a Behavioral Science Researcher, First Edition

Reviews / Votes

"Outstanding! Kline is masterful in helping to fill the sometimes cavernous gap between research coursework and applied practice. The focus on modern approaches, including emphasis on replication and effect sizes, represents a new (and needed) generation of research texts, which will benefit advanced undergraduate and graduate students alike in their research courses and seminars. The book honestly and artfully walks the fine line between applied accessibility and necessary depth of content."--Robin K. Henson, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of North Texas


"Many beginning graduate students find that conventional statistics and methods courses do not give them enough of the practical skills in data analysis, interpretation, and oral and written communication that they need to succeed. Kline has given us a wonderfully wise guide to these skills. This book is beautifully written, entirely practical, and includes the latest statistical approaches. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to become a successful behavioral science researcher today."--Geoff Cumming, DPhil, School of Psychological Science (Emeritus), La Trobe University, Australia

"A book designed to improve the quality of behavioral and social science research and the way in which it is communicated. I would strongly recommend this text for use in both undergraduate and graduate research methods courses. It offers students a glimpse of many important issues in the field. In particular, the emphasis on, and presentation of, measurement and statistics reform should truly benefit students. This book is a valuable resource for anyone who intends to pursue a career in the behavioral or social sciences."--Chris L. S. Coryn, PhD, Director, Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Evaluation, The Evaluation Center, Western Michigan University

"This book could be used in a graduate seminar that has the goals of bridging the gap between statistics and methods courses and preparing students to conduct good research. I appreciated the section on data screening--a crucial topic--and found the author's treatment of how to write each section of an empirical paper quite valuable. The APA style manual is not nearly as instructive. This text is the kind of book that you keep; it would serve as a handy reference."--Theresa DiDonato, doctoral candidate, Department of Psychology, Brown University

"This is more than a textbook; it is a portable mentor! Kline brings his considerable knowledge and approachable style to the aid of advanced undergraduates and graduate students alike. The book addresses so many issues that fall through the cracks in our fragmented coursework, such as the general integration of design, measurement, and analysis. I would be remiss if I did not make this mandatory reading for all of my students."--Gregory R. Hancock, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation, University of Maryland, College Park

"Kline has written the finest synthesis of initiating and finishing research for graduate students that I have read. It is comprehensive, integrative, and couched at a level that will engage students in the research process. I wish I'd had this book when I was first starting out. This text could be used in a proseminar or basic research methods course for first-year graduate students, an honors undergraduate class, or an upper-division thesis course."--William R. Shadish, PhD, Chair, Psychological Sciences Section, University of California, Merced

"This book helps me sell research to my students and present the big picture like no other methods text I've seen. It not only covers basic research designs and methods, but also provides the most current treatment of effect sizes, meta-analysis, and the paradigmatic shift from significance tests to model fitting--all within a painfully honest critique of the limits of research as currently conducted and published, and what social scientists need to do to improve it. Like Kline's book on structural equation modeling (which was all I needed to learn SEM), this book is crystal clear and engaging. Yet what makes it most unique and essential for my students is its synthetic approach and attention to the big issues. This is what I most want my students to learn. They can easily find more information about specific designs and sampling techniques, but if they don't 'get' research--its purpose, meaning, and importance--then I haven't done my job."--Michael J. Karcher, EdD, PhD, Department of Counseling, University of Texas at San Antonio "This book helps me sell research to my students and present the big picture like no other methods text I've seen. It not only covers basic research designs and methods, but also provides the most current treatment of effect sizes, meta-analysis, and the paradigmatic shift from significance tests to model fitting - all within a painfully honest critique of the limits of research as currently conducted and published, and what social scientists need to do to improve it. Like Kline's book on structural equation modeling (which was all I needed to learn SEM), this book is crystal clear and engaging. Yet what makes it most unique and essential for my students is its synthetic approach and attention to the big issues. This is what I most want my students to learn. They can easily find more information about specific designs and sampling techniques, but if they don't 'get' research - its purpose, meaning, and importance - then I haven't done my job." - Michael J. Karcher, Department of Counseling, University of Texas at San Antonio, USA

"Even the most informed psychologist is likely to learn something by reading this book. ... A superb resource for students and teachers alike. ... It would enhance any psychology curriculum and help the students of today become first-rate researchers of tomorrow." - APA PsycCRITIQUES

"Kline has written the finest synthesis of getting started and finishing research for graduate students that I have read. It is comprehensive, integrative, and couched at a level that will engage students in the research process. I wish I'd had this book when I was first starting out." - William R. Shadish, Chair, Psychological Sciences Section, University of California, Merced, USA

"A book designed to improve the quality of behavioral and social science research and the way in which it is communicated. I would strongly recommend this text for use in both undergraduate and graduate research methods courses. It offers students a glimpse of many important issues in the field. In particular, the emphasis on, and presentation of, measurement and statistics reform should truly benefit students. This book is a valuable resource for anyone who intends to pursue a career in the behavioral or social sciences." - Chris L. S. Coryn, Director, Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Evaluation, The Evaluation Center, Western Michigan University, USA

"I appreciated the section on data screening - a crucial topic - and found the author's treatment of how to write each section of an empirical paper quite valuable. The APA style manual is not nearly as instructive. This text is the kind of book that you keep; it would serve as a handy reference." - Theresa DiDonato, doctoral candidate, Department of Psychology, Brown University, USA

"This is more than a textbook; it is a portable mentor! Kline brings his considerable knowledge and approachable style to the aid of advanced undergraduates and graduate students alike. The book addresses so many issues that fall through the cracks in our fragmented coursework, such as the general integration of design, measurement, and analysis. I would be remiss if I did not make this mandatory reading for all of my students." - Gregory R. Hancock, Professor and Chair, Department of Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

"Many beginning graduate students find that conventional statistics and methods courses do not give them enough of the practical skills in data analysis, interpretation, and oral and written communication that they need to succeed. Kline has given us a wonderfully wise guide to these skills. This book is beautifully written, entirely practical, and includes the latest statistical approaches. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to become a successful behavioral science researcher today." - Geoff Cumming, School of Psychological Science (Emeritus), La Trobe University, Australia

"Outstanding! Kline is masterful in helping to fill the sometimes cavernous gap between research coursework and applied practice. The focus on modern approaches, including emphasis on replication and effect sizes, represents a new (and needed) generation of research texts, which will benefit advanced undergraduate and graduate students alike in their research courses and seminars. The book honestly and artfully walks the fine line between applied accessibility and necessary depth of content." - Robin K. Henson, Department of Educational Psychology, University of North Texas, USA