Data Comparability

Originally published in 1969, Comparability in Social Research is a collection of essays from the British Sociological Association and Social Science Research Council. The essays are the result of a working group from the British Sociological Association, and a response to the need for the development of sociological theory as a scientific discipline. The essays examine the comparability of data assembled by research, in several sociological fields. This edited collection includes essays on the topic of education, family and household, income and occupation.

This completely rewritten classic text features many new examples, insights and topics including mediational, categorical, and multilevel models. Substantially reorganized, this edition provides a briefer, more streamlined examination of data analysis. Noted for its model-comparison approach and unified framework based on the general linear model, the book provides readers with a greater understanding of a variety of statistical procedures. This consistent framework, including consistent vocabulary and notation, is used throughout to develop fewer but more powerful model building techniques. The authors show how all analysis of variance and multiple regression can be accomplished within this framework. The model-comparison approach provides several benefits: It strengthens the intuitive understanding of the material thereby increasing the ability to successfully analyze data in the future It provides more control in the analysis of data so that readers can apply the techniques to a broader spectrum of questions It reduces the number of statistical techniques that must be memorized It teaches readers how to become data analysts instead of statisticians. The book opens with an overview of data analysis. All the necessary concepts for statistical inference used throughout the book are introduced in Chapters 2 through 4. The remainder of the book builds on these models. Chapters 5 - 7 focus on regression analysis, followed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), mediational analyses, non-independent or correlated errors, including multilevel modeling, and outliers and error violations. The book is appreciated by all for its detailed treatment of ANOVA, multiple regression, nonindependent observations, interactive and nonlinear models of data, and its guidance for treating outliers and other problematic aspects of data analysis. Intended for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses on data analysis, statistics, and/or quantitative methods taught in psychology, education, or other behavioral and social science departments, this book also appeals to researchers who analyze data. A protected website featuring additional examples and problems with data sets, lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, and class-tested exam questions is available to adopters. This material uses SAS but can easily be adapted to other programs. A working knowledge of basic algebra and any multiple regression program is assumed.

v. 1. Research findings -- v. 2. Concepts and methodology -- v. 3. Implementation issues -- v. 4. Programs, tools and products.

Healthcare providers, consumers, researchers and policy makers are inundated with unmanageable amounts of information, including evidence from healthcare research. It has become impossible for all to have the time and resources to find, appraise and interpret this evidence and incorporate it into healthcare decisions. Cochrane Reviews respond to this challenge by identifying, appraising and synthesizing research-based evidence and presenting it in a standardized format, published in The Cochrane Library (www.thecochranelibrary.com). The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions contains methodological guidance for the preparation and maintenance of Cochrane intervention reviews. Written in a clear and accessible format, it is the essential manual for all those preparing, maintaining and reading Cochrane reviews. Many of the principles and methods described here are appropriate for systematic reviews applied to other types of research and to systematic reviews of interventions undertaken by others. It is hoped therefore that this book will be invaluable to all those who want to understand the role of systematic reviews, critically appraise published reviews or perform reviews themselves.