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Preface | |
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About the Author | |
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Introduction | |
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Methodology and Research Design | |
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Overview | |
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Tasks of Research | |
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Key Concepts Underlying Methodology | |
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Parsimony | |
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Plausible Rival Hypotheses | |
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Findings versus Conclusions | |
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Philosophy of Science, Research Methodology, and Statistical Inference | |
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Characteristics of Research in Clinical Psychology | |
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The "Psychology" of Research Methodology | |
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Overview of the Book | |
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Drawing Valid Inferences I: Internal and External Validity | |
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Types of Validity | |
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Internal Validity | |
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Threats to Internal Validity | |
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General Comments | |
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External Validity | |
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Threats to External Validity | |
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General Comments | |
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Perspectives on Internal and External Validity | |
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Plausibility and Parsimony | |
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Priority of Internal Validity | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Drawing Valid Inferences II: Construct and Statistical Conclusion Validity | |
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Construct Validity | |
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Threats to Construct Validity | |
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General Comments | |
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Statistical Conclusion Validity | |
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Overview of Essential Concepts | |
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Threats to Statistical Conclusion Validity | |
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General Comments | |
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Experimental Precision | |
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Holding Constant versus Controlling Sources of Variation | |
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Tradeoffs | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Sources of Artifact and Bias | |
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Sources of Bias | |
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Rationales, Scripts, and Procedures | |
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Experimenter Expectancy Effects | |
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Experimenter Characteristics | |
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Situational and Contextual Cues | |
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Subject Roles | |
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Data Recording and Analysis | |
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Subject-Selection Biases | |
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The Sample: Who Is Selected for the Study? | |
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Attrition: Who Remains in the Study? | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Selection of the Research Problem and Design | |
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Research Ideas | |
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Sources of Ideas | |
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Levels of Understanding and the Focus of the Study | |
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Theory as a Guide to Research | |
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Definition and Scope | |
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Why Theory Is Needed | |
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Generating versus Testing Hypotheses | |
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From Ideas to Operations | |
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Operational Definitions | |
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Multiple Operations to Represent Constructs | |
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Discrepancies among Definitions | |
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General Comments | |
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Variables to Investigate | |
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Types of Variables | |
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Investigation of Multiple Variables | |
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Research Design Options | |
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Types of Research | |
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Design Strategies | |
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Conditions of Experimentation | |
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Time Frame for Research | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Experimental Research: Group Designs | |
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Subject Selection | |
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Random Selection | |
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Who Will Serve as Subjects and Why? | |
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Subject Assignment and Group Formation | |
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Random Assignment | |
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Group Equivalence | |
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Matching | |
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Mismatching | |
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Selected Group Designs | |
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Pretest--Posttest Control Group Design | |
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Posttest-Only Control Group Design | |
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Solomon Four-Group Design | |
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Factorial Designs | |
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Quasi-Experimental Designs | |
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Multiple-Treatment Designs | |
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Crossover Design | |
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Multiple-Treatment Counterbalanced Design | |
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Considerations in Using the Designs | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Control and Comparison Groups | |
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Control Groups | |
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No-Treatment Control Group | |
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Waiting-List Control Group | |
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No-Contact Control Group | |
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Nonspecific-Treatment or "Attention-Placebo" Control Group | |
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Routine or Standard Treatment | |
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Yoked Control Group | |
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Nonrandomly Assigned or Nonequivalent Control Group | |
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Key Considerations in Group Selection | |
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Progression of Control and Comparison Groups: Evaluating Psychotherapy | |
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Treatment-Package Strategy | |
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Dismantling-Treatment Strategy | |
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Constructive-Treatment Strategy | |
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Parametric-Treatment Strategy | |
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Comparative-Treatment Strategy | |
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Treatment-Moderator Strategy | |
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Treatment-Mediator Strategy | |
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General Comments | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Assessing the Impact of the Experimental Manipulation | |
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Checking on the Experimental Manipulation | |
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Types of Manipulations | |
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Utility of Checking the Manipulation | |
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Interpretive Problems in Checking the Manipulation | |
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Varied Data Patterns | |
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Special Issues and Considerations | |
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Assessment Issues | |
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The Influence of Nonmanipulated Variables | |
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Excluding Subjects in the Data Analyses | |
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Establishing Potent Manipulations | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Observational Research: Case-Control and Cohort Designs | |
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Case-Control Designs | |
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Cross-Sectional Design | |
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Retrospective Design | |
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Considerations in Using Case-Control Designs | |
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Cohort Designs | |
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Single-Group Cohort Design | |
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Multigroup Cohort Design | |
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Accelerated, Multicohort Longitudinal Design | |
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Considerations in Using Cohort Designs | |
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Critical Issues in Designing and Interpreting Observational Studies | |
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Specifying the Construct | |
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Selecting Groups | |
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Time Line and Causal Inferences | |
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General Comments | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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The Case Study and Single-Case Research Designs | |
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The Case Study | |
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The Value of the Case Study | |
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Illustrations | |
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Limitations of the Case Study | |
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Single-Case Experimental Designs: Key Characteristics | |
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Continuous Assessment | |
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Baseline Assessment | |
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Stability of Performance | |
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Major Experimental Design Strategies | |
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ABAB Designs | |
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Multiple-Baseline Designs | |
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Changing-Criterion Designs | |
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General Comments | |
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Data Evaluation in Single-Case Research | |
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Criteria for Visual Inspection | |
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Problems and Considerations | |
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General Comments | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Evaluation of the Single Case in Clinical Work | |
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Quasi-Experiments with the Single Case | |
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What to Do to Improve the Quality of Inferences | |
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Design Variations | |
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Case Illustrations | |
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Methods for Assessment and Evaluation in Clinical Practice | |
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Steps for Evaluation in Clinical Work | |
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Case Illustration | |
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Issues and Limitations | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Qualitative Research Methods: An Overview | |
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Key Characteristics | |
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Background | |
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Definition and Core Features | |
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Contrast of Qualitative and Quantitative Research | |
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Methods and Analyses | |
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The Data for Qualitative Analysis | |
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Drawing Valid Inferences | |
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Generality of the Results | |
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Illustrations | |
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Inner-City Youth Who Cease to Commit Crimes | |
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Gender, Power, and Who Gets the Remote Control during TV Time | |
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Single Women and Their Experience | |
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Parents' Experience in Treatment for Their Children | |
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General Comments | |
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Contributions of Qualitative Research | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Assessment Methods and Strategies | |
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Selecting Measures for Research: Key Considerations | |
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Construct Validity | |
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Psychometric Characteristics | |
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Sensitivity of the Measure | |
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General Comments | |
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Using Available Measures or Devising New Measures | |
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Using a Standardized Measure | |
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Varying the Use or Contents of an Existing Measure | |
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Developing a New Measure | |
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General Comments | |
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Modalities and Methods of Assessment | |
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Global Ratings | |
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Self-Report Inventories, Questionnaires, and Scales | |
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Projective Techniques | |
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Direct Observations of Behavior | |
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Psychobiological Measures | |
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Computerized Assessment | |
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General Comments | |
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Unobtrusiveness and Reactivity of Psychological Measures | |
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Nature of the Problem | |
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Potential Solutions with Traditional (Obtrusive) Measures | |
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Unobtrusive Measures | |
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Simple Observation | |
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Observation in Contrived Situations | |
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Archival Records | |
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Physical Traces | |
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General Comments | |
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Measurement Strategies and Issues | |
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Use of Multiple Measures | |
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Interrelations of Different Measures | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Assessment and Evaluation of Interventions | |
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Assessing Clinical Significance of the Changes | |
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Comparison Methods | |
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Subjective Evaluation | |
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Social Impact Measures | |
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General Comments | |
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Scope and Breadth of the Changes | |
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Characteristics of the Treatment | |
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Disseminability of Treatment | |
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Cost | |
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Acceptability of Treatment | |
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Assessment During the Course of Treatment | |
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Pre-Post and Continuous Assessment | |
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Evaluating the Mechanisms of Change | |
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Follow-up Assessment | |
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Attrition | |
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Practical Assessment Decisions and Options | |
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General Comments | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Statistical Methods of Data Evaluation | |
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Significance Tests and the Null Hypothesis | |
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Overview | |
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Significance Level (alpha) | |
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Power | |
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Ways to Increase Power | |
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Data Analyses and Designing the Study | |
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Special Topics in Data Analysis | |
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Intent-to-Treat Analysis | |
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Analyses Involving Multiple Comparisons | |
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Multiple Outcomes: Multivariate and Univariate Analyses | |
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Objections to Statistical Significance Testing | |
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Major Concerns | |
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Misinterpretations | |
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Significance Testing and Failures to Replicate | |
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Alternatives or Supplements to Tests of Significance | |
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Magnitude and Strength of Effect | |
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Confidence Intervals | |
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Meta-Analysis | |
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Statistical Significance, Magnitude of Effect, and Clinical Significance | |
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General Comments | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Interpretation of the Data | |
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Interpreting the Results of a Study | |
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Overview | |
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Common Leaps in Language and Conceptualization of the Findings | |
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More Data Analyses Can Enhance Data Interpretation | |
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General Comments | |
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Negative Results or No-Difference Findings | |
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Ambiguity of Negative Results | |
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When Negative Results Are Interpretable | |
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When Negative Results Are Important | |
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Replication | |
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Types of Replication | |
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Importance of Replication | |
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General Comments | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Ethical Issues and Guidelines for Research | |
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Contemporary Context and Scope of the Issues | |
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Critical Issues in Research | |
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Deception | |
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Debriefing | |
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Invasion of Privacy | |
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Informed Consent | |
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Conditions and Elements | |
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Consent Forms | |
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Letter and Spirit of Consent | |
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Intervention Research Issues | |
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Informing Clients about Treatment | |
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Withholding the Intervention | |
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Control Groups and Treatments of Questionable Efficacy | |
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Consent and the Interface with Threats to Validity | |
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General Comments | |
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Ethical Guidelines for Research Practices | |
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Ethical Issues and Scientific Integrity | |
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Fraud in Science | |
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Allocation of Credit | |
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Sharing of Materials and Data | |
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Conflict of Interest | |
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Guiding Principles and Responsibilities | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Publication and Communication of Research Findings | |
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Publication Process: An Overview | |
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Methodologically Informed Manuscript Preparation | |
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Overview | |
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Main Sections of the Article | |
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Questions to Guide Manuscript Preparation | |
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General Comments | |
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Summary and Conclusions | |
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Closing Comments: Methodology in Perspective | |
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Goals of Methodology | |
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Substantive Contribution of Methodology | |
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Final Word: Abbreviated Guidelines for a Well-Designed Study | |
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Glossary | |
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References | |
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Author Index | |
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Subject Index | |