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| Preface | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The scope of this book | |
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| The four problems | |
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| Different approaches to studying behaviour | |
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| Why measure behaviour? | |
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| Summary | |
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| Think before you measure | |
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| Choosing the level of analysis | |
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| Choosing the species | |
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| Choosing where to study | |
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| Choosing when to observe | |
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| Effects of the observer on the subject | |
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| Anthropomorphism | |
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| Ethical considerations | |
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| Summary | |
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| Getting started | |
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| The steps involved in studying behaviour | |
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| Preliminary observation | |
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| Describing behaviour | |
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| Choosing categories | |
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| Defining categories | |
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| Types of measure | |
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| Events and states | |
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| The different levels of measurement | |
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| Summary | |
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| Individuals and groups | |
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| Identifying individuals | |
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| Individual differences | |
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| Assessing individual distinctiveness | |
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| Defining a group | |
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| Summary | |
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| Recording methods | |
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| Sampling rules | |
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| Recording rules | |
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| Continuous recording | |
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| Instantaneous sampling | |
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| One-zero sampling | |
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| Choosing the sample interval | |
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| The disadavantages and advantages of time sampling | |
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| Summary | |
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| The recording medium | |
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| The options available | |
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| Check sheets | |
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| Event recorders | |
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| Summary | |
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| How good are your measures? | |
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| Reliability versus validity | |
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| Within-observer versus between-observer reliability | |
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| Measuring reliability using correlations | |
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| How reliable is reliable? | |
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| Other ways of measuring reliability | |
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| Factors affecting reliability | |
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| Dealing with unreliable measures | |
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| How independent are the measures? | |
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| Summary | |
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| How good is your research design? | |
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| Performing experiments | |
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| Experimental design | |
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| Studying development | |
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| Tests of preference and differential responsiveness | |
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| Composite measures | |
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| How much information to collect? | |
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| Summary | |
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| Statistical analysis | |
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| General advice on statistics | |
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| Spreadsheets and databases | |
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| Exploratory versus confirmatory analysis | |
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| What statistical tests should be used? | |
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| Analysis of variance (ANOVA) | |
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| Correlation | |
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| Simple regression | |
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| General linear models (GLMs) | |
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| Multivariate statistics | |
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| Circular statistics | |
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| Did you collect enough data? | |
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| Summary | |
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| Analysing specific aspects of behaviour | |
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| Bout length | |
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| Analysing sequences | |
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| Analysing rhythms | |
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| Choice tests | |
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| Social behaviour | |
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| Summary | |
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| Interpreting and presenting findings | |
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| Floor and ceiling effects | |
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| Assessing significance | |
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| Problems with correlations | |
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| Treasuring your exceptions | |
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| Prior knowledge and Bayes' theorem | |
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| Modelling | |
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| Presentation of findings | |
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| Science and the public interest | |
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| Summary | |
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| Units of measurement | |
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| Some statistical terms | |
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| Advice on statistics textbooks | |
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| Checklist to consult before publication | |
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| References | |
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| Index | |