Experimental Methods

This primer is the first hands-on guide to the physical aspects of conducting experiments in economics.

An overview of experimental methods providing practical advice to students seeking guidance with their experimental work.

This concise and easy to read text introduces first year students to the analysis and presentation of experimental data. Written for students taking introductory physics courses at tertiary level, Experimental Methods will be a vital resource for all students involved in experimental or laboratory work. It will be equally useful for other quantitative subjects such as chemistry, engineering and geology. Topics of fundamental importance such as keeping a laboratory notebook, analysing experimental data and report writing are often dealt with in separate texts. This book integrates these topics and provides many of the tools that students will need at first year level and beyond.

This is the first textbook to comprehensively cover the experimental methods used in biomechanics. Designed for graduate students and researchers studying human biomechanics at the whole-body level, the book introduces readers to the theory behind the primary data collection methods and primary methods of data processing and analysis used in biomechanics. Each individual chapter covers a different aspect of data collection or data processing, presenting an overview of the topic at hand and explaining the math required for understanding the topic. A series of appendices provide the specific math that is required for understanding the chapter contents. Each chapter leads readers through the techniques used for data collection and processing, providing sufficient theoretical background to understand both the how and why of these techniques. Chapters end with a set of review questions, and then a bibliography which is divided into three sections (cited references, specific references, and useful references). Provides a comprehensive and in depth presentation on methods in whole-body human biomechanics; First textbook to cover both collection and processing in a single volume; Appendices provide the math needed for the main chapters.

This text focuses on the experimental methods and the associated terminology encountered in the research literature of psychology. Initially, the content is kept simple, so as not to distract from the information on research technique and philosophy. Interesting psychological questions from well researched areas are then examined in detail, permitting a fuller discussion of the problems encountered in specific paradigms. It is in this fashion that the book offers both methods and content. Unique features of this text include: * a detailed discussion of the process of theorizing, coupled with a close examination of psychological constructs, offers the reader an opportunity to see how psychologists think about, develop, and modify their theories, and the part played by research in changing explanations of behavior. * Although it is common for psychologists to be self-conscious in their reasoning, it is uncommon to see an analysis of the logic that they use to draw conclusions. Presenting material that is rarely verbalized but readily acknowledged by experienced researchers, the text contains an overt analysis of the logic of drawing conclusions from research. * Instructors are given a choice among 15 chapters to focus on or combine to suit the course's concentration. For example, instructors have the option of focusing on experimental psychology or a broad-based course including material on research methods in experimental, social, clinical, and applied psychology. * Courses in experimental psychology or research methods are required for every psychology major. Statistical understanding is vital for this curriculum, and this text contains a comprehensive chapter on statistics making it ideal for courses that combine statistics and experimental methods. Other important coverage includes: * an all-inclusive summary of the material found in an introductory statistics class. Although courses in research methods and experimental psychology usually have a statistics prerequisite, the students rarely remember the material when entering the research course. This text provides the instructor with the option of simply assigning the statistics information as a review, rather than repeating the lectures. If the course requirements are such as to necessitate a joint statistics and research methods course -- with the instructor lecturing on both topics -- this text could serve as the single text for the course. A helpful discussion -- accompanied by a valuable table -- demonstrates how to choose an appropriate statistic. All necessary formulas and other familiar statistical procedures -- illustrating computational steps -- are also featured. * a detailed discussion of how to develop tests for use in research. Aside from the value of this information for any researcher, it can be particularly helpful to students who are required to develop original experiments. * an elaborate discussion of methodological issues in outcome research, using smoking cessation and weight reduction programs as examples. Test bank disks for Experimental Methods in Psychology, -- free to adopters -- consist of an average of six short-answer, 11 fill-in-the-blank, and 11 multiple-choice questions for each chapter. The files are in both ASCII and Word-for-Windows formats.

A thorough and comprehensive guide to the theoretical, practical, and methodological approaches used in survey experiments across disciplines such as political science, health sciences, sociology, economics, psychology, and marketing This book explores and explains the broad range of experimental designs embedded in surveys that use both probability and non-probability samples. It approaches the usage of survey-based experiments with a Total Survey Error (TSE) perspective, which provides insight on the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques used. Experimental Methods in Survey Research: Techniques that Combine Random Sampling with Random Assignment addresses experiments on within-unit coverage, reducing nonresponse, question and questionnaire design, minimizing interview measurement bias, using adaptive design, trend data, vignettes, the analysis of data from survey experiments, and other topics, across social, behavioral, and marketing science domains. Each chapter begins with a description of the experimental method or application and its importance, followed by reference to relevant literature. At least one detailed original experimental case study then follows to illustrate the experimental method’s deployment, implementation, and analysis from a TSE perspective. The chapters conclude with theoretical and practical implications on the usage of the experimental method addressed. In summary, this book: Fills a gap in the current literature by successfully combining the subjects of survey methodology and experimental methodology in an effort to maximize both internal validity and external validity Offers a wide range of types of experimentation in survey research with in-depth attention to their various methodologies and applications Is edited by internationally recognized experts in the field of survey research/methodology and in the usage of survey-based experimentation —featuring contributions from across a variety of disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences Presents advances in the field of survey experiments, as well as relevant references in each chapter for further study Includes more than 20 types of original experiments carried out within probability sample surveys Addresses myriad practical and operational aspects for designing, implementing, and analyzing survey-based experiments by using a Total Survey Error perspective to address the strengths and weaknesses of each experimental technique and method Experimental Methods in Survey Research: Techniques that Combine Random Sampling with Random Assignment is an ideal reference for survey researchers and practitioners in areas such political science, health sciences, sociology, economics, psychology, public policy, data collection, data science, and marketing. It is also a very useful textbook for graduate-level courses on survey experiments and survey methodology.

This is an indespensible guide to both researchers in academia and industry who wish to perform tribological experiments more effectively. With an extensive range of illustrations which communicate the basic concepts in experimental methods tribology more effectively than text alone. An extensive citation list is also provided at the end of each chapter facilitating a more thorough navigation through a particular subject. * Contains extensive illustrations * Highlights limitations of current techniques

This book presents a new, multidisciplinary perspective on and paradigm for integrative experimental design research. It addresses various perspectives on methods, analysis and overall research approach, and how they can be synthesized to advance understanding of design. It explores the foundations of experimental approaches and their utility in this domain, and brings together analytical approaches to promote an integrated understanding. The book also investigates where these approaches lead to and how they link design research more fully with other disciplines (e.g. psychology, cognition, sociology, computer science, management). Above all, the book emphasizes the integrative nature of design research in terms of the methods, theories, and units of study—from the individual to the organizational level. Although this approach offers many advantages, it has inherently led to a situation in current research practice where methods are diverging and integration between individual, team and organizational understanding is becoming increasingly tenuous, calling for a multidisciplinary and transdiscipinary perspective. Experimental design research thus offers a powerful tool and platform for resolving these challenges. Providing an invaluable resource for the design research community, this book paves the way for the next generation of researchers in the field by bridging methods and methodology. As such, it will especially benefit postgraduate students and researchers in design research, as well as engineering designers.