Research Books

I am a School Psychologist and I use this program with Middle School students. The lessons are age-appropriate and easy to implement. The teacher checklist in the back is also very helpful in planning which lessons to use. I also use, and love, the early childhood and elementary skillstreaming programs.

I came across this book while working with a group of middle school students who were lacking social skills. This book provides step by step social skills information directed at the specific deficiencies. I am looking forward to continuing to work with the information I have gathered from reading this book.

This book is primarily directed at teachers and professionals trying to manage and socially 'skill' aggressive and delinquent adolescents. The book consists of short exercises sandwiched between buffers of explanatory material. The exercises are fairly much standard prosocial activities involving discussions and role-plays. As an overview, or outline, of what to do, these are good. However, the instructional sequences are short, and occassionally vague. My overall reaction to the book is that it needs a companion manual to realise its usefulness. There is also a deal of repetition of points that may or may not be useful depending on the audience. The amount of explanatory text is high for a book that is not theoretically laden down, and this weakened its appeal to me. In my own opinion, it is hard to beat (pardon the pun) for detail Teaching Social Skills from the Boystown Press for this youth segment.

I was introduced to this book by the co-ordinator of out patient services as a book that she thought highly of in working with adolescents. A chronically mentally ill client from my program was seeing her outpatient for counseling and she thought the book may work well in assisting the client with social skills. On an individual basis it worked very well with the client. We decided to start a group within our program to see how it would work with other chronically mentally ill clients and it has worked extremely well.

A super book for working with socially challenged youth. High risk kids often get into trouble because they don't possess appropriate social skills, and they are not motivated to practice positive skills. They simply don't see the value. All to often their innappropriate skills have been rewarded in life. This book prepares teachers and adolescent group leaders to develop missing social skills in a step by step well thought out and research proven manner. The book also prepares the leader with great stratagies for recognizing and dealing with trainee/client resistance. Of course in your group you will not experience this. If you really want results and not just feel good discussions with kids this material is state of the art. Highly recommended!

Most of the topics in this book will be somewhat beyond those that a casual amateur astronomer would want to pursue. However, the book is worth buying just for what you will learn about the different topics. Of course, if you want to try some of the scientific work then you are all set with the material given.

Worth a read for the in depth discussion of observation, imaging with CCDs, practical issues with both, and an understanding of observational and imaging science.

I recommend it.

Astronomy is one of the very few sciences where amateurs can make significant contributions and where amateur contributions are valued by the professional community. I returned to serious astronomy several years ago. I wanted to do more than just star gaze and taking pretty photos (which I still love). If you have felt the same way, then this book is a must read. Buchheim presents a plethora of different research programs that can be undertaken with modest (or even no) equipment. One of my particular interests is photometry, the measurement of light to study such things as variable stars and asteroid light curves. Buchheim takes the novice through all of the concepts and presents this material in a manner that allows the reader to understand the basic concepts and how to undertake a number of observing programs from differential photometry to all-sky to asteroid light curves The same is true for astrometry and the search for asteroids. And, these are just two of the areas of research discussed. In short, if you want to move from "just observing," and get into astronomical research and make valued contributions to science, this book will guide you through to success.

I agree with the other reviews I've seen here: this book is excellent!

Are you ready to move beyond visual observing or taking CCD pix for aesthetic appreciation? Do you want to feel like you're doing a bit of science? If you answered yes to these questions, then this is undoubtedly a good book for you. It contains a survey of a wide range of areas where YOU, with relatively inexpensive amateur gear, can do observations that go far beyond the "Oh, isn't that pretty!" (Not, though, that I have anything against "pretty!")

This book is well written, and unlike many other books in our hobby, gets into the nitty-gritty details of how-to-do-it! It's well written and the author speaks with authority. Each chapter has an excellent reference at its end. Using these references allows you to do additional reading.

Although it doesn't go into much depth on the topic, this book has a short and adequate introduction on spectroscopy. The overview is good and it has references on where to find further info. I've found spectroscopy very exciting. Without much work, with a simple webcam & tiny scope, in the city, without a lengthy or complicated observing program, you can be analyzing the composition of distant stars! Now THAT'S science! (The Rainbow Optics or StarAnalyser spectroscopes are a great introduction.)

This is a really neat book! It opens up a whole new kind of amateur astronomy;real research projects where you make observations that are useful to professional astronomers.Amateur astronomers can gather new information or make new dsicoveries,using skills that are common amoung experienced stargazers,and equipment that is widely available. Here is a step-by-step instruction manual for getting started in these projects,from learning why each project area is important, to the equipment and procedures that are needed, and how to analyze your results.The chapters are organized roughly in order of increasing difficulty of the projects, from simple(naked-eye meteor counting) to complex (extra solar planet searches and supernova discovery). I was paticularly pleased that each project includes an explaination of how and where to submit your results, so that they will be useful to "real" astronomers.
I do not think there is any compairable book available. There are plenty of "advanced observing guides", and many "textbooks",but this book fits right in between them. It gives careful description of celestial objects or events,and how and why you should try to see them, so it's sort of an observing guide(although there are not any spectacular photos).It also explains why the observations are important,and gives a meticulous explaination of the data gathering and analysis procedures for each project,so it is sort of a textbook. But it is not stuffy,pedantic tome. The style is friendly,helpful and encouraging. There are some equations,but if you made it through high school algebra they will not give you any trouble(and only some projects require you to use them).There is even a story line! Short tales about challenges,successes,and memorable experiences are scattered throughout the text. They make it easy to read,and highlite the author's enthusiasm for his subject.
Any amateur atronomer who has ever wished he could be a "real scientist" will definitely find this book worth having on his desk.

For amateurs who have passed the beginner rites of the Messier and Caldwell lists, Buchheims's _Sky_ contains the measured voice of the elder mentor of your astronomy club. If that expert mentor is lacking in your local club, Buchheim's _Sky_ is a must buy that will save you in time many times its purchase. Each _Sky_ observing project is written like an after star-party club coffee meeting, with Buchheim patiently guiding you through practical field problems commonly encountered when starting photometry, double star astrometry or supernovae searching. He includes references to landmark manuals, amateur organizations and internet resources for each topic. Where appropriate, Buchheim fills in with basic observing skills that are often left unexplained as assumed knowlege in other texts, e.g. timing uncertainty reduction when timing asteriod occultations. For this Amazon review, the 18 observing projects are listed in the Table of Contents, listed above. _Sky_ now sits on my "ready reference" shelf - sandwiched between other amateur classics - like Berry's _HAIP_, Sidgwick's _Amateur Astronomer's Handbook_, North's _Advanced Amateur_ or Meeus's _Algorithms_. If you have been hooked in the hobby for two or three years and want a roadmap to the next 10 years, Buchheim's _Sky_ is what you need.

If you are as clueless about SPSS as I am, you must buy this book. It has clear, concise instructions in language a layman can understand. If you want a more advanced manual because you already know the basics, you may want to look elsewhere (Tabachnik & Fidel's book would be the next step up from this one). This would be a great textbook for a Statistics course at either the undergrad or graduate levels. It also explains each type of statistic clearly with great examples. It covers t tests, ANOVAs, regression, and much more. It was great for me to be able to review the statistic I was going to use to ensure that I understood it.

If you want to go from a stupid to savvy about statistics, this is the book for you. No jargon, no obtuse references, just simple explanations and directions. I secretly credit this book with getting me through my Ph.D. Also,Darren George's willingness to answer questions and offer help via e-mail was invaluable. This book makes things so clear, that I am now able to explain statistics to others -- something that once would have seemed as likely as inventing a calorie-free shake. A must for any researcher in the social sciences.

I am a grad student working on my dissertation. I searched everywhere for an excellent and simple SPSS book. I was lost until I found yours. I have some of the others listed in the category; they are missing the step by step examples. I knew what I wanted to do, but did not know how to put into SPSS. They examples are CLEAR. There is even information about the statistics, so if you are unsure about assumptions for the type of test, you can check. Simple instructions and EXAMPLES FOR THE SCREEN. I love it.Thanks for putting together an excellent reference tool.

The book is extremely well written and is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn SPSS. It has great coverage of all major SPSS procedures except survival analysis. I highly recommend it!

Paul Mallery (my co-author) and I have gone to excruciating efforts, particularly on the first 16 chapters of this book, to create a tool that makes SPSS absolutely clear to the beginner. In the final 12 chapters our book explores more complex statistical procedures (log-linear models, factor analysis, discriminant analysis, multi-dimensional scaling, and others) in the identical format as the earlier chapters.

The comments by the individuals from Iowa and Minnesota reflect the many e-mails we have received on this book from, literally, all over the world. While we routinely recommend that anyone who uses the book first take a course in statistics, for anyone with reasonable math aptitude, the first 16 chapters should be understandable without ANY statistical background. If you are looking for a book that is comprehensive yet ultimately understandable for fundamental statistical procedures (data entry, data manipulation, frequencies, descriptives, chi-squares, t-tests, correlations, ANOVAs, simple linear and multiple regression analysis, graphs) but includes excellent coverage on the more advanced procedures we suggest that this book was made for you.

We, the authors, welcome your comments. These are considered carefully as we create new editions of the book.

Too often, the high-stakes testing debate wanders into the realm smoke and mirrors. If you follow this debate, you'll find the same arguments presented here that have been presented all along: standardized tests are biased, they do not measure intelligence or knowledge, etc. What you don't normally get are the facts that back up this argument, and that is what Sacks provides. This book concretizes what has become (wrongly) a very abstract, political issue, and should be regularly referenced by all who oppose the mediocrity such testing rewards. These tests may sound good in theory, but in practice, Sacks shows with convincing success, they just don't do the job.

I was in the middle of reading Standardized Minds when I heard a panel of "Experts" talk about the future of LA Unified School District on Which Way LA, a local radio show. Specifically they were discussing the notion of linking teacher bonus pay to the performance of their students on standardized tests. I wish Peter Sacks had been on the program as he successfully demolishes the continued folly of our reliance on standardized tests as a way to judge our schools, our teachers and our students. I wholeheartedly endorse the opinions of the previous two reviewers. Speaking as a parent, I can only say that the more people who read this book, engage in a discussion about the issues so eloquently raised within it and help push the national dialogue on education forward in the directions the author suggests, the better off our kids and we as a society will be.

Mr. Sacks in his new publication, Standardized Minds, has done an outstanding job of placing norm-refrenced standardized tests, along with their associated multiple-choice item formats, in proper perspective. These tests have set standards for academic assessment for many years, and, as Mr. Sacks points out, are being questioned by many in the testing profession as being inapporpriate and insensitive as single and simplisthic guages of educational progress. He has documented extensive research on this subject, presented some impressive "case studies" of those who have been penalized in their career and life chioces based on "low" test scroes when all other extracurricular or in-school performances predicted otherwise. In addition to the many problems associated with mulitple-choice item types, a main focus is on the misunderstanding and misuse of the scores by all levels of society. As he so eloquently states, many educators are not properly taught how to interpret and use these data, legislative or government policy-makers have little or any idea of the substance or meaning of these scores, the media are at the mercy of the lack of knowledge (or political direction) fed them, and parents and children are left confused with numbers that do not give them specific constructive instructional information. The end result is that these test results are forced into a political and unethical framework which has greatly weakened their usefulness. If the desire is to help children learn and teachers teach, some interesting and effective alternatives are provided. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in improving educational assessment.

I am a high school senior so I am currently getting a lot of pressure from my parents to get that silly 1600 on my SAT which will take place in October and December this year. Then there's also the ACTs and the 3 SAT IIs! I was always suspicious of test prep companies, the ETS, and the SATs themselves. Living in Los Angeles, these test prep companies have grown like weeds in the community, sucking up money from middle and upper class students. Though I am fortunate, my parents have also forcefully enrolled me at one of these. My SAT school is doing a nice job with its profits and have managed to get a new paint job, redecorate the "classrooms", and to get more students and more teachers, to just get it bigger and bigger. While my "teachers" explain the concepts of the SAT, I can't help but wish I was in the library reading more books such as this or practicing the piano. It is so unfair that only the rich people can afford these classes and they are the ones who get the good scores on the SATs. After getting a mediocre score on the SAT in June, my parents have now considered me a total idiot, even though my report cards and comments from teachers say otherwise. This book is so chock-full of information that deserves wide reading. The author has done the most extensive research imaginable. The controversy of the standardized tests is something that should have been addressed and Peter Sacks is the best one to do it. He has full of statistics and information to back up everything he says, yet he never just blows them off to you, but explains them. In addition to statistics, are the personal recollections of the people he interviewed-the teachers, educators, college admissions people, and even students. The tale of one student who had 7 tries to take a silly test and not being able to graduate and forced to stay in high school was frightening to the say the least. I am also glad that the author also included a section about the infamous incident in 1998 in Massachusetts when everyone condemned the teachers that they failed "a basic reading and writing test", which had become a punch-line for many of Jay Leno's jokes that year. It was rather strange that the media did not go into detail about the exact questions or the more specifics of that exam, but everyone just wanted to call these teachers "idiots".

The book is comprehensive on all testing, with the exception of secondary school admissions tests such as the ISEE and the SSAT. Going to California private schools, I have become familiar with ERBs and the Stanford 9 tests. In order to get into private high schools, I had to take the ISEE and the SSAT. Now I have the SATs and ACTs to conquer.

This is more than a book analyzing the damaging effects of the testing culture. The author suggest an standing ovation-worthy proposal of evaluating students on what they can do, whether it is projects and more research opportunities such as outside occupational research or conducting a lab or evaluating a student 's portfolio, instead of standardized tests.

Yes, this book should be read by politicians educators, teachers, yet I am here to emphasize STUDENTS should read this book too. Students who are daunted by the SATs need to be educated about our obsessive testing culture and that they are NOT idiots for a silly number.

In today's US it is almost impossible to avoid encountering standardized tests--mass-produced, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-bubble, machine-scored exams of all sorts. Standardized tests are used to assess the performance of public schools, in many systems to determine which students will be held back a grade, to decide who will get into college, and into graduate and professional school, and who will get certain jobs.

In "Standardized Minds," Peter Sacks delivers a devastating critique of the use of such tests. His indictment includes a wide range of particulars, only some of which can be summarized here.

First, standardized tests are not a source of useful information. A widely used reading test given to elementary school students can err by as much as three grade levels in measuring a student's reading level. The SAT, required for admission to most colleges, has no use other than to make predictions, with limited accuracy, of students' freshman year grades. The GRE, required for admission to most Ph.D. programs, actually has a negative correlation with future success as a scholar.

Second, standardized tests are very biased. The best known of these biases is that of the SAT against low-income, minority students. Sacks shows that this bias extends to other tests as well. Another bias identified by Sacks is that standardized tests are biased in favor of superficial thinking--the ability to rapidly recall and repeat facts--and against the deeper thinking necessary to solve complex real-world problems.

Third, and perhaps most harmfully, standardized tests promote "teaching to the test." A number of states have established what Sacks terms "high-stakes accountability" programs, in which standardized test scores determine whether students are promoted to the next grade or are allowed to graduate, and are used to rank the performance of schools. Sacks documents how such "high-stakes" programs cause teachers to spend enormous amounts of time drilling students in preparation for the tests. Such teaching practices promote rote memorization and superficial thinking at the expense of critical thinking skills and genuine understanding--hardly a desireable educational goal.

It is important to note that Sacks is not merely giving his personal opinions. He has studied and mastered a great deal of research. At the same time, his book is far more than a dry academic recital. Unlike the Dinesh D'Souzas of the world, Sacks knows the proper usage of anecdotes--to illustrate a generalzation, not as the basis for it. Of the many illuminating stories he tells, one bears repeating. St. John's University's psych department requires students entering the Ph.D. program to take the GRE, which is useless except to make somewhat accurate predictions of first-year grades. Students seeking a masters degree only, while they take the same first-year courses, are not required to take the GRE. However, if these students wish, on completing a masters degree, to enter the Ph.D. program, they must then take the GRE, even though the only value of the exam is to "predict" their grades in courses they have already taken.

Sacks ends the book by noting some optimistic trends, such as the growing number of colleges and universities which no longer require applicants to take the SAT. However, breaking the tyranny of standardized testing will not be easy--the political pressures for the kind of superficial "standards" and "accountability" such tests provide are enormous. But reading Sacks' book, and freeing your own mind from the spell cast by standardized test scores, would be a good start.

Classic stats book for the scientific grant writer. Excellent info and tables concerning power analyses for experimental effects. If you don't include a power analysis in your proposal, you're wasting your time...

Clearly, a must for every statistical library. This book is considered the authority on power analysis.

In the design of clinical trials particularly in the regulatory environment of the FDA the determination of the appropriate number of subjects to recruit for a well-powered statistical hypothesis test ot tests is extremely important. This topic is often neglected in statistical texts, even the elementary ones. It has also been neglected in many of the statistical software products that are available. Recognizing this need Janet Elashoff and Ralph o'Brien were among the first to construct tools for sample size determination and calculation of statistical power. There are now many software products available including nQuery Advisor (Janet Elashoff's product), Power and Precision, PASS, and StatXact. For group sequential and adaptive design methods thare are products such as East, PEST, SeqTrial+ and ADDPLAN to mention a few. Ralph O'Brien's package has now been modified and implimented in SAS with the procedures PROC Power and PROC Glmpower.

This book by Jacob Cohen preceded these developments and became a classic reference for researchers particularly those in the social sciences including behavioral scientists as mentioned in the title. I know of only one other competing book from that time period that being "How Many Subjects" by Helen Kraemer of Stanford University.

Cohen does a masterful job of taking the guesswork out of statistical power estimation. This text provides procedural guidelines for determining power for many designs, and can be quite helpful in determining proper sample sizes. Not for the casual reader, but a necessary addition to any serious researchers statistical library.

Absolutely the main text but check it out from the library - you will use it approximately 10-15 times in your research life.

a Caribbean Cinderella story, well told and intriguingly illustrated. My daughter (9) requested the book after we had read the Public Library copy.

I probably read this to my daughter for the first time when she was about 7 and it has been a favorite of hers and mine ever since. I am at a loss to explain exactly what is so captivating about it, but it just seems more real and a notch above other mermaid stories.

My children sat spellbound as we read this book. We loved this story for the original plot, the strange dialect (not too heavily used), and the unusual art work.

I am a fifth grade student at North Hills Traditional Academy. And,yes, I like this book. I like this book because the pictures are pretty. I like this book because the words are beautiful. I like this book because it tells a sweet story. This book is for people who are caring.

This book has become a mainstay in my children's library. I read this book to them over and over again. My 3 daughters never tire of it. The way the tale is written allows the reader to inflect his/her own creativity in delivering the story to an entranced child's ears. You can choose to sing parts of the tale, you can inflect tonality and create the dialect as you see fit, as well. Along with the wonderful, unique artwork, this book will become a classic children's tale for generations to come!

This is more than just a story about an Irish immigrant. It tells of the cruelty of life and the hope brought by love. Leaving a starving Ireland aboard a horrific "coffin Ship" in the mid-19th century, this father and daughter arrive at a prejudiced U.S., and eventually settle in Boston. With all of their difficulties, it is love and hope that keep them focused. Overcoming tragedy and setbacks, a loving and compassionate Bridget McGraw makes her way to Wisconsin and becomes a legend in her own time. Based on family memories and geneaological research, the author shines a bright light on the history of two countries going through difficult times, and the people who persevered. This book leaves you with a good taste in your mouth and a warm feeling in your heart.

Margrate Doar tells us the story of a young girl born in County May of the 1850's Ireland. She develops the story of Bridget as she faces life in Ireland as the child of a widowed father, travels to Boston in the USA and eventually to Wisconsin.

Bridget comes alive as she grows up, has a family and grows old. How she faces the problems of life from day to day made her the grandmother I never knew.

Bridget, her family, friends and a few special people become part of your life in this book. I will reread this one and recommend it highly.

This book is an excellent example of my family's immigration to the states and the hardships they faced. I have been told so many stories and read a lot of family essays, and I feel this is a shining example. Great job Aunt Peggy Ann!

Margrate Doar tells us the story of a young girl born in County May of the 1850's Ireland. She develops the story of Bridget as she faces life in Ireland as the child of a widowed father, travels to Boston in the USA and eventually to Wisconsin.

Bridget comes alive as she grows up, has a family and grows old. How she faces the problems of life from day to day made her the grandmother I never knew.

Bridget, her family, friends and a few special people become part of your life in this book. I will reread this one and recommend it highly.

This book tells the story of Bridget and her descendents. The reader can picture the people and the stories are wonderful. It is well written and easy, enjoyable read.

The service that I received when I ordered this book was outstanding. Materials were in perfect condition, just as advertised. I have always been pleased when I use Amazon. I use Amazon very frequently, all through my undergraduate classes and now into my graduate classes. The savings over the past several years have been incredible...

Many books have made efforts - more or less successful - to "debunk" the complex topic of statistics. This book avoids condescension through humor and dryness by offering real life examples. At the same time, Dr. Keller's discussions delve deep enough into the subjects to provide a genuine level of understanding for his readers.

And for those with a liking for Haiku, the writing is delightful for its own sake.

I am a young professor who teaches statistics to sociology and nursing majors at a Washington, DC area university. "The Tao of Statistics" was the first book of which I ever received an unsolicited evaluation copy. I am so glad I did. After I made this book required reading grades have risen among the students who actually read it. The most telling incident was when I over heard the captain of one of the athletic teams telling several teammates in the class, "Dude, you gotta read this book. It explains it all." If you are an instructor, require this book. If you are a student get a copy and read it.

An excellent introduction to the ways information from statistics can change the way one looks at the world. Understanding something about probability and base rates, for example, can enlighten how one interprets the presence or absence of individual events. Understanding distributions and sampling can further enlighten. The same could be said about correlations, covatriances, and statistical models. Keller's book covers only the introduction to these ideas, but does it in a nice way, and motivates readrs to continue their journey along the path he describes. A must read for persons wanting to know what statistical knowledge can and cannot do.

If you use statistics in your daily work, but are not a statistician and are always meaning to read or reread your statistics book from that one course you took or the new statistics book you ordered, but you fall asleep a couple of pages into the first chapter, then this book is for you. If you have an idea that means are not always a good measure of central tendency for a population, but you would be hard pressed to come up with the exact reason, then this is for you. This book covers all the major statistical concepts that most of us non-statisticians use (confidence intervals, correlations, regressions, etc) and makes them all understandable. Believe it or not, this statistics book is FUN to read and you will remember the delightful Haiku and the illustrations which drive each concept home. I recommend this book, ordered my own copy, and now am ordering copies for my staff.

If you are teaching at the college-level or higher, this book is full of great ideas on everything from setting the tone in the first class to assessing students. Making your classes ones they look forward to attending.

This book came recommended to me from my Professor as a valuable reference for my first year teaching college students. The books description matched the condition.

This is a must-have book for college faculty. I use it to assist new faculty in developing their teaching abilities and I found many good ideas to improve my syllabus, enhance classroom interactions and help in creating an effective program for evaluating teacher effectiveness. My only complaint is that it is hard to get--too bad that such a valuable resource can't come via overnight express!

Linda has done an excellent job of compiling and explaining some of the best available techniques for teaching and survival as a professor in the modern university environment. The text is highly readable and extremely practical. I have taught for 24 years in a variety of colleges and each time I open the book I find something new to try.

This book is a great resource for teachers in general and college profs in particular. It presents solid, innovative pedagogical ideas in a practical context. My copy is becoming worn out from nearly constant use.

I am currently studying for the NLN CNE certificaion exam. This book, Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty (Billings, Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty) was recommended as a resource and it has been very helpful in preparation for the exam. It is not only an excellent resource for the exam, but also an excellent resource for the novice nurse educator. For those of us in nursing education for a number of years, this book is excellent at refreshing us and providing new ideas and innovations in nursing. I hardily suggest this book to anyone in or seeking to begin educating nurses.

I am taking an online course at the IUPUI School of Nursing and this book has been an excellent resource for this course. Just about everything I need is in there. A must buy for any of the IUPUISON online courses.

I am using this book for a masters class in education for my CNS. I enjoyed reading it. It is very easy to read and covers a vast amount of information needed for a nurse to get started in her her teaching career.

I purchased this book for a class I have been taking and found it easy to understand and very informative.

Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty by Diane Billings and Judith Halstead is a concise comprehensive easy to read resource on being a nurse educator. I am a graduate student pursuing my MSN/Ed. As a student, I found this book to be very relevant, well cited, and easy to navigate. I loved that it came in soft cover. I highly recommend this book.