An incomparably useful examination of statistical methods for comparison
The nature of doing science, be it natural or social, inevitably calls for comparison. Statistical methods are at the heart of such comparison, for they not only help us gain understanding of the world around us but often define how our research is to be carried out. The need to compare between groups is best exemplified by experiments, which have clearly defined statistical methods. However, true experiments are not always possible. What complicates the matter more is a great deal of diversity in factors that are...

What is the probability that something will occur, and how is that probability altered by a change in an independent variable? To answer these questions, Tim Futing Liao introduces a systematic way of interpreting commonly used probability models. Since much of what social scientists study is measured in noncontinuous ways and, therefore, cannot be analyzed using a classical regression model, it becomes necessary to model the likelihood that an event will occur. This book explores these models first by reviewing each probability model and then by presenting a systematic way for interpreting...

The 2011 volume of Sociological Methodology continues a 43-year tradition of providing cutting-edge methodology for sociological research. Under the editorship of Tim F. Liao, three features are prominent in this volume:

• Appropriate and practical methods for substantive social science research.
• Contributions by both sociologists and non-sociologists that have important methodological implications for the social sciences.
• Dedication to publishing purely methodological work that may benefi t sociology and the broader social sciences.