Bayesian approach is becoming increasingly important as it provides many advantages in dealing with complex data. However, there is no well-defined model selection criterion or index in a Bayesian context. To address the challenges, new indices are needed. The goal of this study is to propose new model selection indices and to investigate their…

Composite scores are an exceptionally important psychometric tool for behavioral science research applications. A prototypical example occurs with self-report data, where researchers routinely use questionnaires with multiple items that tap into different features of a target construct. Item-level missing data are endemic to composite score…

I have written before about the importance of applied behavior analysis to basic researchers. That relationship is, however, reciprocal; it is also critical for practitioners to understand and even to participate in basic research. Although applied problems are rarely the same as those investigated in the laboratory, practitioners who understand…

Developmental psychologist Damon's (Damon, Menon, & Cotton Bronk, 2003) ongoing research program on youth purpose may have important practical implications for education. However, in the course of the development of this research, two fundamental conceptual questions have not yet been resolved satisfactorily: (a) How should "sense of purpose" be…

This paper challenges the neglect of psychotherapeutic methods in therapy research and discusses the use of methods arising directly from therapy practice to generate research data. Recent developments in therapy research culture are critiqued in order to contextualise the present contribution. The research design and methodology evolve from the…

A common reason for not participating in intimate partner violence (IPV) research is thought to be fear for one's safety. However, little is known about those who do not participate due to safety fears. To better characterize this population, we investigated correlates of being "not safe" to answer the optional IPV module in the 2006…

Over the past few years, the focus group method has assumed a very important role as a method for collecting qualitative data in social and behavioural science research. This article elucidates theoretical and practical problems and prospects associated with the use of focus groups as a qualitative research method in social and behavioural science…

This article presents the author's response to Nicola Rollock's critique on the author's paper in which the author has argued that ethnographic data should be more widely used in psychology (Woods 2005, 2007b). Rollock argues that the paper neglects Zak's level of educational achievement, and fails to critically interrogate his teachers' actions…

Despite having drawn from empirical evidence and cumulative prior expertise in the formulation of research questions as well as study design, each study is treated as a stand-alone product rather than positioned within a sequence of cumulative evidence. While results of prior studies are typically cited within the body of prior literature review,…

Methodological problems associated with treatment research on cigarette smoking are explored, and possible solutions are discussed. The main problems considered are the selection and retention of subjects, the measurement of smoking, the design of treatment studies, and the interpretation and generalizability of experimental results. (Author)

This paper argues that behavior analysis is not technological to a fault, but rather has a faulty technology by being incomplete. The paper examines reinforcers and punishers that result from the outcomes of either (1) striving for better experimental control, or (2) inventing theories to explain why current control is imperfect. (JDD)

In this brief article, the author talks about what--other than money--works to widen higher education (HE) participation for adult learners. He also discusses the problems in trying to discover what works to widen participation for adults. One problem is that the decision to participate in any formal learning episode, including HE, is not a simple…

Argues that the key distinction of a situated approach to studying intelligent behavior is not the method used but the focus of the investigation, specifically the unit of analysis. Discusses contemporary approaches to assessment, collaborative problem solving as an assessment context, situated assessment, intentional dynamics, and interaction as…

Assumptions of applied behavior analysis are presented: (1) good practice should be good research; (2) behavioral goals, procedures, and effects should be socially validated; and (3) a systems perspective should be adopted when focusing on behavior analysis and intervention. (Author/JAC)

To the extent that applied behavior analysis represents a scientific and practical approach to the study of behavior, its technological character is essential. The most serious problem evident in the field is not that the research being done is too technical but that more good research of all types is needed. (JDD)