Strengthening Research Methodology

Strengthening Research Methodology: Psychological Measurement and Evaluation both explores and demonstrates how measurement, methodology, and evaluation in psychology have been influenced by preeminent scholar Lee Sechrest. Volume editors Richard R. Bootzin and Patrick McKnight have gathered researchers from across the discipline and from around the world to present recent studies and to acknowledge the role Sechrest has played as a mentor and leader in the field. Although the chapters are drawn from widely different domains, they all exhibit the main theme of the volume: Sechrest's emphasis on excellence and realism in measurement and methodology. Contributors present their work on such methodological topics as the advantages of random assignment, the problem of rear-end validity, how to use formative evaluation, and issues surrounding measuring social environments and using data visualization. Chapters about altruism among ""Holocaust rescuers,"" therapeutic mechanisms of change, and the prediction of behavior through clinical assessment illustrate important methodological quandaries while simultaneously presenting compelling original research. This rich volume, capped by a Foreword by Thomas D. Cook and Epilogue by Robert Boruch, is a fitting tribute to Sechrest, and a valuable book for all researchers and students of methodology in psychology.