Measuring Behaviour : An Introductory Guide

by Paul Martin , Patrick Bateson

• ISBN13: 9780521535632
• ISBN10: 0521535638
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-09-03
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Measuring Behaviour has established itself as a standard text. Largely rewritten, updated and reorganised, this third edition is, as before, a guide to the principles and methods of quantitative studies of behaviour, with an emphasis on techniques of observation, recording and analysis. It provides the basic knowledge needed to measure behaviour, doing so in a succinct and easily understood form. The sections on research design and the interpretation and presentation of data have been greatly expanded. Written with brevity and clarity, Measuring Behaviour is, above all, a practical guide book. Aimed primarily at undergraduate and graduate students in biology and psychology who are about to embark upon quantitative studies of animal and human behaviour, this book provides a concise review of methodology that will be of great value to scientists of all disciplines in which behaviour is measured, including biological anthropology, the social sciences and medicine.

Author Biography

Dr Paul Martin former Harkness Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, he has lectured and researched in Behavioral Biology at Cambridge, and was a Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge Professor Sir Patrick Bateson is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a former President of the Associadon for the Study of Animal Behaviour, Knight Bachelor, and current President of the Zoological Society of London

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The scope of this book	p. 1
The four problems	p. 2
Different approaches to studying behaviour	p. 4
Why measure behaviour?	p. 6
Summary	p. 9
Think before you measure	p. 10
Choosing the level of analysis	p. 10
Choosing the species	p. 11
Choosing where to study	p. 11
Choosing when to observe	p. 15
Effects of the observer on the subject	p. 17
Anthropomorphism	p. 18
Ethical considerations	p. 20
Summary	p. 23
Getting started	p. 25
The steps involved in studying behaviour	p. 25
Preliminary observation	p. 31
Describing behaviour	p. 32
Choosing categories	p. 33
Defining categories	p. 35
Types of measure	p. 36
Events and states	p. 39
The different levels of measurement	p. 40
Summary	p. 41
Individuals and groups	p. 42
Identifying individuals	p. 42
Individual differences	p. 44
Assessing individual distinctiveness	p. 45
Defining a group	p. 46
Summary	p. 47
Recording methods	p. 48
Sampling rules	p. 48
Recording rules	p. 51
Continuous recording	p. 52
Instantaneous sampling	p. 53
One-zero sampling	p. 54
Choosing the sample interval	p. 55
The disadavantages and advantages of time sampling	p. 57
Summary	p. 60
The recording medium	p. 62
The options available	p. 62
Check sheets	p. 65
Event recorders	p. 67
Summary	p. 70
How good are your measures?	p. 72
Reliability versus validity	p. 72
Within-observer versus between-observer reliability	p. 74
Measuring reliability using correlations	p. 76
How reliable is reliable?	p. 78
Other ways of measuring reliability	p. 78
Factors affecting reliability	p. 80
Dealing with unreliable measures	p. 81
How independent are the measures?	p. 82
Summary	p. 85
How good is your research design?	p. 86
Performing experiments	p. 86
Experimental design	p. 87
Studying development	p. 92
Tests of preference and differential responsiveness	p. 97
Composite measures	p. 100
How much information to collect?	p. 101
Summary	p. 102
Statistical analysis	p. 103
General advice on statistics	p. 103
Spreadsheets and databases	p. 104
Exploratory versus confirmatory analysis	p. 105
What statistical tests should be used?	p. 107
Analysis of variance (ANOVA)	p. 109
Correlation	p. 110
Simple regression	p. 112
General linear models (GLMs)	p. 114
Multivariate statistics	p. 115
Circular statistics	p. 118
Did you collect enough data?	p. 119
Summary	p. 119
Analysing specific aspects of behaviour	p. 121
Bout length	p. 121
Analysing sequences	p. 122
Analysing rhythms	p. 125
Choice tests	p. 127
Social behaviour	p. 129
Summary	p. 134
Interpreting and presenting findings	p. 135
Floor and ceiling effects	p. 135
Assessing significance	p. 136
Problems with correlations	p. 138
Treasuring your exceptions	p. 142
Prior knowledge and Bayes' theorem	p. 143
Modelling	p. 144
Presentation of findings	p. 146
Science and the public interest	p. 150
Summary	p. 151
Units of measurement	p. 153
Some statistical terms	p. 155
Advice on statistics textbooks	p. 160
Checklist to consult before publication	p. 163
References	p. 165
Index	p. 171
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