Tactics of Scientific Research: Evaluating Experimental Data in Psychology

Discussing the major themes of replication, variability, and experimental design, Sidman describes the step-by-step planning of experiments, the need for constant attention to trends of incoming data, and the alteration of plan, method, or design that those trends sometimes make necessary. From the Author's Preface:The conception of experimental methodology that I advance here is neither revolutionary nor new. But I must caution the student not to expect a set of rules of experimental procedure, to be memorized in classic textbook fashion. The pursuit of science is an intensely personal affair. Experimenters cannot always tell us how or why they do what they do, and the fact that their conclusions are sound so much of the time remains a puzzle even to the many philosophers, logicians, and scientists who have devoted a major portion of their time and effort to this problem.