Product Review

Usually, multiple regression and causal analysis are treated as separate topics in separate books. McClendon has integrated the two areas within one text, oriented to their application in the social and behavioral sciences. After presenting an overview of issues and techniques for conducting causal analysis, the author devotes six chapters to regression analysis, but from the perspective of causal analysis. The final two chapters unite the two statistical methods, demonstrating their application in nonexperimental research. McClendon's style emphasizes verbal explanation and assumes little background in mathematics or experimental design. Rather than bogging the reader down with mathematical derivations and computational formulas (now obsolete with the prevalence of computers), the text provides a thorough working knowledge of applied analysis. Social science students will find the book more readable and accessible than other texts in the field.