This is the first book to demonstrate how to use the multilevel and longitudinal modeling techniques available in IBM SPSS Version 18. The authors tap the power of SPSS's Mixed Models routine to provide an elegant and accessible approach to these models. Readers who have learned statistics using this software will no longer have to adapt to a new program to conduct quality multilevel and longitudinal analyses. Annotated screen shots with all of the key output provide readers with a step-by-step understanding of each technique as they are shown how to navigate through the program. Diagnostic tools, data management issues, and related graphics are introduced throughout. SPSS commands show the flow of the menu structure and how to facilitate model building. Annotated syntax is also available for those who prefer this approach. Most chapters feature an extended example illustrating the logic of model development. These examples show readers the context and rationale of the research questions and the steps around which the analyses are structured. The data used in the text and syntax examples are available at http://www.psypress.com/multilevel-modeling-techniques/ .
The book opens with the conceptual and methodological issues associated with multilevel and longitudinal modeling, followed by a discussion of SPSS data management techniques which facilitate working with multilevel, longitudinal, and/or cross-classified data sets. The next few chapters introduce the basics of multilevel modeling, how to develop a multilevel model, and trouble-shooting techniques for common programming and modeling problems along with potential solutions. Models for investigating individual and organizational change are developed in chapters 5 and 6, followed by models with multivariate outcomes in chapter 7. Chapter 8 illustrates SPSS's facility for examining models with cross-classified data structures. The book concludes with thoughts about ways to expand on the various multilevel and longitudinal modeling techniques introduced and issues to keep in mind in conducting multilevel analyses.
Ideal as a supplementary text for graduate level courses on multilevel, longitudinal, latent variable modeling, multivariate statistics, and/or advanced quantitative techniques taught in departments of psychology, business, education, health, and sociology, this book's practical approach will also appeal to researchers in these fields. The book provides an excellent supplement to Heck & Thomas's An Introduction to Multilevel Modeling Techniques, 2nd Edition; however, it can also be used with any multilevel and/or longitudinal modeling book or as a stand-alone text.
"The book is written in a logical way with real example studies for each multilevel model. The language is clear and the analysis is accurate. The authors have a talent in making complicated multilevel models more attractive and user friendly. I found the book to be enjoyable. ... The book is mostly suitable for a graduate level course, and it is also a good reference for those who want to learn multilevel modeling using SPSS." - Xing Liu, Education Department, Eastern Connecticut State University, USA, in the International Journal of Research & Method in Education
"With its thorough coverage of the statistical underpinnings of multilevel modeling and the detailed step-by-step instructions on how to analyze data with IBM SPSS, this text is a gold mine for graduate instruction!" -Laura M. Stapleton, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA?
"This text has both depth and breadth of coverage with material that is accessible and transparent to the novice but at the same time comprehensive for the experienced researcher. It is one of those rare texts that is thorough in both the how-tos of the software and the concepts. It is a key multilevel text that any multilevel researcher will not want to be without." - Debbie L. Hahs-Vaughn, University of Central Florida, USA?
"This book is a timely and valuable addition. Multilevel modeling is now becoming much more accessible to practitioners, many of whom use SPSS for other analyses. Therefore, a book like this [is] a great resource ? I would purchase the book and require it for my courses... It is a unique contribution tothe field... I wish I had thought of writing it first!" - Dick Carpenter, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA
"The first on the market to explain and illustrate how these multilevel models can be analyzed using the popular SPSS program." - George Marcoulides, University of California,Riverside, USA
