Book Description

Many statistical modelling and data analysis techniques can be difficult to grasp and apply, and it is often necessary to use computer software to aid the implementation of large data sets and to obtain useful results. S-Plus is recognised as one of the most powerful and flexible statistical software packages, and it enables the user to apply a number of statistical methods, ranging from simple regression to time series or multivariate analysis. This text offers extensive coverage of many basic and more advanced statistical methods, concentrating on graphical inspection, and features step-by-step instructions to help the non-statistician to understand fully the methodology.

• Extensive coverage of basic, intermediate and advanced statistical methods
• Uses S-Plus, which is recognised globally as one of the most powerful and flexible statistical software packages
• Emphasis is on graphical data inspection, parameter estimation and model criticism
• Features hundreds of worked examples to illustrate the techniques described
• Accessible to scientists from a large number of disciplines with minimal statistical knowledge
• Written by a leading figure in the field, who runs a number of successful international short courses
• Accompanied by a Web site featuring worked examples, data sets, exercises and solutions

... Read more

Reviews (1)

Teachers, students, and researchers - stop here!
This is far and away the best statistics book I have found for the non-statistician. As a researcher and introductory behavioral statistics teacher this book has proven invaluable to me.

Crawley explains the connecting ideas that foster understanding that so many others seem to omit. Teaching statistics graphically rather than formulaically using the free student version of s-plus, my students come away understanding the foundations of statistics including measures of central tendency, probability distributions, regression, and ANOVA.

The interesting thing is that when I need an introduction to survival analysis or non-linear regression, I'm able to pick up the same book. Crawley explains many more advanced analyses with the same care and thoroughness that he does the basics including log-linear analysis, mixed-effects models, Generalised linear models, and time series analysis to name but a few.

I originally picked up this book to learn how to conduct analyses using s-plus but what I found was so much more.

To those of you that are really only interested in learning s-plus this book does that elegantly as well and I prefer it to Venables and Ripley (Modern Applied Statistics with S). I suspect that statisticians will prefer the later title but if you are like me and want some help understanding the analysis and not just how to do it in s-plus then stick with this title. ... Read more

Book Description

Recently expanded to 2 volumes, Short Protocols in Molecular Biology, Fifth Edition, provides condensed descriptions of more than 700 methods compiled from Current Protocols in Molecular Biology. Includes new chapters on chromatin assembly and analysis, nucleic acid arrays, generation and use of combinatorial libraries, discovery and analysis of differentially expressed genes in single cells and cell populations.

The book is specifically designed to provide quick access to step-by-step instructions for the essential methods used in every major area of molecular biological research

Short Protocols in Molecular Biology, Fifth Edition is an authoritative and indispensable guide for all life scientists, researchers, and students at the graduate and advanced undergraduate level

Expanded to 2 volumes. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

an excellent brief reference book
This is a well-organized, clear, short reference work. Well done

The (little) Red book...
Here is the little red bok.
If the big one is too expensive for you, you can always buy this. You'll find inside all the important protocols and data for molecular biology.It's up to date, and clearly presented.
Try it, and then buy the big one!

A very good reference manual
This book is an essential tool for people in the scientific field such as Molecular Biology (obviously), Biochemistry, and Neuroscience. It is comprehensive and up-to-date as far as the techniques are concerned. It is good value in a sense that you don't have to buy the whole "Current Protocols Series" which costs an arm and a leg if you do. Although nowadays, a lot of "kits" are commercially available, the techniques found in this book explain principles and provide different alternatives suited for your needs. Molecular Cloning by Maniatis et al., although needs updating, is still a helpful reference in my opinion and it complements this book.

A Must-Have for any Molecular Biologist...
I originally bought this book as a secondary source of information (Maniatis has ben my bible now for a few years...) but as time has progressed I have found myself using this book more and more. The protocols are easy to follow, logically placed, give enough information so you understand what it is you are doing, are up to date, and are all in one volume. Yes, this has effectively replaced my copy of Molecular Cloning (which is in desperate need of an update). Great job! ... Read more

Book Description

A revision of the leading text on experimental physics.The feature of this book that has made it one of the most loved texts on the subject is that it goes far beyond a mere description of key experiments in physics.The author successfully provides the reader with an understanding and appreciation of the 'physics' behind the experiments.The second edition will be an extensive revision introducing many new devices, including the use of computers and software programs, that have come into use since the publication of the first edition.In addition the important areas of condensed matter physics and optical physics will be added, including two entirely new chapters on lasers and optics.

ú Modern analysis and acquisition techniques
ú Integration with matlab for data analysis and display
ú New experiments include fundamentals of lasers ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent experimental reference!!!
I purchased this book with hopes of gaining some insight into the theoretical aspects of the modern physics experiments I was working on in a junior laboratory. I must say that this book has been invaluable. The author masterfully details the most fundamental experiments in modern physics, making the material accessible to beginning undergrad students, yet still theoretically rich enough for advanced experimental practice.

Most modern physics experiments can more than likely be referenced somewhere in this book, which serves as a lab manual complete with data samples and example analysis. For myself, the analysis techniques employed in the experiments contained within this book were the most helpful. Any physics student with experience in an advanced lab would agree that data and error analysis are the most critical part of any lab, making this book ideal as a reference.

I give this book five stars, but I must admit only one disappointment with its binding. I read a review, prior to buying this text, stating that the hardcover binding is somewhat prone to wearing out quickly, and indeed I think I have seen the beginning of this demise. However, I have made extensive use of the book, which has undoubtedly contributed to this problem.

Otherwise, I have gotten every cent's worth out of this book! ... Read more

Book Description

The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration, Second Edition
Sponsored by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and written by top illustrators, scientists, and industry experts, The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration, Second Edition is an indispensable reference guide for anyone who produces, assigns, or simply appreciates scientific illustration.
Offering broad coverage and more than 620 outstanding illustrations, this new edition offers up-to-date coverage on all aspects of this specialized field, from illustrating molecules and 3D modeling to important material and advice on copyright and contractual concerns, as well as establishing a freelance business.
With step-by-step instructions, in-depth coverage of illustrative techniques and related tools, and helpful advice on the day-to-day business of scientific illustrating, it is easy to see why scientific illustrators refer to this book as their "bible." ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The definitive reference for scientific illustration
Since its first edition this book has been by far the best single resource available for anyone with a serious interest in scientific, medical, biological, nature, botanical, or wildlife illustration.

Don't be daunted by the price - this book is worth far more than the next 10 competing books combined. I've been a professional medical and scientific illustrator for 35 years, and I own hundreds of books on the subject, but I think this single volume should be the foundation of any reference library on visual communication in the biomedical sciences.

There is no greater guide to Scientific Illustration . . .
ELaine Hodges' "The Guild Handbook to Scientific Illustration" is truly a landmark as a reference and the finest on my shelf -- and I cannot count the times I've sought it since 1989 out either to clarify a client's request or as a refresher for some obscure technique (carbon dust, for example) . . .

Even though the book is quite expensive even by reference standards (twice its price of 1989), I would purchase it again without hesitation. Truly, there is no question of hand technique that is left unanswered . . .

If that were not enough, the volume weighs over two kilos and could also prove a formidable weapon . . .

The book is the final word in scientific illustration
Over and over in my work I found myself referring back to this encyclopedic manual. A must for all those in the field of scientific illustration, and a huge help for graphic artists and illustrators in general.

Most authoritative single book in the World in the subject!
The most extensive coverage of media and subject matter for use in creating science art. For use by practicing illustrators. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

awesome guide
This guide was comprehensive, thorough, and was chock full of information. Get the Facts on Anyone, was full of resources, both online and offline of getting information. This book can be used to verify information you think you already know, or find out what you may not know. Well worth the investment.

One of the Best
I have read or looked into almost every book on this topic and feel Get the Facts on Anyone is one of the best and a worthwhile investment. It is logically laid out, professionally written and full of usable action items. Don't hesitate to purchase this book.

How to find people and hide yourself.
This book is very helpful in pointing out the mistakes and preconceived ideas of how to change your identity. Helpful hints on tracking anyone. ... Read more

Book Description

For many applications, a randomized algorithm is either the simplest or the fastest algorithm available, and sometimes both. This book introduces the basic concepts in the design and analysis of randomized algorithms. The first part of the text presents basic tools such as probability theory and probabilistic analysis that are frequently used in algorithmic applications. Algorithmic examples are also given to illustrate the use of each tool in a concrete setting. In the second part of the book, each chapter focuses on an important area to which randomized algorithms can be applied, providing a comprehensive and representative selection of the algorithms that might be used in each of these areas. Although written primarily as a text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, this book should also prove invaluable as a reference for professionals and researchers. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A subtle introduction to probablistic algoritms
This book is a jewel. It demonstrates how clever and beautifully simple probabilistic ideas can lead to the design of very efficient algorithms. I like its very verbal intuitive style,
with proof strategies being always transparently explained.
For computer scientists, this is *the* reference work in randomized algorithms, by now a major paradigm of algorithms design. For classical probabilists, this
could serve as an eye-opener on unsuspected applications of their field to important areas of computer science.

An enciclopedia for randomized algorithms.
The book has an exoustive amount of algorithms. Not everything is proved. Sometimes the proof contains to few steps to be understood. There are many algorithms explained well. After reading this book it is easy to create your own randomized algorithms.

extremely informative but obscure
I've taken two CS classes that use this book and I always felt like this book was very informative. The algorithms and concepts that Motwani brings forth are extremely insightful and interesting. However, the presentation of the proofs has a lot of room for improvement. Notation is carried over from previous chapters and is sometimes unexplained, which makes it very difficult for someone who does not have a lot of familiarity with the material presented. The book presents very interesting topics and leaves a lot of open (unresolved) questions to the reader's curiosity and challenge.

A very good high-level survey of Randomized Algorithms
I have just completed a graduate course using this book. At times the book is a bit terse (not necessarily a negative!) and overall I can highly recommend it.

Wolf Bein, UNLV ... Read more

Book Description

The 1986 publication of Manipulating the Mouse Embryo catalyzed the interaction between molecular biology and mammalian embryology. For the first time, detailed instructions on how to begin applying recombinant DNA technology to important questions about mammalian embryonic development were made available to a broad audience. The gathering pace of such studies in recent years has brought improvements to existing methods and fueled the creation of new and powerful technologies. The second edition of this classic manual has been completely revised and expanded to incorporate these advances. It contains new sections on the production and analysis of transgenic mice, the manipulation of preimplantation embryos to generate chimeras, the culture and manipulation of embryonic stem cells, including gene "knockouts," and techniques for visualizing genes, gene products, and specific cell types. As before, included with the protocols is a summary of current understanding of mouse development at a molecular level. In its new edition, this manual of proven distinction is again an authoritative and comprehensive source of technical guidance for experienced investigators and an essential resource for newcomers to mammalian genetics and embryology.

Please see the companion videos to this manual:

-Transgenic Techniques in Mice
-Targeted Mutagenesis in Mice ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Manipulating the Mouse Embryo
This book is essential for all who work in the transgenic and knockout mouse industry. Everything you need to know to begin, maintain, and analyze your transgenic or knockout facility is in this book. I have not required any other refernces to run my facility or perform my experiments. The books cover topics such as setting up the mouse colony, to microinjecting, to in situ hybridization, to preparing any solutions you made need. ... Read more

Book Description

Click 'Additional Materials' for downloadable sample

“The authors have hit another home run. This terrific text provides the layperson and graduate students a wonderful entrée into the research process. In eight carefully crafted and readable chapters, the reader is supported via excellent examples, group exercises, and supplemental readings to significantly improve their abilities to read, understand, and critique qualitative and quantitative research reports and research reviews.”
 —Mary O'Sullivan, Associate Dean, College of Education, Ohio State University

“This is the best book I know of on how to read and use published research. It is pervaded by common sense, a nontechnical and user-friendly approach, and an insightful treatment of key issues that other books rarely address, such as the important things you can get from research reports besides ‘results.’ This edition provides greater coverage of qualitative and mixed methods research, and an expanded, annotated bibliography. While it is aimed primarily at consumers of research, a great deal of the content will also be useful to those doing research.” 
— Joseph Maxwell, George Mason University

The book that has helped demystify qualitative and quantitative research articles for thousands of readers has now been fully updated and revised.

Reading and Understanding Research, Second Edition is based on the notion that helping to demystify the process of consuming research will not only make for better students, but will help make for better research. The authors presume no special background in research, and begin by introducing and framing the notion of reading research within a wider social context. Next they offer insight on when to seek out research, locating and selecting the right reports, and how to help evaluate research for trustworthiness. A step-by-step reading of reports from qualitative and quantitative studies follows, and the final chapters examine in greater detail the different types of research to be encountered and how to examine the research more critically. This book is ideal for a novice researcher (and those that teach them!). 

New to the Second Edition:

• A new chapter on the utilization of research
• Expanded coverage of qualitative methods
• Updated resource lists
• More coverage of the twelve steps for understanding different types of research

Book Description

Wildlife researchers and ecologists make widespread use of multivariate statistics in their studies. With its focus on the practical application of the techniques of multivariate statistics, this book shapes the powerful tools of statistics for the specific needs of ecologists and makes statistics more applicable to their course of study. Multivariate Statistics for Wildlife and Ecology Research gives the reader a solid conceptual understanding of the role of multivariate statistics in ecological applications and the relationships among various techniques, while avoiding detailed mathematics and underlying theory. More important, the reader will gain insight into the type of research questions best handled by each technique and the important considerations in applying each one. Whether used as a textbook for specialized courses or as a supplement to general statistics texts, the book emphasizes those techniques that students of ecology and natural resources most need to understand and employ in their research. Detailed examples use real wildlife data sets analyzed using the SAS statistical software program.

The book is specifically targeted for upper-division and graduate students in wildlife biology, forestry, and ecology, and for professional wildlife scientists and natural resource managers, but it will be valuable to researchers in any of the biological sciences.

Kevin McGarigal is Assistant Professor and Sam Cushman is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management at the University of Massachusetts. Susan Stafford is Head of the Forest Science Department at Colorado State University. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

grad students
I am an ecology grad student and I have returned to this text again and again. ... Read more

Book Description

In the tradition of Schrodinger's classic What Is Life?, this book is a tour-de-force investigation of the basis of life itself, with conclusions that radically undermine the scientific approaches on which modern science rests-the approaches of Newton, Boltzman, Bohr, and Einstein. Kauffman's At Home in the Universe, which The New York Times Book Review called "passionately written" and nature named "courageous," introduced pivotal ideas about order and evolution in complex life systems. In investigations, Kauffman builds on these theories and finds that classical science does not take into account that physical systems--such as people in a biosphere--effect their dynamic environments in addition to being affected by them. These systems act on their own behalf as autonomous agents, but what defines them as such? In other words, what is life? By defining and explaining autonomous agents and work in the contexts of thermodynamics and of information theory, Kauffman supplies a novel answer to this age-old question that goes beyond traditional scientific thinking. Much of Investigations unpacks the progressively surprising implications of his definition. Kauffman lays out a foundation for a new concept of organization, and explores the requirements for the emergence of a general biology that will transcend terrestrial biology to seek laws governing biospheres anywhere in the cosmos. Moreover, he presents four candidate laws to explain how autonomous agents co-create their biosphere and the startling idea of a "co-creating" cosmos. A showcase of Kauffman's most fundamental and significant ideas, Investigations presents a new way of thinking about the basics of general biology that will change the way we understand life itself--on this planet and anywhere else in the cosmos. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

A rugged read of a book
I have followed the writings of Stuart Kauffman very closely since his first book 'Origins of Order'. The Santa Fe Institute with which he is associated is a wonderful think-tank of multi-disciplinary, but converging studies. Kauffman's contribution to this group has been huge.

I find that Kauffman's world view is compelling, resonant and deeply fascinating. This book contains the ideas within 'At Home in the Universe' and then extends them into the 'adjacent possible'.

Be prepared when reading this book to be taxed on your knowledge of cell chemistry, mathematics, thermodynamics and evolution. The rapid jumps between disciplines are handy for explaining some rather obtuse ideas, but Kauffman may isolate many readers by diving in to unelaborated detail on the idiosyncracies of these subjects. Even a brief overview of some of the terms used in his metaphors would be a great help to those without PhDs.

Personally, I buy Kauffman's worldview hook, line and sinker which makes any of his writings a must-read for me, but I am convinced that the audience for this book was not carefully considered, and as a result it seems that it is written for himself primarily. It could do with a thorough edit removing the grandiose language.

Stu, I know you can do better.

Life in a Complex Universe
"Investigations" marks a new phase in Stuart Kauffman's seminal work on self-organization and complexity. In this fascinating extension of his theoretical approach to the generation of order in the universe, he focusses on the idea of the autonomous agent, which forms the basis for a new and more precise definition of the living organism. The autonomous agent, according to Kauffman, is an organization of matter that extracts works from its environment in order to maintain its structural and functional integrity over time. An autonomous agent is one that does work on its own behalf. Kauffman goes into considerable physical detail to show how this is not only possible but inevitable. Because of the intimate relation between work and self-maintenance in this schema, Kauffman speaks of organisms as exemplifying a fourth law of thermodynamics that allows for increasing organizational complexity in the midst of a universe whose entropy is constantly increasing.

The fourth law explains how the diversity of the biosphere continues to increase through an exploration of "the adjacent possible," the realm of alternative organizations reachable through single mutations. In this view, the proliferation of life forms is not so much the result of chance as it is of a working out of the natural tendency of existing entities to self-organize into structures of greater and greater complexity.

Kauffman's muscular writing in "Investigations" once again demonstrates an exceptional combination of rigorous scientific logic and a poetic vision that encompasses a fertile and abundant universe.

Questions which shake science
This is a great book. Not by the suggested answers to the problems related to the notion of Life, but by the questions which are asked. It breaks dogmas in physics which simply do not allow the comprehension of biology from a physical perspective. Kauffman notes limits of our actual physics, and proposes tentative ways of exploring.
This book is good for anyone with an inquisitive mind and a desire to explore the nature of Life.
(...)

Confusion is Part of the Solution
Stuart Kauffman has been probing the "deep structure" of life for decades. He is one of the founding members of the Santa Fe Institute, the leading center for the emerging sciences of complexity. His work therein started in complex Boolean networks in which he found "order for free" in a void seeming to consist of nothing but chaos. This lead him to highly dynamical yet self-structuring autocatalytic sets (now known as "Kauffman sets") which eventually lead him to search for a general biology from which all of life could extrapolate. Kauffman never was much for neo-Darwinism or natural selection, and here he continues his holistic approach to self-organizing biospheres.

Investigations attempts, in part, to outline four candidate laws governing biospheres (large dynamical systems full of self-organizing autonomous agents - such as the universe itself). A lofty pursuit to be sure, givien that biospheres are teeming with so much complexity, interdependence and obscured initial states (to name just a few of the obvious pitfalls). There are also the problems, as Kauffman points out, that biospheres are "nonergodic" and their "nonequilibrium" flowing into a "persistent adjacent other."

Recondite minutia notwithstanding, Investigations is fun in a way not many books of this intellectual magnitude are. Kauffman cuts the hard science with wit and pondering of the utmost human persuasion. While he undermines the very foundations on which modern science stands (the work of Newton, Boltzman, Einstein and Bohr), Kauffman compares the geniuses of Shakespeare and Einstein ("I'm not sure whose genius is the more awesome, " he says.) and emphasizes the importance of story in understanding our lives in the universe.

With a healthy mix of speculation, cutting-edge science and hypothesis steeped in years of grappling with the hard questions, Stuart Kauffman's Investigations is sure to inspire and intrigue, as well as confound and confuse. As he says, "Oh, confusion. Perhaps a certain confusion is healthy. We have not tried to embrace all of this at once before."

Interesting ideas but get this man a decent editor
Normally I'd dismiss out of hand anyone who claims to have found a fourth law of thermodynamics but from Stuart Kauffman, I'll hear what he has to say. I've been following Kauffman's work for years and his thinking is as engaging as ever. Unfortunately, his prose is not. Grandiose, clumsy and over-written, he sells his ideas short. The language is unreadably uneven as it ranges from patronising pop-sci gobbley-gook to technical minutaie of molecular biology.

Kauffman attempts to articulate something that he calls "general biology". This is simply a dressed-up term for the classic problem of the origin of life. Unfortunately, his explanation also follows the classic pop-sci strategy of explaining one mysterious thing (life) by replacing it with other equally mysterious concepts (work and semantics). In this part of the book, the writing is woefully repetitive and elliptic. No real conclusions are drawn, which is a a monumental let-down given the ego-maniacally overblown introduction. There is an intellectual abyss between Kauffman's definition of life as auto-catalytic systems with one work cycle, and real cells that undergo reproduction and darwinian evolution.

Nevertheless, there are many nuggets of gold in the later chapters. Probably the most interesting is the idea of the adjacent possible. The adjacent possible is the set of all possible chemicals that can be synthesized in one chemical step from all existing chemicals. Unlike other concepts introduced in the book, it is something that can be computed (though not exhaustively). Kauffman then proposes a fourth law of chemical thermodynamics: a chemical system advances into the adjacent-possible as fast as it can. Kauffman shows how this hypothetical fourth law can be analysed by relating this to his previous work on sustainable chemical diversity. Indeed, the best parts of the book are where Kauffman re-caps his previous work on auto-catalytic systems and genomes of real organisms, and then extends the analysis to explain his fourth law of thermodynamics.

Kauffman makes some neat analogies between the chemical adjacent-possible with economics. He points out that classical economic models of pricing rely on the assumption of a finite prestable collection of goods and services. Instead, a more fruitful model for an economy of products can be made in analogy to the ever-explanding set of catalytic chemicals. There is also a great analysis on the limits of the economy of scale where Kauffman makes a analogy between the Ksat problem and the problem of producing diverse products in a single factory. And finally, in the grand tradition of pop-sci books, there is a final chapter where all the problems of quantum mechanics and cosmology are solved with the application of one special idea. Although this last chapter is pure science fiction, the book is worth perservering as some of the ideas are original, useful and genuinely thought provoking. ... Read more

Book Description

"This book is a must for anyone teaching, or wishing to better understand, qualitative research . . . This handbook is destined to be a classic text in the field of qualitative research that belongs on every student's and researcher's bookshelf."

--HARVARD EDUCATIONAL REVIEW

Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials, the third volume in the paperback version of the Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2^nd Edition, considers the tasks of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting empirical materials, and comprises the Handbook's Parts IV ("Methods of Collecting and Analyzing Empirical Materials") and V ("The Art of Interpretation, Evaluation, and Presentation").

Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials introduces the researcher to basic methods of gathering, analyzing and interpreting qualitative empirical materials. Part 1 moves from interviewing to observing, to the use of artifacts, documents and records from the past; to visual, and autoethnographic methods. It then takes up analysis methods, including computer-assisted methodologies, as well as strategies for analyzing talk, and text. Esther Madriz reads focus groups through critical feminist inquiry, and Erve Chambers discusses applied ethnography.

"This may well be 'the one book on qualitative research' that one would want to take 'to a desert island,' as the editors hope."

--JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY ETHNOGRAPHY

The Handbook of Qualitative Research, Second Edition is widely considered to be the state of the art in evaluating the field of qualitative inquiry. Now published in paperback in response to the needs of classroom teachers, Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials, Second Edition will be an ideal supplement for a course on research methods, across a wide number of academic disciplines.

"The Handbook of Qualitative Research represents a major publishing event. It comprehensively gathers together and organizes rapidly-growing developments in the philosophy, theory, and method of conducting qualitative research."

--EVALUATION AND PROGRAM PLANNING

Book Description

Robert Kuehl's DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS, Second Edition, prepares students to design and analyze experiments that will help them succeed in the real world. Kuehl uses a large array of real data sets from a broad spectrum of scientific and technological fields. This approach provides realistic settings for conducting actual research projects. Next, he emphasizes the importance of developing a treatment design based on a research hypothesis as an initial step, then developing an experimental or observational study design that facilitates efficient data collection. In addition to a consistent focus on research design, Kuehl offers an interpretation for each analysis. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Statistics text for people who understand statistics
Kuehl covers a lot of statistical designs, and provides great examples and practice problems. However, the book is not "user friendly" even for student who have had several semesters coursework in regression analysis. Also, the author tends to change his notation from chapter to chapter without telling the reader, thus creating great confusion. For example "r" or "k" could signify replicate. Some sections are poorly organized. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A must-have book for young ecologists
This is a wonderful book. As a graduating senior in Ecology, I can say that there is no way I could have completed my research without this book. Krebs is cited in journal articles constantly, and there is a reason - this reference work is thorough, well written and gives many examples to follow. I also recommend the EcoMeth software mentioned in the text, it is well worth the cost. Just browsing through the book will give you ideas on how to analyze your data. It even provides wonderful advice for those just in the process of setting up their experiments. All in all, it's top notch!

Excellent reference text
Krebs' text is a thorough and outstanding reference for any ecologist. This is is the ideal balance of technical background and practical application of methods commonly used in ecology. Ive found other sources either too cursory or far too involved with derivations of formulae, etc. Krebs hits the major points for the methods he discusses, describes the strengths and weaknesses, and gives the original citations (for most) so the reader can seek more information if necessary. ... Read more

Book Description

Within the past decade, molecular systematic methods have been applied in most fields of biology to provide an evolutionary framework whenever comparisons are made among individuals, populations, or higher taxa. The first edition of Molecular Systematics became a standard reference for this vigorous field by describing each aspect of the planning, execution, and analysis of a molecular systematic study. The new edition updates and expands this coverage, and includes considerable information on new molecular techniques and methods of analysis.

Molecular Systematics includes chapters on sampling design, the collection and storage of tissues, each of the major molecular techniques, and intraspecific and phylogenetic analysis. The sampling chapters describe how to plan a study and how to collect, transport, and store the appropriate tissues for each study. The techniques chapters cover principles, assumptions, applications, limitations, and protocols for isozyme electrophoresis, molecular cytogenetics, DNA hybridization, the polymerase chain reaction, restriction site and fragment analysis, and nucleic acid sequencing and alignment. Advantages and disadvantages of alternative approaches are discussed for each technique, and recent developments (such as new methods of fluorescent in situ hybridization, rapid screening methods for detecting DNA sequence variation, automated sequencing methods, new approaches for PCR, and microsatellite analyses) are detailed. Three additional chapters cover the rationale and methodology of molecular data analysis at both the population and interspecific levels, and provide information on using and obtaining the relevant computer programs (including the many programs available for free across the Internet). The chapter on phylogenetic analysis has been considerably expanded to include the latest developments in maximum likelihood analysis, spectral analysis, methods for reconstructing reticulating networks, corrections for complex models of sequence evolution, and methods for assessing confidence in phylogenetic results. The book also includes discussion of processes of molecular evolution, experimental molecular studies, molecular simulations, the molecular meaning of homology, and limitations and applications of the molecular clock hypothesis.

This edition of Molecular Systematics will provide new insights and is an important reference work for established investigators, as well as a comprehensive introduction for newcomers to the field. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

simply brilliant
Hillis gets down to the nitty gritty right away in this information packed book. The text is very readable and he goes into some detail on the methods used to reconstruct phylogenies from sequence data. He pulls no punches in describing the weaknesses and strengths of each method, and further offers insight as to where the field is headed and what we can expect in future analyses as genomic and EST databases become ever larger.

In short, this is a detailed overview of using sequence data to test evolutionary hypotheses. It is an essential part of your bookshelf as an evolutionary biologist. Highly recommend!

What is Molecular Phylogenetics?
This book does not tell anything about sequence alignment.
Except this 'little problem' it is a good book anyway.
But do you think that sequence alignment is not an important issue in molecular phylogenetics?

review of Molecular Systematics
Molecular Systematics is the best general text on population and evolutionary genetics I have read. It provides sufficient depth to give adequate understanding of molecular phylogenetics and molecular population genetics data for most purposes. The broad research behind the work makes it an excellent starting point for finding journal articles on specific subjects within this field. The only drawback to the book is that it is five years old and the field is quite fast moving. Hopefully a new edition will appear shortly. ... Read more

Book Description

How can an individual identify and make sense of the voluminous amount of currently available information on nearly every important topic in education, health, social welfare, psychology, and business? What criteria can be used to distinguish between good and poor studies? Conducting Research Literature Reviews shows readers how to identify, interpret, and analyze published and unpublished research literature. Through the use of checklists, case examples, and exercises, author Arlene Fink unravels the intricacies of: selecting questions to maximize the efficiency of the review; identifying subject headings and key words for electronic searches; identifying the most appropriate databases; including supplementing computer and Web-based searches; identifying and dealing with unpublished studies; setting inclusion and exclusion criteria; justifying methods for reviewing only the `highest quality' literature; preparing a structured literature abstraction form; ensuring the reliability and validity of the review; synthesizing and reporting results; conducting and evaluating descriptive literature reviews; and, how to understand and evaluate the principles of meta-analysis.

Reviews (1)

Readable guide
This is a readable guide to executing a large-scale literature review, with special attention to the issues of doing a quantitative synthesis. It is written for people in the health professions rather than scholars, so the latter may find the treatment a bit light. ... Read more

Book Description

Most people in research are elevated into managerial positions because of their skills as scientists and their political acumen, not necessarily because of managerial training or experience. Helping to fill this need for managerial training, author Jerald Silverman shares the valuable information he's gained from over 25 years experience managing a laboratory animal facility. He takes proven managerial concepts and adapts them to the laboratory animal facility setting. Whether you are a manager in training or you are looking for help in applying the basic concepts of managing a laboratory animal facility, this book helps you fulfill the unique responsibilities of assessing needs, communicating effectively, and establishing goals with people from many different academic and skill levels. ... Read more

Book Description

The third edition of this popular introductory text maintains the character that won worldwide respect for its predecessors but features a number of enhancements that broaden its scope, increase its utility, and bring the treatment thoroughly up to date. It provides complete coverage of the statistical ideas and methods essential to students in agriculture or experimental biology. In addition to covering fundamental methodology, this treatment also includes more advanced topics that the authors believe help develop an appreciation of the breadth of statistical methodology now available. The emphasis is not on mathematical detail, but on ensuring students understand why and when various methods should be used.New in the Third Edition:"A chapter on the two simplest yet most important methods of multivariate analysis"Increased emphasis on modern computer applications "Discussions on a wider range of data types and the graphical display of data"Analysis of mixed cropping experiments and on-farm experiments ... Read more

Book Description

Including valuable advice for those planning a field study, this practical manual for students and researchers studying wild primates provides essential information concerning the technical and practical aspects of field and laboratory methods.The study covers surveys and habituation, remote sensing and GPS, tracking and trapping, non-invasive genetic and endocrine assays, and ethical issues. It will be appropriate for final year undergraduates, postgraduate students and researchers in primatology, behavioral ecology and zoology. ... Read more

Book Description

This book will be of value both to scientists and to undergraduate and graduate students who want to write successful grant or research proposals.For scientists, today's environment of limited funding from Congress and private foundations means that grant proposals must be effective, competitive, and readable.The book is designed to provide a guide to writing proposals and improving their overall quality. For graduate students in the natural sciences, courses on proposal development and writing are increasingly part of the curriculum--this book is, in fact, derived from a course taught by the authors at Dartmouth.Increasingly, research design is a part of the curriculum for undergraduates in science.This book will provide guidance during the conceptualization and formulation of a research plan as well as give specific information for effectively organizing and presenting material in a format widely used for proposal submissions. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Good overview of the content and organization of a proposal
Friedland and Folt provide a very nice, concise guide to writing research proposals. They go over the organization of the proposal, what is important to get across in what sections, and also touch on the "storytelling" aspects, such as funneling from broad themes to specifics. I also found useful the list a range of funding sources.

The only major drawback to the book as a general reference is that it is heavily oriented towards experimental biology. Much of the nuts-and-bolts advice doesn't apply to theoretical work, and little or no equivalent advice is given for theoretical proposals.

Frieland and Folt a Success
Friedland and Folt are the Strunk and White of proposal writing. They have written a clear, concise guide to scientific proposal writing that captures the essence of the scientific enterprise.

Essential reading for all beginning PhD students
Writing a PhD prospectus can be pretty intimidating. Where do you start? What do you include? What do you not include? This little book has the answers, and it has been an enormous help to me as I write my own proposal. Friedland and Folt's book is very clear and well-written, and full of practical information on how to write a clear, concise, and exciting proposal. Exercises along the way help to guide you step-by-step through the whole thought process. With this book in hand, writing a prospectus almost seems easy! This book should be sent to all first-year students, along with their registration materials. ... Read more