In order to gain an understanding of the dynamics of human individual and average growth patterns it is essential that the right methods are selected. There are a variety of methods available to analyse individual growth patterns, to estimate variation in different growth measures in populations and to relate genetic and environmental factors to individual and average growth. This volume provides an overview of modern techniques for the assessment and collection of growth data and methods of analysis for individual and population growth data. The book contains the basic mathematical and statistical tools required to understand the concepts of the methods under discussion and worked examples of analyses, but it is neither a mathematical treatise, nor a recipe book for growth data analysis. Aimed at junior and senior researchers involved in the analysis of human growth data, this book will be an essential reference for anthropologists, auxologists and paediatricians.

Statistical Analysis of Human Growth and Development is an accessible and practical guide to a wide range of basic and advanced statistical methods that are useful for studying human growth and development. Designed for nonstatisticians and statisticians new to the analysis of growth and development data, the book collects methods scattered throughout the literature and explains how to use them to solve common research problems. It also discusses how well a method addresses a specific scientific question and how to interpret and present the analytic results. Stata is used to implement the analyses, with Stata codes and macros for generating example data sets, a detrended Q-Q plot, and weighted maximum likelihood estimation of binary items available on the book’s CRC Press web page. After reviewing research designs and basic statistical tools, the author discusses the use of existing tools to transform raw data into analyzable variables and back-transform them to raw data. He covers regression analysis of quantitative, binary, and censored data as well as the analysis of repeated measurements and clustered data. He also describes the development of new growth references and developmental indices, the generation of key variables based on longitudinal data, and the processes to verify the validity and reliability of measurement tools. Looking at the larger picture of research practice, the book concludes with coverage of missing values, multiplicity problems, and multivariable regression. Along with two simulated data sets, numerous examples from real experimental and observational studies illustrate the concepts and methods. Although the book focuses on examples of anthropometric measurements and changes in cognitive, social-emotional, locomotor, and other abilities, the ideas are applicable to many other physical and psychosocial phenomena, such as lung function and depressive symptoms.

Offering a study of biological, biomedical and biocultural approaches, this book is suitable for researchers, professors and graduate students across the interdisciplinary area of human development. It is presented in the form of lectures to facilitate student programming.

For undergradute social science majors. A textbook on the interpretation and use of research. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Research Methods in Human Skeletal Biology serves as the one location readers can go to not only learn how to conduct research in general, but how research is specifically conducted within human skeletal biology. It outlines the current types of research being conducted within each sub-specialty of skeletal biology, and gives the reader the tools to set up a research project in skeletal biology. It also suggests several ideas for potential projects. Each chapter has an inclusive bibliography, which can serve as a good jumpstart for project references. - Provides a step-by-step guide to conducting research in human skeletal biology - Covers diverse topics (sexing, aging, stature and ancestry estimation) and new technologies (histology, medical imaging, and geometric morphometrics) - Excellent accompaniment to existing forensic anthropology or osteology works

A revised edition of an established text on human growth and development from an anthropological and evolutionary perspective.