Scientific Method provides an easy-to-read primer for scientific thinking. The book lives from John Staddon's masterly use of examples that clarify problematic methods plaguing the social sciences, such as the proliferation of mathematical formulas without well-defined or measurable terms, near-unfalsifiable theories that are defended with confidence, and the ritualistic testing of null hypotheses. Science affects our lives, and this short, clear, and enjoyable book will affect how its readers think about science." -
Gerd Gigerenzer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany"John Staddon does not take prisoners. In this new book he displays his erudition and sharp critical intelligence to discuss what he sees as the main weaknesses of social sciences today, and especially of mainstream economics. If you are a social scientist, and especially an economist, pray your work has not been chosen as an example. If you are not, the book will provide you with and illuminating survey of real and potential pitfalls of current work in social sciences." -
Alex Kacelnik, University of Oxford, UK"Staddon demonstrates scientific method in action, applying his analytic/critical skill to dozens of applications in epidemiology/biomedicine, animal behavior, social psychology, and the ever-dismal science of economics. He shows that both correlational data and 'gold-standard' multi-group designs may suggest hypotheses, but not explanations, which require the discovery of causes across time." -
John C. Malone, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA"The author paints a worrying picture of academia, where motions of "doing science" and the production of publications are incentivized over actual scientific understanding. Fortunately, JS is more then up to the task of providing a much-needed counter-balance, producing a text that should be required reading in any introductory class on research methods. SciM is a welcome addition to the literature on scientific research methods and is highly recommended for all students of behavior." -
Micah Amd, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Montreal, Canada 
