Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods (Advanced Quantitative Techniques in the Social Sciences)

I had purchased a rather beaten-up paperback copy, but found it so valuable I bought a hardback copy also. Unlike Raudenbush & Bryk, the material is presented at a very basic, ANOVA-style manner, although it presents more advanced material and the same material in more advanced ways. Another good book on hierarchical models is the Gelman-Hill book, although only the second half of that book involves hierarchical models.

Raudenbush & Bryk's text is a must-have reference for those who use hierarchical models in professional research, but not the best introduction for beginners. As others have said, it is extremely dense at times, but I don't necessarily see that as a drawback as long as readers are aware of what they need to know in advance. For those with a solid foundation in general linear modeling (i.e. all the various forms of regression, MANCOVA, etc.), as well as some basic knowledge of what hierarchical models can do, this is the right book for you. If not, choose something more basic and work your way up. That said, HLM is not as daunting as it may seem at first, and those who do research in multiple settings simultaneously now have little excuse for "cutting corners" by simply throwing in covariates or assuming homogeneity, no matter how many variables look the same.By far, the greatest improvement since the first edition is the extended discussion of HLM in longitudinal designs. Raudenbush & Bryk are at the cutting-edge here, and anyone who does growth-curve analysis will find this book to be a great resource. On the downside, their discussion of the unique factors to take into account in 3-level models is a bit sparse (and the only reason for 4 stars instead of 5).I return to this book constantly, and strongly recommend it to those who do (or, more often, should) take a wider, more accurate accounting of the many possible sources of variance in their research.

It is a great book for quantitative study

The packaging is good and the book is like new. It was delivered on time. Thanks!

I have a math background and although this may be the definitive text, there is a great deal of room for improvement. I cannot imagine anybody picking up this book and getting anything out of it independently. In my opinion, the authors should make this a more practical guide by running analyses using their HLM software so that there are concrete examples of specifying models and interpreting the results. The charts are graphs are made from ASCII characters (like you would have printed on a daisy wheel printer in 1985) instead of actual graphs using lines and dots. Trying to interpret a line graph is difficult when the two lines are made of + and o's and the axes are made of -'s.

I like this book - one of the most popular text book for HLM. Pretty clear math equations are well described with proper examples. Especially for those in social science, this is a good place to begin. I enjoyed and learned a lot.For the purchasement, I got some discount - which was nice - as well as fast shipping.

Most things an active quantitative researcher needs to know about HLM in one book. With all of the resources on the internet (many of which contradict each other), it is nice to have a definitive source. A must have for the HLMer.

The book is not bad. But need so much improvement. I send a letter to the authors with my comments.For example:A basic topic such as "assumptions" is not clear presented. You have to "discover" them on your reading.You will find things like "as we can see this will create a problem" ok. but what kind of problem, why are these a problem?I got the book, and for each chapter I read, I had to go online to look for additional information, and clarifications.It is clear that the authors are experts and the topic, and things are "so clear and obvious" for them, but the people that is reading the book might have problem following it.Conclusion. After 2 weeks I decided to return the NEW book and get a USED one.I also got the "manual" for the HLM6 software, dont bother. It is not a good manual. Actually, it is not a manual because it does not teach you how to use the software, it does not explain its different options, it just show you some examples. You can find similar things online. I returned the manual as well.

Gostei do livro

excellent

Everything came as expected.