Investigating the Psychological World: Scientific Method in the Behavioral Sciences

This is an excellent book on an original theory of scientific method, written specifically for behavioural scientists. Brian Haig does a masterly job of presenting complex ideas from philosophy, psychometric theory, and cognitive science to non theoreticians. The writing is snappy and clear and the presentation of the material sophisticated and rigorous. ATOM is the only theory of scientific method I am aware of that is capable of adequately representing the inquiry process and guiding researchers in the different phases of scientific research. I use this book as a text in my postgraduate psychopathology class for clinical psychology students as a means of helping them to understand what the scientist-practitioner model involves. I have to say that as a result of reading this book their ability to think critically about research and clinical cases has improved dramatically.