Examining Measurement in Behavioral Science Research

Running head: EXAMINING MEASUREMENT IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE RESEARCH 1

Examining Measurement in Behavioral Science Research

Keli Corrigall

Northcentral University

Research Methods

EXAMINING MEASUREMENT IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE RESEARCH 2

Behavioral science research articles are often complex and challenging to read. Although a substantial amount of focus is usually placed on the introduction and discussion sections of the article, the most important section is the methodology. This section provides information about the participants, the way in which the analysis is conducted, the procedures, the instruments, and the variables that were measured (How to Read, n.d.).

For the purpose of this paper the research article entitled “Does Availability of Illicit Drugs Mediate the Association Between Mental Illness and Substance Use?” authored by W. Liang, S. Allsop, S. Lenton, and T. Chikritzhs appearing in 2011 in the Journal of Substance Use and Misuse was chosen to be examined. As indicated by the title, the study investigated the relationship between mental health status and drug use opportunity (Liang et. al., 2011). The first variable, the presence of mental illness, was...