ABSTRACT
This chapter draws attention to several understudied factors that can complicate the interpretation of taxometric results. It explores more general issues involved in presenting and interpreting the results of a taxometric analysis. The chapter explains three procedural safeguards that can facilitate the accurate interpretation of taxometric results: presenting as many curves as possible in a taxometric report, obtaining systematic judgments of taxometric results from multiple independent raters, and using empirical sampling distributions of taxometric results as an interpretive aid. The centerpiece of a taxometric investigation involves the interpretation of graphical results that are obtained from the application of taxometric procedures. The informed researcher will be aware of the relatively idealized nature of taxometric curves published in Monte Carlo studies and of the limitations of using such curves as a point of comparison for interpreting curves obtained for more complex research data.
