ABSTRACT
The chapter introduces three of these taxometric procedures: Maximum SLOPE; MAMBAC and L-Mode. It emphasizes the importance of making sound decisions at the many choice points encountered when applying each procedure to a unique set of research data. The chapter reviews evidence from systematic investigations of the procedures, where such evidence is available, and suggests issues that remain to be studied in future Monte Carlo work. It presents the logic underlying advice so that researchers can evaluate its applicability to specific situations. Equal-sized groups produce a peak toward the center of the curve because the optimal cutting score lies near the middle of the input indicator range. For a small taxon, the optimal cutting score is higher, and thus the peak is deflected toward the right. The shape of L-Mode graphs has yet to be studied in Monte Carlo investigations, so relatively little is known about the conditions under which the procedure can distinguish latent structures.
