ABSTRACT
In the previous part of this book, we were concerned with general strategies used in the design and implementation of different types of research. In the next six chapters, we turn attention to methods of assessment and measurement used to collect the data that constitute the output of research studies. We begin this section with a general consideration of systematic observational methods. This is an obvious and appropriate starting point because all of the assessment or measurement techniques to be presented are dependent on some form of systematic observation. This chapter is fundamental to those that follow because it provides a general outline of the structural aspects that shape the overall character of all research that makes use of observational assessment techniques.
