The readings featured in this volume are compiled from the authors' previously published papers and chapters, as well as newly written materials. At a more advanced level, the readings address certain specialized topics. However, these readings are thematically consistent with the chapters in the companion volume, making them especially suitable as supplementary material.

Together with its companion volume, it provides an integrated and coherent account of how to study behavior. Most topics treated in traditional research methods texts are covered in detail, with particular reference to behavior as a subject matter. However, the work is distinctive from other texts in that its topics are organized not around inferential statistical methods, but the needs of a behavioral subject matter and the goal of bringing the researcher's behavior under its control. This approach closely integrates each new chapter with previous chapters, and the result is especially intuitive for students.