Applied multidimensional scaling and unfolding (Q1650643)

The description of the first edition of the book [the authors, Applied multidimensional scaling. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer (2013; \url{doi:10.1007/978-3-642-31848-1})] already gives a very good overview: ``This book introduces the multidimensional scaling (MDS) as a psychological model and as a data analysis technique for the applied researcher. It also discusses, in detail, how to use two MDS programs, Proxscal (a module of SPSS) and Smacof (an R-package). The book is unique in its orientation on the applied researcher, whose primary interest is in using MDS as a tool to build substantive theories. This is done by emphasizing practical issues (such as evaluating model fit), by presenting ways to enforce theoretical expectations on the MDS solution, and by discussing typical mistakes that MDS users tend to make. The primary audience of this book are psychologists, social scientists, and market researchers. No particular background knowledge is required, beyond a basic knowledge of statistics.'' The second edition of the book ``has been completely revised to reflect new developments and the coverage of unfolding has also been substantially expanded. Intended for applied researchers whose main interests are in using these methods as tools for building substantive theories, it discusses numerous applications (classical and recent), highlights practical issues (such as evaluating model fit), presents ways to enforce theoretical expectations for the scaling solutions, and addresses the typical mistakes that MDS/unfolding users tend to make. Further, it shows how MDS and unfolding can be used in practical research work, primarily by using the Smacof package in the R environment but also Proxscal in SPSS. It is a valuable resource for psychologists, social scientists, and market researchers, with a basic understanding of multivariate statistics (such as multiple regression and factor analysis).'' The second edition is very large structured in a preface and 10 chapters: Chapter 1. First steps -- Chapter 2. The purpose of MDS and unfolding -- Chapter 3. The fit of MDS and unfolding solutions -- Chapter 4. Proximities -- Chapter 5. Variants of MDS models -- Chapter 6. Confirmatory MDS -- Chapter 7. Typical mistakes in MDS -- Chapter 8. Unfolding -- Chapter 9. MDS algorithms -- Chapter 10. MDS software -- Index. Every chapter starts with an abstract and keywords and has an own summary. The book contains more than 60 references on this topic, where every chapter ends with some references, and the index contains more than 130 items. The book can be recommended to all readers, who are interested in this field.