Short comparative interrupted times series (CITS) designs are increasingly being used in education research to assess the effectiveness of school-level interventions. These designs can be implemented relatively inexpensively, often drawing on publicly available data on aggregate school performance. However, the validity of this approach hinges on…

This paper presents best practices for conducting survey research using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Readers will learn the benefits, limitations, and trade-offs of using MTurk as compared to other recruitment services, including SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics. A synthesis of survey design guidelines along with a sample survey are presented to help…

The goal of this paper is to provide guidance for applied education researchers in using multi-level data to study the effects of interventions implemented at the school level. Two primary approaches are currently employed in observational studies of the effect of school-level interventions. One approach employs intact school matching: matching…

This paper includes a nontechnical description of methods for calculating effect sizes in intellectual and developmental disability studies. Different hypothetical studies are used to illustrate how null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) and effect size findings can result in quite different outcomes and therefore conflicting results. Whereas…

Since 2004, IPEDS data has been diffused via a product known as the Data Feedback Report (DFR). Produced yearly for each institution in the IPEDS universe, the DFR is a print product that contrasts the IPEDS data submitted by an institution with its institutionally-defined comparison group. The DFR is free to all users, covers a wide range of…

The purpose of this paper is to offer an analytic perspective to policy makers and educational practitioners regarding how to use longitudinal achievement data to evaluate schools. The authors further discuss the potential practical applications of their models for superintendents, researchers, and policy makers. The premise of the study is that…

Data on disfluencies in the speech of non-stuttering adults are relevant to several aspects of the assessment and treatment of adults who stutter. Currently, very few sources provide relevant data. In the existing literature on normally fluent speakers, there is no consistency in sample length or topic or in which types of disfluency are counted.…

The design and use of a chemistry practice exam instrument that includes a measure for student mental effort is described in this paper. Use of such an instrument can beneficial to chemistry students and chemistry educators as well as chemical education researchers from both a content and cognitive science perspective. The method for calculating…

Background/Context: Many children of immigrants are not enrolled in high schools that sufficiently meet their needs, and subsequently, many are not making a successful transition to, and/or successfully completing, higher education. As immigration grows in the United States, educators and policy makers must understand how the educational processes…

The interpretation of a Thurstonian model for paired comparisons where the utilities' covariance matrix is unrestricted proved to be difficult due to the comparative nature of the data. We show that under a suitable constraint the utilities' correlation matrix can be estimated, yielding a readily interpretable solution. This set of identification…

Most organizations planning to assess adverse impact or perform a stock analysis for affirmative action planning must correctly classify their jobs into appropriate occupational categories. Two methods of job classification were assessed in a combination archival and field study. Classification results from expert judgment of functional job…

Arguing that understanding what lies behind the apparent usability of direct manipulation style interfaces might not only help in building better interfaces, but can also draw attention to possible side effects, this paper uses examples from a prototype data manipulation system to pursue a characterization of direct manipulation interfaces as…

Examines the psychometric properties of two procedures for reducing data from the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale: factor and cluster analysis. The sample consisted of 85 male and 77 female newborns. (RH)

Notes that intergenerational theories of family functioning sparked interest in empirical investigations that test intergenerational relationships. Presents test of difference scores enabling researchers to compare related and unrelated dyads, thus creating comparison group when using only two generations. Contrasts procedure with correlational…

In 1980, the U.S. civilian labor force included over one million persons who were employed as: (1) actors; (2) announcers; (3) architects; (4) postsecondary art, drama, and music teachers; (5) authors; (6) dancers; (7) designers; (8) musicians and composers; (9) painters, sculptors, craft artists, and artist printmakers; (10) photographers; and…