As students are asked to share more of the costs of a post-secondary education, the quality of their overall educational experience and perceived return on investment (ROI) are increasingly important. For prospective students and their parents, what they are told they can expect from the student experience at an institution often makes the most…

To prepare the education chapter for the forthcoming volume of the U.S. Library of Congress'"Handbook of Latin American Studies," the author reviewed over 500 publications on Latin American education issued between 1978 and 1983; the abstracts of approximately 200 of them will be published in the forthcoming volume of the Handbook. The…

This paper identifies specific problems with stepwise regression, notes criticisms of stepwise methods by statisticians, suggests appropriate ways in which stepwise procedures can be used, and gives examples of how this can be done. Although the stepwise method has been routinely criticized by statisticians, it is still frequently used in the…

This paper reviews the literature on methods for dealing with missing data, discusses four commonly used methods, and illustrates these approaches with a small hypothetical data set. Most studies contain some missing data, and the reasons data are missing are many and varied. Four commonly used methods have been identified in the literature: (1)…

Hierarchical data analyses in different discipline areas are reviewed in this article to compare statistical applications between the Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) software and the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) MIXED procedure. Similar features of the two software programs are illustrated through reconfirmation of an HLM example using the…

The multivariate analysis of variance approach to the analysis of data from repeated measures designs that include covariates is reviewed and contrasted with univariate methods. Assumptions necessary for meaningful interpretation of the results of the multivariate analysis are discussed and contrasted to those of the univariate approaches. An…

SNAP/SHOT (System Network Analysis Program-Simulated Host Overview Technique) is a discrete simulation of a network and/or host model available through IBM at the Raleigh System Center. The simulator provides an analysis of a total IBM Communications System. Input data must be obtained from RMF, SMF, and the CICS Analyzer to determine the existing…

Many higher education institutions are focusing on their admissions operations. They are attempting to ensure a steady stream of enrolling students, and/or attempting to ensure the quality or composition of their entering classes. However, many colleges have not developed a comprehensive method of tracking student cohorts, measuring retention, and…

Based on the recommendations of previous research, this study discusses and analyzes the usage of technology and instructional materials in a broad level in the United States. The National Education Longitudinal Study: 1988-96 (NELS88) is a longitudinal study of the 1988 eighth graders by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The…

The prediction that differences in incomes of high school and college graduates will not change is tested by applying standard statistical procedures to data describing actual income differences. Data from the United States Bureau of the Census describe annual incomes of men twenty-five years old and older during 1956-75. Report 1 displays results…

The accuracy with which regression models estimate treatment effects is dependent upon a number of conditions. The stability of the regression line (a function of sample size and correlation between pretest and posttest) is said to be the most important of these conditions. The utility of regression models is proportional to the size of the…

Fifty-eight studies relating to the "knowledge gap" hypothesis (a theory that correlates public knowledge to educational level and mass media exposure) are examined in this report. In the opening sections, the theory is defined, and the early information diffusion studies and public opinion polls that led to its formulation in 1970 are…

Q-type factor analysis was used to re-analyze baseline data collected in 1957, on 47 men aged 65-91. Q-type analysis is the use of factor methods to study persons rather than tests. Although 550 variables were originally studied involving psychiatry, medicine, cerebral metabolism and chemistry, personality, audiometry, dichotic and diotic memory,…

This paper addresses two audiences--those who design education trend studies that simultaneously have longitudinal and intercohort implications, and the secondary analysts who use such trend data. Four study series conducted for the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provide material for the paper: the…

In view of the dramatic increase in the use of television in the classroom, this study examines whether television captioning, technological enhancements to captioning like highlighting key concepts, and the presence or absence of other "advance organizers" in the classroom affect the comprehension and preferences of students with learning…