Researchers in many disciplines work with ranking data. This data type is unique in that it is often deterministic in nature (the ranks of items "k"-1 determine the rank of item "k"), and the difference in a pair of rank scores separated by "k" units is equivalent regardless of the actual values of the two ranks in…

The New Haven Local Section of the American Chemical Society held a virtual version of its annual Student Research Symposium prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A combination of YouTube, Google Drive, Open Broadcaster Software, and Zoom was utilized to hold the symposium which included juried oral and poster presentations. While our aim was to…

Measurement of nonlinearity in social service research and evaluation relies primarily on spatial analysis and, to a lesser extent, social network analysis. Recent advances in geographic methods and computing power, however, allow for the greater use of simulation methods. These advances now enable evaluators and researchers to simulate complex…

This paper considers the ethics of educational technology in terms of whether or not selected media and methods are beneficial to the teacher and student, or whether other motives and criteria determine the selection. Communications media have proven themselves to be powerful and efficient tools, used like "dynamite" for getting the most…

E-rater[R] is an automated essay scoring system that uses natural language processing techniques to extract features from essays and to model statistically human holistic ratings. Educational Testing Service has investigated the use of e-rater, in conjunction with human ratings, to score one of the two writing tasks on the TOEFL-iBT[R] writing…

The Interrater/Test Reliability System (ITRS) is described. The ITRS is a comprehensive computer tool used to address questions of interrater reliability that computes several different indices of interrater reliability and the generalizability coefficient over raters and topics. The system is available in IBM compatible or Macintosh format. (SLD)

Schools are currently receiving increased funds for multimedia software for classrooms. There is a need for good software in the schools, and there is a need to know how to evaluate software and not naively rely on advertisements. Evaluators of multimedia software for education must have the skills to critically evaluate and make decisions not…

Policy Goal Percentaging Analysis is a microcomputer program which can perform a variety of useful decision-making analyses. The components of the program, its applications, and limitations are examined. The program is related to the field of multicriteria decision-making and is most useful to program evaluators. (DWH)

This article discusses the hardware and software components of three workstations suitable for evaluation researchers, one for those on a limited budget, one for professional researchers, and one for a research team or department. Prices range from $3,000 to $30,000. A wide variety of workstation possibilities is illustrated. (Author/BS)

Evaluators, by the nature of their work, must be concerned with data management activities ranging from the collection and recording of data to the analyses, summation, and presentation of those data. Though word processing has been cited as the most frequently used microcomputer package by educational evaluators, spreadsheets are among the most…

Educational software makers are often rebuffed by educational authorities, whose endorsements could lead to governmental stamps of approval, and thus explosive sales. But they usually get warmer receptions in the offices of the nation's school superintendents, who are, after all, their primary customers. The system was not supposed to work this…