Agent-based models (ABMs) often rely on psychometric constructs such as 'opinions', 'stubbornness', 'happiness', etc. The measurement process for these constructs is quite different from the one used in physics as there is no standardized unit of measurement for opinion or happiness. Consequently, measurements are usually affected by 'psychometric…

Asymmetric Likert-type items in research studies can present several challenges in data analysis, particularly concerning missing data. These items are often characterized by a skewed scaling, where either there is no neutral response option or an unequal number of possible positive and negative responses. The use of conventional techniques, such…

RobotReviewer is a tool for automatically assessing the risk of bias in randomized controlled trials, but there is limited evidence of its reliability. We evaluated the agreement between RobotReviewer and humans regarding the risk of bias assessment based on 1955 randomized controlled trials. The risk of bias in these trials was assessed via two…

A recent paper uses Bayes factors to argue a large minority of rigorous, large-scale education RCTs are "uninformative." The definition of "uninformative" depends on the authors' hypothesis choices for calculating Bayes factors. These arguably overadjust for effect size inflation and involve a fixed prior distribution,…

In the construction of "Double First-class" universities, how to establish an evaluation system of universities' scientific and technological innovation capacity with Chinese characteristics and international standards will determine the direction and level of improvement of Chinese university?s technological innovation capacity. The…

In their National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper, "Does Gifted Education Work? For Which Students?" Card and Giuliano (C & G) made an enormous splash in not just gifted education but also the world (e.g., "The Washington Post," "The Atlantic," Five Thirty Eight). In this commentary, we highlight…

Participatory Health Research is a collective term adopted globally for participatory action research in a health context. As an approach to research, it challenges current ways used within the health sciences to measure research impact as research, learning and action are integrated throughout the research process and dependent on context and…

Engagement is one of the most widely misused and overgeneralized constructs found in the educational, learning, instructional, and psychological sciences. The articles in this special issue represent a wide range of traditions and highlight several key conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and analytical issues related to defining and measuring…

To explain country differences in an analytical or structural dependent variable, the application of a macro-micro-model containing contextual hypotheses is necessary. Our methodological study examines whether empirical studies apply such a model. We propose that a theoretical base for country differences is well described in multilevel studies,…

This paper draws on data and experiences observing and analyzing school lotteries from the National Evaluation of Charter School Impacts (Gleason et al., 2010) to describe the challenges associated with lottery-based research. In that study, covering 36 charter middle schools in 15 states, we found that charter schools did not affect student…

This "Instructor's Corner" describes a step forward on the journey to write, review, and publish high-quality qualitative research manuscripts. This article examines two existing perspectives on generating high-quality qualitative manuscripts and then compares and contrasts the different elements of each. First, an overview of Rocco's (2010) eight…

This study critically investigates the suitability of United Nations' composite indices and other related measures--among which the Gender Inequality Index just released in 2010--to capture gender inequalities in the context of "highly developed" countries, focusing on the case of Europe. Our results indicate that many of the gender gaps…

Today, nearly forty years after writing centers first began to proliferate, it is worthwhile to reflect on the themes that emerge from empirical material surrounding writing center assessments, for reflecting on these themes may help administrators to refine current assessment practices and scholars to redirect their research. The goal of this…

This paper challenges Hanushek and Woessmann's (2008) contention that the quality and not the quantity of schooling determines a nation's rate of economic growth. I first show that their statistical analysis is flawed. I then show that when a nation's average test scores and average schooling attainment are included in a national income model,…

Current economic conditions and the increasing competition for government funding are leading to an increased focus on the impact of research. Measuring the impact of research is difficult because not all impacts are direct and some can be negative or result from the identification of problems that require a non-research response. The time between…