Instrumental variables is a popular approach for causal inference in education when randomization of treatment is not feasible. Using a first-year college program as a running example, this article reviews the five assumptions that must be met to successfully use instrumental variables to estimate a causal effect with observational data: SUTVA,…

Mediation analysis is an important statistical tool in many research fields, where the joint significance test is widely utilized for examining mediation effects. Nevertheless, the limitation of this mediation testing method stems from its conservative Type I error, which reduces its statistical power and imposes certain constraints on its…

To address three issues identified in previous research this study proposes a clustering-based MOOC dropout identification method and an early prediction model based on deep learning. The MOOC learning behavior of self-paced students was analyzed, and two well-known MOOC datasets were used for analysis and validation. The findings are as follows:…

Previous research explicates ordinal and disordinal interactions through the concept of the "crossover point." This point is determined via simple regression models of a focal predictor at specific moderator values and signifies the intersection of these models. An interaction effect is labeled as disordinal (or ordinal) when the…

Predictive analytics methods in education are seeing widespread use and are producing increasingly accurate predictions of students' outcomes. With the increased use of predictive analytics comes increasing concern about fairness for specific subgroups of the population. One approach that has been proposed to increase fairness is using demographic…

Since the early days of the field, attitude-behavior (A-B) relationships have received sustained attention in the evaluation and researching of environmental education (EE). This level of interest extends beyond the field's scope though, in part due to a certain reliance on theoretical and empirical assertions which claim that attitudes serve as a…

The primary objective of this investigation is the formulation of random intercept latent profile transition analysis (RI-LPTA). Our simulation investigation suggests that the election between LPTA and RI-LPTA for examination has negligible impact on the estimation of transition probability parameters when the population parameters are generated…

Researchers often make claims regarding the importance of predictor variables in multiple regression analysis by comparing standardized regression coefficients (standardized beta coefficients). This practice has been criticized as a misuse of multiple regression analysis. As a remedy, I highlight the use of dominance analysis and random forests, a…

Mendelian randomization (MR) uses genetic variants as instrumental variables to infer whether a risk factor causally affects a health outcome. Meta-analysis has been used historically in MR to combine results from separate epidemiological studies, with each study using a small but select group of genetic variants. In recent years, it has been used…

In this research note I want to address some misunderstandings about the construct of redeployment and suggest that we need to fit these behavioural data from Yang, Chen and Xiao (YCX) into a broader context. I will suggest that these authors' work is not just about the failure of three models to predict equivalence classification. Equivalence…

The commenter's proposal may be a reasonable method for addressing uncertainty in predictive modeling, where the goal is to predict "y." In a treatment effects framework, where the goal is causal inference by conditioning-on-observables, the commenter's proposal is deeply flawed. The proposal (1) ignores the definition of…

In his proposal for comparative education, Marc Antoinne Jullien de Paris argues that the comparative method offers a viable alternative to the experimental method. In an experiment, the scientist can manipulate the variables in such a way that he or she can see any possible combination of variables at will. In comparative education, or in…

This paper discusses investigations in science education addressing the nonlinear dynamical hypothesis. Learning science is a suitable field for applying interdisciplinary research and predominately for testing psychological theories. It was demonstrated that in this area the paradigm of complexity and nonlinear dynamics have offered theoretical…

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 44% of elementary-aged students reported experiencing adverse childhood experiences, while 13% reported experiencing three or more (Blodgett & Lanigan, 2018). During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents faced many hardships such as economic and health disparities. This resulted in an influx of reported and presumably…

This brief essay argues for the importance for more work on how creativity predicts positive outcomes, with a particular emphasis on expanding our definitions of these positive outcomes. The way that creativity may lead to increased equity and social justice is used as an example of these type of potential research questions.