Narrative inquiry is a type of qualitative research that explores human experiences through lived or told stories to understand a phenomenon. Narrative researchers collect data through spoken or written stories and life experiences of an individual (subject). The data is examined in chronological order to understand the meaning of the phenomenon…

The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical investigation of the critical determinants for the adoption of learning analytics in higher education. A conceptual model was proposed to understand better the adoption of learning analytics in higher education by teaching staff. Structural equation modelling is used for testing and validating…

As lines between research paradigms continue to blur with the ever-increasing popularity of mixed methods research, there are useful, and occasionally oxymoronic, opportunities for educational researchers to juxtapose tools from opposing methods. The gold standard is just not possible in so much of what we do with small-scale research, nor is it…

This paper describes methods for an alignment study and psychometric analyses of a formative assessment system, Diagnoser Tools for physics. Diagnoser Tools begin with facet clusters as the interpretive framework for designing questions and instructional activities. Thus each question in the diagnostic assessments includes distractors that…

This cross-sectional descriptive study of the Model of Domain Learning, which describes learners' progress from acclimation through competence to proficiency through the interplay of knowledge, interest and strategic processing/critical thinking (CT), examined its extension to maternity nursing. Based on the identified need for valid, reliable…

This paper explores the possibility of fashioning a queer methodology for educational research through analysis of three research studies. It begins with the question of queer visibility, asking about the ethics and utility of remaining closeted vs. disclosing one's identity. It then explores the question of researcher subjectivity and of putting…

This paper intends to construct a survey data quality strategy for institutional researchers in higher education in light of total survey error theory. It starts with describing the characteristics of institutional research and identifying the gaps in literature regarding survey data quality issues in institutional research. Then it is followed by…

Experimental designs are distinguished as the best method to respond to questions involving causality. The purpose of the present paper is to explicate the logic of experimental design and why it is so vital to questions that demand causal conclusions. In addition, types of internal and external validity threats are discussed. To emphasize the…

A Web-based Delphi process can be used to answer difficult questions, compile a body of knowledge from experts, or solve a problem or establish content validity. Because of its more qualitative online discussion environment, a Web-based Delphi procedure has the potential to offer a more rigorous validation of HRD-related content than traditional…

A validation strategy is proposed for professional licensure tests after reviewing arguments for incorporating a theory of professions into the test development process. Components of such a theory are described, and a methodology is proposed for licensure test design that balances the concepts of content and construct validation. (SLD)

This paper focuses on issues of data trustworthiness in praxis-oriented empirical work, research openly committed to the building of a world in which we can all flourish. The central argument is that those exploring the possibilities for a change-enhancing advocacy paradigm for doing empirical research in the human sciences must begin to be more…

A study by Malcolm R. Parks reported in "Communication Monographs" called into question the cross-situational validity of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA). Park's study, however, is flawed in many ways. He does not provide an adequate definition of "situation." Both the type of factor analysis he chose…

Drawing from work on the meta-analysis of over 500 validation studies of the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) by the U.S. Employment Service, the paper presents a methodological message and a substantive message. Gene Glass's methods, as used by Edwin Ghiselli in personnel selection, ignore study artifacts (sampling error, error of…

The use of ability testing for job selection has become widespread in the Federal Government and in the U.S. Employment Service, which assists private sector employers. The justification for the practice is based largely on research findings claiming a high level of validity for such tests in predicting job performance. More recently, such claims…

A study was undertaken to identify the factor structure of a battery of readiness measures and to demonstrate the concurrent and predictive validity of one instrument in that battery--the Pre-Reading Screening Procedures (PSP). Concurrent validity was determined by examining the correlation of the PSP with the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT),…