Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) has been the subject of debate for decades and alternative approaches to data analysis have been proposed. This article addresses this debate from the perspective of scientific inquiry and inference. Inference is an inverse problem and application of statistical methods cannot reveal whether effects…

Effect size (ES) reporting practices in a sample of 10 educational research journals are examined in this study. Five of these journals explicitly require reporting ES and the other 5 have no such policy. Data were obtained from 99 articles published in the years 2003 and 2004, in which 183 statistical analyses were conducted. Findings indicate no…

This study is an evaluation of the behavior of the Liu-Agresti estimator of the cumulative common odds ratio when identifying differential item functioning (DIF) with polytomously scored test items using small samples. The Liu-Agresti estimator has been proposed by Penfield and Algina as a promising approach for the study of polytomous DIF but no…

This article presents a method to evaluate pretest effects on posttest scores in the absence of an un-pretested control group using published results of pretesting effects due to Willson and Putnam. Confidence intervals around the expected theoretical gain due to pretesting are computed, and observed gains or differential gains are compared with…

This study examined the reliability and validity of the scores of a Chinese-translated version of the Gifted Rating Scales-School Form (GRS-S) using parents as raters and explored the effects of gender and grade on the ratings. A total of 222 parents participated in the study and rated their child independently using the Chinese version of the…

In recent years, computer-based testing (CBT) has grown in popularity, is increasingly being implemented across the United States, and will likely become the primary mode for delivering tests in the future. Although CBT offers many advantages over traditional paper-and-pencil testing, assessment experts, researchers, practitioners, and users have…

Although stated objectives of multivariate multiple regression and canonical correlation seem different, aspects of the analyses themselves are mathematically equivalent. A numerical example of the similarities is given, with reference to omnibus significance testing, variable weighting schemes, and dimension reduction analysis. (SLD)

Examined the historical growth in the popularity of statistical significance testing using a random sample of data from 12 American Psychological Association journals. Results replicate and extend findings from a study that used only one such journal. Discusses the role of statistical significance testing and the use of replication and…

Sixteen tables are presented for critical values of the larger of two sample correlation coefficients from two independent samples, given the sample size and the value of the smaller correlation. These tables allow quick assessment of significance without requiring calculation of the test statistic. (SLD)

Minkowski distances are used to indicate similarity of two vectors in an N-dimensional space. How to compute the probability function, the expectation, and the variance for Minkowski distances and the special cases City-block distance and Euclidean distance. Critical values for tests of significance are presented in tables. (SLD)

Describes MINSIZE, an MS-DOS computer program that permits the user to determine the minimum sample size needed for the results of a given analysis to be statistically significant. Program applications for statistical significance tests are presented and illustrated. (SLD)

The Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS) is a unidimensional measure of the general belief held by an employee that the organization is committed to him or her, values his or her continued membership, and is generally concerned about the employee's well-being. In the interest of efficiency, researchers are often compelled to use a…

Practical significance is concerned with whether a research result is useful in the real world. The use of procedures to supplement the null hypothesis significance test in four journals of the American Psychological Association is examined, and an approach to assessing practical significance is presented. (SLD)

J. P. Shaffer has presented two tests to improve the power of multiple comparison procedures. This article described an algorithm to carry out the tests. The logic of the algorithm and an application to a data set are given. (SLD)

A generalized measure of association and an associated test of significance are presented for nominal independent variables in which any number or combination of interval, ordinal, or nominal dependent variables can be analyzed. A permutation test of significance is provided for the new measure. (SLD)