Measuring the similarity of stimuli is of great interest to a variety of social scientists. Spatial arrangement by dragging and dropping "more similar" targets closer together on the computer screen is a precise and efficient method to measure stimulus similarity. We present Qualtrics-spatial arrangement method (Q-SpAM), a feature-rich…

Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter provide an unprecedented amount of qualitative data about organizations and collective behavior. Yet these new data sources lack critical information about the broader social context of collective behavior--or protect it behind strict privacy barriers. In this article, I introduce social media…

With the advent of the computer and user-friendly statistical software packages, factor analysis has become accessible to most researchers. However, conventional factor analysis, or R-technique, is only useful for research concerning types or groups of variables. Educational and psychological researchers are often interested in types of people,…

A review of the literature and of currently available computer programs for the use of log-linear models in analysis of qualitative data is presented, and two types of log-linear models and procedures for investigating both types are outlined. (MSE)

A guide to the use of microcomputer statistical analysis packages for loglinear analysis describes the application of one popular package to a straightforward problem and critically surveys features available in four of the leading packages. Survey findings and suggestions for further development are included. (Author/MSE)

Qualitative methodology, the traditional mainstay of social science and historical research, is currently gaining increased respectability as both an alternative and a companion to quantitative methods in intercultural communication research. Because data collection and compilation techniques are often highly personal, situation-specific,…

Offers a critique on some of the papers on computers in science teaching that were presented at the 1985 National Association for Research in Science Teaching meeting. Implications for the conduct of research on computers in science learning are also suggested. (JN)

The substance of a commentary (SE 539 500) is a criticism of the over-generalizations by authors of computer-assisted instruction papers at the 1985 annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. This reaction attempts to examine the validity of the criticisms made in the commentary. (JN)

Presents methodological considerations in developing an automatic cheap algorithm for computerized path diagraming, gives some plotted results, and describes a program which produces the plots from an input matrix of path coefficients on a standard line printer. The program accommodates unidirectional and reciprocal causation and represents…

The current status of Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) is reviewed with special attention to microcomputer-based systems. The primary conclusion is that CATI systems can aid in the administration of telephone surveys in addition to reducing sources of survey error, but CATI systems are neither inexpensive nor easily implemented.…

VTLOGANL is a project to enhance and develop new methods and computer software to aid the social science researcher using video tape. This paper describes the latest release of the VTLOGANL program and provides a brief description of its capabilities. VTLOGANL is a BASIC program designed for an MS-DOS computer system. It uses Indexed Sequential…

Working from a common data base and hypothesized model, this paper demonstrates and compares the EQS and LISREL computer program strategies in the analysis of a second-order factor model. Program similarities and differences are noted with respect to: (1) preliminary analyses of the data; (2) treatment of data that are not multivariately normal;…

The use of Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS), a type of microcomputer application software, to analyze open-ended survey questions is discussed. Using open-ended questions allows researchers to ask respondents to express themselves freely about their attitudes and beliefs. This approach also can elicit a precise answer even though the…

A microcomputer spreadsheet software package can be used for a variety of tasks to manage a program or research project and to cut costs in evaluation. LOTUS 1 2 3 is a versatile, commonly available, and well-known electronic spreadsheet package. Spreadsheets were originally designed to emulate financial ledgers and balance sheets. They are useful…

The computerized morphological parser, AMPLE, grew out of work in computer assisted dialect adaptation. AMPLE contains no language-specific code, but is controlled entirely through external, user-written files, the notations of which were designed for linguists. AMPLE's constructs are linguistic: e.g., allomorph, morpheme, conditioning…