Data collected from surveys can result in hundreds of variables and thousands of respondents. This implies that time and energy must be devoted to (a) carefully entering the data into a database, (b) running preliminary analyses to identify any problems (e.g., missing data, potential outliers), (c) checking the reliability and validity of the…

Background/Context: The role of race in the university continues to be a contentious issue. Proponents of college diversity often cite the importance of fostering a diverse and deliberative democratic society, but the link between student experiences and postcollege citizenship has received limited attention. Purpose/Objective: This study explores…

This study compared the direct, indirect, and total effects of information, communication, and technology (ICT) variables on math achievement for second-generation immigrant, first-generation immigrant, and nonimmigrant students. A path model was used to analyze U.S. nationally representative data from the Program for International Student…

The relationship between saturated path-analysis models and their fit to data is revisited. It is demonstrated that a saturated model need not fit perfectly or even well a given data set when fit to the raw data is examined, a criterion currently frequently overlooked by researchers utilizing path analysis modeling techniques. The potential of…

Objective: Although the association of impulsivity with diverse alcohol outcomes has been documented, the mechanisms by which impulsivity predicts drinking over time remain to be fully characterized. The authors examined whether positive drinking consequences, but not negative drinking consequences, mediated the association between impulsivity and…

This study examined the relationship of student and faculty demographics on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) student success and persistence as mediated by student perceptions of faculty validation. This study will contribute to an understanding of the complex relationships that exist between these variables, an area that has…

Methods for comparing the suitability of alternative models for covariance matrices are examined. A cross-validation procedure is suggested and its properties examined. A series of examples using longitudinal data are examined. (Author/JKS)

Canonical correlation analysis is considered to be a general model for bivariate and multivariate statistical methods. Some problems involving assumptions and statistical tests for parameters exist for social science data. A resolution for these problems is presented by treating canonical correlation as a special case of linear structural…

Makes a distinction in methodological work between building and applying statistical models for the processes that generate data for the social sciences and applying that data to available statistical methods. Agrees with Freeman that researchers need to think more about underlying social processes. (RB)

Decomposable models, which allow for the interdependence of structure among observable variables, are described. Each model is fully characterized by a set of conditional interdependence restrictions and can be visualized with an undirected as well as a special type of directed graph. (Author/JKS)

This final report summarizes past research and suggests new approaches to the problem of estimating long-term individual constants using path analysis. The general objective of the research was to detect and measure the likelihood that one variable, x, measured at time, t, has a causal influence on another variable, y, measured at a subsequent…