The purpose of the present study was to provide the means to evaluate the "interval-scaling" assumption that governs the use of parametric statistics and continuous data estimators in self-report instruments that utilize Likert-type scaling. Using simulated and real data, the methodology to test for this important assumption is evaluated…

A reference interval, or an interval in which a prespecified proportion of measurements from a healthy population are expected to fall, is used to determine whether a person's measurement is typical of a healthy individual. For a specific biomarker, multiple published studies may provide data collected from healthy participants. A reference…

Meta-analysis of proportions is conceptually simple: Faced with a binary outcome in multiple studies, we seek inference on some overall proportion of successes/failures. Under common effect models, exact inference has long been available, but is not when we more realistically allow for heterogeneity of the proportions. Instead a wide range of…

In the last few years, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) has become one of the most important data analysis methods in comparative research. According to the guidelines of this method, there are certain steps that a researcher needs to follow, before causally analyzing the data for necessary and sufficient conditions. One of these steps is…

This paper's objective was to teach the Equivalence Testing applied to Educational Research to emphasize recommendations and to increase quality of research. Equivalence Testing is a technique used to compare effect sizes or means of two different studies to ascertain if they would be statistically equivalent. For making accessible Equivalence…

Missing data are exceedingly common across a variety of disciplines, such as educational, social, and behavioral science areas. Missing not at random (MNAR) mechanism where missingness is related to unobserved data is widespread in real data and has detrimental consequence. However, the existing MNAR-based methods have potential problems such as…

A procedure that can be used to evaluate the variance inflation factors and tolerance indices in linear regression models is discussed. The method permits both point and interval estimation of these factors and indices associated with explanatory variables considered for inclusion in a regression model. The approach makes use of popular latent…

This note is concerned with evaluation of location parameters for polytomous items in multiple-component measuring instruments. A point and interval estimation procedure for these parameters is outlined that is developed within the framework of latent variable modeling. The method permits educational, behavioral, biomedical, and marketing…

Segmentation reduces learners' cognitive load by inserting system-controlled pauses into instructional animations and video. However, many previous studies focus on conceptual knowledge, and do not allow users control over the pacing of instruction. This two-part experiment attempted to validate segmentation in the context of procedural software…

Meta-analyses of clinical trials targeting rare events face particular challenges when the data lack adequate numbers of events for all treatment arms. Especially when the number of studies is low, standard random-effects meta-analysis methods can lead to serious distortions because of such data sparsity. To overcome this, we suggest the use of…

Spaced education (SE) is a learning strategy that can improve long-term knowledge retention. Inspired by the concept of SE, we conducted a mixed methods study of a smartphone application (app) as a platform of SE. Objectives were to: (phase 1 quantitative) estimate the extent to which weekly alerts on the app can stimulate medical residents to…

This article outlines a procedure for examining the degree to which a common factor may be dominating additional factors in a multicomponent measuring instrument consisting of binary items. The procedure rests on an application of the latent variable modeling methodology and accounts for the discrete nature of the manifest indicators. The method…

Background: Most of the studies in academic journals use p values to represent statistical significance. However, this is not a good indicator of practical significance. Although confidence intervals provide information about the precision of point estimation, they are, unfortunately, rarely used. The infrequent use of confidence intervals might…

Interval-based method is a method of studying the rhythmic quantitative features of languages. This method use Pairwise Variability Index (PVI) to consider the variability of vocalic duration and inter-vocalic duration of sentences which leads to classification of languages rhythm into stress-timed languages and syllable-timed ones. This study…

Deficits in the perception of time and processing of changes across time are commonly observed in individuals with autism. This pilot study evaluated the efficacy of the use of the software tool Tic-Tac, designed to make time visual, in three adults with autism and learning difficulties. This research focused on applying the tool in waiting…