Survey data are usually of mixed type (quantitative, multistate categorical, and/or binary variables). Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is one of the most extended methodologies to visualize the profile structure of the data. Since the past 60s, MDS methods have been introduced in the literature, initially in publications in the psychometrics area.…

Our purpose is to provide an exploratory statistical representation of initial teacher education as a complex system comprised of dynamic influential elements. More precisely, we reveal what the system looks like for differently-positioned teacher education stakeholders based on our framework for gathering, statistically analyzing, and graphically…

Despite a surge of empirical work on student participation in online learning environments, the causal links between the learning-related factors and processes with the desired learning outcomes remain unexplored. This study presents a systematic literature review of approaches to model learning in Massive Open Online Courses offering an analysis…

The purpose of this multistudy report was to adapt the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) to the Italian context. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, we investigated the dimensionality, reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument in a sample of 544 participants (males = 41%) from 16…

State support in higher education (HE) is often justified on the grounds that HE is important for the development of the country. However, little analysis is normally done in order to assess the impact of education quality initiatives. The Mexican government has been engaging in a policy of HE quality improvement that can be traced to 1989. In…

Elementary school children between 9 and 12 years of age were interviewed on what they believed to be the causes of learning difficulties and were invited to take part in the analysis of the data. We achieved this with Trochim's concept mapping approach that combines qualitative and quantitative data analyses. Study results indicated that children…

With approximately 30 million students the Chinese higher education system is the largest in the world. In every publicly funded institution there is a communist party secretary, however, little is known about these party secretaries. The purpose of the study was to understand who these people were. We collected data from 1,751 party secretaries…

This paper discusses how a seldom-used statistical procedure, recursive regression (RR), can numerically and graphically illustrate data-driven nonlinear relationships and interaction of variables. This routine falls into the family of exploratory techniques, yet a few interesting features make it a valuable compliment to factor analysis and…

Describes the loglinear model, and applies it to categorical data cross-tabulated on four dimensions. Defines contrasts similar to those of the analysis of variance and describes post hoc and planned comparison strategies. Illustrates hypothesis testing and model building for categorical data, providing guidelines for performing an analysis on…

A data analysis model called CANDELINC performs a broad range of multidimensional data analyses. The model allows for the incorporation of general linear constraints. Several examples are presented. (JKS)

Provides a nontechnical explanation of the family of multivariate statistical techniques known as multidimensional scaling (MDS). Explains the purpose of MDS, and the advantages of using these techniques in the study of musical perception. Discusses two approaches to the interpretation of MDS solutions. Lists examples of musical studies using MDS.…

Problems of scale typically arise when comparing test score trends, gaps, and gap trends across different tests. To overcome some of these difficulties, we can express the difference between the observed test performance of two groups with graphs or statistics that are metric-free (i.e., invariant under positive monotonic transformations of the…