This study examined to what extent, if any, estimates of reliability for a multiple choice test are affected by the presence of large item sets where each set shares common reading material. The purpose of this research was to assess the effect of local item dependence on estimates of reliability for verbal portions of seven forms of the old and…

When one wants to set data reliability standards for a class of scientific inquiries or when one needs to compare and select among many different kinds of data with reliabilities that are crucial to a particular research undertaking, then one needs a single reliability coefficient that is adaptable to all or most situations. Work toward this goal…

This study was patterned after a previous study by Skaggs and Lissitz (1992) in which inconsistency of differential item functioning (DIF) was reported across test administrations. They suggested multidimensionality of test data as one possible reason for inconsistency. Therefore, in this study, DIF indices which were developed recently with a…

The jackknife statistic is discussed as a viable invariance procedure. Data from a study of leadership illustrates the use of the jackknife in determining the stability of canonical function coefficients following canonical correlation analysis. The jackknife procedure entails arbitrarily omitting one observation or a subset of observations at a…

The growth curve approach to the measurement of gain of D. Rogosa, D. Brandt, and M. Zimowski (1982) was more fully developed by J. B. Willet and D. Rogosa (1985). Willet later (1989) discussed some practical aspects of applying a linear growth model and reached the conclusion that reliability may not always be a useful index for the measurement…

This paper presents a detailed derivation of method of moments estimates used in computer programs for the four-parameter beta compound binomial strong true score model. A procedure is presented to deal with the case in which the usual method of moments estimates do not exist or result in invalid parameter estimates. The results presented…

Classroom observation is one of the premiere data collection methods available to those interested in teaching behavior. Observational techniques can be classified on a continuum ranging from low inference to high inference depending on the level of judgment required by the observer making the observation. Central to the issue of any form of…

This study focused on department heads'/ chairs' perceptions of the appraisal interview (a face-to-face interpersonal communication event), assessment of the faculty member's role in the appraisal interview, and assessment of the academic administrator's role in the appraisal interview. The results indicate that approximately 20% of respondents…

Some years ago, B. Efron and his colleagues developed bootstrap resampling methods as a way of estimating the degree to which statistical results will replicate across variations in sample. A basic problem in the multivariate use of bootstrap procedures involves the requirement that the results across resamplings must be rotated to best fit in a…

Problems inherent in relying solely on statistical significance testing as a means of data interpretation are reviewed. The biggest problem with statistical significance testing is that researchers have used the results of this testing to ascribe importance or meaning to their studies where such meaning often does not exist. Often researchers…

Arguments are presented for conceptualizing validity within a postmodern approach. Validity, reliability, and generalizability have been a holy trinity of social science research, and standard definitions of validity have been taken from criteria developed for psychometric tests. From a postmodern point of view, validity is sometimes discarded as…

Examines empirically the efficacy of utilizing Olympic diving and gymnastic scoring systems for grading graduate students' English compositions. Results indicated that such scoring rules do not produce ratings different in reliability or in level from conventional letter grades. (ED)

Describes procedures for identifying stimuli in the natural environment whose presence was associated with altered probabilities for both the initiation and persistence of noxious responses. (Author/SDH)

Pertussis is a severe epidemic and endemic disease with significant morbidity and mortality. The use of whole-cell pertussis vaccines in the United States has been effective in controlling the disease but not in decreasing the circulation of the organism. Whole-cell vaccines commonly cause reactions in children, and in addition, they are often…

A study examined identification and consistency theory of interface between rhetorical and communication theory, to demonstrate the compatibility of specific principles in Kenneth Burke's theory with those in the work of Fritz Heider and other consistency theorists and to make suggestions toward a Burkeian theory of identification through…