Once research questions are posed, researchers must answer many a priori questions regarding research design before analysis can be performed and any conclusions can be made, including sample selection criteria, data collection method, model specification, analysis and estimation technique. The choices made by researchers along this forking path…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of four different models (bifactor, CTC(M-1), CTCU and unidimensional) as to optimal model selection when the wording effect associated with negatively worded items was present. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to compare model-data fit and accuracy in parameter estimates…

Educational intervention research addresses multiple barriers that under-sourced communities face in education. I test three methods to improve education program design and evaluation to develop programs that have substantial and lasting impacts on student outcomes. In my dissertation, I review current challenges to educational program evaluation…

Missing data is a common challenge to any researcher in almost any field of research. In particular, human participants in research do not always respond or return for assessments leaving the researcher to rely on missing data methods. The most common methods (i.e., Multiple Imputation and Full Information Maximum Likelihood) assume that the…

The role of lecturers at the University of Guyana has always included research. However, the productivity of these lecturers has historically been low. This dissertation examines the reasons for low research productivity among lecturers and attempts to understand the underlying concerns. Through a series of action research cycles, the researcher…

Psycholinguistics is the research of language in the mind: The architecture of storing the different components of language in our memory, and the ways we access that knowledge when processing and producing language. Psycholinguists usually conduct quantitative experimental research in which certain standards of experimental design, data…

This case study delves into the realm of civic and media education within varied municipalities in Guam and Texas, which, to date, have been underexplored by contemporary Indigenous social science researchers within the dominant white culture. The investigation focuses on elucidating how influencers from diverse cultural groups employ education…

The video game industry is a global multibillion dollar industry with millions of players. The process of developing video games is essential for the continued growth of the industry, and developers need to employ effective strategies that will help them to create successful games. The purpose of this explorative qualitative single case study was…

The field of comparative and international education has followed methodological trends in social science research since the merging of the "twin" field after World War II. With increase in the use of mixed methods research about three decades ago, comparative and international education journals and scholars have worked rigorously to be…

Our institutional approaches to problems in the changing global landscape of internationalized higher education are being challenged, and many scholars call for new approaches for understanding and addressing the complex problems we face (e.g., la paperson, 2017; Lee, 2021; Patel, 2016; Stein, 2019, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the successful implementation of social media strategies in multiple organizations. Examining the factors an organization used to implement social media can provide the understanding of the benefits and risks associated with this technology. Some businesses are considered successful using social…

In recent years, efforts are being made at all levels of education to prescribe instructional actions that would optimize desired instructional outcomes. Component display theory (CDT), a micro level instructional design theory proposed by Merrill (1983), offers guidelines and prescriptions to present components of instruction to teach facts,…

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disability characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, which may cause impairment in a variety of cognitive, social, behavioral, and emotional domains. Extensive research has been conducted to determine the best course of treatment for…

Wicked educational information systems (IS) address problems with unstable educational requirements, in educational environments that are ill-defined, where complex interactions among subcomponents of the problem and its solution exist. In this dissertation, a design science research methodology (DSRM) was used to evaluate projects that developed,…

This meta-analysis synthesized the findings from 23 published and five unpublished experimental or quasi-experimental group design studies on word problem-solving instruction for K-12 students with learning disabilities (LD) and mathematics difficulties (MD). A secondary purpose of this meta-analysis was to analyze the relation between treatment…