The use of inter-rater reliability (IRR) methods may provide an opportunity to improve the transparency and consistency of qualitative case study data analysis in terms of the rigor of how codes and constructs have been developed from the raw data. Few articles on qualitative research methods in the literature conduct IRR assessments or neglect to…

Observations are widely used in research and evaluation to characterize teaching and learning activities. Because conducting observations is typically resource intensive, it is important that inferences from observation data are made confidently. While attention focuses on interrater reliability, the reliability of a single-class measure over the…

Studies based on longitudinal data focus on the change and development of the situation being investigated and allow for examining cases regarding education, individual development, cultural change, and socioeconomic improvement in time. However, as these studies require taking repeated measures in different time periods, they may include various…

Problems in studying teacher effectiveness through the use of classroom observation are discussed. Four assumptions in the observation of classroom process are offered and ways in which these assumptions can be dealt with in designing an observation study are suggested. (DF)

A measurement approach called generalizability theory (G-theory) is an important alternative to the more familiar classical measurement theory that yields less useful coefficients such as alpha or the KR-20 coefficient. G-theory is a theory about the dependability of behavioral measurements that allows the simultaneous estimation of multiple…

A practical application of generalizability theory, demonstrating how the variance components contribute to understanding and interpreting the data collected to evaluate a program, is described. The evaluation concerned 120 learning modules developed for the Dental Auxiliary Education Project. The goals of the project were to design, implement,…