This work proposes relevant ingredients to highlight the factors with significant impact on efficiency of research structures in higher education. The ingredients in question include methods and their implementation taking into account the choice and operationalization of factors as well as options of the retained methods. The methods employed in…

Determining how learners use MOOCs effectively is critical to providing feedback to instructors, schools, and policy-makers on this highly scalable technology. However, drawing inferences about student learning outcomes in MOOCs has proven to be quite difficult due to large amounts of missing data (of various kinds) and to the diverse population…

Past research have pointed out that excellent strategies have been written but extremely small have been accomplished in their implementation. It has additionally been proposed that only 10% of formulated strategies are successfully implemented. However, crafting the best strategy is not the end in itself but the ultimate result will only be…

This National Institute of Education report discusses problems of data aggregation and disaggregation which arise whenever the unit on which variables are measured is different from the unit of analytical, conceptual or policy-related interest. For example, researchers may want to know the effects of family background, of peer groups, or of school…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of research questions in mixed methods studies. First, we discuss the ways that the goal of the study, the research objective(s), and the research purpose shape the formation of research questions. Second, we compare and contrast quantitative research questions and qualitative research…

The value of variance is emphasized, and the element of design, frequently not adequately understood, is clarified to underscore the importance of variance to the researcher. Two analytic methods, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression, are discussed in terms of how each uses/applies variance. Advantages and major difficulties with…

Examples of the use of Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) techniques are presented. This is done to show how MLR aids data processing and decision-making by providing the decision-maker with freedom in phrasing questions and by accurately reflecting the data on hand. A brief overview of the rationale underlying MLR is given, some basic definitions…

This article discusses M. Rosenberg's Test-Factor Standardization as a type of marginal standardization. To illustrate this relation, the author utilizes a table on abortion attitudes formerly published by K.W. Smith in his commentary on Rosenberg's work. (Author/GC)

A detailed review of the methodological shortcomings in Jencks' Inequality'' suggests that the policy recommendations implied in the book are not strongly supported. (Author/KM)

Examines the credibility of inferences based on cross-group comparisons of regression coefficients using Black-White differences in the educational attainment process as an example. Shows that reanalyses of data from previous studies fail to produce consistent results even when major differences in samples, models, and methods are held constant.…

The use of a path analysis model to obtain unique, substantively meaningful decomposition of variance among endogenous (independent) variables in the model is argued. This reasoning runs counter to more traditional path analytic work. An example is provided. (Author/JKS)

Graduate students from a variety of agricultural and natural resource fields are incorporating geographic information systems (GIS) analysis into their graduate research, creating a need for teaching methodologies that help students understand advanced GIS topics for use in their own research. Graduate-level GIS exercises help students understand…

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the advantages of path analysis for the exposition of results in data analytic papers. Probably the greatest advantage is that it provides a means by which the nature of the problem may be handily summarized. The method of path analysis, although conceived over sixty years ago by Sewell Wright, has only…

The present paper contributes to research methodology as practiced in the field by providing practitioners with a concise statement of the problems in analyzing unbalanced designs, and by clarifying the conditions under which the analysis alternatives are most appropriate. The purposes of the present paper are: (1) to examine the analysis…

Several methods for dealing with incomplete multivariate data and ways to examine the effectiveness of these methods are discussed. It is concluded that pairwise and listwise deletions are among the least effective methods in terms of approximating the results, whereas estimates based on correlational procedures generally produce the most accurate…