In his proposal for comparative education, Marc Antoinne Jullien de Paris argues that the comparative method offers a viable alternative to the experimental method. In an experiment, the scientist can manipulate the variables in such a way that he or she can see any possible combination of variables at will. In comparative education, or in…

The purpose of this article is to clarify the discrepancy in the use of "queer" as a sexual identity classification in education survey research. This study extends the work completed by Dugan and Yurman (2011), who empirically demonstrated problems with treating LGB students as a homogenous population through collapsing all respondents…

Latent variable structural equation modeling has become the analytic method of choice in many domains of research in psychology and allied social sciences. One important aspect of a latent variable model concerns the relations hypothesized to hold between latent variables and their indicators. The most common specification of structural equation…

This article investigates three types of stage-sequential growth mixture models in the structural equation modeling framework for the analysis of multiple-phase longitudinal data. These models can be important tools for situations in which a single-phase growth mixture model produces distorted results and can allow researchers to better understand…

A simulation study compared the performance of robust normal theory maximum likelihood (ML) and robust categorical least squares (cat-LS) methodology for estimating confirmatory factor analysis models with ordinal variables. Data were generated from 2 models with 2-7 categories, 4 sample sizes, 2 latent distributions, and 5 patterns of category…

The chapter examines the ways in which qualitative and quantitative methods support each other in research on occupational stress. Qualitative methods include eliciting from workers unconstrained descriptions of work experiences, careful first-hand observations of the workplace, and participant-observers describing "from the inside" a…

This review examines the treatment integrity data of literacy interventions for students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD). Forty-four studies published between 1977 and 2005 were examined. Findings indicate that studies focusing on literacy interventions for students with EBD included clear operational definitions and data on…

In this article, the authors clarify and provide additional tests of the key elements of their age-period-cohort analysis of non-marital birth rates in this March 2009 issue of "Social Forces." Where Steve Martin, in his commentary, has suggested specific alternative specifications or interpretations of their findings, the authors have…

The purpose of this study was to compare multiple regression with canonical analysis in order to introduce a new, policy relevant methodology to the literature on production functions. Findings from this study confirmed the results of past inquiries that found a relationship between the inputs to schooling and measures of student achievement. A…

This pilot study proposes a set of analytical steps for comparing schools that participate in the National Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program and their nonparticipating peers in the same state. This pilot is part of a larger effort to evaluate the MSP Program's role in student achievement, with two companion analyses.…

In early intervention, researchers often are interested in interpretation aids that can help determine the relative importance of variables when multiple regression models are used, and that facilitate deeper insight into prediction dynamics. Commonality analysis is one approach for helping researchers understand the contributions independent or…

The effectiveness of the Tabu variable selection algorithm, to identify predictor variables related to a criterion variable, is compared with the stepwise variable selection method and the all possible regression approach. Considering results obtained from previous research, Tabu is more successful in identifying relevant variables than the…

Cudeck and Browne (1983) proposed using cross-validation as a model selection technique in structural equation modeling. The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of eight cross-validation indices under conditions not yet examined in the relevant literature, such as nonnormality and cross-validation design. The performance of each…

The purpose of this brief is to summarize the methodologies and outcome measures used in Post-School Outcomes follow-up and follow-along studies of adolescents with disabilities. As a requisite in the Request for Proposal for funding of the National Post-School Outcomes Center (NPSO), knowledge development activities were to include: "Conducting a…

Determining the potential benefits of mentoring is confounded by the lack of clarity surrounding the definition of mentoring in business and industry. Key dimensions of mentoring that are affected by the way in which mentoring is defined are explored, including prevalence, outcomes, gender and formal/informal relationships. This definitional…