This article presents the authors' rejoinder to the comments of Howard Bloom, Derek Neal, and Mike Seltzer on their article. Their commentary focused foremost on the advantages and disadvantages of using Options A, B, or C in using instrumental variables in multisite trials. Of interest are the quantities one can estimate and test in each case,…

On the basis of those respondents in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) who change jobs with an intervening period of education reinvestment, the conventional assumption of linearity of log wages in years of schooling is strongly rejected: a typical reinvestment for the 1980 through 1993 period is associated with a rise of about 3.5…

Confidence intervals (CIs) and effect sizes are essential to encourage meta-analytic thinking and to accumulate research findings. CIs provide a range of plausible values for population parameters with a degree of confidence that the parameter is in that particular interval. CIs also give information about how precise the estimates are. Comparison…

As all physicists know, all units are arbitrary. The numbering system is anthropocentric; for example, the Celsius scale of temperature has 100 degrees between the boiling point of water at STP and the freezing point of water. The number 100 is chosen because human beings have 10 fingers. The best units might be based on physical constants, for…

Systematic reviews are used to inform practice, and develop guidelines and protocols. A questionnaire to quantify the risk of bias in systematic reviews, the review paper assessment (RPA) tool, was developed and tested. A search of electronic databases provided a data set of review articles that were then independently reviewed by two assessors…

Regular evaluation of archival reference services is essential to ensure that users have appropriate access to the information they need. Archives New Zealand has been measuring customer satisfaction for many years using self-completion questionnaires but recently trialed two new methods of evaluation, using external research companies. One…

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…

Using data from a new household survey on environmental attitudes, behaviors, and policy preferences, we find that current weather conditions affect preferences for environmental regulation. Individuals who have recently experienced extreme weather (heat waves or droughts) are more likely to support laws to protect the environment. We find…

As evidence-based practices become increasingly advocated for and used in the human services field it is important to integrate issues raised by three perspectives on evidence: empirical-analytical, phenomenological-existential, and post-structural. This article presents and discusses an evidence-based conceptual model and measurement framework…

Current value-added models for teacher accountability are better than models based only on student achievement, but they have their weakness. They are subject to systematic and random error, as are all measures, and there are concerns about the tests used for the measurements. However, value-added models are better than the alternatives at the…

The process and importance of Knowledge Translation (KT) for the field of rehabilitation counseling is described. One element of the KT process, systematic reviews of the literature, is described along with several strategies for grading evidence. Practicing clinicians, as do consumers, encounter a number of barriers to using primary source…

This study investigates the economic outcomes of education for wage earners in Pakistan. This is done by analysing the relationship between schooling, cognitive skills and ability, on the one hand, and economic activity, occupation, sectoral choice and earnings, on the other. In Pakistan, an important question remains largely unaddressed: what…

This article advances the literature on assessment of EFNEP's effectiveness. Factor analysis of Behavior Checklist items were performed to arrive at a parsimonious set of constructs used to assess the effects of program attributes on participants' behavior change. Based on the data from Michigan EFNEP, the use of constructs demonstrated a robust…

Using a unique sample of rural Kentucky residents, we demonstrated that, in the domain of operational and competitive environmental uncertainties, self-efficacy beliefs are significantly higher among nascent entrepreneurs than among non-entrepreneurs. We employed the hierarchical logistic regression analysis to demonstrate that this result is…

There is little doubt that teacher quality is a key determinant of student achievement, but finding ways to identify and reward the best teachers has proven illusive. This research brief considers the stability of value-added measures of teacher effectiveness over time and the resulting implications for the design and implementation of…