Multiple imputation (MI) is a popular method for handling missing data. In education research, it can be challenging to use MI because the data often have a clustered structure that need to be accommodated during MI. Although much research has considered applications of MI in hierarchical data, little is known about its use in cross-classified…

This note confronts the common use of a single coefficient alpha as an index informing about reliability of a multicomponent measurement instrument in a heterogeneous population. Two or more alpha coefficients could instead be meaningfully associated with a given instrument in finite mixture settings, and this may be increasingly more likely the…

The purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative model to conventional higher education institution (HEI) rankings that can better communicate meaningful differentiation to prospective students. A five-step approach is followed to form clusters and classify HEIs. Cluster analysis is performed on two separate datasets containing (1) public…

Introduction: This study aims to (a) construct a typology of how individuals acquire cancer information, and (b) examine whether these types differ regarding socio-demographics and cancer-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Method: A standardized, cross-sectional survey among cancer diagnosed and non-diagnosed individuals in Flanders,…

Dialogism provides the grounds for building a comprehensive model of discourse and it is focused on the multiplicity of perspectives (i.e., voices). Dialogism can be present in any type of text, while voices become themes or recurrent topics emerging from the discourse. In this study, we examine the extent that differences between…

This paper summarises a new method of grouping postgraduate taught (PGT) courses introduced at Oxford Brookes University as a part of a Portfolio Review. Instead of classifying courses by subject, the new cluster approach uses statistical methods to group the courses based on factors including flexibility of study options, level of specialisation,…

In this study, it is aimed to distinguish the reading skills of students participating in PISA 2015 application into multi-level latent classes at the student and country level. Furthermore, it is aimed to examine how the clusters emerged at country-level is predicted by variables as students have the information and communication technology (ICT)…

To describe and facilitate the identification of child school behavior patterns, we developed a typology of child school behavior (ages 6-11 years) using the norming data (N = 2,338) for the second edition of the Behavior Assessment System for Children Teacher Rating-Child form). Latent profile analysis was conducted with the entire data set,…

Growth mixture modeling has gained much attention in applied and methodological social science research recently, but the selection of the number of latent classes for such models remains a challenging issue, especially when the assumption of proper model specification is violated. The current simulation study compared the performance of a linear…

Gifted education services in rural districts typically lag behind those in nonrural areas. Using district classifications assigned by the National Center for Education Statistics and Texas school district data (n = 1,029) from the Academic Excellence Indicator System, the role of school district classification on gifted education outcomes was…

One of the most promising avenues of research in computer-assisted language learning is the potential for language learners to make use of language corpora. However, using a corpus requires use of a corpus tool as an interface, typically a concordancer. How such a tool can be made most accessible to learners is an important issue. Specifically,…

The problem of taking a data set and separating it into subgroups, where the members of each subgroup are more similar to each other than they are to members outside the subgroup, has been extensively studied in science and mathematics education research. Student responses to written questions and multiple-choice tests have been characterised and…

In education research, small samples are common because of financial limitations, logistical challenges, or exploratory studies. With small samples, statistical principles on which researchers rely do not hold, leading to trust issues with model estimates and possible replication issues when scaling up. Researchers are generally aware of such…

A sample of 791 college students between the ages of 18 and 25 years were administered a series of measures to determine their sexual identity development status, global self-esteem, global psychological distress, sexual-esteem and sexual distress. As hypothesized, results indicated no significant difference in terms of psychological distress,…

In recent years there has been a proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs), which provide unprecedented opportunities for lifelong learning. Registrants approach these courses with a variety of motivations for participation. Characterizing the different types of participation in MOOCs is fundamental in order to be able to better…