Measurement of affective states in everyday life is of fundamental importance in many types of quality of life, health, and psychological research. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is the recognized method of choice, but the respondent burden can be high. The day reconstruction method (DRM) was developed by Kahneman and colleagues ("Science,"…

The epistemological status of factors--that is, components, common factors, and image factors--is briefly discussed. Implications for the number of factors problem of varying views of factor analysis and the particular factor analytic model employed are noted, and the rationales underlying the best known decision rules regarding the correct number…

Ridge regression offers advantages over ordinary least squares estimation when a validity shrinkage criterion is considered. Comparisons of cross-validated multiple correlations indicate that ridge estimation is superior when the predictors are multicollinear, the number of predictors is large relative to sample size, and the population multiple…

It is generally believed that the correction formula will yield exact correlational values only when the regression of z on x is both linear and homoscedastic. The formula is shown to hold for nonlinear heteroscedastic relationships. A simple sufficient condition for formula validity and estimation predictions is demonstrated in a numerical…

Describes a study of reliability among coders of information for meta-analysis (a quantitative procedure for synthesizing data in primary research reports) of research on life satisfaction in American adults. Identifies sources and areas of disagreement among coders and discusses measures that can be used to enhance intercoder consistency.…

It has been increasingly realized that (1) multivariate methods are essential in most quantitative studies (Fish, 1988; Thompson, 1992), and (2) all conventional parametric analytic methods are correlational and invoke least squares weights (e.g., the beta weights in regression) (Knapp, 1978; Thompson, 1991). The present paper reviews one very…

Documenting treatment integrity is an important issue in research and practice in any discipline concerned with prevention and intervention. However, consensus concerning the dimensions of treatment integrity and how they should be measured has yet to emerge. Advances from three areas in which significant treatment integrity work has taken…

Learning of subject matter and acquisition of academically relevant skills are important goals in enhancing academic achievement in the classroom. The results of 22 experiments reviewed in this article support the validity of the academic performance targets but not classroom behavior targets. Some limitations on these conclusions are discussed.…

Issues related to the preceding research report (TM 504 895) are discussed: (1) necessary assumptions for assessing reciprocal causal effects; (2) validity of Felson and Bohrnstedt's findings; and (3) reconciliation of this report and the preceding experimental results. (Author/GDC)

A number of examples are presented to illustrate a common flaw in the published research on learning, memory, and instruction. Experimental subjects--often college students--have certain expectations about the problems they will be asked to solve and about the questions that will appear on reading comprehension or recall tests; these expectations…

The use of stepwise regression has been criticized for both interpretive misunderstandings and statistical aberrations. A major statistical problem with stepwise regression and other procedures that involve multiple significance tests is the inflation of the Type I error rate. General approaches to control the family-wise error rate such as the…

This paper focuses on a critical analysis and reanalysis of two earlier multisection validity meta-analyses of student ratings of instruction. The reanalysis is based on a sharpening of criteria for: (1) including studies in the meta-analysis; (2) defining key study characteristics that influence results; and (3) calculating the correlational…

Methods of achieving compromises between the classical laboratory experiment, and the constrictions affecting educational researchers conducting experiments to build upon correlational process-outcome data are suggested. Ecological validity is achieved through partnership relationships between researchers and the teachers implementing treatments,…

Statistical significance is misused in educational and psychological research when it is applied as a method to establish the reliability of research results. Other techniques have been developed which can be correctly utilized to establish the generalizability of findings. Methods that do provide such estimates are known as invariance or…