A latent variable modeling-based procedure is discussed that permits to readily point and interval estimate the design effect index in multilevel settings using widely circulated software. The method provides useful information about the relationship of important parameter standard errors when accounting for clustering effects relative to…

Exploratory graph analysis (EGA) is a commonly applied technique intended to help social scientists discover latent variables. Yet, the results can be influenced by the methodological decisions the researcher makes along the way. In this article, we focus on the choice regarding the number of factors to retain: We compare the performance of the…

To frame their work, biology education researchers need to consider the role of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks as critical elements of the research and writing process. However, these elements can be confusing for scholars new to education research. This "Research Methods" article is designed to…

Understanding complex (social) phenomena benefits from combining different tools, perspectives, expertise, and experiences. Research designs that combine approaches are gaining in popularity. Carrying out research in interdisciplinary teams, however, is a challenging, high-investment activity. Unawareness of and reflecting on conflicting ways of…

"Educational Explanations" is a comprehensive study of the main philosophical questions that confront empirical educational researchers. The book outlines the sense in which empirical educational research pursues truth and sets out and defends an account of its task as the offering of explanations for the many educational problems that…

Background/Context: Attrition has been described as "the Achilles Heel of the randomized experiment" (Shadish et al., 1998 p.3). Attrition looms as a threat because it can undermine group equivalence, eroding the methodological strength at the heart of a randomized evaluation. In particular, attrition could result in unobserved…

Despite demographic changes which indicate larger numbers of racial and ethnic minorities make up most of American society, library and information science (LIS) research remains focused on majority groups. This work proposes ways in which researchers and LIS educators can incorporate more diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into their…

Once research questions are posed, researchers must answer many a priori questions regarding research design before analysis can be performed and any conclusions can be made, including sample selection criteria, data collection method, model specification, analysis and estimation technique. The choices made by researchers along this forking path…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the scientific production and performance of the concept 'challenging schools' from 2000 to today through a bibliometric analysis complemented by scientific mapping. The study resorted to different processes to quantify, analyse, evaluate, and estimate the scientific output by means of specific software…

Purpose: Access to research programs and increased diversity in research enrollment may be key to improving diverse populations' health and healthcare outcomes. To facilitate research recruitment, a Research Registry ("Registry"), a pre-recruitment database, was developed at an urban tertiary Autism Center ("Autism Center"). In…

In qualitative comparative analysis, as with all methods, there is a question about how many cases are needed to make an analysis robust. In deciding on the number of cases, a key consideration is the number of conditions to be analyzed. I suggest that adding cases is preferable to dropping conditions if there are too many conditions relative to…

In recent years, research policy has increasingly prioritized the societal impact of academic work, emphasizing external relevance, public value, and collective benefit. In many countries, a wealth of data has been generated by national assessments that require universities to submit narratives on their contributions outside the academy. Despite…

Interdisciplinary research teams are crucial for tackling complex societal issues but often struggle with goal alignment, leadership, and communication. This reflective inquiry article explores expanding the role of Research Administration (RA) and Research Development (RD) professionals as team coaches to address these challenges and improve team…

Research conducted by graduate students is crucial for the development of lifelong learning skills and future professional success. However, many students encounter obstacles that hinder the timely completion of their research projects and theses. The factors that impede the completion of research papers within designated timeframes have not been…

Educational researchers often report effect sizes in standard deviation units (SD), but SD effects are hard to interpret. Effects are easier to interpret in percentile points, but converting SDs to percentile points involves a calculation that is not transparent to educational stakeholders. We show that if the outcome variable is normally…