In order to examine the possible effects of violation of assumptions using parametric procedures, this study is an exploratory investigation into the use of parametric versus nonparametric procedures using a multiple case study design. The case study investigation guidelines outlined by Yin served as the methodology. The following univariate…

The Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES), Phase II, was a research project on effective teaching behavior--what teachers do that significantly affects what and how pupils learn. The purposes of Phase II were to (1) develop an assessment system for measuring teacher and pupil behaviors and other factors which could influence each of them and…

Various combinations of nonlinear transformations were applied to responses to a clinical performance evaluation instrument that uses a four-point behaviorally anchored scale. The factorial structure of the 15 items constituting the evaluation form was minimally affected by the transformations, suggesting that parametric statistics can be applied…

Includes seven articles focusing on various research techniques important for counselor use including: (1) multivariate analyses; (2) time-series designs; (3) nonparametric statistics; (4) value orientation analysis; and (5) path analysis. Also discussed are models of developmental research and techniques for simultaneous inference. (RC)

This study examined whether differences exist in the adjustment of young adults in community settings across levels of mental retardation for four dependent variables, using parametric multivariate analysis of variance, nonparametric multivariate analysis of variance, multiple nonparametric analyses of variance, and multinomial logistic…

The main purpose of the current research was to develop an abbreviated form of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) with nonparametric item response theory. The authors conducted 5 studies, with a total participation of 8,256 married or cohabiting individuals. Results showed that the item characteristic curves behaved in a monotonically increasing…

The development of the DETECT procedure marked an important advancement in nonparametric dimensionality analysis. DETECT is the first nonparametric technique to estimate the number of dimensions in a data set, estimate an effect size for multidimensionality, and identify which dimension is predominantly measured by each item. The efficacy of…

By comparing the first and fourth editions of a research methods text, the author identifies and discusses some major changes in educational research metholodogy that have occurred over the past 20 years. Some of the changes relate to ethics and legal constraints in conducting research, research and development, evaluation research, the…

NCES (1996) reported that almost one-third of all students entering colleges and universities are unprepared for college coursework and therefore required to enroll in developmental courses. This study focused on developmental and regular mathematics courses at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Using final mathematics grades from the…

This module on research design in vocational education is one of a set of five on evaluation and research and is part of a larger series of thirty-four modules constituting a core curriculum for use in the professional preparation of vocational educators in the areas of agricultural, business, home economics, and industrial education. Following…

For paired rankings data, a statistical test is proposed to detect whether subjects' posttreatment rankings have moved systematically toward an unknown ranking or set of rankings. Using paired-rankings from 38 ninth graders in a writing and literary criticism course, graphical methods for representing the data are presented. (SLD)

The purpose of the present study is twofold: (a) to compare the validation of percentage of nonoverlapping data approach and percentage of data points exceeding the median of baseline phase (PEM) approach, and (b) to demonstrate application of the PEM approach in conducting a quantitative synthesis of single-subject research investigating the…

Advances in computer technology are making it possible for educational researchers to use simpler statistical methods to address a wide range of questions with smaller data sets and fewer, and less restrictive, assumptions. This digest introduces computationally intensive statistics, collectively called resampling techniques. Resampling is a…

The hypothesis that faulty classical psychometric and sampling procedures in test construction could generate systematic bias against ethnic groups with smaller representation in the test construction sample was studied empirically. Two test construction models were developed: one with differential representation of ethnic groups (White, African…

This study used classical psychometric, latent trait, and nonparametric approaches to analyze 13- and 14-item scales of English language proficiency. Tests of English listening comprehension (dictation) and reading ("copytest") were constructed by modifying the standard dictation testing procedure to create items of text segments which…