The aim of this study is to examine Finnish students' school engagement profiles in the light of the data collected in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) in 2003. Even though Finnish students' cognitive achievement has proved excellent in various international assessments, their school engagement has not been flattering. The…

Three important methods areas of multivariate analysis that are not always thought of in terms of latent variable constructs, but for which latent variable modeling can be used to great advantage, are discussed. These methods are: (1) random coefficients describing individual differences in growth; (2) unobserved variables corresponding to missing…

This paper focuses on three aspects related to the conceptualization and application of canonical correlation analysis as a dominant statistical model: (1) partial canonical correlation analysis and its application in statistical testing; (2) the relation between canonical correlation analysis and discriminant analysis; and (3) the relation…

The present paper suggests that multivariate techniques are very important in social science research, and that canonical correlation analysis may be particularly useful. The logic of canonical analysis is explained and discussed. The necessity of using replicability/generalizability analyses is argued. It is suggested that cross-validation…

A comparative survey of 46 Alaska school superintendents and 520 in the nation at large reveals that nearly all the superintendents in both groups consider their relationship with the school board to be important and spend a considerable amount of time on that relationship. A positive correlation emerges between the importance superintendents…

Recently, there has been an increasing level of interest in reporting subscores. This paper examines the issue of reporting subscores at an aggregate level, especially at the level of institutions that the examinees belong to. A series of statistical analyses is suggested to determine when subscores at the institutional level have any added value…

A study examined public perceptions of unethical employee acts as a function of variations in a corporation's cultural image, with emphasis upon the effect of congruent and incongruent organizational messages upon the perception of the degree of unethicality. Subjects, 200 adults approached at public locations, were asked to: (1) read one of three…

Three alternative solutions available for analysis of variance (ANOVA) using two-way and three-way completely randomized factorial designs with disproportional cell sizes across all two-way and three-way summary tables with no empty cells are discussed. These solutions are categorized as unique, sequential, and experimental. The procedures used,…

In the process of developing a conditionally-dependent item response theory (IRT) model, the problem arose of modeling an underlying multivariate normal (MVN) response process with general correlation among the items. Without the assumption of conditional independence, for which the underlying MVN cdf takes on comparatively simple forms and can be…

The use of terms to describe and interpret results from canonical correlation analysis has been inconsistent across research studies. This study assembled the terminology related to the use and interpretation of canonical correlation analysis from research articles, textbooks, and computer manuals. Research articles using canonical correlation…

A constrained component analysis method, which bears a formal resemblance to the confirmatory factor analysis methods developed by K. G. Joreskog (1969) and others, is presented. In confirmatory factor analysis, the constraints allow the testing of formally structural hypotheses within a model that is falsifiable, even in its "just…

Each of the four classic multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests of statistical significance may lead a researcher to different decisions as to whether a null hypothesis should be rejected: (1) Wilks' lambda; (2) Lawley-Hotelling trace criterion; (3) Roy's greatest characteristic root criterion; and (4) Pillai's trace criterion. These…

This report examines the construct validity of the Ball Aptitude Battery (BAB), a multiple ability test battery designed to measure aptitudes related to successful work behavior. Construct validation has focused attention on the role of psychological theory and on the need to formulate hypotheses that can be examined in the validation process.…

An irrelevant auditory probe procedure was employed to evoke brain event-related potentials (ERPs) in 56 right-handed Caucasian males while they learned concepts presented to them in study booklets. A mastery test was administered to assess concept acquisition. Subjects were divided into two groups according to whether or not their achievement…

The rationale behind analysis of variance (including analysis of covariance and multiple analyses of variance and covariance) methods is reviewed, and unplanned and planned methods of evaluating differences between means are briefly described. Two advantages of using planned or a priori tests over unplanned or post hoc tests are presented. In…