Getting a "wrong" sign in empirical work is a common phenomenon. Remarkably, econometrics textbooks provide very little information to practitioners on how this problem can arise. The author exposits a long list of ways in which a wrong sign can occur and how it might be corrected.

Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) has been proposed as an extension to structural equation modeling for analyzing data with nested structure. We have begun to see a few applications in cross-cultural research in which MSEM fits well as the statistical model. However, given that cross-cultural studies can only afford collecting data…

BSc Single Subject Geography students at University College Chester enrol for a core module that involves the acquisition of fieldwork data, data analysis and project design. One of this module's assessment exercises requires students to 'write up' a field-based research project as a functioning website. This paper explores the practicalities of…

Individuals with cleft palate, even those with adequate velopharyngeal function, are at high risk for disordered lingual articulation. This article attempts to summarize current knowledge of abnormal tongue-palate contact patterns derived from electropalatographic (EPG) data in speakers with cleft palate. These data, which have been reported in 23…

The Personal Health Protective Practices of the out-of-school adolescent was investigated using a survey design. Three research questions were formulated and tested. The population consists of out-of-school adolescents in South-South Senatorial District of Nigeria. The sample consists of 320 adolescents randomly selected using purposive sampling…

The authors provide an overview of data mining, giving special attention to the relationship between data mining and statistics to unravel some misunderstandings about the two techniques. (Contains 1 figure.)

As a tour de force, data mining is likely to gain wider use in the next few years. To facilitate this transition, we make several recommendations addressed to both institutional research professionals and the Association of Institutional Research.

This chapter compares the racial and ethnic diversity among faculty and academic leaders with that of the student population in two-year colleges. Using two national data sets, this study reveals that African American and Hispanic faculty and academic leaders remain underrepresented compared to the number of students of color attending the…

Data that is meaningful and purposeful is collected to assess the state of our library media programs, services and policies. The way in which one can develop the skills required to collect, analyze, interpret, present, and use data is presented.

The authors captured mother-child and father-child relationships when children were 7 and 15 months old by coding 4 explicitly dyadic components of mutually responsive orientation (MRO): coordinated routines, harmonious communication, mutual cooperation, and emotional ambiance. These components were coded in 102 families in naturalistic contexts…

The likelihood ratio test statistic G[squared](dif) is widely used for comparing the fit of nested models in categorical data analysis. In large samples, this statistic is distributed as a chi-square with degrees of freedom equal to the difference in degrees of freedom between the tested models, but only if the least restrictive model is correctly…

This qualitative study explored 4 counselor education doctoral students' 1st-semester experience. Data analysis revealed students experienced vicissitudes of thought and emotion that varied from self-doubt to beliefs in their abilities, received information and made decisions about how to engage in their responsibilities, and felt affirmation of…

A model with fixed relations between manifest and latent variables is presented for investigating choice reaction time data. The numbers for fixation originate from the polynomial function. Two options are considered: the component-based (1 latent variable for each component of the polynomial function) and composite-based options (1 latent…

The current study investigates school-level factors that affect the performance of students with disabilities on statewide assessments. Data were collected as part of a larger study examining the effects of education policy reform on students with disabilities. Statewide assessment data for students with disabilities from 2 school districts within…

In a climate of growing accountability for Higher Education, there is an increased demand on assessment to play an evaluative role. National, professional and institutional quality assurance systems expect that the assessment of student performance can be used to evaluate the quality of teachers, learners, programmes and even institutions for the…