In this paper, it is suggested that while there are a variety of frames or perspectives that guide research into learning science, a pre-paradigmatic field need not be a "free-for-all". Lakatos suggested that academic research fields were characterised by research programmes (RP), which offered heuristic guidance to researchers, and which…

This paper suggests that multivariate analysis techniques are very important in educational research, and that one multivariate technique--canonical correlation analysis--may be particularly useful. The logic of canonical analysis is explained. It is suggested that a backward variable elimination strategy can make the method even more powerful, by…

All parametric methods are special cases of canonical correlation analysis and can, in fact, be performed using the canonical correlation procedures found in commonly available computer statistics packages such as the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software. It is suggested that canonical analysis has advantages of versatility since it can…

This paper discusses some of the basic distinctions between the activities of inquiry and application and reviews the origins of the inquiry-application dichotomy. The parallel dependence model, designed to serve as a heuristic device, stresses the complementary potential of the inquiry and application functions. (LMO)

Prior to conducting a statistical analysis, sufficient data screening methods should be used for all research variables to identify miscoded, missing, or otherwise messy data. The primary purpose of these exercises was to demonstrate the role of data screening techniques and their potential to improve the performance of statistical methods. A…

This paper reviews issues involved in converting continuous variables to nominal variables to be used in the OVA techniques. The literature dealing with the dangers of dichotomizing continuous variables is reviewed. First, the assumptions invoked by OVA analyses are reviewed in addition to concerns regarding the loss of variance and a reduction in…

Developed by B. Efron (1979) and his colleagues (P. Diaconis and B. Efron, 1983), bootstrap methods have the goal of creating an empirical sampling distribution that can be used to test statistical hypotheses, estimate standard errors, and create confidence intervals. Bootstrapping methods offer a unique and effective method for testing the…

States M.L. Mares presents evidence that source confusions play a role in the cultivation effect. Clarifies some of Mares' findings that have implications for the heuristic model of cultivation effects and shows that Mares' findings are compatible with and can be integrated into the heuristic processing model. Discusses implications of Mares'…

Proposes a heuristic method for estimating the relative weight of predictor variables in multiple regression that is computationally efficient with any number of predictors and that can be shown to produce results similar to those produced by more complex methods. (SLD)

Sometimes, if you do not begin at the end, you end at the beginning. This problem-solving phenomenon, in the realm of computer science (CS), is the subject of this paper. Beginning at the end yields a "working backwards" approach, opposite to that of "working forwards." One might expect 3rd year CS students to be aware of and effectively utilize…

This study investigated the heuristic bases of judgments of learning (JOLs). JOLs were elicited either immediately after study or after a shorter or longer delay. In Experiment 1, the effects of encoding fluency (inferred from self-paced study time) on both JOLs and recall decreased with JOL delay, whereas those of retrieval fluency (inferred from…

Objectives: At the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), the Academy's Workgroup on Research conducted a Research Forum entitled "Increasing Research Literacy Through the Adoption of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in Pediatric Psychiatry." Method: Forum participants focused on speeding the adoption…

State and private agencies have attempted to determine the costs of providing an "adequate" education for public elementary and secondary students. In order to identify adequacy target expenditures, four education finance models currently are found within the education finance research literature: (1) Professional Judgment Model; (2) Statistical…

This article is the third and final in a series prepared originally for AACRAO's Fifteenth Annual Strategic Enrollment Management Conference (SEM XV). Through this series, David Kalsbeek introduces a four-fold typology for differentiating institutional approaches to SEM. In this final reflection, he suggests that grounding this typology in Jungian…

Counseling psychologists face many approaches from which to choose when they conduct a qualitative research study. This article focuses on the processes of selecting, contrasting, and implementing five different qualitative approaches. Based on an extended example related to test interpretation by counselors, clients, and communities, this article…