Visual display of reported impacts is a valuable aid to both reviewers and readers of systematic reviews. Forest plots are routinely prepared to report standardised effect sizes, but where standardised effect sizes are not available for all included studies a forest plot may misrepresent the available evidence. Tabulated data summaries to…

Background: Confounding caused by selection bias is often a key difference between non-randomized studies (NRS) and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions. Key methodological issues: In this third paper of the series, we consider issues relating to the inclusion of NRS in systematic reviews on the effects of interventions. We discuss…

The one constant for all dissertations, and for all research for that matter, is the need to state the problem of the study based on the scholarly literature. Doctoral programs commonly require that students take a sequence of research courses that usually focus on how to carry-out a study. That is, the design, the methodology, and the…

To answer "what works?" questions about policy interventions based on an experimental design, Peck (2003) proposes to use baseline characteristics to symmetrically divide treatment and control group members into subgroups defined by endogenously determined postrandom assignment events. Symmetric prediction of these subgroups in both…

The quality of mixed methods systematic reviews relies on the quality of primary-level studies. The synthesis of qualitative evidence and the recent development of synthesizing mixed methods studies hold promise, but also pose challenges to evidence synthesis.

The use of the web in teaching and learning and research studies on this issue are increasingly common in science education. In most of these studies, teachers' and students' perceptions of and their attitudes toward the specific web-assisted/based learning activities and the effects of these activities on their achievement and attitudes have been…

Mixed Group Validation (MGV) is an approach for estimating the diagnostic accuracy of tests. MGV is a promising alternative to the more commonly used Known Groups Validation (KGV) approach for estimating diagnostic accuracy. The advantage of MGV lies in the fact that the approach does not require a perfect external validity criterion or gold…

The problem addressed in this study is the willingness or reluctance of information technology (IT) knowledge workers and managers to share knowledge. The purpose of the study was to examine the willingness or unwillingness of technical personnel in IT to share technical knowledge and the issues surrounding their reluctance, if any. The study…

Background: In a recent article, Hallinger (2011b) reviewed 135 empirical studies that had employed the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) over the prior three decades. The author concluded that the PIMRS appeared to have attained a consistent record of yielding reliable and valid data on principal instructional leadership.…

Many studies have shown benefits associated with engaging students in problem-solving activities prior to administering lessons. These problem-solving activities are assumed to activate relevant knowledge and allow students to develop some initial knowledge structures, which support understanding of the lesson. In this paper we report the results…

The goal of the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP) project, a development project funded by the U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program, was to develop a model of shared responsibility among families, teachers, and communities in rural areas as collective support for student success in and preparation for advanced…

Critical appraisal of the research literature is an essential step in informing and implementing evidence-based practice. Quality appraisal tools that assess the methodological quality of experimental studies provide a means to identify the most rigorous research suitable for evidence-based decision-making. In single-subject experimental research,…

This research is a study about the possibility to promote experimental design skills to elementary school pupils. Experimental design and the experiment process are foundational elements in current approaches to Science Teaching, as they provide learners with profound understanding about knowledge construction and science inquiry. The research was…

The study on teacher characteristics and students achievement in social Studies in Nigeria is geared towards investigating and determining the relationship between teachers' characteristics and students achievement in social studies in Nigeria. The main purpose of the study is to determine if there is relationship between certain teacher…

There is an increasing interest in the role of peers in facilitating the social interaction skills of pupils with autism spectrum disorder through peer-mediated interventions (PMI). Several reviews provide promising evidence for the effectiveness of this approach; however, there has been limited consideration of the range of outcome foci and…