Clerkships would benefit from teachers' improved understanding of the didactic aspects of their task. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that determine the teaching quality of clerkships and to examine the predictive value of these factors for students' global satisfaction. Thus, results would be further reflected to clinical…

Research has suggested that important research questions can be addressed with meaningful interpretations using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The proper interpretation of results, however, is invariably linked to the choice of centering for the Level-1 predictor variables that produce the outcome measure for the Level-2 regression analysis.…

This paper describes and reports on the performance of six related artificial neural networks that have been developed for the purpose of readability analysis. Two networks employ counts of linguistic variables that simulate a traditional regression-based approach to readability. The remaining networks determine readability from "visual…

Stepwise regression is not an adequate technique to provide the best set of variables with which to predict the dependent variable. By using the stepwise regression method, one who attempts to select the best set of predictors of a given dependent variable will face more problems than he or she attempted to resolve. This is illustrated with an…

The usual assessment of speededness for rights-only scored tests does not account for the possibility that examinees respond in a random or patterned fashion to the items at the end of the test as the time limit approaches. This study represented an attempt to determine if Sections 2 and 3 of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are…

This study was an initial exploration of the relationship between coordinated interpersonal timing and quality of mother-toddler attachment. Eleven primiparous white, middle class mothers and their children (8 males, 3 females) participated. Mothers averaged 32 years of age and toddlers averaged 18.10 months. A prerecorded dyadic free-play session…

Various classical approaches to evaluating test bias are reviewed, and their conceptual underpinnings are discussed. Bias is examined as it relates to predictive validity, rather than construct validity. One of the first test bias models was developed by T. A. Cleary (1968). Cleary's work with test bias and regression stimulated others to develop…

Marginal cost is the cost of producing an additional unit. In higher education, one marginal cost would be cost of educating an additional student. Formula-based budget determination for public higher education is usually based on average cost per student. This study estimates marginal cost and compares it with average cost. There are several…

This paper presents five designs (three one-group and two two-group) which can be effectively employed to study computer-based methods in non-laboratory settings, including actual classroom implementation, where a non-treatment control design may not be feasible. These designs are sequential analysis, value-added analysis, non-equivalent dependent…

It is a widely held belief that an anchor test used in equating should be a miniature version (or "minitest") of the tests to be equated; that is, the anchor test should be proportionally representative of the two tests in content and statistical characteristics. This paper examines the scientific foundation of this belief, especially…

About 350,000 freelance magazine articles were purchased by magazine editors last year from the 22,000 freelancers and 225,000 would-be freelancers in the United States. A study examined the factors editors judge most important in selecting freelance magazine article proposals, using factor analysis and qualitative examination of persuasive…

L. A. Marascuilo and R. C. Serlin (1988) note that stepwise regression is a method used frequently in social science research. C. Huberty (1989) characterizes such applications as being "common". In support of this latter statement, a review of dissertations by B. Thompson (1988) demonstrated that dissertation students frequently use…

The nature of the criterion (dependent) variable may play a useful role in structuring a list of classification/prediction problems. Such criteria are continuous in nature, binary dichotomous, or multichotomous. In this paper, discussion is limited to the continuous normally distributed criterion scenarios. For both cases, it is assumed that the…

Three papers discuss aspects of telecommunications regulation in a deregulated environment. The first paper, "Implementing Telephone Deregulation: The Political Economy of State Regulation in the Post-Divestiture Era" (Paul E. Teske), analyzed the variation in state regulation of local telephone operating companies using regression…

It has been postulated that in effective schools, there is less variability in student achievement according to socioeconomic status. This study was to investigate the amount of variation in student scores for effective and ineffective schools. Data were utilized from all 500 Pennsylvania school districts. The variance in student achievement was…