We describe a perceptual experiment that we have successfully used in Research Methods classes. Students attempt to identify a series of simple cookie cutter shapes using only the fingers and hands (haptic perception). Students read archival studies that have used this procedure, identify confounds, generate and test alternate hypotheses, and…

The authors examine the college conditions that contribute to character development, using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)

Many do not consider the effect that missing data have on their survey results nor do they know how to handle missing data. This chapter offers strategies for handling item-missing data and provides a practical example of how these strategies may affect results. The chapter concludes with recommendations for preventing and dealing with missing…

Although focus groups continue to gain popularity in marketing and social science research, their use in program evaluation has been limited. Here we demonstrate how focus groups can benefit evaluators, program staff, policy makers and administrators by providing an in-depth understanding of program effectiveness from the perspective of…

The emotional intelligence profiles, gender differences, and adaptive success of 380 Dutch nurses caring for people with mental retardation and accompanying severe behavior problems are reported. Data were collected with the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, Utrecht-Coping List, Utrecht-Burnout Scale, MMPI-2, and GAMA. Absence due to illness…

The current study integrates descriptive (though primarily social-psychological) statements about youth suicide into a coherent, empirically supported taxonomy. Drawing from relevant literature, a set of 107 items characterizing these contributions about youth suicide was created. Seventy-two participants sorted these statements according to their…

This study investigates the stability of differential item functioning (DIF) in survey data. Surveys are conducted periodically, and their results are often reported by aggregating responses. Estimating the stability of DIF across subsets of a survey population can be an important indicator in determining the likelihood of DIF stability over…

This paper investigates gender differences in the academic ethic and academic achievement among college students. The authors used the survey data collected from students attending Georgia Southern University, a unit of the University System of Georgia and one of two regional universities in the state. Results from the analysis indicate that…

This article presents a standard-setting procedure for performance assessment in a foreign language, through which some of the major problems facing performance assessment in criterion-referenced testing can be addressed. The procedure, which was geared to revealing and accommodating inter-judge variability, employed the synergy of multiple…

A new test assembly algorithm based on a Monte Carlo random search is presented in this article. A major advantage of the Monte Carlo test assembly over other approaches (integer programming or enumerative heuristics) is that it performs a uniform sampling from the item pool, which provides every feasible item combination (test) with an equal…

A method for incorporating maximum likelihood (ML) estimation into reliability analyses with item-level missing data is outlined. An ML estimate of the covariance matrix is first obtained using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm, and coefficient alpha is subsequently computed using standard formulae. A simulation study demonstrated that…

Ipsative data (individual scores subject to a constant-sum constraint), suggested to minimize response bias, are sometimes observed in behavioral sciences. Chan and Bentler (1993, 1996) proposed a method to analyze ipsative data in a single-group case. Cheung and Chan (2002) extended the method to multiple-group analysis. However, these methods…

This article presents initial findings from an evaluation research study of the implementation of a Web-based decision support tool, the Quality School Portfolio (QSP), developed at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The study focused on…

The help seeking patterns of 139 secondary school youth between the ages of 14 and 22 in two peri-urban and one rural secondary school in the Eastern Cape, and one urban and one rural secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal were studied. Youth were interviewed in focus groups about their problems and whether or not they seek help for these problems.…

Associations between self-esteem and abuse of alcohol and psychoactive substances have been documented in empirical studies involving high school and college students. No research exists that addresses whether this association generalizes to adult homeless substance users. The current study uses secondary data analysis methodology to evaluate an…