This study examines the proposed Reliability Generalization (RG) method for studying reliability. RG employs the application of meta-analytic techniques similar to those used in validity generalization studies to examine reliability coefficients. This study explains why RG does not provide a proper research method for the study of reliability,…

We present a Monte Carlo simulation of a cylindrical luminescent volume and a typical lens-detector system. The results of this simulation yield a graphically simple picture of the regions within the cylindrical volume from which this system detects light. Because the cylindrical volume permits large angles of incidence, we use a modification of…

The statistical classification of "N" individuals into "G" mutually exclusive groups when the actual group membership is unknown is common in the social and behavioral sciences. The results of such classification methods often have important consequences. Among the most common methods of statistical classification are linear discriminant analysis,…

In addition to qualitative methods presented in chaos and complexity theories in educational research, this article addresses quantitative methods that may show potential for future research studies. Although much in the social and behavioral sciences literature has focused on computer simulations, this article explores current chaos and…

When missing values are present in item response data, there are a number of ways one might impute a correct or incorrect response to a multiple-choice item. There are significantly fewer methods for imputing the actual response option an examinee may have provided if he or she had not omitted the item either purposely or accidentally. This…

The present study explored how children's prephonological writing foretells differential learning outcomes in primary school. The authors asked Portuguese-speaking preschool children in Brazil (mean age 4 year 3 months) to spell 12 words. Monte Carlo tests were used to identify the 31 children whose writing was not based on spellings or sounds of…

Cognitive diagnostic analyses have been advocated as methods that allow an assessment to function as a formative assessment to inform instruction. To use this approach, it is necessary to first identify the skills required for each item in the test, known as a Q-matrix. However, because the construct being tested and the underlying cognitive…

Kulick and Wright concluded, based on theoretical mathematical simulations of hypothetical student exam scores, that assigning exam grades to students based on the relative position of their exam performance scores within a normal curve may be unfair, given the role that randomness plays in any given student's performance on any given exam.…

Individuals' memory experiences typically covary with those of others' around them, and on average, an item is more likely to be familiar if a companion recommends it as such. Although it would be ideal if observers could use the external recommendations of others' as statistical priors during recognition decisions, it is currently unclear how or…

Longitudinal studies are increasingly common in psychological research. Characterized by repeated measurements, longitudinal designs aim to observe phenomena that change over time. One important question involves identification of the exact point in time when the observed phenomena begin to meaningfully change above and beyond baseline…

This 3-year study evaluated the effectiveness of the Second Step-Student Success Through Prevention (SS-SSTP) social-emotional learning program on increasing prosocial behaviors that could serve as protective factors against peer conflict and bullying among students with disabilities. Participants included 123 students with disabilities across 12…

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and regression discontinuity (RD) studies both provide estimates of causal effects. A major difference between the two is that RD only estimates local average treatment effects (LATE) near the cutoff point of the forcing variable. This has been cited as a drawback to RD designs (Cook & Wong, 2008).…

One prominent approach in the exploration of the variations in project team performance has been to study two components of the aggregate personalities of the team members: conscientiousness and agreeableness. A second line of research, known as self-categorisation theory, argues that identifying as team members and the team's performance norms…

Ten years of College Student Inventory (CSI) data from one Midwestern public land-grant university were used to study the role of motivational factors in predicting academic success and college student retention. Academic success was defined as cumulative grade point average (GPA), cumulative course load capacity (i.e., the number of credits…

The purpose of this research is to examine eight of the different methods for computing confidence intervals around alpha that have been proposed to determine which of these, if any, is the most accurate and precise. Monte Carlo methods were used to simulate samples under known and controlled population conditions. In general, the differences in…