In the current study, momentary time sampling (MTS) and partial-interval recording (PIR) were compared to continuous-duration recording of stereotypy and to the frequency of self-injury during a treatment analysis to determine whether the recording method affected data interpretation. Five previously conducted treatment analysis data sets were…

This paper describes a study, now in progress, of new methods for representing the sampling variability of Mantel-Haenszel differential item functioning (DIF) results, based on the system for categorizing the severity of DIF that is now in place at the Educational Testing Service. The methods, which involve a Bayesian elaboration of procedures…

The question of how to analyze unbalanced hierarchical data generated from structural equation models has been a common problem for researchers and analysts. Among difficulties plaguing statistical modeling are estimation bias due to measurement error and the estimation of the effects of the individual's hierarchical social milieu. This paper…

Studies evaluating hypotheses about sources of differential item functioning (DIF) are classified into two categories: observational studies evaluating operational items and randomized DIF studies evaluating specially constructed items. For observational studies, advice is given for item classification, sample selection, the matching criterion,…

This document provides a summary and evaluation of the methodological procedures and results of the full-scale implementation of the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study Second Follow-up, 1990-94 (BPS:90/94). The study was conducted for the National Center for Education Statistics by Research Triangle Institute with the assistance of…

The 1995 National Household Education Survey (NHES:95) was a random digit dial telephone survey of households developed by the National Center for Education Statistics and conducted by Westat, Inc. The first full-scale implementation of the NHES was in 1991. The NHES:95 included two topical survey components, one called the Adult Education (AE)…

The feasibility of quick norms derived by the procedure described by B. D. Wright and M. H. Stone (1979) was investigated. Norming differences between traditionally calculated means and Rasch "quick" means were examined for simulated data sets of varying sample size, test length, and type of distribution. A 5 by 5 by 2 design with a…

This manual is intended for managers of training and institutional development programs. Its objective is to provide clear and practical advice for those who conduct impact evaluations. Impact evaluation is distinguished from other types of evaluation by the area of the program on which it focuses, the assessment of the extent to which a program…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the public release data for the student component of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). The general aim of NELS, a continuing long-term project, is to study the educational, vocational, and personal development of students at various grades and the factors that…

The wide availability of large amounts of inexpensive computing power has encouraged statisticians to explore many approaches to a basis for inference. This paper presents one such "computer-intensive" approach: the bootstrap of Bradley Efron. This methodology fits between the cases where it is assumed that the form of the distribution…

The original normative base for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was established in the late 1930's and early 1940's. While there was a refining of this original sample in 1957, no contemporary standards for normal people have been published. To develop new norms a random sample of 1,919 households in and near Rochester,…

Describes an activity designed to introduce concepts of randomness and standard deviation. (CP)

Concerns about students' difficulties in statistical reasoning led to a study which explored year 11 (14 to 16 year-olds) students' ideas in this area. The study focussed on sampling variability, probability, descriptive statistics and graphical representations. This paper presents and discusses the ways in which students made sense of sampling…

Weighting and variance estimation are two statistical issues involved in survey data analysis for large-scale assessment programs such as the Higher Education Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy Assessment. Because survey data are always acquired by probability sampling, to draw unbiased or almost unbiased inferences for the…

Possible bias due to sampling problems or low response rates has been a troubling "nuisance" variable in empirical research since seminal and classical studies were done on these problems at the beginning of this century. Recent research suggests that: (1) earlier views of the alleged bias problem were misleading; (2) under a variety of fairly…