Undergraduate institutions serve as stepping stones to students' careers. Teaching and learning in science classrooms require quality and integrated teaching-research learning experiences that prepare students to advance their careers. Using publicly available data sets and open-access data analyses software can be impactful for engaging students…

Probes are follow-ups to survey questions used to gain insights on respondents' understanding of and responses to these questions. They are usually administered as open-ended questions, primarily in the context of questionnaire pretesting. Due to the decreased cost of data collection for open-ended questions in web surveys, researchers have argued…

Despite the sensitivity of fit indices to various model and data characteristics in structural equation modeling, these fit indices are used in a rigid binary fashion as a mere rule of thumb threshold value in a search for model adequacy. Here, we address the behavior and interpretation of the popular Comparative Fit Index (CFI) by stressing that…

This article proposes a Boolean approach to representing and analyzing interobserver agreement in dichotomous coding. Building on the notion that observations are samples of a universe of observations, it submits that coding can be viewed as a process in which observers sample pieces of evidence on constructs. It distinguishes between formal and…

Past studies have documented some pre-service teachers' (PSTs) difficulties in reasoning about sampling variability. This study adds to the body of literature by investigating the ideas that PSTs employ in reasoning about sampling variability, and by conjecturing what is behind the difficulties especially during the contextuality episodes. This…

The property of item parameter invariance in item response theory (IRT) plays a pivotal role in the applications of IRT such as test equating. The scope of parameter invariance when using estimates from finite biased samples in the applications of IRT does not appear to be clearly documented in the IRT literature. This article provides information…

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a methodology for sampling and analysing survey data from rare and elusive populations that has gained increasing attention in migration research in recent years. Since its introduction in 1997, it has been applied in numerous surveys in the field of epidemiology (mainly for the estimation of HIV/AIDS prevalence…

This article provides a meta-analysis of studies using the crosswise model (CM) in estimating the prevalence of sensitive characteristics in different samples and populations. On a data set of 141 items published in 33 either articles or books, we compare the difference ([delta]) between estimates based on the CM and a direct question (DQ). The…

This article details the challenges we faced in collecting sensitive information in an ethnically and religiously divided community that has experienced recent violence. The discussion is based on a summer 2016 survey experiment we conducted in Jos, Nigeria, to gather information regarding residents' perceptions of local communal violence. We…

Partial correlation coefficients are often used as effect sizes in the meta-analysis and systematic review of multiple regression analysis research results. There are two well-known formulas for the variance and thereby for the standard error (SE) of partial correlation coefficients (PCC). One is considered the "correct" variance in the…

In recent decades, 'whole school' approaches to improving health have gained traction, based on settings-based health promotion understandings which view a setting, its actors and processes as an integrated 'whole' system with multiple intervention opportunities. Much less is known about 'whole institution' approaches to improving health in…

In carrying out surveys involving sensitive characteristics, randomized response models have been considered among the best techniques since they provide the maximum privacy protection to the respondents and procure honest responses. Over the years, researchers have carried out studies on the estimation of proportions of the population possessing…

International survey researchers are increasingly turning to a geospatial sampling approach known as gridded population sampling for finer resolution and a more updated sampling frame than conventional census-based sampling. To date, there have been no direct comparisons of accuracy between survey results derived from the two methods. This…

Place-based initiatives often use resident surveys to inform and evaluate interventions. Sampling based on well-defined sampling frames is important but challenging for initiatives that target subpopulations. Databases that enumerate total population counts can produce overinclusive sampling frames, resulting in costly outreach to ineligible…

Previous researchers have proposed the a priori procedure, whereby the researcher specifies, prior to data collection, how closely she wishes the sample means to approach corresponding population means, and the degree of confidence of meeting the specification. However, an important limitation of previous research is that researchers sometimes are…