Student retention and completion rates are challenging issues in higher education. In the academic domain, pressure exists for every institution to come up with strategies that support student success from enrollment through graduation without compromising academic or accreditation standards. This paper presents the findings from a review of…

Survival analysis is an advanced statistical method to investigate the occurrence and the timing of an important event such as school access, dropout, and graduation in a longitudinal framework. The aim of our study is to provide practical guidelines for empirical researchers in choosing an appropriate survival analysis model. For this goal, this…

Mediation is usually assessed by a regression-based or structural equation modeling (SEM) approach that we refer to as the classical approach. This approach relies on the assumption that there are no confounders that influence both the mediator, "M", and the outcome, "Y". This assumption holds if individuals are randomly…

Although many recent studies have been conducted on the implementation and results of patron-driven acquisition (PDA) initiatives at academic libraries, very few have focused on whether, or how, patrons' selections vary from selection choices librarians would have made. This study compares titles selected by patrons during a PDA pilot program…

The sophisticated analytical techniques available to institutional researchers give them an array of procedures to estimate a causal effect using observational data. But as many quantitative researchers have discovered, access to a wider selection of statistical tools does not necessarily ensure construction of a better analytical model. Moreover,…

Eight different variable selection techniques for model-based and non-model-based clustering are evaluated across a wide range of cluster structures. It is shown that several methods have difficulties when non-informative variables (i.e., random noise) are included in the model. Furthermore, the distribution of the random noise greatly impacts the…

The purpose of this paper is to offer an analytic perspective to policy makers and educational practitioners regarding how to use longitudinal achievement data to evaluate schools. The authors further discuss the potential practical applications of their models for superintendents, researchers, and policy makers. The premise of the study is that…

This comprehensive "Handbook" focuses on the most used polytomous item response theory (IRT) models. These models help us understand the interaction between examinees and test questions where the questions have various response categories. The book reviews all of the major models and includes discussions about how and where the models…

This paper reports on a study on the relationship between cognitive task complexity and linguistic performance in L2 writing. In the study, two models proposed to explain the influence of cognitive task complexity on linguistic performance in L2 are tested and compared: Skehan and Foster's Limited Attentional Capacity Model (Skehan, 1998; Skehan…

The Internet and growth of computer networks have eliminated geographic barriers, creating an environment where education can be brought to a student no matter where that student may be. The success of distance learning programs and the availability of many Web-supported applications and multimedia resources have increased the effectiveness of…

The concept of structure is recast as an instantaneous correspondence between an infrastructure, a sociostructure, and a superstructure--manifestations of collective life juxtaposed through technological solutions, political exchanges, and social interpretations involving organizations. Ultimately, structuring is a dialectical unfolding of…

A study comparing citations received by patents in given year to number received in subsequent years found that, even though influential patents remain influential, both highly and infrequently cited patents age at same rate. Distribution of patents by number of citations received is stable over time. (17 references) (EJS)

The purpose of this study was to replicate the "basic training" structural model in Patterson's (1982) coercion theory, extending its scope to single-mother families with younger (six- to eight-year-old) boys. Significance of the successful replication was seen to lie in implications for the generalizability of the model across family…

Describes a model which uses patron arrival rate, length of time on the terminal, and library service policies to determine the minimum number of terminals needed. The model is then used to compare the effects of various service policies on the minimum number of terminals. (CLB)

This study explores whether an ecological, an adaptation, or a random organizational action perspective more appropriately describes the impact of organizational change in a population of voluntary social service organizations. Results indicate a variability in effects of changes on mortality, which may be explained by their location. (CJH)