In the first part of the dialogue between theories, which gave rise to a paper in this journal, we discussed the role played by normativity in didactics. In this work, with the aim of taking a step forward in this dialogue, we state explicitly some of the postulates of the anthropological theory of the didactic. They shape the object of study, the…

Contemporary case studies rely on verbal arguments and set theory to build or evaluate theoretical claims. While existing procedures excel in the use of qualitative information (information about kind), they ignore quantitative information (information about degree) at central points of the analysis. Effectively, contemporary case studies rely on…

This article focuses on the criticisms of current approaches in educational research methodology. It summarizes rationales for mixed methods and argues that the mixing quantitative paradigm and qualitative paradigm is problematic due to practical and philosophical arguments. It is also indicated that the current rise of mixed methods work has…

When estimating causal effects, unmeasured confounding and model misspecification are both potential sources of bias. We propose a method to simultaneously address both issues in the form of a semi-parametric sensitivity analysis. In particular, our approach incorporates Bayesian Additive Regression Trees into a two-parameter sensitivity analysis…

In this paper, a focus is made on defining processes at stake in an unfamiliar situation coming from discrete mathematics which brings surprising mathematical results. The epistemological framework of Lakatos is questioned and used for the design and the analysis of the situation. The cognitive background of Vergnaud's approach enriches the study…

Studies of group differences in intelligence often invite conclusions about groups in general from studies of group differences in selected populations. The same design is used in the study of group differences in other traits as well. Investigators observe samples from two groups (e.g. men and women) in some accessible population, but seek to…

A major pitfall with fixed-effects analysis of variance in the nested design is illustrated. Under the null hypothesis of no intervention effect, the rejection rate for "F(sub fixed)" in the nested design is greater than the putative Type I error rate of the test, potentially to an extreme degree. (Author/TJH)

Math modeling is currently at the focus of educational methodologists' attention. However, little is known about the extent to which principles of the math modeling lead to methodological fallacies in educational research. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and principles of math modeling and to examine its application in…

A causal model of halo error (HE) is derived. Three hypotheses are formulated to explain findings of negative HE. It is suggested that apparent negative HE may have been misinferred from existing correlational measures of HE, and that positive HE is more prevalent than had previously been thought. (SLD)

Simple Markov models are fitted to a small sample of longitudinal categorical data of teachers' ratings of children's classroom behavior. Although the data consist only of observations at five occasions, it was possible, after dividing the data into two groups, to fit plausible models in continuous time. (Author/BW)

The partial correlation coefficient is derived analytically under exemplary factor patterns. In these patterns, variables are described as an additive composition of a set of orthogonal factors, including general, common, and specific factors. Viewed in this framework, it is evident that the partial correlation may yield spurious results.…

The use of proportions to transform raw scores into standardized, dimensionless units creates measurement problems. The use of fractional (percentage) uncertainties for physical or any other measurements results in other problems. Means of dealing with associated problems of standardization are discussed. (TJH)

Applications of the confirmatory factor analysis block-diagonal model to published data on 18 multitrait-multimethod matrices were reviewed to show widespread estimation problems. Possible causes of estimation difficulties were explored using computer simulations. These problems make the block-diagonal approach less useful than has generally been…

It is argued here that the choice of the appropriate method for calculating least squares analysis of variance with unequal sample sizes depends upon the question the experimenter wants to answer about the data. The different questions reflect different null hypotheses. An example is presented using two alternative methods. (Author/BW)

A review of existing techniques for the analysis of three-way data revealed that none were appropriate to the wide variety of data usually encountered in psychological research, and few were capable of both isolating common information and systematically describing individual differences. Such a model is developed and evaluated. (Author/JKS)