While many instructors are aware of the "Literary Digest" 1936 poll as an example of biased sampling methods, this article details potential further explorations for the "Digest's" 1924-1936 quadrennial U.S. presidential election polls. Potential activities range from lessons in data acquisition, cleaning, and validation, to…

Educators seek to harness knowledge from educational corpora to improve student performance outcomes. Although prior studies have compared the efficacy of data mining methods (DMMs) in pipelines for forecasting student success, less work has focused on identifying a set of relevant features prior to model development and quantifying the stability…

Purpose: Well-designed assessment methodologies and various cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) to extract diagnostic information about examinees' individual strengths and weaknesses have been developed. Due to this novelty, as well as educational specialists' lack of familiarity with CDMs, their applications are not widespread. This article aims at…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of conducting ethnographic research. Methodology definition and key characteristics are given. The stages of the research process are described including preparation, data gathering and recording, and analysis. Important issues such as reliability and validity are also discussed.

Due to the rapid advances in computing and sensing technologies, enormous amounts of data are being generated everyday in various applications. The integration of data mining and data visualization has been widely used to analyze these massive and complex data sets to discover hidden patterns. For both data mining and visualization to be…

The objective of this article is to illustrate that text mining and qualitative research are epistemologically compatible. First, like many qualitative research approaches, such as grounded theory, text mining encourages open-mindedness and discourages preconceptions. Contrary to the popular belief that text mining is a linear and fully automated…

Two computer programs (one batch, one interactive) are designed to provide statistics for a weighted linear combination of several component variables. Both programs provide mean, variance, standard deviation, and a validity coefficient. (Author/JKS)

The plotting of multivariate data using computer line-printers has become a popular means of quickly representing multidimensional data. While many plotting programs are available, there is a paucity of research regarding the validity and reliability of interpretations made by viewing such graphics. This study explores the validity of four…

This study was designed to determine the relative impact of dichotomized task performance data compared to percent time-spent estimates for those members performing each task on the group job descriptions determined through application of the Comprehensive set of Occupational Data Analysis Programs (CODAP). Using groups identified by a routine…

One of the major problems in simulation is knowing how accurately the simulation corresponds to the actual. This paper discusses the problems of validation -- the process of measuring the accuracy of simulation. (RA)

This seventh in a series of eleven learning modules on program planning, development, and evaluation is designed to help secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers analyze an occupation (task analysis) and organize the results of the analysis so as to maximize its value in developing an educational program. The terminal objective for the…

A total of 1,071 rating sheets were completed by individual reviewers evaluating abstracts submitted to Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for the International Research Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland. Only 972 sheets contained usable data. Reviewers indicated a total of 12 ratings with possible comments for each abstract on machine…

This guide gives information on the skills and knowledge that students should acquire in a secondary-level business education program. Section 1 introduces the competency-based curriculum and discusses curriculum delivery systems, the role of the teacher in curriculum development, and options for program development. Goals, competencies, and…

Chapter 1 of this report and user's manual describes design and implementation of the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). Chapter 2 reviews stages of sampling for national and state survey components; presents weighted and unweighted response rates for the household component; and describes non-incentive and prison sample designs. Chapter…