There are usually limited user evaluation of resources on a recommender system, which caused an extremely sparse user rating matrix, and this greatly reduce the accuracy of personalized recommendation, especially for new users or new items. This paper presents a recommendation method based on rating prediction using causal association rules.…

CEFA 3.02(Browne, Cudeck, Tateneni, & Mels, 2008) is a factor analysis computer program designed to perform exploratory factor analysis. It provides the main properties that are needed for exploratory factor analysis, namely a variety of factoring methods employing eight different discrepancy functions to be minimized to yield initial…

Because research has shown that principals' practices can significantly impact teaching and learning in their schools through multiple avenues, it is critical to understand the validity of tools that measure principal practice. While the field has relied heavily on self-report surveys, little is known about their validity. This study compares…

Several methodological issues in the multidimensional scaling of coarse dissimilarities were studied, examining whether it was better to scale dissimilarity data directly or to scale a new matrix derived from the original by row comparisons. Findings support an alternative row-comparison measure based on the Jacard coefficient. (SLD)

Both the Rule Space Method (RSM) and the Neural Network Model (NNM) are techniques of statistical pattern recognition and classification approaches developed for applications from different fields. RSM was developed in the domain of educational statistics. It started from the use of an incidence matrix Q that characterizes the underlying cognitive…

The common marketing research practice of standardizing the columns of a persons-by-variables data matrix prior to clustering the entities corresponding to the rows was evaluated with 10 large-scale data sets. Results indicate that the column standardization practice may be problematic for some kinds of data that marketing researchers used for…

Complete paired comparisons data was obtained by use of multiple rank order (MRO) in the context of gathering rank order preferences of grade six students, their parents, and teachers for instructional objectives. Partially balanced incomplete block designs with two associate classes were used in the MRO instruments instead of the usual balanced…

This paper discusses the issue of multiple testing and overall Type I error rates in contexts other than multiple comparisons of means. It demonstrates, using a 5 x 5 correlation matrix, the application of 5 recently developed modified Bonferroni procedures developed by the following authors: (1) Y. Hochberg (1988); (2) B. S. Holland and M. D.…

A Monte Carlo study was conducted to compare the efficiency of Listwise deletion, Pairwise deletion, Allvalue, and Samemean methods in estimating the correlation matrix from data that had randomly occurring missing values. The four methods were compared in a 3x3x4 factorial design representing sample size, proportion of incomplete records in the…

An examination of methodological referencing patterns for actual physics, engineering, and sociology literature for the year 1983, using a Dunn planned comparison approach, indicates that physics differs from both engineering and sociology, while no difference was found between engineering and sociology. References are given in each sample…

Two journal-to-journal matrices for psychology in 1950 and 1960 are analyzed in terms of structural equivalence to test following hypotheses: that journals of a discipline function as a status-role relational system; that interdisciplinary journals are distant from journals of a field; that journal networks have a core-periphery structure. (26…

For a number of years, the California community colleges have used data from annual statewide surveys conducted by the Kern Community College District and the California Community College Trustees (CCCT) for comparative faculty salary information. Both the Kern and CCCT studies rely upon the device of selecting benchmark points (such as the…

Several regression methods were examined within the framework of weighted structural regression (WSR), comparing their regression weight stability and score estimation accuracy in the presence of outlier contamination. The methods compared are: (1) ordinary least squares; (2) WSR ridge regression; (3) minimum risk regression; (4) minimum risk 2;…

One of the most frequently used research methods in education and psychology involves repeated observations on the same individuals. When sample sizes are relatively small and a multivariate analysis lacks power, there are currently two analytical options in testing time effects. One is to assume a time series structure to these observations, and…

A reporting and study format for the investigation of university student retention is presented. Student progression and loss is shown graphically and in tabular form to enable ready comprehension and encourage data exploration. Data obtained at Virginia Commonwealth University for 1977-80 are used as illustration. Two ways of viewing student…