Manipulation checks are an essential component of quality experimental design in motor learning. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses framework, this methodological systematic review examined the utilization of manipulation checks in focus of attention research. Seventy-eight protocols from four…

The purpose of this paper is to analyze various dimensions for measurement of human behavior. Human behaviour is complex. Behaviors, emotions, cognitions, and attitudes can rarely be described in terms of one or two variables. It is multimodal in nature. Furthermore, the traits, modalities and dimensions cannot be measured directly, but must be…

Systematic reviews (SRs) of preclinical studies are marked with poor methodological quality. In vitro studies lack assessment tools to improve the quality of preclinical research. This methodological study aimed to identify, collect, and analyze SRs based on cell culture studies to highlight the current appraisal tools utilized to support the…

Human ratings are ubiquitous in creativity research. Yet, the process of rating responses to creativity tasks -- typically several hundred or thousands of responses, per rater -- is often time-consuming and expensive. Planned missing data designs, where raters only rate a subset of the total number of responses, have been recently proposed as one…

This dissertation is composed of projects on three aspects of gathering and learning from data in the social sciences: drawing representative samples, taking valid measurement, and making warranted inductive inferences. Chapter one studies the challenge of drawing representative human samples. It is well documented that most samples used by…

Noncredit enrollment at community colleges has grown significantly over the past two decades. However, unlike credit bearing programs, noncredit programs are seldomly empirically examined and evaluated, particularly those that are not grant funded. The lack of data results in a gap in knowledge about program effectiveness, as well as the students…

Exploratory factor analysis is a statistical method commonly used in psychological research to investigate latent variables and to develop questionnaires. Although such self-report questionnaires are prone to missing values, there is not much literature on this topic with regard to exploratory factor analysis--and especially the process of factor…

The novel coronavirus may impact exercise habits of those with intellectual disabilities. Due to the mandated discontinuation of face-to-face research, investigators must adapt projects to protect all involved while collecting objective physical activity metrics. This brief report outlines a modification process of research methods to adhere to…

Social research is rich in methods for analysing societal differences. Yet, although qualitative characteristics are a key component to understanding such differences, the analysis of qualitative data remains a major methodological challenge in most social research, particularly when aiming to compare more than a few cases. The article proposes an…

This toolkit is designed to assist states as they plan for and carry out their efforts to collect, report, analyze, and use high-quality parent and family involvement data. It defines key concepts; offers guidance on ways to improve the quality of the collection, analysis, and use of parent and family involvement data; and provides resources and…

Self-report is a fundamental research tool for the social sciences. Despite quantitative surveys being the workhorses of the self-report stable, few researchers question their format--often blindly using some form of Labelled Categorical Scale (Likert-type). This study presents a brief review of the current literature examining the efficacy of…

To keep pace with today's rapidly growing knowledge-driven society, productive self-regulation of one's learning processes are essential. We introduce and discuss a trace-based measurement protocol to measure the effects of scaffolding interventions on self-regulated learning (SRL) processes. It guides tracing of learners' actions in a learning…

With today's technology, Extension professionals have a variety of tools available for program evaluation. This article describes an innovative platform called VoiceThread that has been used in many classrooms but also is useful for conducting virtual focus group research. I explain how this tool can be used to collect qualitative participant…

Autistic children and adults who are non-verbal/minimally verbal or have an intellectual disability have often been excluded from Autism Spectrum Disorder research. Historical, practical and theoretical reasons for this exclusion continue to deter some researchers from work with this underserved population. We discuss why these reasons are neither…

Rural districts have long faced challenges in closing achievement gaps between subgroups of students. This brief report describes key decision points and considerations for decision-makers interested in identifying rural districts that have closed academic achievement gaps. Examining practices in these districts may suggest activities associated…