This study explored the interaction between student characteristics and the online environment in predicting course performance and subsequent college persistence among students in a large urban U.S. university system. Multilevel modeling, propensity score matching, and the KHB decomposition method were used. The most consistent pattern observed…

This article investigates three types of stage-sequential growth mixture models in the structural equation modeling framework for the analysis of multiple-phase longitudinal data. These models can be important tools for situations in which a single-phase growth mixture model produces distorted results and can allow researchers to better understand…

Comprehension of statistics and research methods is crucial to understanding psychology as a science (APA, 2007). However, psychology majors sometimes approach methodology courses with derision or anxiety (Onwuegbuzie & Wilson, 2003; Rajecki, Appleby, Williams, Johnson, & Jeschke, 2005); consequently, students may postpone…

Researchers sometimes use stepwise methods to eliminate variables from analyses when the variables do not appreciably improve the ability to explain or predict inferences about the importance of various predictor variables. It is argued that stepwise methods are usually not appropriate for these purposes for three reasons. First, some researchers…

Four commonly employed procedures were repeatedly applied to computer-simulated samples to provide comparative data pertaining to two questions: (a) which procedure can be expected to produce and equation that yields the most accurate predictions for the population, and (b) which procedure is most likely to identify the optimal set of independent…

This overview of both quantitative and qualitative methods of educational forecasting is introduced by a discussion of a general typology of forecasting methods. In each of the following sections, discussion follows the same general format: a number of basic approaches are identified (e.g. extrapolation, correlation, systems modelling), and each…

Multiple regression analysis is discussed as useful for studying the effect of a variable while controlling for the effects of others and for estimating the total effect of all predictor variables together. It is suggested that in English-as-a-Second-Language proficiency measurement, regression coefficients should not be the basis for judging…

The accuracy and variability of 4 cross-validation procedures and 18 formulas were compared concerning their ability to estimate the population multiple correlation and the validity of the sample regression equation in the population. The investigation included two types of regression, multiple and stepwise; three sample sizes, N = 30, 60, 120;…

Twenty-nine community characteristics were studied to determine which were statistically most useful as predictors of per-pupil Federal aid to the 169 school districts of Connecticut. Three regression models were developed using community traits as predictors of Federal aid allocations. Cross-validation of regression models to predict future…

Although a complex process, canonical correlation has numerous potential advantages over other predictive techniques, the most important being that canonical correlation predicts several criterion variables simultaneously. The paper shows how the method can be used for industrial and vocational-technical education data. (Author)

The use of various physiological tests and measurements accurately predicts the performance ratings of female athletes. A study involving 180 female intercollegiate volleyball players, 142 female intercollegiate basketball players, and 115 female college-age nonathletes yielded a set of statistical differentials concerning arm length, lean weight…

Four methods were used to forecast monthly circulation totals in 15 midwestern academic libraries: dummy time-series regression, lagged time-series regression, simple average (straight-line forecasting), monthly average (naive forecasting). In tests of forecasting accuracy, dummy regression method and monthly mean method exhibited smallest average…

Methodologies were proposed for combining background and aptitude and/or achievement information in an approach to the classification problem using the concept of under- and overachievement. The methodologies were applied to independent samples from four high school curricula. The results suggest that when past achievement and/or aptitudes were…

Stepwise discriminant analysis coupled with logit regression analysis of freshmen data from Brandon University (Manitoba) indicated that six tested variables drawn from research on university dropouts were useful in predicting attrition: student status, residence, financial sources, distance from home town, goal fulfillment, and satisfaction with…