Procedures are described for teaching statistical inference and decision-making without lengthy pre-requisite work in descriptive statistics and probability theory. (JLH)

In 1983 the Office of Affirmative Action and Compliance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison surveyed 300 randomly chosen employees to determine the number of disabled persons in its work force. The results are discussed and the survey is appended. (MLW)

Describes how microcomputers were integrated into a large introductory sociology course to teach basic sociological concepts. Included is a description of the teaching principles which guided the project's instructional design, a description of the formation and operation of the student research teams, and several concrete examples of the problems…

The variance of the sample difference and the power of the "F" test for mean differences were studied under group matching on covariates and also under random assignment. Results shed light on systematic assignment procedures advocated to provide more precise estimates of treatment effects than simple random assignment. (TJH)

One method to correct for selection bias in comparing Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores among states is presented, which is a modification of J. J. Heckman's Selection Bias Correction (1976, 1979). Empirical results suggest that sample selection bias is present in SAT score regressions. (SLD)

A sample of 396 general dentists, oral surgeons, and periodontists were interviewed to determine their experience in treating patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus HIV, factors associated with their knowledge about AIDS, and their sources of information regarding AIDS. Fifty-six percent indicated a reluctance or inability to treat an…

Reports on a study that involved identifying and interviewing a sample of adult secondary distance education students to discover what learning strategies the group uses. Recommendations included prior screening of all adult secondary distance education students and development of a study technique program to teach learning strategies. (Author/CH)

The detrimental effects of nonresponse bias are particularly significant given the widespread use of the survey data collection method in educational surveys. Current methods for remediating nonresponse bias in educational surveys are explored and critiqued. (Author/LMO)

The question studied was whether opinions of persons interviewed about educational interests and perceived needs at randomly selected geographic locations in a metropolitan area differed from those of three other persons living in the immediate vicinity. With few significant exceptions, no statistically significant differences were found between…

The relationship between item parameter values obtained from independent Birnbaum (l968) model calibrations of the same item set from two different samples is examined. (Author)

Details of a reasonably precise normalization technique for coefficient alpha are outlined, along with methods for estimating the variance of the normalized statistic. These procedures lead to the K-sample significance test. (RC)

This technical report documents the procedures used to collect and summarize data from the 2000 High School Transcript Study (HSTS 2000). Chapters in the report detail the sampling of schools and students (chapters 2 and 3), data collection procedures (chapter 4), data processing procedures (chapter 5), and weighting procedures (chapter 6).…

Federal agencies conduct large, national studies that provide abundant data easily accessible to researchers. While these datasets provide access to rich data for analyzing a multitude of topics, certain skills are necessary for appropriate use. Specifically, over sampling and multistage cluster sampling must be accommodated in the analyses to…

This occasional paper updates and extends earlier papers in the Monitoring the Future project. It provides a detailed description of the project's design, including sampling design, data collection procedures, measurement content, and questionnaire format. It attempts to include sufficient information for others who wish to evaluate the results,…

Research suggests that quality home literacy activities make a difference in children's reading development. The federally funded Title I program of the Charlotte County, Florida school system promoted the role of parents as reading tutors in a way that supported the district's literacy development goals and philosophy. Parent involvement plans…