Likert-type item is the most popular response format for collecting data in social, educational, and psychological studies through scales or questionnaires. However, there is no consensus on whether parametric or non-parametric tests should be preferred when analyzing Likert-type data. This study examined the statistical power of parametric and…

In educational contexts, students often self-select into specific interventions (e.g., courses, majors, extracurricular programming). When students self-select into an intervention, systematic group differences may impact the validity of inferences made regarding the effect of the intervention. Propensity score methods are commonly used to reduce…

Measurement invariance is crucial for an effective and valid measure of a construct. Invariance holds when the latent trait varies consistently across subgroups; in other words, the mean differences among subgroups are only due to true latent ability differences. Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when measurement invariance is violated.…

To date, small sample problems with latent growth models (LGMs) have not received the amount of attention in the literature as related mixed-effect models (MEMs). Although many models can be interchangeably framed as a LGM or a MEM, LGMs uniquely provide criteria to assess global data-model fit. However, previous studies have demonstrated poor…

This study serves as a teaching aid for teachers of introductory statistics. The aim of this study was limited to determining various sample sizes when estimating population proportion. Tables on sample sizes were generated using a C[superscript ++] program, which depends on population size, degree of precision or error level, and confidence…

This article proposes 2 new approaches to test a nonzero population correlation ([rho]): the hypothesis-imposed univariate sampling bootstrap (HI) and the observed-imposed univariate sampling bootstrap (OI). The authors simulated correlated populations with various combinations of normal and skewed variates. With [alpha[subscript "set"]]=0.05, N…

Research in fields other than education has found that studies with small sample sizes tend to have larger effect sizes than those with large samples. This article examines the relationship between sample size and effect size in education. It analyzes data from 185 studies of elementary and secondary mathematics programs that met the standards of…

A small data set is used to show that correlations and standard deviations measured within an explicitly selected group need not be smaller than those within an applicant population. Both validity and reliability estimates within a selected group can exceed those within an applicant population. (Author/LMO)

In meta-analysis, it is common to have dependent effect sizes, such as several effect sizes from the same sample but measured at different times. Cheung and Chan proposed the adjusted-individual and adjusted-weighted procedures to estimate the degree of dependence and incorporate this estimate in the meta-analysis. The present study extends the…

This note shows that, contrary to what has been claimed, Bentler and Bonnett's nonnormed fit index is dependent on sample size. Specifically for a constant value of a fitting function, the nonnormed index is inversely related to sample size. A simple alternative fit measure is proposed that removes this dependency. (Author/LMO)

The purpose of this paper was to research published validity reports of the Multiple Assessment and Program Services (MAPS) Test and to conduct quantitative analysis on the validity coefficients from the MAPS reports to determine the generalizability of the results and to identify which variables in the reports impact these coefficients. The…

The work of R. MacCallum et al. (1992) was extended by examining chance modifications through a Monte Carlo simulation. The stability of post hoc model modifications was examined under varying sample size, model complexity, and severity of misspecification using 2- and 4-factor oblique confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models with four and eight…

The random variable p and its functions figure in several "tests of combined significance," meta-analysis summaries based on sample significance values, and ps have been used singly, as well as in other tests for evaluating the outcomes of individual research studies. In this work, asymptotic distributions of the sample one-sided…

Seven univariate procedures for testing omnibus null hypotheses for data gathered from repeated measures designs were evaluated, comparing five alternative approaches with two more traditional procedures. Results suggest that the alternatives are improvements. The most effective alternate procedure in controlling Type I error rates is discussed.…

This paper empirically and systematically assessed the performance of bootstrap resampling procedure as it was applied to a regression model. Parameter estimates from Monte Carlo experiments (repeated sampling from population) and bootstrap experiments (repeated resampling from one original bootstrap sample) were generated and compared. Sample…