We briefly discuss the philosophical basis of science, causality, and scientific evidence, by introducing the hidden but most fundamental principle of science: the similarity principle. The principle's use in scientific discovery is illustrated with Simpson's paradox and other examples. In discussing the value of null hypothesis statistical…

While interest in Bayesian statistics has been growing in statistics education, the treatment of the topic is still inadequate in both textbooks and the classroom. Because so many fields of study lead to careers that involve a decision-making process requiring an understanding of Bayesian methods, it is becoming increasingly clear that Bayesian…

The activities workers engage in during their personal time are likely to influence whether workers return to work feeling reenergized, refreshed, and fully rested. Two longitudinal studies were conducted to examine the importance of nonwork creative activity during the weekend on workers' state of feeling recovered at work on Monday. Job titles…

Nonnormality of data presents unique challenges for researchers who wish to carry out structural equation modeling. The subsequent SPSS syntax program computes bootstrap-adjusted fit indices (comparative fit index, Tucker-Lewis index, incremental fit index, and root mean square error of approximation) that adjust for nonnormality, along with the…

Statistical literacy increasingly is considered an important outcome of schooling. There is little information, however, about appropriate expectations of students at different stages of schooling. Some progress towards this goal was made by Watson and Callingham (2005), who identified an empirical 6-level hierarchy of statistical literacy and the…

In their response to our paper, Nicholson and Ridgway agree with the majority of what we wrote. They echo our concerns about the misuse of inferential statistics and NHST in particular. Very little of their response explicitly challenges the points we made but where it does their defence of the use of inferential techniques does not stand up to…

Aim of this research is to examine the predictive power of attachment style on problematic internet use among university students. Participants of study consist of 481 university students (230 girls). Results indicate that there is a negative correlation between secure attachment style and social benefit/social comfort and there is a positive…

The mathematics education literature shows that encouraging students to develop multiple solutions for given problems has a positive effect on students' understanding and creativity. In this paper, we present an example of multiple-solution problems in statistics involving a set of non-traditional dice. In particular, we consider the exact…

The authors asked a group of students during a classroom research study to analyze data sets containing different amounts of noise. The authors use the word "noise" to refer to statistical variability. The four students in the group were finishing seventh grade and participating in summer mathematics instruction. The authors carefully…

Pedagogical research shows that teaching methods other than traditional lectures may result in better outcomes. However, lecture remains the dominant method in economics, likely due to high implementation costs of methods shown to be effective in the literature. In this article, the author shows significant benefits of using a teaching app for…

Background: The environments where parents spend time, such as at work, at their child's school, or with friends and family, may exert a greater influence on their parenting behaviors than the residential neighborhoods where they live. These environments, termed activity spaces, provide individualized information about the where parents go,…

Both general (i.e., shared across different cognitive measures) and specific (i.e., unique to particular cognitive measures) influences can be postulated to contribute to the relations between adult age and measures of cognitive functioning. Estimates of general and specific influences on measures of memory, speed, reasoning, and spatial…

Purpose: Regression discontinuity (RD) design is a sophisticated quasi-experimental approach used for inferring causal relationships and estimating treatment effects. This paper aims to educate human resource development (HRD) researchers and practitioners on the implementation of RD design as an ethical alternative for making causal claims about…

The Reduced Reparameterized Unified Model (Reduced RUM) is a diagnostic classification model for educational assessment that has received considerable attention among psychometricians. However, the computational options for researchers and practitioners who wish to use the Reduced RUM in their work, but do not feel comfortable writing their own…

Statistics is a required competency in numerous college majors, but students frequently approach the topic with anxiety. This paper describes an undergraduate statistics course that was "flipped," with most of the content delivery moved online and class time devoted to application and practice. Students were given a menu of learning…