In cross-cultural child development research there is often a need to translate instruments and instructions to languages other than English. Typically, the translation process focuses on ensuring linguistic equivalence. However, establishment of linguistic equivalence through translation techniques is often not sufficient to guard against…

Federal education policy in recent years has encouraged state and local education agencies to embrace data use and analysis in decision-making, ranging from policy development and implementation to performance evaluation. The capacity of these agencies to make effective and methodologically sound use of collected data for these purposes remains an…

This paper presents Dialectical Inquiry (DI) as a structured qualitative research method for studying participant models of organizational processes. The method is applied to rich secondary anecdotal data on technology transfer, gathered by subject-matter experts in a large firm. DI assumes that the imposition of a dialectical structure will…

Describes an activity that (1) illustrates the classical experiment as a research tool; (2) demonstrates the interplay among hypotheses, methods, and data; and (3) nurtures the excitement of a method of study. (BSR)

Examines national Current Population Survey data to indicate the impact of sample size on the standard error of subpopulations in the sample and to show how these errors can influence policy conclusions. Examines the unemployment rate cross-sectionally for 11 states to demonstrate that the monthly unemployment rate should not be used to make fine…

Test validity refers to the degree to which the inferences based on test scores are meaningful, useful, and appropriate. Thus, test validity is a characteristic of a test when it is administered to a particular population. This article introduces the modern concepts of validity advanced by S. Messick (1989, 1996, 1996). Traditionally, the means of…

Calculated power for 6,155 statistical tests in 221 journal articles published in 1982 volumes of "Journal of Abnormal Psychology,""Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology," and "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology." Power to detect small, medium, and large effects was .17, .57, and .83, respectively. Concluded that power of…

Examines the comparability of various types of income inequality data used in cross-national research. Focuses on more stringent definition and measurement of income. Presents income distribution data (quintile distributions and Gini coefficients) for 61 nations that meet these stricter requirements. Contains 37 references. (SV)

Meta-analysis synthesizes related research by considering three major factors: sample size, magnitude of significance, and statistical test used. These factors produce an effect size, expressed as a correlation or as a difference between means, divided by the standard deviation. Discusses ways to use effect size when results are not consistent and…

Notes that presence of heterogeneous regression slopes in an analysis of covariance design is equivalent to presence of interaction in randomized-blocks design. Describes modification of the usual graphical representation of heterogeneous regressions that can aid in interpreting significant regions for regression surfaces. (NB)

Tests the hypotheses that overconfidence occurs when strength is high and weight is low and that underconfidence occurs when weight is high and strength is low in 4 experiments with 153 students. Discusses weighing evidence, overconfidence/underconfidence in intuitive judgments, and item difficulty's effect on overconfidence. Relates the…

Addresses issues of students' understandings of representative values of data--how representative values should be introduced, and what role student understanding of representative values plays in their ability to analyze sets of data. Highlights the importance of teacher support of student development of conceptual understandings of multiple…

Discusses the importance of the process of making decisions based on data referred to as data-driven decision making, or D3M. Presents guidelines for teachers to consider when implementing a data-driven decision making process. (ASK)

Presents an interview with Mary McKnabb, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) Senior Program Associate, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum on the data-driven decision making process, measuring student success within this process, and the critical role of continuous feedback in assessing student performance. (ASK)

Considerations presented in this article apply to the use of scores from the Unisex Edition of the ACT Interest Inventory (UNIACT) in the context of a 29-year-old female high school teacher's circumstances. Information presented here is intended for use by the woman's career counselor. (MKA)