The objective of this study was to identify those cognitive characteristics that best differentiate the Navy's Basic Electricity and Electronics (BE/E) Preparatory School graduates and failures. Subjects included 207 BE/E students--172 graduates and 35 failures. Before these trainees had commenced BE/E School, they were administered six tests of…

Discriminant analysis was used to predict the performance of medical students on a certifying examination, using available measures approximately seven months in advance of the examination. The purpose was to identify those students having the greatest chance of failing in order to provide them with remedial help. The linear discriminant function…

Nonjudicial punishment is frequently the target of racial discrimination in the military because of the discretion permitted those reporting and disciplining violators. This study seeks to determine: (1) whether existing records indicate that nonjudicial punishment is administered without regard to race; and (2) whether blacks and whites perceive…

Reported is the development of a Views and Preferences (V & P) instrument for use in tenth grade biology courses to distinguish Inquiry Role Approach (IRA) from non-IRA instructional practices. The V & P instrument was highly related to the IRA materials developed in 1972. Student attitudes toward social interactions, cognitive operations, and…

Discriminant function analyses were used to predict participation and achievement in the USAFI GED program. It was found that members of critical groups (non-participants and non-achievers) could be identified on the basis of demographic characteristics with a high degree of confidence. (Author)

The subjective magnitude estimation (SME) procedure was used to obtain estimates of relative word frequency from two adult groups (15 lexicographers, 13 other adults) for 60 words ranging widely in objective frequency. Lexicographers rendered more reliable estimates, and their averaged data correlated more highly with objective log frequency than…

A method of factor extraction specific to a binary matrix, illustrated here as a person-by-item response matrix, is presented. The extraction procedure, termed ERGO, differs from the more commonly implemented dimensionalizing techniques, factor analysis and multidimensional scaling, by taking into consideration item difficulty. Utilized in the…

This is the third of a series of studies developing outcome criteria for counseling from a client's perspective. Follow-up questionnaires were sent to clients of a university counseling center. Analysis of the responses identified 17 items as useful criteria of the effects of counseling. (Author)

Systematic procedures are outlined for testing the assumption made on the dependent variables in a variety of statistical techniques. Specifically, procedures are outlined for testing the assumption that the dependent variables are measuring the same constructs in the same metrics with equivalent reliabilities across all subgroups. (Author/JKS)

The Fluharty Preschool Speech and Language Screening Test was examined in terms of construct validity. Analysis of test results for 260 children (ages three to six) found that results for internal consistency, discriminant analysis, and item difficulty analysis raised questions about the usefulness and appropriateness of many test items.…

Explores editorial decision processes and outcomes using manuscripts reviewed for "Rural Sociology" from 1978-81. Examines 10 characteristics of successful and unsuccessful manuscripts and finds 5 characteristics constituting a discriminant function model: number of review rounds, author membership in Rural Sociological Society, referee…

Results of data analysis on 470 journal titles illustrate complexity of the fuzzy set theory modeling process, which consists of three factors--number of missing issues, citations, circulations--and its limitations in making journal binding decisions. Procedures of research, data collection, and data analysis are discussed. Matrices are included.…

A study of the predictive validity of Tinto's theory of college student attrition is described. Compensatory interaction between levels of goal and institutional commitment indicated that institutional commitment had its greatest positive influence on retention for students with low levels of commitment to completing a college degree, and vice…

The possibility of using student academic status data available at the time of application for admission to clinical nursing courses in a baccalaureate program to predict performance on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses is explored. (Author/MLW)

This study's main purpose was to determine whether or not standard predictors of college success'' might perform more satisfactorily than usual if a 2-valued criterion based on dropouts was employed. (Author)