Once research questions are posed, researchers must answer many a priori questions regarding research design before analysis can be performed and any conclusions can be made, including sample selection criteria, data collection method, model specification, analysis and estimation technique. The choices made by researchers along this forking path…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of four different models (bifactor, CTC(M-1), CTCU and unidimensional) as to optimal model selection when the wording effect associated with negatively worded items was present. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to compare model-data fit and accuracy in parameter estimates…

Observable data in empirical social and behavioral science studies are often categorical (i.e., binary, ordinal, or nominal). When categorical data are outcomes, they fail to maintain the scale and distributional properties of linear regression and factor analysis. Attempting to estimate model parameters for categorical outcome data with the…

Recommended learning goals for students in introductory statistics courses include the ability to recognize and explain the key role of randomness in designing studies and in drawing conclusions from those studies involving generalizations to a population or causal claims (GAISE College Report ASA Revision Committee, 2016). The purpose of this…

Education planning provides the policy maker and the decision maker a logical framework in which to develop and implement education policy. At the international level, education planning is often confounded by both internal and external complexities, making the development of education policy difficult. This research presents a discrete event…

The rapid pace of change for knowledge workers competing globally necessitates ongoing continuous learning. Increasingly, knowledge workers will need to be ready--willing and able--to engage in self-directed learning. This makes it important to understand what factors in the work environment might be related to the self-directed learning…

Numerous ways to meta-analyze single-case data have been proposed in the literature, however, consensus on the most appropriate method has not been reached. One method that has been proposed involves multilevel modeling. This study used Monte Carlo methods to examine the appropriateness of Van den Noortgate and Onghena's (2008) raw data multilevel…

This study examined the effectiveness of a Verbal Query Intervention (VQI) procedure in decreasing motor and vocal stereotypy in four elementary students with autism. The VQI procedure involved the presentation of behavior-related questions that the students were required to respond to in an appropriate fashion. An ABC multiple-baseline across…

This dissertation proposal begins with a discussion about how the education of game programmers was not meeting the needs of the game industry. With this problem identified, this study proceeded to verify the existence of disparities of current game programming curricula. The findings from the literature review were able to: (a) justify the need…

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of personal and professional ethics on the leadership of public school superintendents. A multi-case, qualitative research design was used to gather data from four practicing public school superintendents. Transformational leadership theory and the three pillars of ethics of leadership…

While research in academic and professional information technology (IT) journals address the need for strategic alignment and defined IT processes, there is little research about what factors should be considered when implementing specific IT hardware standards in an organization. The purpose of this study was to develop a set of factors for…

This study examined the impact of different levels of task difficulty and expertise on self-efficacy judgments. In addition, the study examines how self-efficacy judgments affect the amount of mental effort investment and task performance under different levels of task difficulty and expertise. Results from this study are used to build a…

This dissertation is an exploratory study of teacher risk taking. The risk-taking literature in education and other types of organizations is lacking in studies exploring the concept of healthy risk taking and how that risk taking is related to other concepts such as organizational culture, innovation, and efficacy. The purpose of this study was…

While many music educators learn how to teach through teacher training programs, the standard mode of transmission in which piano teachers learn to teach applied piano is through proficiency of the instrument under the guidance of a master teacher. This tacit development of pedagogical knowledge occurs through the master-apprentice model of…

An advantageous outcome of scientific inquiry is the creation of a community of professionals who were experienced in the gathering and use of student data and contributed to it through their own research. Although researchers had offered a range of explanations, a model for realizing this concern was nonexistent. The purpose of this study was to…