ERIC Number: EJ879619
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1076-9986
EISSN: N/A
Hierarchical Dependence in Meta-Analysis
Stevens, John R.; Taylor, Alan M.
Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, v34 n1 p46-73 2009
Meta-analysis is a frequent tool among education and behavioral researchers to combine results from multiple experiments to arrive at a clear understanding of some effect of interest. One of the traditional assumptions in a meta-analysis is the independence of the effect sizes from the studies under consideration. This article presents a meta-analytic review of 13 experiments with 18 study reports all involving the effect of native-language (L1) vocabulary aids on second-language (L2) reading comprehension. Some experiments produced multiple study reports, creating a dependence structure among the resulting effect size estimates. The covariance among these effect size estimates is estimated and incorporated into a proposed meta-analysis model that accounts for the dependence at a hierarchical level. The overall effect size estimate (g = 0.63) indicates that L1 vocabulary aids can be an effective L2 reading comprehension aid in the short term. An interpretation of the hierarchical components is discussed. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Meta Analysis, Vertical Organization, Effect Size, Computation, Bayesian Statistics, Statistical Inference, Adult Learning, Second Language Learning, Reading Comprehension, Instructional Materials, Experiments
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A