The purpose of the present study is to provide a historical account and metasynthesis of which statistical techniques are most frequently used in the fields of education and psychology. Six articles reviewing the "American Educational Research Journal" from 1969 to 1997 and five articles reviewing the psychological literature from 1948 to 2001…

All effect sizes are sensitive to design flaws and the failure to meet analytic assumptions. But some effect sizes appear to be more robust to assumption violations (e.g., homogeneity of variance). The present study extended prior Monte Carlo research by exploring the robustness of group overlap "I" indices at the relatively small sample…

A Monte Carlo study involving 1,000 random samples from each of 64 different population matrices investigated bias in both canonical correlation and redundancy coefficients. Results indicate that the Wherry correction provides a reasonable solution to this problem and that canonical results are not as biased as has been believed. (TJH)

The reliability and construct validity of scores on the Personal Preferences Self-Description Questionnaire (PPSDQ) (B. Thompson) were studied. Classical psychometric analysis of data from 641 participants (item and alpha analyses and both oblique and orthogonal exploratory factor analyses) indicate that the PPSDQ has reasonable properties. (SLD)

The construct validity of scores on the Behavior Rating Scale of the revised Bayley Scales of Infant Development was studied with national standardization samples of children ranging from 1 to 42 months and a variety of factor analytic methods. The factor structure became more complex at older ages. (SLD)

A general linear model framework is used to suggest that structure coefficients ought to be interpreted in structural equation modeling confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) studies in which factors are correlated. Two heuristic data sets make the discussion concrete, and two additional studies illustrate the benefits of CFA structure coefficients.…

Expectations for reporting factor analysis results as part of construct validation are explored in the context of emerging views of measurement validity. Desired practices are discussed for both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. A short computer program for conducting parallel analysis is included. (Author/SLD)

Editorial board members of "Educational and Psychological Measurement" were asked to list up to five publications each, written since roughly 1950, that they thought were seminal to shaping the measurement field. This bibliography lists 59 of their selections as a "hit parade" of measurement readings. (SLD)

Use of the bootstrap method in a canonical correlation analysis to evaluate the replicability of a study's results is illustrated. More confidence may be vested in research results that replicate. (SLD)

Three problems with stepwise research methods are explored. Computer packages may use incorrect degrees of freedom in stepwise computations. In addition, stepwise methods do not identify correctly the best variable set of a given size. A third problem is that stepwise methods tend to capitalize on sampling error. (SLD)

Investigated how dissimilar in composition and variability samples inducting reliability coefficients from prior studies were from the cited prior samples from which coefficients were generalized. Results from 20 articles show that citing reliability coefficients from prior studies as the basis for concluding new scores are reliable is only…

Introduces the three subsequent articles from this special section, which extend the discussion of future prospects for progress in the reporting and interpreting of effect sizes by researchers. The authors of these pieces represent diverse views. (SLD)

Reviewed articles published in the "Journal of Applied Psychology" (JAP) to determine how interpretations might have differed if standardized regression coefficients and structure coefficients (or bivariate "r"s of predictors with the criterion) had been interpreted. Summarizes some dramatic misinterpretations or incomplete…

Illustrates a number of ways in which confidence intervals for reliability coefficients can be estimated. Suggests that authors who submit articles to "Educational and Psychological Measurement" report confidence intervals for reliability estimates whenever they report score reliabilities and that they note the interval estimation…

Illustrates the computation of confidence intervals for effect sizes for some analysis of variance applications and shows how the use of intervals involving noncentral distributions is made practical by new software. (SLD)