Educational Psychology Department

Student Handbook

Master of Arts (M.A.)Quantitative Methods Specialization

2014-2015

Baylor UniversitySchool of Education

Department of Educational PsychologyOne Bear Place 97301

Waco, TX 76798http://www.baylor.edu/soe/EDP

Department Faculty

Mrs. Pat Arredondo, Coordinator of Undergraduate Special Education ProgramDr. Janet BagbyDr. A. Alexander BeaujeanDr. Tonya DavisDr. Tamara HodgesDr. Julie Ivey-HatzDr. Susan Johnsen, Director of the Ph.D. Program and Programs for Gifted and TalentedDr. Grant MorganDr. Eric Robinson, Director of the School Psychology ProgramDr. Terrill Saxon, Director of the Master’s ProgramDr. Tracey SulakDr. Marley Watkins, Department Chair

Mrs. Lisa Rowe, Administrative Associate

Important note to students:

The provisions of this handbook do not constitute a contract, expressed or implied, betweenBaylor University and any applicant, student, student’s family, or faculty or staff member.Baylor University reserves the right to withdraw courses at any time, change fees, tuition, rules,calendar, curriculum, degree programs, degree requirements, graduation procedures, and anyother requirement affecting students. Changes will become effective at the time the properauthorities so determine, and the changes will apply to both prospective students and thosealready enrolled. This handbook is a general information publication only, and it is not intendedto nor does it contain all regulations or information that relates to students.

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Contents

Welcome Letter 1

1 Program Description 21.1 Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.2 Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.3 Duration of the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.4 Fifth-Year Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 Degree Requirements 52.1 Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.2 Requirements Other Than Coursework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 Advisor 11

4 Overview of Degree Plan 124.1 Course Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.2 Course Substitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

5 Thesis 135.1 Thesis Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.2 Thesis Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.3 Suggested Readings to Help with the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

6 Continuation in the Program 206.1 Satisfactory Academic Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206.2 Satisfactory Social Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216.3 Time Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216.4 Other Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

7 Student Feedback 22

8 Resources and Information 23

References 24

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Appendices 28

A Degree Planner 28

B Timeline 30

C Thesis Format Example 32

D Communication of Thesis Defense Example 33

E Thesis Syntax Example 34

F Thesis Forms 35Thesis Proposal Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Thesis Review Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

G Example Secondary Data Sources 38

H Class Attendance Policy 40

I Example Curriculum Vitae 42

Index 46

Note. Text in red is an internal hyperlink; text in blue is an external hyperlink.

Fall, 2014

Congratulations!

You have been accepted into the Department of Educational Psychology’s Master of Arts (M.A.)degree program with a Quantitative Methods specialization. During the next year, you will learnmuch from your instructors, your research, and your fellow students. This handbook will provideyou with basic information for beginning and successfully completing your program. Please checkwith the director of the program and your advisor if you have any questions.

The M.A. is a research degree. More than completing courses, this program is designed to giveyou a set of skills that will not only make you competitive for doctoral work and employment,but will sharpen the way in which you interpret information. You are on your way to becominga scholar.

You will want to meet with your advisor and begin your own research as early as possible.Likewise, find professors or colleagues with similar interests and begin asking questions, collectingdata, and writing.

The graduate faculty who teach in the M.A. program are here to advise and mentor you. Letus help you realize your goals.

Sincerely,

Terrill Saxon, Ph.D.Director of Educational Psychology Master’s Degree Program

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1Program Description

Simply put, training in cutting edge methodology is critical for psychology to moveforward as a science. (Aiken et al., 2009, p. 1)

There is a well-documented shortage of professionals with quantitative skills (Clay, 2005; Her-szenhorn, 2006; Novotney, 2008), which makes graduates with such competencies in high de-mand. To help meet this demand, the Department of Educational Psychology (EDP) in theSchool of Education (SOE) offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) program with a Quantitative Methodsspecialization for students interested in developing their quantitative research and data analysisskills.

The purpose of the M.A. program in educational psychology with a specialization in quan-titative methods is to prepare professional researchers to understand and apply advancedquantitative research methods to address social problems and understand educational, psy-chological, and methodological research so that program graduates can contribute newknowledge to the field.

Consistent with Baylor’s Pro Futuris mission, the EDP faculty are committed to developing andsharing expertise and leadership with students. In this program, students will learn researchskills necessary for understanding the gap between theory, research, and practice. With theseskills, students will conduct principled inquiry that promotes quantitative scholarship to advanceknowledge as well as educational and psychological practice – skills that benefit students indoctoral programs or a research-related career.

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Chapter 1. Program Description 3

1.1 Goals

The goals of this program are for students:

1. To understand educational and psychological measurement and its use in decision-making.2. To be able to use descriptive statistics (including effect sizes) and inferential statistics

appropriately.3. To understand at least one statistical programming language (e.g., R, SAS) and be able

to analyze data in that language.4. To be able to identify problems, develop hypotheses, and formulate answerable questions

based on relevant literature and current issues in the field.5. To be able to choose a study design, select appropriate instruments, gather and analyze

data, report and discuss findings, and draw conclusions.6. To design and write a thesis that provides evidence of scholarly competence.

1.2 Outcomes

There are two outcomes graduates of this program can expect.

1. Improved competitiveness for admission to a doctoral program.2. Increased eligibility for a variety of jobs that have a quantitative component.

1.2.1 Doctoral Programs

Doctoral programs want students with quantitive research and data analysis skills. Across con-tent areas and degree types, having strong quantitive research and data analysis skills makesapplicants more competitive and better suited for doctoral work (Lawson, Reisinger, & Jordan-Fleming, 2012; Koch, 2008). In addition, these skills are extremely beneficial to work in academiaas

Faculty members need to manage their time properly and they must acquire basicknowledge of statistics. Faculty members are required to comprehend the researchmethodology and they must develop research skills, which are necessarily requiredto conduct research studies and to write research papers. (Iqbal & Mahmood, 2011,p. 191)

Chapter 1. Program Description 4

1.2.2 Prospective Employment

According to the American Psychological Association there are more than twice the number ofpositions advertised for quantitative methodologists as there were graduates with such skills.Moreover, Forbes listed the ability to analyze quantitative data as a “top skill” needed on anyrésumé.

Graduates from this program may expect to be competitive for jobs requiring:

• quantitative data analysis• development of testing instruments• design of research studies, or• psychometric analysis of assessments.

Job openings can be found in such places as federal and state governments, state and localeducational agencies, private industry, consulting firms, non-profit organizations, and offices ofinstitutional research in post-secondary institutions.

1.3 Duration of the Program

It typically takes students from one to two years to complete the M.A. program after they startfull-time coursework. The amount of time depends on whether students choose the fifth-yearoption (see Section 1.4), how many courses they take over the summer, and how quickly theycomplete their thesis project.

1.4 Fifth-Year Option

The Quantitative Methods specialization offers a fifth-year option. This allows motivated under-graduate students to begin taking graduate-level quantitative courses while still an undergradu-ate. Students choosing this option can typically complete the M.A. program one year after theyearned their baccalaureate degree (see Table 2.1).

2Degree Requirements

The M.A. degree requires the successful completion of 24 hours of graduate coursework, whichinclude 6 hours of research work and a successful Master’s thesis defense. Students electing thefifth year option will take 6 hours of the required coursework while an undergraduate at Baylor.

2.1 Courses

The required courses for this program are given below. Table 2.1 contains a suggested coursesequence, while Figure 2.1 has a diagram of how the sequence of quantitative methods courseswork together.

2.1.1 Required

Students must take all the following courses:

EDP 5335. Research Methods in EducationEDP 5334. Statistical MethodsEDP 5340. Measurement/EvaluationEDP 6337. Psychometric TheoryEDP 6360. Experimental Design IEDP 63262. Multiple Regression/Correlation

2.1.2 Core Electives

Students must select two from the following Educational Psychology core courses:

EDP 5332. Human Growth & DevelopmentEDP 5333. Psychology of LearningEDP 5366. Psychology of Exceptional ChildrenEDP 5393. Cultural Issues with Children and Families

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Chapter 2. Degree Requirements 6

2.1.3 Thesis

Students must successfully complete and defend a Master’s thesis. The requirements for thisproject are spread over two courses, taken over two semesters.

EDP 5V95. Special Problems in EducationEDP 5V99. Thesis

A suggested timeline for completion of thesis tasks is in Appendix B.

Chapter 2. Degree Requirements 7

Table 2.1: Suggested Course Sequence for Master of Arts Degree, Quantitative Methods Special-ization.

(a) Fifth-Year Option: Start Courses During Senior Year.

Senior Year Fifth YearFall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer

EDP 5335 EDP 5334 EDP 5340 EDP 6337EDP 6360 EDP 6362

CoreElective:

CoreElective:

EDP 5V95 EDP 5V99; EDP 5V99;

(b) Fifth-Year Option: Start Courses During Summer.

Senior Year Fifth YearFall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer

EDP 5334 EDP 5340 EDP 6337EDP 5335 EDP 6360 EDP 6362

CoreElective:

CoreElective:

EDP 5V95 EDP 5V99; EDP 5V99;

(c) Starting Courses After Receiving Baccalaureate Option.

First Year Second YearFall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer

EDP 5334 EDP 6362 CoreElective:

EDP 6360 EDP 5V99; EDP 5V99;

EDP 5340 EDP 6337 EDP 5V95EDP 5335 Core

Elective:

: Core electives are offered during a variety of semesters. Check with your advisor and Baylor’sSchedule of Classes for when the course of interest is offered.; Typically, 2 hours of EDP 5V99 are taken in the Spring and 1 hour during the Summer. All3 hours can be taken in a single semester if the thesis project will be defended by the date theGraduate School sets as the last day for the oral examination/oral defense of thesis.

Chapter

2.Degree

Requirem

ents8

EDP 5335Research in Education

(F,Sp,Su)

EDP 5334Statistical Methods

(F,Sp,Su)

EDP 6360Experimental Design

(F)

EDP 6362Multiple Regression

(Sp)

EDP 5340Measurement & Evaluation

(F)

EDP 6337Psychometric Theory

(Sp)

EDP 5V95Special Problems

(F)

EDP 5V99Thesis(Sp,Su)

Solid paths identify course pre/co-requisites. Dotted paths identify courses that are recommended in addition to the prerequi-site courses. Dashed double-headed arrows are related courses, but have no prerequisites. F = Fall, Sp = Spring, Su = Sum-mer.

Figure 2.1: Research and methods courses for the Quantitative Methods specialization of the Master of Arts in Educational Psychology.

Chapter 2. Degree Requirements 9

2.2 Requirements Other Than Coursework

In addition to your courses, the Department of Educational Psychology wants you to becomean active scholar by participating in the following activities.

1. Curriculum Vitae. You will maintain your curriculum vitae (CV), which will be usefulto monitor your own progress and eventually secure a position. The CV should followthose established by the professional field of educational psychology. See Appendix I foran example CV.

2. Meetings with your advisor. You will be assigned an advisor based on your researchinterests and faculty availability. Your advisor will guide you through both the programand your thesis. See Chapter 3.

3. APA style test. During your first full semester, you need to pass a test covering aspects ofwriting manuscripts in APA style (American Psychological Association, 2009). A passinggrade is a score of 90% or higher. You advisor will give you more information about howto access the test. Students may wish to read Mastering APA style: Student’s workbookand training guide (American Psychological Association, 2009) to prepare for the test.

4. IRB Training. During your first year of full-time coursework, you need to pass the IRBRequired Core CITI Training Modules. The IRB determines the requirements for passingthe modules. To show you have passed this modules, give a copy of the completion reportto your advisor. An example completion report is in Figure 2.2.

Chapter 2. Degree Requirements 10

COLLABORATIVE INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING INITIATIVE (CITI)SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH CURRICULUM COMPLETION REPORT

Printed on 08/06/2014

LEARNER Alexander Beaujean (ID: ) INSTITUTION Baylor UniversityEXPIRATION DATE

SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH : Choose this group to satisfy CITI training requirements for Investigators and staff involved primarily inSocial/Behavioral Research with human subjects.

COURSE/STAGE: Basic Course/1PASSED ON: 02/15/2012REFERENCE ID:

REQUIRED MODULES DATE COMPLETEDBelmont Report and CITI Course Introduction 02/15/12Students in Research 02/15/12History and Ethical Principles - SBE 02/15/12Defining Research with Human Subjects - SBE 02/15/12The Regulations - SBE 02/15/12Assessing Risk - SBE 02/15/12Informed Consent - SBE 02/15/12Privacy and Confidentiality - SBE 02/15/12Baylor University 02/15/12

For this Completion Report to be valid, the learner listed above must be affiliated with a CITI Program participating institution or be a paidIndependent Learner. Falsified information and unauthorized use of the CITI Program course site is unethical, and may be consideredresearch misconduct by your institution.

Paul Braunschweiger Ph.D.Professor, University of MiamiDirector Office of Research EducationCITI Program Course Coordinator

Figure 2.2: Example of CITI report for completion of IRB training modules.

3Advisor

Upon entering the M.A. program in the Department of Educational Psychology, you will beassigned an advisor based on your research interests, post-graduation objectives, and facultyavailability. You will want to contact your advisor immediately to schedule an appointment. Ifthe advisor or the student experience any problems with the relationship, contact the directorof the M.A. program.

The advisor’s responsibilities:

1. Advise the student each semester and make sure that the student is taking the requiredprogram courses.

2. Chair the thesis project.3. Identify research areas for thesis project, presentations, and publications.4. Maintain a collegial relationship with the student.

The student’s responsibilities:

1. Contact advisor each semester to be advised.2. Assist the advisor in identifying areas of research interest.3. Maintain an up-to-date professional curriculum vitae (see Appendix I).4. Complete courses in a timely manner.5. Be responsive, responsible, and ethical.6. Ask questions when assistance is needed.7. Maintain a collegial relationship with the advisor.

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4Overview of Degree Plan

The Degree Plan should be completed during your first advisement with your advisor (see Ap-pendix A for planner). Four copies will be made of this plan. One will be kept in the Departmentof Educational Psychology office, one with your advisor, one with the Director of the M.A. pro-gram, and one for your personal records.

4.1 Course Transfer

Because of its short duration, students typically do not transfer any hours into this program. Ifyou believe that a course you took before entering the M.A. program should count towards yourrequired hours, then please speak with your advisor.

4.2 Course Substitution

If you wish to substitute an alternative course for those listed in Section 2.1, please consult youradvisor. If your advisor gives approval for the substitution, then you can request approval fromthe M.A. program director.

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5Thesis

5.1 Thesis Format

The thesis format for students in the Quantitative Methods specialization of the M.A. programis that of a journal article submission. The reason it takes this format is to (a) train studentsto report research findings in a format traditionally used by their scientific and professionalcommunities; (b) facilitate submission of publications based on the papers produced for thethesis; and (c) allow for other students and professionals to review the student’s thesis researchin a concise reporting format.

5.1.1 Types of Theses

The thesis will typically be one of the three following types of empirical studies:

• Secondary data analysis (Andersen, Prause, & Silver, 2011; Stewart, 2012; Trzesniewski,Donnellan, & Lucas, 2011). See Appendix G for some publicly-available datasets.

• Simulation/Monte Carlo study (Fan, 2012)• Meta-analysis (Cooper, Hedges, & Valentine, 2009; Erford, Savin-Murphy, & Butler,

2010)

The type of study and target journal for the paper is joint decision of the student and thesiscommittee; it is not a decision made solely by the student. The general topic areas and methodsof research should conform to the existing standards for an EDP thesis.

5.1.2 Thesis Content

The thesis typically will contain of the following sections:

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Chapter 5. Thesis 14

I. The Introduction section of the manuscript contains a brief review of the literaturepertinent to the study and briefly introduces the subject material to the reader whowould be unfamiliar with the topic area (Baumeister & Leary, 1997; Bem, 2003; Boote& Beile, 2005). Specifically, one should be able to briefly, and in broad terms, presentthe major emphasis and significance of the present investigation. A succinct statementof the problem(s) to be investigated and a statement of the research hypotheses ispresented within this first section. The length of this section should be determined bythe target journal.

II. The Method section should provide sufficient information to allow replication of yourstudy (Maxwell & Cole, 1995). It typically contains the following:

A. A description of the sample that demographically describes the participants whowere involved/examined/tested in the study.

B. A description of the psychometric properties of the scores for any instruments/mea-sures used in the study. If you have developed your own instrument, you shoulddemonstrate how its construction logically followed from the problem and pur-pose of the study, and further demonstrate that available instruments were notadequate to examine the research problem in question.

C. A brief statement outlining the procedures used to collect the data such thatthe reader is informed as to how the data were collected and every group in-volved/examined/tested along with the particulars of data collection.

III. The Results section of the manuscript should include a statement of the research hy-potheses, followed by the data analyses and how the results of the analyses relate to theresearch hypotheses. You need to report effect sizes in addition to any other method ofresults interpretation (Lambie, Sias, Davis, Lawson, & Akos, 2008; Kirk, 2007; Kelley& Preacher, 2012). In addition, you need to report on any missing data and the methodyou used deal with the missing values (Schlomer, Bauman, & Card, 2010).

IV. The Discussion section should discuss the results, including an explanation as to whycertain hypotheses were not accepted and/or other possible explanations for the re-search findings. The section should end with a statement of conclusions and recom-mendations based on the research findings. In addition, this section can include anyother subsections as required by the target journal (e.g., Clinical Applications).

V. Appendixes should be used when there is a need to provide materials or an expandeddiscussion of topics in the paper. Examples of items for an Appendix are copies of pro-tocols or instruments used in the study that are not well known and all InstitutionalReview Board (IRB) approval forms.In addition, any syntax used for your analysisshould be annotated and placed in an Appendix (Asendorpf et al., 2013). See Ap-pendix E for an example.

VI. The References section, which contains all citations used throughout the paper. Cita-tions should adhere to APA format (American Psychological Association, 2009). Youare encouraged to use bibliographic software (e.g., Endnote, Zotero, BibDesk, JabRef,RefWorks) to help with this section of the paper.

Chapter 5. Thesis 15

5.1.3 Ancillary Information about the Thesis

1. While it is expected that you, with the help of your advisor, will submit your thesis forpublication in a peer-reviewed journal, prior publication or acceptance for publication ofthe thesis is not a requirement for passing the thesis or graduation.

(a) Publication (or acceptance for publication) of your thesis before presentation toyour committee in no way supersedes the Department’s evaluation of the workduring the thesis examination process. That is, publishing the paper before thefinal defense does not guarantee that the thesis will be found acceptable for thedegree. Moreover, irrespective of the comments of journal editors of reviewers, thethesis committee may require major or minor revisions to the written thesis forthe final copy submitted to the Graduate School.

(b) When previously published copyrighted material is presented in a thesis, you mustobtain signed waivers from the publisher(s) and submit them to the EDP Depart-ment and Graduate School with the thesis. Students are strongly encouraged toobtain copyright permissions from publishers as soon as possible. For more infor-mation, see Using Copyrighted Material and Avoiding Plagiarism in Dissertationsand Theses information on the Graduate School’s web page.

5.2 Thesis Process

5.2.1 Thesis Committee

The thesis committee consists of three faculty who are on the Graduate Faculty. Your advisorwill typically serve as your thesis committee chair. The second committee member must be fromwithin the School of Education. The third member can be from any department on campusoutside the School of Education. The department chair or the graduate program director, inconsultation with both you and the committee chair, will identify the members of the thesiscommittee. The committee may include additional members (who are not necessarily membersof the Graduate Faculty) beyond the three required members.

5.2.2 Thesis Proposal

You will prepare a proposal to present to the thesis committee. The format of this proposal willvary depending on the type of study, but will typically consist of at least a literature review andan outline of the proposed methods (see Section 5.1.2).

Once you and your thesis chair believe the proposal is sufficient, you will have a meeting withyour thesis committee and present it to them to for approval. Two weeks prior to this meeting,you must send a copy of your proposal to all committee members. If the committee approves ofthe proposal, the thesis chair will complete the Thesis Proposal form and submit it to either thedepartment chair or the graduate program director, one of whom must also approve the thesistopic. Once all parties have signed the proposal form, the committee chair will return a copy to

Chapter 5. Thesis 16

the EDP Department and to each committee member.

After the committee members have approved the proposal, you will submit the required paper-work to the Human Subjects Committee (Institutional Review Board [IRB]). Any project thatdeals with human participants, whether the data are primary or secondary in nature, must ob-tain prior approval from the IRB. After IRB approval, you may then start soliciting participants,collecting data, et cetera.

5.2.3 Oral Defense

After your thesis chair approves the final written draft of the thesis, you may schedule the oraldefense of the thesis. At least two weeks prior to the oral defense, you must:

A. Submit a final copy of the thesis to the members of the committee.(Note. You may have been submitting drafts of the thesis to committee members through-out the thesis process. Submissions of drafts depend upon individual committee member’srequests and your chair’s recommendations.)

B. Complete the Announcement of Master’s Oral Examination form and return to the Grad-uate School.

C. Make a public announcement of the defense. (For an example, see Appendix D.)

Before the day of the oral defense, you will print:

A. 3 Signature Pages with completed information. You will also need to print and retain 1unsigned signature page for insertion into the electronic copy of the thesis;

B. 1 Results of Master’s Oral Examination form (to be signed at the defense).

The thesis committee conducts the oral defense. The thesis chair ensures that the examinationis formally announced, fairly conducted, and open to the faculty. Candidates who fail this exam-ination may take a second oral exam only upon the recommendation of the director of graduatestudies and the approval of the Graduate School. In no case will this second examination begiven until an interval of at least four months has elapsed.

Prior to the semester deadline date and not more than ten days after a successful oral defense,you must schedule a Final Review with the Graduate School and submit one copy of the thesis inits final form to the Graduate School along with the signed Approval of Final Dissertation/ThesisCopy and Copyright and Availability forms. (Remember to check the Graduate School’s calendarfor specific dates for the semester that you plan to graduate.) During this period after the asuccessful oral defense, the thesis chair will submit the Change of Grade form for thesis hours.

After the Graduate School review, the thesis is returned to you for final changes. When thechanges are made, you will follow the submission process as outlined in the Guidelines forPreparing the Dissertation and Thesis.

Chapter 5. Thesis 17

5.2.4 Submission to Turnitin.comFor both the proposal and the final thesis, your chair may choose to submit the document toTurnitin.com. You must sign the Thesis Review Form document that attests to your commitmentat the beginning of the thesis process.

5.3 Suggested Readings to Help with the Thesis

Mechanics of WritingBarzun, J. (2001). Simple & direct (4th ed.). New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn andBacon.

Research Process

Bickman, L., & Rog, D. J. (2009). Applied research design. In L. Bickman & D. J. Rog (Eds.),The SAGE handbook of applied social research methods (2nd ed., pp. 3–43). Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Dienes, Z. (2008). Understanding psychology as a science: An introduction to scientific andstatistical inference. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Earle, J., Maynard, R., Neild, R. C., Easton, J. Q., Ferrini-Mundy, J., Albro, E., . . . Winter, S.(2013). Common guidelines for education research and development (Tech. Rep.).Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences and theNational Science Foundation.

Gray, K., & Wegner, D. M. (2013). Six guidelines for interesting research. Perspectives onPsychological Science, 8 , 549-553. doi: 10.1177/1745691613497967

Kline, R. B. (2009). Becoming a behavioral science researcher. New York, NY: Guilford.

Peterson, C. (2009). Minimally sufficient research. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4 ,7-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01089.x

Rodgers, J. L. (2010). The epistemology of mathematical and statistical modeling: A quietmethodological revolution. American Psychologist, 65 , 1-12. doi: 10.1037/a0018326

Finding a Research Topic

Leong, F. T. L., & Muccio, D. J. (2006). Finding a research topic. In F. T. L. Leong &J. T. Austin (Eds.), The psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students andresearch assistants (2nd ed., pp. 23–40). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

McGuire, W. J. (1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics.Annual Review of Psychology, 48 , 1-30. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.1

Chapter 5. Thesis 18

Developing Research Questions

Haynes, B. R. (2006). Forming research questions. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 59 ,881-886. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2006.06.006

Hoyle, R. H., & Smith, G. T. (1994). Formulating clinical research hypotheses as structuralequation models: A conceptual overview. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62 ,429-440. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.62.3.429

Leong, F. T. L., Schmitt, N., & Lyons, B. J. (2012). Developing testable and importantresearch questions. In H. Cooper (Ed.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology(Vol 1): Foundations , planning, measures, and psychometrics (Vol. 1, pp. 119–132).Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

McGuire, W. J. (1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics.Annual Review of Psychology, 48 , 1-30. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.1

Schaeffer, N. C., & Presser, S. (2003). The science of asking questions . Annual Review ofSociology, 29 , 65-88. doi: 10.1146/annurev.soc.29.110702.110112

Whitley, B. E., & Kite, M. E. (2013). Principles of research in behavioral science (3rd ed.).New York, NY: Routledge.

Selecting Measures

Evers, A., Hagemeister, C., Høstmælingen, A., Lindley, P. A., Muñiz, J., & Sjöberg, A. (2013).EFPA review model for the description and evaluation of psychological and educational tests(Tech. Rep. No. Version 4.2.6). Brussels, Belgium: European Federation of PsychologyAssociations.

Nitko, A. J. (n.d.). Using a Mental Measurements Yearbook Review and other materials toevaluate a test. Retrieved from http://buros.org/using-mental-measurements-yearbook-review-and-other-materials-evaluate-test.

Rudner, L. M. (1994). Questions to ask when evaluating tests. Practical Assessment, Researchand Evaluation, 4 (2). Retrieved from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=4&n=2.

Writing an Empirical Research Article

Chapter 5. Thesis 19

Spooner, F., Algozzine, R., Karvonen, M., & Lo, Y.-y. (2010). How to prepare a researcharticle in APA style (Rev. ed.). Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Bem, D. J. (2004). Writing the empirical journal article. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, &H. L. Roediger III (Eds.), The complete academic: A career guide (2nd ed., pp. 185–219).Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Cooper, H. (2011). Reporting research in psychology: How to meet journal article reportingstandards (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

MacArthur, C. A., Graham, J., & Fitzgerald, J. (2005). Handbook of writing research. GuilfordPress.

Klingner, J. K., Scanlon, D., & Pressley, M. (2005). How to publish in scholarly journals.Educational Researcher , 34 , 14-20. doi: 10.3102/0013189x034008014

Maxwell, S. E., & Cole, D. A. (1995). Tips for writing (and reading) methodological articles.Psychological Bulletin, 118 , 193-198. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.118.2.193

McDonald, R. P., & Ho, M.-H. R. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structuralequation analyses. Psychological Methods, 7 , 64-82. doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.64

Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2010a). Displaying your findings: A practical guide forcreating figures, posters, and presentations (6th ed.). Washington, DC: AmericanPsychological Association.

Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2010b). Presenting your findings: A practical guide forcreating tables (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Rosnow, R. L., & Rosnow, M. (2009). Writing papers in psychology (8th ed.). Belmont, CA:Wadsworth.

Rudestam, K. E., & Newton, R. R. (2007). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guideto content and process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

6Continuation in the Program

Continuance in the program is based on several factors. Of primary importance is adherence tothe University’s Honor Code.

6.1 Satisfactory Academic Progress

1. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout the program in order to remain an activestudent.

2. Students are expected to perform at an A or B level in all course work.3. Students receiving an incomplete grade in a course should attempt to complete the work

the following semester. Except for very unusual circumstances (e.g., called away for ac-tive military duty, life threatening illness), the incomplete must be removed by the thirdconsecutive semester after which the student initially received it or it will change to an F.

6.1.1 Process for Students that Make Unsatisfactory AcademicProgress

Students who fail any of the requirements listed in Section 6.1 will need to follow the processfor unsatisfactory progress described below.

1. Request a meeting with the M.A. faculty to discuss the failed requirement. This meetingshould occur within 14 days of discovery of the problem and will be scheduled by theadvisor in collaboration with the program director.

2. The faculty will discuss the issue in private and provide written feedback to the graduatestudent. The faculty will either give the student a plan to remediate the failed requirementor recommend the student withdraw from the program.

3. If the student does not complete the task(s) required from the written feedback in thespecified time, the program director will make a formal recommendation to the GraduateSchool that the student withdraw from the M.A. program.

20

Chapter 6. Continuation in the Program 21

6.2 Satisfactory Social ProgressIn addition to academic expectations, each graduate student is expected to act in a professionaland ethical manner. This includes, but is not be limited to, professional behavior in courses, atconferences and symposia, with other students, and with the faculty.

Except for extraordinary cases, if a student does not follow the University’s Honor Code orStudent Conduct Code, or is convicted of a felony, the program director will make a formalrecommendation to the Graduate School that the student withdraw from the M.A. program.

6.3 Time LimitTypically, students finish the M.A. program in less than two years. The maximum time limit forthe the degree is five years from the time the student first matriculates into the program. Afterfive years, the student may request a one-year extension. Once a student’s time limit expires,any incomplete grades, with the possible exception of thesis hours, will change to an F.

6.3.1 Returning to Program After an Extended AbsenceAny student wishing to return to complete the M.A. degree after an absence of one year ormore must re-apply to the Graduate School for admission. The student will have to re-take anypreviously incomplete courses whose grades were changed to an F. In addition, if requirementsfor the M.A. degree changed during the absence, the student will have to complete all of theadditional requirements.

6.4 Other Issues1. Any student who develops significant health issues while in the M.A. program is required

to provide a doctor’s note if she/he will be missing numerous classes. A copy of thedoctor’s note should be provided to the student’s advisor as well as each faculty memberthe student is involved with during the semester(s) of concern.

2. Baylor Student Policies and Procedures can be found athttp://www.baylor.edu/student_policies/, which includes information about academic ap-peals, and privacy of student records. The Graduate Student Association provides addi-tional information about student rights and responsibilities.

3. Complaints about the Educational Psychology program faculty, students, staff, or opera-tions can also be addressed to:

Director of Master’s ProgramsDepartment of Educational PsychologyOne Bear Place #97301Waco, TX 76798-7301

A record of complaints will be maintained by the Director and may be reviewed by uni-versity administrators as well as non-university agencies for accreditation purposes.

7Student Feedback

Students should feel comfortable providing feedback to the program throughout their term asa graduate student. This can be accomplished through formal meetings with your advisor, thedirector of the MA program, program professors, the department chair, or through the BaylorSchool of Education website (http://www.baylor.edu/soe/feedback). Students will also have theopportunity to provide formal feedback to the faculty about program issues in an exit interviewthat will be conducted after the student graduates. Strengths and weaknesses of the programwill be discussed at this time. This interview will be via email, depending on the location of thestudent.

It is a strong interest of the program to acquire post-graduate information from former students.This will provide valuable information to the program director to know the type of work itsgraduates are completing as well as gain more feedback on how the program can be strengthened.Therefore, it is imperative that the students continue to keep the EDP administrative assistantupdated on changing addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses once you leave theprogram.

22

8Resources and Information

1. The Graduate School provides information about assistantship opportunities, dissertationpreparation, teaching awards, and financial information.

2. The Research at Baylor website provides links to the Institutional Review Board, fundingresources, and electronic resources.

3. The Libraries have a wealth of resources online. Attend one of the library orientations andvisit their website. The link to Books, Articles, & More will allow you to search Baylor’sextensive collection of reference materials.

4. Travel support may be obtained from the Graduate School, the School of Education (seeOffice of Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research), and from the Department ofEducational Psychology. Travel awards are provided for professional meetings where thestudent will be presenting and for research.

5. Every student who attends Baylor pays a per hour General Student Fee that is not coveredby a graduate assistantship. This fee is billed and due at the same time you are billed foryour tuition. If you are receiving a stipend, you are also eligible to use the installmentplan for paying university fees at no additional charge. Contact the Cashier’s Office formore information.

6. All graduate students receiving a stipend must complete an I-9 and a W-4 form. GraduateStudent Employment Forms may be obtained from the Graduate School’s website.

7. You have available to you the Baylor University Student Health Insurance Plan. The planis administered by Academic Health Plans and underwritten by ACE American InsuranceCompany. To enroll, visit the Baylor Health Services’ Insurance webpage.

8. The International Student and Scholar Services office provides orientation and immigrationservices for incoming international students and scholars. Health insurance is mandatoryfor all international students at Baylor.

9. There are multiple professional societies devoted to quantitative methodology, some ofwhich are listed below:

• Psychometric Society• American Psychological Association, Division 5• American Educational Research Association, Division D• National Council on Measurement in Education

23

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American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American PsychologicalAssociation (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Andersen, J. P., Prause, J., & Silver, R. C. (2011). A step-by-step guide to using secondary datafor psychological research. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5 , 56-75. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00329.x

Asendorpf, J. B., Conner, M., De Fruyt, F., De Houwer, J., Denissen, J. J. A., Fiedler, K.,. . . Wicherts, J. M. (2013). Recommendations for increasing replicability in psychology.European Journal of Personality, 27 , 108-119. doi: 10.1002/per.1919

Barzun, J. (2001). Simple & direct (4th ed.). New York, NY: Harper Collins.Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews. Review of

General Psychology, 1 , 311-320. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.1.3.311Bem, D. J. (2003). Writing a review article for Psychological Bulletin. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.),

Methodological issues & strategies in clinical research (3rd ed., pp. 859–873). Washington,DC: American Psychological Association.

Bem, D. J. (2004). Writing the empirical journal article. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, &H. L. Roediger III (Eds.), The complete academic: A career guide (2nd ed., pp. 185–219).Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Quantitative psychology. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/research/tools/quantitative/.

American Psychological Association. (2009). Mastering APA style: Student’s workbook andtraining guide (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Bickman, L., & Rog, D. J. (2009). Applied research design. In L. Bickman & D. J. Rog (Eds.),The SAGE handbook of applied social research methods (2nd ed., pp. 3–43). ThousandOaks, CA: Sage.

Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertationliterature review in research preparation. Educational Researcher , 34 , 3-15. doi: 10.3102/0013189X034006003

Clay, R. (2005). Too few in quantitative psychology: The subdiscipline sees shrinking numbers,but growing opportunities. Monitor on Psychology, 36 .

Cooper, H. (2011). Reporting research in psychology: How to meet journal article reportingstandards (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

24

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Cooper, H., Hedges, L. V., & Valentine, J. C. (2009). The handbook of research synthesis andmeta-analysis (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Dienes, Z. (2008). Understanding psychology as a science: An introduction to scientific andstatistical inference. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Earle, J., Maynard, R., Neild, R. C., Easton, J. Q., Ferrini-Mundy, J., Albro, E., . . . Winter,S. (2013). Common guidelines for education research and development (Tech. Rep.).Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences and theNational Science Foundation.

Erford, B. T., Savin-Murphy, J. A., & Butler, C. (2010). Conducting a meta-analysis of coun-seling outcome research. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 1 , 19-43. doi:10.1177/2150137809356682

Evers, A., Hagemeister, C., Høstmælingen, A., Lindley, P. A., Muñiz, J., & Sjöberg, A. (2013).EFPA review model for the description and evaluation of psychological and educational tests(Tech. Rep. No. Version 4.2.6). Brussels, Belgium: European Federation of PsychologyAssociations.

Eysenck, S., & Barrett, P. (2013). Re-introduction to cross-cultural studies of the EPQ. Per-sonality and Individual Differences, 54 , 485-489. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.09.022

Fan, X. (2012). Designing simulation studies. In H. Cooper (Ed.), APA handbook of researchmethods in psychology (Vol. 3.): Data analysis and research publication (p. 427-444). Wash-ington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Gray, K., & Wegner, D. M. (2013). Six guidelines for interesting research. Perspectives onPsychological Science, 8 , 549-553. doi: 10.1177/1745691613497967

Haynes, B. R. (2006). Forming research questions. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 59 ,881-886. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2006.06.006

Herszenhorn, D. M. (2006, May 5). As test-taking grows, test-makers grow rarer. New YorkTimes, pp. A1, A21.

Hoyle, R. H., & Smith, G. T. (1994). Formulating clinical research hypotheses as structuralequation models: A conceptual overview. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,62 , 429-440. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.62.3.429

Iqbal, M. Z., & Mahmood, A. (2011). Factors related to low research productivity at highereducation level. Asian Social Science, 7 , 188-193.

Johnson, W., & Bouchard Jr, T. J. (2011). The MISTRA data: Forty-two mental ability testsin three batteries. Intelligence, 39 , 82-88. doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2011.02.010

Kelley, K., & Preacher, K. J. (2012). On effect size. Psychological Methods, 17 , 137-152. doi:10.1037/a0028086

Kirk, R. E. (2007). Effect magnitude: A different focus. Journal of Statistical Planning andInference, 137 , 1634-1646. doi: 10.1016/j.jspi.2006.09.011

Kline, R. B. (2009). Becoming a behavioral science researcher. New York, NY: Guilford.Klingner, J. K., Scanlon, D., & Pressley, M. (2005). How to publish in scholarly journals.

Educational Researcher , 34 , 14-20. doi: 10.3102/0013189x034008014Koch, C. (2008). The value from the graduate school perspective. In R. L. Miller et al. (Eds.),

Developing, promoting, and sustaining the undergraduate research experience in psychology(pp. 283–285). Syracuse, NY: Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Retrieved fromhttp://www.teachpsych.com/ebooks/ur2008/7-5%20Koch.pdf.

Lambie, G. W., Sias, S. M., Davis, K. M., Lawson, G., & Akos, P. (2008). A scholarly writing re-source for counselor educators and their students. Journal of Counseling and Development,86 , 18-25. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2008.tb00621.x

References 26

Lawson, T. J., Reisinger, D. L., & Jordan-Fleming, M. K. (2012). Undergraduate psychologycourses preferred by graduate programs. Teaching of Psychology, 39 , 181-184. doi:10.1177/0098628312450430

Leong, F. T. L., & Muccio, D. J. (2006). Finding a research topic. In F. T. L. Leong &J. T. Austin (Eds.), The psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students andresearch assistants (2nd ed., pp. 23–40). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Leong, F. T. L., Schmitt, N., & Lyons, B. J. (2012). Developing testable and important researchquestions. In H. Cooper (Ed.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology (Vol 1):Foundations , planning, measures, and psychometrics (Vol. 1, pp. 119–132). Washington,DC: American Psychological Association.

MacArthur, C. A., Graham, J., & Fitzgerald, J. (2005). Handbook of writing research. GuilfordPress.

Maxwell, S. E., & Cole, D. A. (1995). Tips for writing (and reading) methodological articles.Psychological Bulletin, 118 , 193-198. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.118.2.193

McDonald, R. P., & Ho, M.-H. R. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structural equationanalyses. Psychological Methods, 7 , 64-82. doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.64

McGrew, K. S. (2008). CHC theory and the human cognitive abilities project: Standing on theshoulders of the giants of psychometric intelligence research. Intelligence, 37 , 1-10. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2008.08.004

McGuire, W. J. (1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics.Annual Review of Psychology, 48 , 1-30. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.1

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Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2010b). Presenting your findings: A practical guide forcreating tables (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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Novotney, A. (2008). Postgrad growth area: Quantitative psychology. gradPSYCH , 6 (3).Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2008/09/quantitative-psychology.aspx.

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Rosnow, R. L., & Rosnow, M. (2009). Writing papers in psychology (8th ed.). Belmont, CA:Wadsworth.

Rudestam, K. E., & Newton, R. R. (2007). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guideto content and process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rudner, L. M. (1994). Questions to ask when evaluating tests. Practical Assessment, Researchand Evaluation, 4 (2). Retrieved from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=4&n=2.

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Spooner, F., Algozzine, R., Karvonen, M., & Lo, Y.-y. (2010). How to prepare a research articlein APA style (Rev. ed.). Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Stewart, D. W. (2012). Secondary analysis and archival research: Using data collected by others.In H. Cooper (Ed.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology (Vol. 3.): Dataanalysis and research publication (pp. 473–484). Washington, DC: American PsychologicalAssociation.

Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn andBacon.

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Whitley, B. E., & Kite, M. E. (2013). Principles of research in behavioral science (3rd ed.). NewYork, NY: Routledge.

ADegree Planner

See Chapter 4 for description of degree plan.

28

Degree PlanDepartment of Educational Psychology

Master of Arts, Quantitative Methods Specialization

Name:

Street Address:

City: State: ZIP:

Home phone: Office phone: Cell phone:

Required Courses (18 hours)

Probable Semester Completed Required Course

EDP 5334 Statistical Methods

EDP 5335 Research in Education

EDP 5340. Measurement and Evaluation

EDP 6360. Experimental Design I

EDP 6362. Applied Multiple Regression

EDP 6337. Psychometric Theory

Thesis (6 hours required)

Probable Semester Completed Required Course

EDP 5V95. Special Problems in Education

EDP 5V99. Thesis

Core Electives (6 hours required)

Probable Semester Completed Elective Course

EDP 5333 Psychology of Learning

EDP 5332 Human Growth and Development

EDP 5393. Cultural Issues

EDP 5366. Psych. of Exceptional Children

BTimeline

Appendix

B.Tim

eline31

Year 1/Undergraduate Year 2/Graduate

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

ThesisFind Topic

Lit. Rev.

Method

Proposal

Results

Conclusion

Defense

ProgramPlanner

File for Grad.

Post-GradApplications

Key Good Caution Danger

Figure B.1: Timeline of important events for M.A. degree.

CThesis Format Example

Front Matter (See Guidelines for Preparing the Dissertation and Thesis)AbstractUnsigned Signature/Title PageCopyright pageTable of Contents

BodyCHAPTER ONE

Article AbstractCHAPTER TWO

Literature ReviewCHAPTER THREE

MethodCHAPTER FOUR

ResultsCHAPTER FIVE

DiscussionBack Matter (See Guidelines for Preparing the Dissertation and Thesis)

APPENDIX A (if needed)Syntax used for data analysis (see Appendix Appendix E)

APPENDIX B (if needed)IRB Approval

APPENDIX C (if needed)Instruments (see item II.B. in Section 5.1.2)

(Other appendices can be added as needed)REFERENCES

32

DCommunication of Thesis Defense Example

STUDENT NAME: A. Great Student

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON: Fantastic Chair, Ph.D.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Member One, Member Two

TITLE OF THESIS: The Greatness of Theses

DATE OF DEFENSE: October 30, 2013

TIME OF DEFENSE: 3:30PM

LOCATION OF DEFENSE: Draper 109

ABSTRACT: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Ut purus elit, vestibulumut, placerat ac, adipiscing vitae, felis. Curabitur dictum gravida mauris. Nam arcu libero, non-ummy eget, consectetuer id, vulputate a, magna. Donec vehicula augue eu neque. Pellentesquehabitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Mauris ut leo.Cras viverra metus rhoncus sem. Nulla et lectus vestibulum urna fringilla ultrices. Phaselluseu tellus sit amet tortor gravida placerat. Integer sapien est, iaculis in, pretium quis, viverraac, nunc. Praesent eget sem vel leo ultrices bibendum. Aenean faucibus. Morbi dolor nulla,malesuada eu, pulvinar at, mollis ac, nulla. Curabitur auctor semper nulla. Donec varius orcieget risus. Duis nibh mi, congue eu, accumsan eleifend, sagittis quis, diam. Duis eget orci sitamet orci dignissim rutrum.

33

EThesis Syntax Example

# Install R packageslibrary(lavaan)

# Input covariance Matrix for 2-3 year old sample, n = 600sample2_3.cor <- matrix(NA, 7, 7)diag(sample2_3.cor) <- 1sample2_3.cor[lower.tri(sample2_3.cor)]<-c(0.57, 0.67, 0.22, 0.39, 0.48, 0.20, 0.57, 0.42,

0.59, 0.44, 0.21, 0.52, 0.38, 0.18, 0.43, 0.4, 0.39, 0.22, 0.36, 0.21, 0.66)sample2_3.cor[upper.tri(sample2_3.cor)] <- t(sample2_3.cor)[upper.tri(sample2_3.cor)]# Name the Variablesdimnames(sample2_3.cor) <- list(c("V1", "V2", "V3", "V4", "V5", "V6", "V7"), c("V1", "V2",

"V3", "V4", "V5", "V6", "V7"))

# Input the SDsample2_3.sd<-c(3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 2.8, 3.1, 3.2, 2.8)names(sample2_3.sd) <- c("V1", "V2", "V3", "V4", "V5", "V6", "V7")

# Create covariance Matrixsample2_3.cov<-cor2cov(sample2_3.cor, sample2_3.sd)

# Path Modelmodel1.model<-’V1 „ a*V2 + b*V3 + c*V4 + d*V7V2 „ e*V5 + f*V6 + g*V7’

# Analysis of path modelmodel1.fit <- sem(model1.model, sample.cov=sample2_3.cov, sample.nobs=600)summary(model1.fit, standardized=TRUE)fitMeasures(model1.fit)

34

FThesis Forms

35

Baylor University

Department of Educational PsychologyMaster of Arts Thesis Proposal

Name of Student:

Date of Proposal Meeting:

Proposed Thesis Title :

Check one:Ü

Accepted with no changes.Ü

Not Accepted.Ü

Accepted with the following changes:

We, the thesis supervisory committee, agree to the above disposition regarding the thesis proposal.

Committee Chair Member

Outside MemberDepartment Chair or Program Director

Copies to: Candidate, All committee members.

Baylor University

Department of Educational PsychologyMaster of Arts Thesis Review Form

I, , agree to allow my thesis chair to turn my thesis,

, in toTurnitin.com and obtain the results at least 5 days prior to the defense date.

Student Signature & Printed Name

Thesis Chair Signature & Printed Name

Date

GExample Secondary Data Sources

Below is a non-exhaustive list of some datasets available for secondary data analysis.

• Data.gov: http://www.data.gov

• Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) Cross-Cultural Country Data Archive: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886912004825

Eysenck, S., & Barrett, P. (2013). Re-introduction to cross-cultural studies of the EPQ.Personality and Individual Differences, 54 , 485-489. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.09.022

• General Social Survey: http://www3.norc.org/gss+website/

• Higher Education Research Institute (HERI): http://heri.ucla.edu/researchersTools.php

• Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/access/subject.jsp

• Midlife in the USA (MIDUS): http://midus.wisc.edu

• Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA):– Covariance matrix: http://www.isironline.org/links/MISTRACov.dat

– Correlation matrix: http://www.isironline.org/links/MISTRACorr.dat

Johnson, W., & Bouchard Jr, T. J. (2011). The MISTRA data: Forty-two mental ability testsin three batteries. Intelligence, 39 , 82-88. doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2011.02.010

• National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): http://nces.ed.gov/index.asp

• National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS): http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

• National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health): http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth

• National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS): http://www.bls.gov/nls/

38

Appendix G. Example Secondary Data Sources 39

• Seattle Longitudinal Study (SLS): http://www.uwpsychiatry.org/sls/researchers/index.htm

• Human Cognitive Abilities (HCA) Dataset Archive:http://www.iapsych.com/wmfhcaarchive/wmfhcaindex.html

McGrew, K. S. (2008). CHC theory and the human cognitive abilities project: Standing on theshoulders of the giants of psychometric intelligence research. Intelligence, 37 , 1-10. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2008.08.004

HClass Attendance Policy

40

Appendix H. Class Attendance Policy 41

School of Education Class Attendance PolicyAdopted May 2 as Interim SOE policy for Summer 2011 by the SOE Leadership Council

Required class attendance has long been policy at Baylor University. Such policy emanates fromcommitment to academic success and the importance of face-to-face interaction of students withtheir instructor and peers and of modeling attendance requirement in the workplace. Setting astandard for class attendance is consistent with parental expectations that the university willprovide a structure for traditional undergraduates encouraging them to fully participate in theireducation. Furthermore, while some students understand the value of class attendance as anelement of professionalism, others may not yet be at that level of professional maturity. AtBaylor University class attendance requirements are to be established by academic units.

The policy of the School of Education is that, in order to earn course credit, a student mustattend at least 75 percent of all class meetings. Any student who is not present for at least 75percent of the scheduled class sessions for any course will ordinarily receive a grade of “F” inthe course. Sanctions associated with excessive (multiple occasion) tardiness will be dealt withby the individual instructor and must be clearly indicated in the course syllabus, but shouldnot be equated to a course absence. University-related activity necessitating an absence fromclass shall count as an absence when determining whether a student attended the requisite 75percent of class meetings, but if prior arrangements are made and where possible, the studentmay complete any scheduled assignments or examinations missed. Similarly, students are usu-ally allowed to make up class work and/or tests missed because of serious illness, accident ordeath in the family (if the instructor is informed in a timely manner), pending adequate supportdocumentation.

In consultation with the Department Chair, an instructor may set higher attendance than calledfor by School requirements. Similarly, a department may establish a unique attendance re-quirement for all sections of a given course or for groups of similar courses. Instructor re-sponsibilities include: (a) making accessible to students timely records of their absences, (b)providing course syllabi that contain a clear statement about how attendance will impact thecourse grade, whether through reference to the standard SOE policy or through some specifiedhigher attendance requirement approved by the Department Chair, and (c) in courses with ap-proved higher attendance requirements, notifying students of their precarious situation beforethe failure threshold has been reached.

IExample Curriculum Vitae

42

First LastMy UniversityMy DepartmentStreetCity, ST 12345-6789

Phone: +1.254.987.1234Fax: +1.254.879.5678Email: First_Last@myUniversity.eduHomepage: http://webpage.com

Personal Information

Education

B.A. Psychology, My University, 2005.

M.A. School Psychology, My University, 2007.

Ph.D. Educational Psychology (Quantitative Methods), My University, in progress.

Supplemental Education and Training

Traditional and Growth Modeling with Latent Variables, March 2007

Director: Smart Lady

Child Assessment, October 2010

Director: Smart Fella

Research Interests

Psychometrics (especially Latent Variable Modeling/Item Response Theory); Behavior Genetics

Memberships in Professional Societies

Association for Psychological Science ; Council for Exceptional Children ; International Society for theStudy of Individual Differences; Psychometric Society

Honors and Awards

Dean’s List, My University, 2001-2005

Graduate School Travel Scholarship, My University, 2008

Graduate Student Travel Award, International Society of Intelligence Research, 2009

1st place, Student research competition, Society for Applied Multivariate Research, 2010

Programming Languages

R, LATEX

First Last 2

Teaching

University

Teaching/Lab Assistant

Advanced Human Learning (Graduate); Cognitive Assessment (Graduate); Multiple Regression (Gradu-ate)

Service

My University

Student Member, My Department’s Faculty Search Committee, 2009

Program Chair, Educational Psychology Program Brown Bag Series, 2009-2010

Profession

Positions

Editor, SASP News, Student Affiliates of School Psychology (SASP), American Psychological Associa-tion Division 16, 2008-2009

Editor/Reviewer

Conference Reviewer American Education Research Association (Division D); Southwestern Psycholog-ical Association

Ad Hoc Reviewer Applied Psychological Measurement; Personality and Individual Differences

Grants

Internal

1. Smithe, J., & Last, F. (2009-2010) (funded). Developing a measure of self-efficacy in pre-service teachers.My University University Research Council Grant. ($1,500).

Presentations

National/International

1. Smithe, J., & Last, F. (2009, May). Using the WISC-IV to explain the WAIS-II. Poster presented at theannual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco, CA.

2. Last, F., & Smith, J. (2010, March). Interpreting bi-factor models. Poster presented at the annual meetingof the National Association of School Psychologists, Chicago, IL.

3. Last, F. (2010, April). Bi-factor analysis of the Smithe Self-Efficacy Instrument. Poster presented at theannual meeting of the Society for Applied Multivariate Research, Dallas, TX.

• 1st place, Student research competition

First Last 3

State/Regional

1. Smithe, J., Jones, R., & Last, F. (2011, November). Clinical use of bi-factor models. Poster presented atthe annual meeting of the Texas Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.

Local

1. Last, F. (2009, February). An introduction to R for educational research. Colloquium presentation atBaylor University, Waco, TX.

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Published

1. Last, F. (2009). Wow! [Review of the book Bi-factor models and you]. Psychology Monthly, 20(1), 106-114.doi: 10.1521/scpq.20.1.106.64115

2. Smithe, J., Last, F., & Johnson, C. (2010). A multitrait-multimethod examination of the Smithe Self-Efficacy Instrument. Good Journal, 17(3), 147-160. doi: 10.1177/10731911093865

3. Last, F. & Jones, R. (accepted). Using R for bi-factor models. In J. Blow (Ed.), Models of psychologicaltraits. New York, NY: Good Publisher.

Submitted

1. Jones, R. & Last, F. (submitted). Interpreting the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, FourthEdition from a bi-factor perspective. Journal of Educational Assessment, Measurement, & Statistics.

In Progress

1. La Rouche, G., & Last, F. (in progress). The effects of teaching bi-factor and higher-order factor mod-els in the first IQ assessment course. (Target journal: Journal of Teaching Psychology and Assessment).

Technical Reports

1. Smithe, J. & Last, F. (2011). Smithe Self-Efficacy Instrument. City, ST: My University.

Last updated: january 15, 2013

Index

Advisor, 9, 11

Class Attendance, 41Continuation in Program, 20

Academic Progress, 20Unsatisfactory, 20

Social Progress, 21Courses

Core Electives, 5QuantitativeSuggested Sequence, 8

Required, 5Substitution, 12Suggested Sequence, 6Thesis, 6Transfer, 12

Curriculum Vitae, 9Example, 42

Degree Plan, 12Degree Planner, 28

Extended Absence, 21

Faculty, iFeedback, see Student FeedbackFifth-Year Option, see Program

Heath Issues, 21Honor Code, 20, 21

Incomplete Grades, 20, 21Institutional Review Board, 14, 16IRB, see Institutional Review Board

Planner, see Degree PlannerPro Futuris, 2Professional Societies, 23Program, 2

Courses, 5Description, 2Duration, 4Feedback, see Student FeedbackFifth-Year Option, 4Goals, 3Purpose, 2RequirementsCoursework, 5Non-Coursework, 9

Student Outcomes, 3Time Limit, 21Timeline, 30

Resources, see Student Resources

Secondary Data Sources, 38Student Feedback, 22Student Resources, 23Substitution, see Courses

Thesis, 13Committee, 15Content, 13Format, 13Example, 32

Forms, 35Oral Defense, 16Process Overview, 15Proposal, 15Proposal Form, 36Syntax, 14Example, 34

Turnitin.com Submission, 17Types, 13Using Previously Published Material, 15

Timeline, 30

46

Index 47

Transfer, see CoursesTurnitin.com, see Thesis