scholarly journals Beyond Likert ratings: Improving the robustness of developmental research measurement using best–worst scaling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nichola Burton ◽  
Michael Burton ◽  
Carmen Fisher ◽  
Patricia González Peña ◽  
Gillian Rhodes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
Response Format ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Developmental Research ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Adult Sample ◽  
Best Worst Scaling ◽  
Large Adult

AbstractSome of the ‘best practice’ approaches to ensuring reproducibility of research can be difficult to implement in the developmental and clinical domains, where sample sizes and session lengths are constrained by the practicalities of recruitment and testing. For this reason, an important area of improvement to target is the reliability of measurement. Here we demonstrate that best–worst scaling (BWS) provides a superior alternative to Likert ratings for measuring children’s subjective impressions. Seventy-three children aged 5–6 years rated the trustworthiness of faces using either Likert ratings or BWS over two sessions. Individual children’s ratings in the BWS condition were significantly more consistent from session 1 to session 2 than those in the Likert condition, a finding we also replicate with a large adult sample (N = 72). BWS also produced more reliable ratings at the group level than Likert ratings in the child sample. These findings indicate that BWS is a developmentally appropriate response format that can deliver substantial improvements in reliability of measurement, which can increase our confidence in the robustness of findings with children.

An Activity-Based Approach to Physical Education for Preschool Children with Disabilities

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin E. Block ◽  
Timothy D. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Preschool Children ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Goals And Objectives

Traditional motor development programs for preschool children with disabilities usually utilize a behavior-analytic approach in which children are given specific training and instruction on identified IEP objectives. While this approach has its merits in terms of time-on-task and focus on critical IEP objectives, it is not consistent with current developmentally appropriate philosophies in early childhood education. One of the newer techniques suggested by early childhood educators as a “best practice” in educating young children is an activity-based or play-based approach. Children still have individually determined goals and objectives, but these goals and objectives are “embedded” in a variety of child-directed play activities. The teacher acts as a facilitator, encouraging the child to practice individual goals while exploring the environment. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of activity-based intervention and provide examples of how it can be implemented within a motor development/physical education context for preschool children with disabilities.

scholarly journals NCLB: Local implementation and impact in southwest Washington state.

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Linda Mabry ◽  
Linda Mabry and Jason Margolis
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Fourth Grade ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
District Administrators ◽  
Related Stress ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Southwest Washington

The research reported here is from the first two years of an ongoing and largely qualitative study to examine the impact of the No Child Left Behind federal education policy on educational practice and climate in elementary schools in two districts in southwest Washington. Based on systematic drop-in observations in classrooms and interviews with teachers and school and district administrators, data indicated that the policy had partially yielded the intended standards-based reforms but at considerable local cost. While most participating administrators described efforts to use NCLB to leverage needed change, most teachers described struggles to sustain best practice and to avoid some negative consequences to their students and schools. Administrators anticipated that resistant teachers would be nudged from the profession, and the greatest attrition among participating teachers was from the fourth-grade level at which the state’s standards-based test was administered. Fourth-grade teachers particularly expressed concern about test-related stress and test-driven curricula interfering with children’s individual needs and with their own ability to provide developmentally appropriate instruction adapted for their particular students. The validity and utility of test results was a local issue.

scholarly journals Improving effect size estimation and statistical power with multi-echo fMRI and its impact on understanding the neural systems supporting mentalizing

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael V. Lombardo ◽  
Bonnie Auyeung ◽  
Rosemary J. Holt ◽  
Jack Waldman ◽  
Amber N. V. Ruigrok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Effect Size ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Effect Size Estimation ◽  
Size Estimates

AbstractFunctional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research is routinely criticized for being statistically underpowered due to characteristically small sample sizes and much larger sample sizes are being increasingly recommended. Additionally, various sources of artifact inherent in fMRI data can have detrimental impact on effect size estimates and statistical power. Here we show how specific removal of non-BOLD artifacts can improve effect size estimation and statistical power in task-fMRI contexts, with particular application to the social-cognitive domain of mentalizing/theory of mind. Non-BOLD variability identification and removal is achieved in a biophysical and statistically principled manner by combining multi-echo fMRI acquisition and independent components analysis (ME-ICA). Group-level effect size estimates on two different mentalizing tasks were enhanced by ME-ICA at a median rate of 24% in regions canonically associated with mentalizing, while much more substantial boosts (40-149%) were observed in non-canonical cerebellar areas. This effect size boosting is primarily a consequence of reduction of non-BOLD noise at the subject-level, which then translates into consequent reductions in between-subject variance at the group-level. Power simulations demonstrate that enhanced effect size enables highly-powered studies at traditional sample sizes. Cerebellar effects observed after applying ME-ICA may be unobservable with conventional imaging at traditional sample sizes. Thus, ME-ICA allows for principled design-agnostic non-BOLD artifact removal that can substantially improve effect size estimates and statistical power in task-fMRI contexts. ME-ICA could help issues regarding statistical power and non-BOLD noise and enable potential for novel discovery of aspects of brain organization that are currently under-appreciated and not well understood.

scholarly journals Teachers’ beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahlam A. Alghamdi ◽  
James M. Ernest
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
The United States ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Appropriate Practices

Abstract Since the first release of NAEYC’s guidelines, DAP has received a lot of attention from childhood professionals in the United States. Internationally, many countries have also shown a growing interest regarding DAP, yet interest in DAP is new to the Saudi educators. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore preschool teachers’ subjective beliefs toward NAEYC’s guidelines of DAP in Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative Middle Eastern countries. Q Methodology, as a mixed methods approach, was used to study 37 preschool teachers randomly selected from five preschools in Mecca city. The participants sorted 50 cards with examples of DAP and developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) or “In Contrast” statements which represented perceived importance of the practice to the sorter. To analyze the data, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation indicated four main components regarding the beliefs of Saudi preschool teachers as they relate to DAP’s guidelines. Each component represents a unique perspective (viewpoint) on how Saudi preschool teachers view DAP and contrasting items based on their subjective points of view. The four main perspectives that emerged from the analysis show a dominance consensus among perspectives that fit equitably within the DAP framework regarding the best practice of early childhood education. Findings from this study provide evidence that many aspects of developmentally appropriate practice can be appropriate in different cultures and countries.

Classificatory Dendrograms and Their Interpretation

1973 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
HT Clifford ◽  
WT Williams
Keyword(s):  
Original Sample ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Variable Intensity ◽  
The Third ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Base Group

The constitution and configuration of taxonomic groups resulting from applying three classificatory programs-two intensely clustering and the third of variable intensity-to two sets of data relating to a base group of 54 grass genera scored for 62 attributes are compared. All programs produced much the same groupings of genera at the 10-group level. Addition of identical taxa to the original sample resulted in increasing isolation of the replicated genus (Panicum) without affecting the composition of the remaining groups. Addition of near-identical taxa had a more generalized influence on the dendrogram. Dendrograms arrived at by intensely clustering programs may not represent taxonomically acceptable hierarchies. The flexible program causes less distortion between dendrograms based on different sample sizes, but may produce weakly structured, less informative classifications.

scholarly journals Best-worst scaling improves measurement of first impressions

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nichola Burton ◽  
Michael Burton ◽  
Dan Rigby ◽  
Clare A. M. Sutherland ◽  
Gillian Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Research ◽  
First Impressions ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Common Goal ◽  
Best Worst Scaling ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
Potential Alternative ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Choice Method

Abstract A common goal in psychological research is the measurement of subjective impressions, such as first impressions of faces. These impressions are commonly measured using Likert ratings. Although these ratings are simple to administer, they are associated with response issues that can limit reliability. Here we examine best-worst scaling (BWS), a forced-choice method, as a potential alternative to Likert ratings for measuring participants’ facial first impressions. We find that at the group level, BWS scores correlated almost perfectly with Likert scores, indicating that the two methods measure the same impressions. However, at the individual participant level BWS outperforms Likert ratings, both in terms of ability to predict preferences in a third task, and in terms of test-retest reliability. These benefits highlight the power of BWS, particularly for use in individual differences research.

Meeting the Best Practice for Hearing Aid Verification in Children: Challenges and Future Directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 877-894
Author(s):  
Nur Azyani Amri ◽  
Tian Kar Quar ◽  
Foong Yen Chong
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Klang Valley ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Fitting Hearing Aids

Purpose This study examined the current pediatric amplification practice with an emphasis on hearing aid verification using probe microphone measurement (PMM), among audiologists in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Frequency of practice, access to PMM system, practiced protocols, barriers, and perception toward the benefits of PMM were identified through a survey. Method A questionnaire was distributed to and filled in by the audiologists who provided pediatric amplification service in Klang Valley, Malaysia. One hundred eight ( N = 108) audiologists, composed of 90.3% women and 9.7% men (age range: 23–48 years), participated in the survey. Results PMM was not a clinical routine practiced by a majority of the audiologists, despite its recognition as the best clinical practice that should be incorporated into protocols for fitting hearing aids in children. Variations in practice existed warranting further steps to improve the current practice for children with hearing impairment. The lack of access to PMM equipment was 1 major barrier for the audiologists to practice real-ear verification. Practitioners' characteristics such as time constraints, low confidence, and knowledge levels were also identified as barriers that impede the uptake of the evidence-based practice. Conclusions The implementation of PMM in clinical practice remains a challenge to the audiology profession. A knowledge-transfer approach that takes into consideration the barriers and involves effective collaboration or engagement between the knowledge providers and potential stakeholders is required to promote the clinical application of evidence-based best practice.

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