October 2017
Handling missing data: Multiple imputation for the applied researcher
A 4-hour workshop taught by Ryan S. Wells, Ph.D. You may also be interested in our increasing web survey response rates workshop. Register Overview Item-missing data is a serious concern for any quantitative researcher. Survey participants regularly skip questions, and administrative data is often incomplete. But what do to about this issue is not always straightforward. Researchers often analyze only complete cases (listwise deletion) or they impute missing information using means or regression analysis. These approaches can lead to biased estimates and artificially small standard…
Find out more »December 2017
Focus groups for qualitative research and program evaluation
A 6-hour workshop taught by Julie Posselt, Ph.D. Register Overview Focus groups are ideally suited to gather individual perspectives and explore areas of shared and divergent understanding in a structured format. Lessons learned through focus group can provide a useful complement to other types of data in mixed and multiple method projects. More than nice conversations, they present unique design, logistic, analytic, and ethical challenges that warrant careful consideration before jumping in. This six-hour workshop situates focus groups within a broader…
Find out more »February 2018
Increasing web survey response rates: What works?
A 4-hour workshop taught by Paul D. Umbach, Ph.D. Register Overview Are you getting low response rates when you conduct web surveys? This workshop provides valuable information about how to increase web survey response rates. The purpose of this class is to arm you with the knowledge and range of techniques researchers suggest increase web survey response rates. We examine the heuristics people use when deciding to participate in a survey and answer survey questions and explore ways to increase the likelihood…
Find out more »March 2018
Introduction to matching and propensity score analysis
A 6-hour workshop taught by Stephen R. Porter, Ph.D. You may also be interested in our introduction to binary logistic regression class. Register Overview Propensity score analysis (also known as “matching”) is a popular way to estimate the effects of programs and policies on outcomes. Yet researchers face a dizzying array of choices, in terms of particular matching techniques to use, as well as many different options for implementing a specific technique. This workshop provides a concise introduction to matching for the…
Find out more »Writing and evaluating good survey questions
A 4-hour workshop taught by Paul D. Umbach, Ph.D. Register Overview Writing good survey questions can be very difficult. This workshop will give participants a solid practical foundation in how to write good survey questions. The purpose of this workshop is to arm you with the knowledge to develop valid and reliable questionnaires by looking at approaches for developing survey questions and methods for evaluating them. As survey researchers, it is difficult to be certain that respondents interpret your questions exactly as you…
Find out more »September 2018
Introduction to experimental methods in the social & behavioral sciences
A 4-hour workshop taught by Dr. S. Michael Gaddis, Ph.D. Register Overview During the past decade, experiments in the social and behavioral sciences have gained in popularity as the internet has made implementing experiments easier, cheaper, and faster. However, although researchers may have a conceptual knowledge of how experiments work, the actual experience of implementing an experiment for the first time is often frustrating and time consuming. Researchers without prior experience often struggle with a number of issues such as navigating…
Find out more »Mixed methods for research and evaluation designs
A 4-hour workshop taught by Julie Posselt, Ph.D. Register Overview Many research and evaluation agendas can be strengthened through the use of multiple types of data and/or research methods. Different data types make possible different types of inferences. By juxtaposing and mixing them, we can obtain a more comprehensive picture of the phenomena we study and programs we want to improve. This four-hour workshop will equip you with both the perspective to appreciate the possibilities and limits of mixed methods research…
Find out more »October 2018
Increasing web survey response rates: What works?
A 4-hour workshop taught by Paul D. Umbach, Ph.D. Register Overview Are you getting low response rates when you conduct web surveys? This workshop provides valuable information about how to increase web survey response rates. The purpose of this class is to arm you with the knowledge and range of techniques researchers suggest increase web survey response rates. We examine the heuristics people use when deciding to participate in a survey and answer survey questions and explore ways to increase the likelihood…
Find out more »January 2019
Introduction to matching and propensity score analysis
A 6-hour workshop taught by Stephen R. Porter, Ph.D. You may also be interested in our introduction to binary logistic regression class. Register Overview Propensity score analysis (also known as “matching”) is a popular way to estimate the effects of programs and policies on outcomes. Yet researchers face a dizzying array of choices, in terms of particular matching techniques to use, as well as many different options for implementing a specific technique. This workshop provides a concise introduction to matching for the…
Find out more »February 2019
Exploring the power of predictive analytics: A step-by-step introduction to building a student-at-risk prediction model
A 5-hour workshop taught by Serge Herzog, Ph.D. Register Overview The purpose of this workshop is to teach institutional research, assessment, and evaluation professionals how to effectively build and implement a predictive model to identify students at risk of dropping out using standard regression methods with SPSS. Instruction will be delivered in a hands-on format, offering an interactive step-by-step model-building process that allows participants to develop their own prediction model, using preloaded data that mimics information available with the typical college enrollment…
Find out more »Student success prediction at your fingertips: Developing online dashboards with Microsoft Power BI©
A 5-hour workshop taught by Serge Herzog, Ph.D. Participants of this workshop will benefit from also taking our Predictive Analytics workshop. Register Overview The purpose of this workshop is to teach education professionals how to build online dashboards to predict student outcomes literally with ‘the push of a button’. Participants learn how to use common data files (Excel, CSV etc) with Power BI©, and how to create dashboards with interactive data visualization and drill-down tools that display predicted student outcomes (e.g. admission…
Find out more »April 2019
Exploring the power of predictive analytics: A step-by-step introduction to building a student-at-risk prediction model
A 5-hour workshop taught by Serge Herzog, Ph.D. Register Overview The purpose of this workshop is to teach institutional research, assessment, and evaluation professionals how to effectively build and implement a predictive model to identify students at risk of dropping out using standard regression methods with SPSS. Instruction will be delivered in a hands-on format, offering an interactive step-by-step model-building process that allows participants to develop their own prediction model, using preloaded data that mimics information available with the typical college enrollment…
Find out more »Introduction to matching and propensity score analysis
A 6-hour workshop taught by Stephen R. Porter, Ph.D. You may also be interested in our introduction to binary logistic regression class. Register Overview Propensity score analysis (also known as “matching”) is a popular way to estimate the effects of programs and policies on outcomes. Yet researchers face a dizzying array of choices, in terms of particular matching techniques to use, as well as many different options for implementing a specific technique. This workshop provides a concise introduction to matching for the…
Find out more »Student success prediction at your fingertips: Developing online dashboards with Microsoft Power BI©
A 5-hour workshop taught by Serge Herzog, Ph.D. Participants of this workshop will benefit from also taking our Predictive Analytics workshop. Register Overview The purpose of this workshop is to teach education professionals how to build online dashboards to predict student outcomes literally with ‘the push of a button’. Participants learn how to use common data files (Excel, CSV etc) with Power BI©, and how to create dashboards with interactive data visualization and drill-down tools that display predicted student outcomes (e.g. admission…
Find out more »May 2019
Increasing web survey response rates: What works?
A 4-hour workshop taught by Paul D. Umbach, Ph.D. Register Overview Are you getting low response rates when you conduct web surveys? This workshop provides valuable information about how to increase web survey response rates. The purpose of this class is to arm you with the knowledge and range of techniques researchers suggest increase web survey response rates. We examine the heuristics people use when deciding to participate in a survey and answer survey questions and explore ways to increase the likelihood…
Find out more »