Research, Measurement & Evaluation Methods | CYFS | Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools

CYFS researchers evaluate rural Nebraska after-school programs

CYFS evaluators (from right) Michelle Howell Smith, Susan Pense and Leslie Hawley provide feedback to teachers and school personnel participating in the ELO Design Challenge. The project is supporting five rural Nebraska school districts as they develop after-school and summer programs.

Brainstorm, develop, implement, modify — and repeat. As rural Nebraska school districts use this adaptable approach to create after-school programs, a CYFS research team is taking similar steps to evaluate their progress.

The team is joining a 30-month project, Expanded Learning Opportunity Design Challenge, which involves Auburn, Beatrice, Boone Central, Centura and Grand Island school districts. Teachers and administrators from each district are developing after-school and summer programs for K-12 students, with a focus on integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Full Article

Video available for Matt Fritz presentation

Matthew Fritz, assistant professor of education psychology, leads a Methodology Applications Series presentation Jan. 26. — Matt Fritz, assistant professor of educational psychology, leads a Methodology Applications Series presentation Jan. 26 in the Nebraska Union.

Matt Fritz, assistant professor of educational psychology, led the first spring presentation in the 2017-18 Methodology Applications Series on Jan. 26. His presentation, “Time is on my side: What British rock bands can teach us about designing longitudinal studies,” is now available via video. Full Article

Researchers fine-tune global measurement standards for early childhood learning

Natalie Koziol, CYFS research assistant professor, and Abbie Raikes, associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center — Natalie Koziol and Abbie Raikes

Implementing standard measurements of early childhood development and learning worldwide has its challenges. But University of Nebraska researchers are working with the United Nations and other international organizations to ensure global measurement tools are not restrained by borders. Full Article

Video available for Stephen Scott presentation

Dr. Stephen Scott, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, leads a Nov. 3 Methodology Application Series presentation, "An Introduction to Machine Learning." — Stephen Scott, associate professor of computer science and engineering, leads a Nov. 3 Methodology Application Series presentation, “An Introduction to Machine Learning.”

Stephen Scott, associate professor of computer science and engineering, led a fall semester presentation in the 2017 Methodology Applications Series on Friday, Nov. 3. The presentation, “An Introduction to Machine Learning,” is now available via video. Full Article

Video available for Koziol’s methodology presentation

Natalie Koziol leads the first presentation in the 2017 Methodology Applications Series. View video.

Postdoctoral scholar Natalie Koziol led the first presentation in the 2017 Methodology Applications Series on Friday, Sept. 8, titled “An Introduction to Cost-Effectiveness and Benefit-Cost Analyses in Education Research.” The presentation is now available via video. Full Article

Dizona receives APA award for assessment research

Paul Dizona, CYFS graduate assistant, has received the Psychological Assessment Young Scholars Award from the American Psychological Association.

The award recognizes his research poster, titled “Pre-K Measurement Triangulation Using Caregiver and Directly Assessed Measures of Cognitive Ability,” which Dizona will present at the 2017 APA Convention Aug. 2-6. Full Article

White receives dissertation award to study early childhood self-regulation

Andrew White, CYFS graduate assistant and doctoral student in school psychology, recently received a dissertation award from the Society for the Study of School Psychology. His thesis is titled “Using Self-Regulation to Predict Preschoolers’ Disruptive Behavior Disorders.” Full Article

Study examines use of grounded theory in mixed methods research

From left: Wayne Babchuk, Michelle Howell Smith, Timothy Guetterman and Jared Stevens.

Michelle Howell Smith, CYFS research assistant professor, and Jared Stevens, CYFS graduate assistant, are part of a team investigating the use of grounded theory in mixed methods research, which blends qualitative and quantitative approaches.

The team’s study, “Contemporary Approaches to Mixed Methods–Grounded Theory Research: A Field-Based Analysis,” was published June 1 in the Journal of Mixed Methods Research. The team includes Timothy Guetterman, assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan, and Nebraska’s Wayne Babchuk, assistant professor of practice in educational psychology. Full Article