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May 30, 2008

From IES Newsflash: For NAEP Researchers: Long-Term Trend Reading 1971-2004 Data; NAEP Database Training

Data for all long-term trend (LTT) reading assessments through 2004 are now available on CD-ROM to researchers in organizations holding licenses from NCES. See which variables are available:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/variablesrudata.asp

Explore the public-use LTT data for reading and mathematics in the NAEP Data Explorer:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/lttnde/
Restricted-use data for LTT mathematics assessments 1978-2004 will be available this summer.

REMINDER: June 18 is the deadline to apply for a three-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the NAEP database for education research and policy analysis that begins July 30. This seminar is aimed at faculty, advanced graduate students, and education researchers and policy analysts with strong statistical skills from state and local education agencies and professional associations. For details, see
http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=313&cid=2

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 02:28 AM

From IES Newsflash: NCES Releases New Report: Condition of Education 2008

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released "The Condition of Education 2008," a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual portrait of education in the United States. The 43 indicators included in this year's report cover all aspects of education, from early childhood through postsecondary education and from student achievement to school environment and resources. Among the report's findings:

* This year, public school enrollment is expected to approach about 50 million students. Total public school enrollment is projected to set new records each year from 2008 to 2017, at which time it is expected to reach 54.1 million.

* Minority students make up 43 percent of the public school enrollment overall and 48 percent in the South and 55 percent in the West.

* In 2005–06, about a third of Black students and a third of Hispanic students attended high-poverty schools compared with 4 percent of White students.

* Average reading scores of 4th- and 8th-graders were higher in 2007 than in 1992.

* Average mathematics scores increased 27 points for 4th-graders and 19 points for 8th-graders between 1990 and 2007.

* Among public high school students in the class of 2005, about three-fourths graduated on time.

* Since 1970, women's undergraduate enrollment has increased over three times as fast as men's. Currently, women make up 57 percent of undergraduate enrollment.

* In 2006, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned about $11,000 more than those with an associate’s degree, about $16,000 more than those who had completed high school, and more than twice as much than those who did not earn a high school diploma.

The full text of "The Condition of Education 2008," along with related data tables and indicators from previous years, can be viewed at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe.

Posted by ronbo at 02:24 AM

May 29, 2008

Stata 5-day seminar: Event History and Survival Analysis Using Stata

Event History and Survival Analysis Using Stata

 

Posted by yan at 03:18 PM

May 28, 2008

From IES Newsflash: Upcoming ECLS/NHES Data Training Seminar to be Held July 31

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences will be conducting a one-day training seminar on its early childhood studies on July 31 at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Boston, Massachusetts. This seminar provides researchers with tools for utilizing data from two NCES programs, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) and the National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES). The seminar will provide overviews of the study designs and technical issues, highlights about data pertaining to children from birth through 8th grade, and information on how the surveys complement each other. The seminar is for graduate students, faculty, and researchers who have a solid understanding of statistics and limited familiarity with the ECLS and NHES data. Researchers who have previously attended an overview seminar on these studies, or who have attended an in-depth training on one of the studies and are
not interested in the others, probably will not benefit from this seminar.

More information on the content of the seminar and the registration procedures is available on the ECLS and NHES websites.

http://nces.ed.gov/ecls
http://nces.ed.gov/nhes

Posted by ronbo at 12:56 AM

May 22, 2008

From ICPSR: Space Available in ICPSR Summer Program Courses

Greetings from the ICPSR Summer Program! We want to announce that there are a few spaces still available in several of our five-day statistical workshops. This is your opportunity to take an intensive course covering a salient topic in quantitative social research methodology.

The ICPSR Summer Program faculty and staff provide an excellent classroom experience. Our instructors are all well-known social scientists. In many cases, they have literally "written the book" on their respective topics. Workshop participants find that they are not only exposed to the relevant material, but are also able to apply the concepts and methods to their own research projects immediately after finishing the course.

The following workshops still have openings for interested participants:

Categorical Data Analysis
Instructor: J. Scott Long, Sociology, Indiana University
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Dates: June 9-13, 2008

Introduction to Applied Bayesian Statistics for Social Scientists
Instructor: Scott M. Lynch, Sociology, Princeton University
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Dates: June 23-27, 2008

Latent Trajectory/Growth Curve Analysis
Instructor: Kenneth A. Bollen
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Dates: June 16-20, 2008

Introduction to Spatial Regression Analysis
Instructors: Paul Voss, Rural Sociology, University of Wisconsin and Katherine Curtis White, Sociology, University of Wisconsin
Location: Bloomington, IN
Dates: July 14-18, 2008

Course descriptions and online application/registration materials are available on the ICPSR Summer Program web site, at:

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/sumprog/

If you are interested in attending any of these five-day workshops, you should apply soon. The remaining spaces will undoubtedly fill up quickly!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the ICPSR Summer Program by telephone (734-763-7400), fax (734-647-9100) or e-mail (sumprog@icpsr.umich.edu).

All best wishes,

William G. Jacoby
Director, ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research, University of Michigan

Professor, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University

Posted by ronbo at 07:51 PM

May 20, 2008

Selections from ArcWatch (May 2008)

Download ArcGIS 9.2 Service Pack 5

The new service pack will ensure the highest-quality experience with ArcGIS 9.2. Download now.

Request the ArcGIS Desktop 9.2 Evaluation CD

ArcGIS Desktop is the primary platform for authoring, editing, and analyzing geographic information within the overall suite of ArcGIS products and services. Learn more. Request the Evaluation CD. Learn what will be new in ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.

Census Bureau Offers TIGER/Line Shapefiles Online

Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)/Line shapefiles can be downloaded at www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/index.html. ESRI users can easily incorporate TIGER/Line shapefiles into their GIS as supplemental data or as a base layer. This data supports mapping and geocoding and includes points of interest such as roads, railroads, rivers, and lakes. Download now.

Download GIS for Education Best Practices Booklet

In GIS for Education [PDF-4.91 MB], you will learn how schools and scouting organizations use GIS to help children learn more about science, technology, and the environment. Download now. [PDF-4.91 MB] For a complete list of booklets available, visit the GIS Best Practices showcase.

Posted by ronbo at 03:23 AM

May 19, 2008

New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Attrition of Public School Mathematics and Science Teachers (NCES 2008-077)."

Using data from the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS), this Issue Brief reports on trends in the attrition of public school mathematics and science teachers over a 16-year period and examines the reasons given by mathematics and science teachers for leaving teaching employment. Findings from the analysis indicate that the percentage of public school mathematics and science teachers who left teaching employment did not change measurably between 1988-89 and 2004-05. However, the percentage of other public school teachers who left teaching employment did increase over the same period. Differences were found between mathematics and science leavers and other leavers. For example, of those teachers with a regular or standard certification, a smaller percentage of mathematics and science teachers than other teachers left teaching employment. In addition, when asked to rate various reasons for leaving the teaching profession, greater percentages of mathematics and science leavers than o
ther leavers rated better salary or benefits as very important or extremely important.

To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008077

Posted by ronbo at 06:56 PM

May 17, 2008

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2008-05-15

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

New Additions

4233 Afrobarometer: Round II Survey of Ghana, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04233.xml

4277 Afrobarometer: Round II Survey of Mozambique, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04277.xml

4482 CBS News Monthly Poll #1 and Call-Back Poll, October 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04482.xml

4504 CBS News State of the Union/War in the Middle East Poll, January 1991
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04504.xml

13286 Census of Population and Housing, 2000 [United States]: Demographic Profile: 100-percent and Sample Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/13286.xml

21000 Senate, House, and Governor Race Candidates From Across the United States, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21000.xml

22161 Uniform Crime Reports [United States]: Supplementary Homicide Reports with Multiple Imputation, Cumulative Files 1976-2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22161.xml

Updates

4022 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04022.xml

4237 Afrobarometer: Round II Survey of Uganda, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04237.xml

4257 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2003
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04257.xml

4431 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2004
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04431.xml

4584 Community Tracking Study Physician Survey, 2004-2005: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04584.xml

6102 Voter Research and Surveys General Election Exit Polls, 1992
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06102.xml

6822 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, May 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06822.xml

8568 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, May-June 1985
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08568.xml

8593 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, November 1985
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08593.xml

8891 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, September 1987
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08891.xml

9136 CBS News General Election Exit Poll: State Files, 1988
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09136.xml

9247 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, May 1989
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09247.xml

9459 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, May 1990
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09459.xml

20020 Police-Public Contact Survey, 2005 [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20020.xml

21540 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21540.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

Posted by ronbo at 12:33 AM

From IES Newsflash: National Indian Education Study 2007 Part I on the NAEP Website

National Indian Education Study 2007 Part I: Performance of American Indian and Alaska Native Students at Grades 4 and 8 on NAEP 2007 Reading and Mathematics Assessments is now available at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard

The report presents the results of Part I of the National Indian Education Study (NIES) focusing on the performance of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) fourth- and eighth-graders on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and mathematics. A national sample of approximately 10,100 AI/AN students at grades 4 and 8 participated in the reading assessment and 10,300 in the mathematics assessment. Results from this study are compared to those from the first NIES conducted in 2005. The results for 11 states with relatively large populations of AI/AN students are presented in addition to the national results.

* Overall, the average reading scores for AI/AN fourth- and eighth-graders showed no significant change since 2005 and were lower than the scores for non-AI/AN students in 2007.

* There was, however, an increase in the percentage of AI/AN fourth-graders performing at or above the Proficient level from 21 percent in 2005 to 25 percent in 2007.

* In 2007 at both grades, AI/AN students attending schools in which less than 25 percent of the students were AI/AN scored higher than their peers attending schools with higher concentrations of AI/AN students, and those attending public schools scored higher than their peers in Bureau of Indian Education schools.

See complete results at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies/

Read the executive summary of the report at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/studies/2008457.asp

NIES was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian Education.

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 12:29 AM

From Census Update (5/16/2008): Hot tip - FIPS County Lookup

"Help! I have a bunch of FIPS codes and I want to find the counties they designate."

Try the Census Bureau's FIPS County Lookup. You can use it in three ways:

* Select a state name and see the FIPS codes for all the counties.
* Type in a county and see the two-digit state and three-digit county code.
* Type in the five-digit FIPS code and see the state and county names. For example, type in "32003" and you'll see this is the FIPS code for Clark County, Nevada.

The lookup also lets you download a simple text file showing the FIPS code for each county in the nation arranged by state. FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) codes are the official government identifiers for geographic areas such as counties, cities, metro areas, etc. More information.

Posted by ronbo at 12:25 AM

May 16, 2008

Data-PASS Web Site Updated

The Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences (Data-PASS), a broad-based partnership devoted to identifying, acquiring and preserving data at-risk of being lost to the social science research community, recently released a new version of its web site http://www.data-pass.org/ New to this release is a direct link to the partnership shared catalog, which enables anyone to search and browse the entire holdings of most Data-PASS partners. Other significant content includes project guidelines, such as selection criteria and data security standards, created and used by the partnership, as well as publications and presentations by Data-PASS partners. New content will continue to be added to the web site as Data-PASS continues to identify, acquire, and preserve data used for social science research.

Data-PASS is supported by an award from the Library of Congress through its National Digital Information and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), and is led by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan, the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut, the Howard W. Odum Institute at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the Henry A. Murray Research Archive, a member of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Harvard-MIT Data Center, also a member of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University.

Posted by ronbo at 07:29 PM

May 14, 2008

From MAPSS list: Paul Allison Talk on Missing Data

How Do You Deal With Missing Data?
University of Pennsylvania Sociology Professor Paul Allison discusses common means and ideal ways of addressing missing data problems on Tuesday (May 20th).

Tuesday, May 20th
12:15 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128

Multiple Imputation for Missing Data

This talk is a gentle introduction to the use of multiple imputation for handling missing data in social science research. After a brief review of conventional methods, we will examine the basic principles of multiple imputation, and will then work through a detailed example using PROC MI in SAS. Because this method assumes multivariate normality, the appropriate treatment of categorical variables will be considered. A second example uses the ICE command in Stata. Although this method is more appropriate for categorical variables, it comes with some theoretical and computational costs.

Paul Allison is Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania where he primarily teaches graduate-level methods and statistics. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on applied statistical methods, including Fixed Effects Regression Methods for Longitudinal Data Using SAS (2005), Missing Data (2001), Logistic Regression Using SAS (1999), and Survival Analysis Using SAS (1995). Much of his earlier research was focused on career patterns of academic scientists. A former Guggenheim Fellow, Allison received the 2001 Lazarsfeld Award for distinguished contributions to sociological methodology.

MAPSS is an interdisciplinary methodology program designed to expose researchers to diverse modes of data collection and analysis from across the social sciences. MAPSS offers a colloquium series, a workshop, a graduate certificate program, and various research resources. If you would like to learn more about the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), please check out our website at mapss.stanford.edu.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html.

Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:15.
For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 10:38 PM

May 13, 2008

From IES Newsflash: What's New on the NAEP Website for NAEP Researchers

==== TRAINING OPPORTUNITY: NAEP DATABASE USE

June 18 is the deadline to apply for a three-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the NAEP database for education research and policy analysis, to begin July 30. This seminar is aimed at faculty, advanced graduate students, and education researchers and policy analysts with strong statistical skills from state and local education agencies and professional associations. For details, see
http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=313&cid=2

==== FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR NAEP SECONDARY ANALYSIS

NAEP secondary analysts are encouraged to consider new Institute of Education Sciences (IES) RFAs for 2009 research grant competitions; application deadlines are June 25 and October 2. See
http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ for more details.
The IES website now has browsable versions of its RFAs.

The NAEP website contains much information for researchers:
* Funding opportunities at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/funding.asp
* Descriptions of tools for analyzing data at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/datatools2.asp
* A list of data available for secondary analysis at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/variablesrudata.asp
Coming soon: A CD-ROM with restricted-use data from the long-term trend assessments from the early 1970s through 2004.

==== NAEP PAPERS IN JUNE CONFERENCE

If you will be attending the National Conference on Student Assessment beginning June 15 in Orlando, please see descriptions of the NAEP papers at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ccsso.asp

==== REPORTS COMPARING NAEP AND STATE PROFICIENCY

States vary widely in the standards for proficiency that they set for students on their state assessments, but it is possible to compare state proficiency standards by using NAEP as a common yardstick. To provide a basis for comparison, NCES developed several documents on NAEP and state proficiency standards. Read more, and see reports using NAEP data from 2005 and 2003 at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/statemapping.asp

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 08:57 PM

From IES Newsflash: New Edition of "Research News" Available Online

A new edition of the Institute of Education Sciences' newsletter, "Research News," is now available online, highlighting recent IES activities. In this issue: Meet the two newest associate commissioners on the IES senior leadership team, learn about the four new RFAs for FY 2009 and the recipients of research program grants for 2008, and find out about new longitudinal studies being launched by NCES and new Quick Review Reports from the What Works Clearinghouse. In addition to providing information about recent report releases, the newsletter offers details about upcoming conferences and training opportunities, along with other IES activities. "Research News" has been graphically redesigned as well, offering readers a pleasing new look, ease of use, and a link to previous editions of the newsletter. To read "Research News," please visit
http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/newsletters/

Posted by ronbo at 07:48 PM

SAS webcast: Getting Started with JMP Start

from SAS: JMP | Getting a JMP Start

Then register for this free, one-hour, interactive Webcast.

Date Title Time  
May 9, 2008 Getting Started with JMP 1 PM ET (10 AM PT) Register
May 16, 2008 Getting Started with JMP 1 PM ET (10 AM PT) Register
May 23, 2008 Getting Started with JMP 1 PM ET (10 AM PT) Register
May 30, 2008 Getting Started with JMP 1 PM ET (10 AM PT) Register

Posted by yan at 04:12 PM

May 07, 2008

Roper Center Newsletter, May 2008

Topics at a Glance!--"Election 2008"
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/elections/presidential/presidential_election_2008.html

This year's historical presidential election is heated. Here you can find data on the current Democratic Nomination. Find out public opinion on important issues driving the vote, the horse race and the sitting President's approval rating. Click here to get more public opinion data on this month's Topic at a Glance--Election 2008!

Based on a new topic each month, TAG offers a generous free sampling of related polling data and details of survey datasets held by the Roper Center, along with articles previously published in Public Perspective magazine.

Experience the depth of information housed in the Roper Center archives - The complete list of "Topics at a Glance!" http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/Roperweb/pom/pom.htx;start=HS_pom_list

Newly spotlighted datasets http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/roperweb/Catalog40/Catalog40.htx;start=HS_surveyspot
Updated as of May 1, 2008

Special studies of interest recently added to iPOLL. The database now contains nearly a half million questions!
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/ipoll/ipoll.html

Title: Retirement Confidence Survey 2008 [January,2008]
Source: Survey by Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Methodology: Conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates, January 3-January 29, 2008 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult sample of 1,322. For some questions there were variations in the question wording between the retired and non-retired respondents which are shown. The status was determined by taking into account the respondent's and spouse's retirement status.
Search for: Searched iPOLL for: Topic: 'retirement'; Date: '01/03/2008 to 01/03/200

Additional resources - Web sites with special survey samples

CIRCLE & Rock the Vote Young Voter Turnout and Registration Trends
http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/CIRCLE_RtV_Young_Voter_Trends.pdf

Posted by ronbo at 04:57 PM

From IES Newsflash: NAEP Websites Offer New Features

The NAEP websites
* http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard and
* http://nationsreportcard.gov
have recently added helpful new features that include videos for teachers and students, data tools, and reference guides. Here are some of the new features:

VIDEOS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Information for selected schools has been updated to include videos for teachers and students, and fact sheets for teachers:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/schools.asp

NAEP NUMBERS
How many students and schools were in the sample for NAEP assessments, and how many students and schools did those small samples represent? See
http://nationsreportcard.gov/faq.asp#q2
How are students with disabilities and English-language learners included in NAEP? See
http://nationsreportcard.gov/faq.asp#q3

RECENT NAEP REPORTS
See a list of all NCES NAEP reports released in 2007 and 2008:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/current.asp#earlier
To read what NAEP assessments are planned for 2009, and what was assessed in 2008:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/current.asp

TOOLS, TABLES, AND QUICK REFERENCE GUIDES
For a one-stop portal to NAEP tools, quick data tables from the most recently reported assessments, and for Quick Reference Guides for the Questions Tool, Item Maps, State Comparisons, and Data Explorer:
http://nationsreportcard.gov/data_tools.asp

PRESS RELEASES AND OTHER RESOURCES FOR THE MEDIA
See information about releases from 2005 through 2007, and subscribe to the NCES NewsFlash to keep informed about recent releases.
http://nationsreportcard.gov/media.asp

Check the NAEP websites regularly for more information on the Nation's Report Card.

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 09:38 AM

May 06, 2008

From IES Newsflash: Using the National Household Education Surveys Program Database for Research and Policy Discussion

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences is sponsoring a three-day advanced studies seminar in Washington, DC, August 12-14, on the use of the National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) database. The NHES is a valuable resource for understanding contemporary education issues such as early childhood program participation, parent and family involvement in education, student participation in after-school programs and activities, and adult education and lifelong learning.

For more details on this seminar and to register, please visit:
http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=319

Explore the NHES website at
http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/

Posted by ronbo at 08:02 PM

From IES Newsflash: National Indian Education Study Part I Available May 14 on the NAEP Website

The National Indian Education Study (NIES) is a two-part study designed to describe the condition of education for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the United States. The first part, providing in-depth information on the academic performance of fourth- and eighth-grade AI/AN students on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics and reading, will be released May 14. The results will be available online at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard on the day of release.

Part II of the study was conducted through a survey to explore the educational experiences of the fourth- and eighth-grade AI/AN students who participated in the NAEP assessments. The survey focused on the integration of native language and culture into school and classroom activities. Results of the 2007 survey are scheduled to be available in the summer of 2008.

NIES was first conducted in 2005, and provides data on a nationally representative sample of AI/AN students in public, private, Department of Defense, and Bureau of Indian Education funded schools. It is a reliable source of data for educators, administrators, and policymakers who address the educational needs of our students. See Parts I and II of the 2005 NIES at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nies/

The study was funded by the Office of Indian Education (OIE) and conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics for the U.S. Department of Education.

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 01:29 PM

May 05, 2008

Stata for Macintosh FAQ: Copying graphs and tables on Macintosh

New from Stata FAQ:

Why am I unable to copy graphs and tables from Stata into other applications?
Title Copying graphs and tables on Macintosh  
Author Theresa Boswell, StataCorp
Date April 2008

Some users may experience problems with pasting graphs and tables from Stata to other applications.

Beginning with Stata 10 for Macintosh, Stata copies images to the Clipboard in the PDF format for the best possible output. However, some legacy applications such as Microsoft Office 2004 only support pasting of images from the Clipboard in the PICT format. This can cause problems for users who attempt to copy an image within Stata and paste the image to another application. If you are unable to copy images from Stata to your application, open the General Preferences dialog and check the Copy Images to the Clipboard as PICT checkbox.

The PICT format does not support rotated text and has been deprecated by Apple in favor of the PDF format. Rotated text in a Stata graph will appear horizontal on the pasted PICT image. If possible, we encourage you to upgrade the application to which you are pasting Stata output or graphs to one that supports Clipboard data in the PDF format, such as Microsoft Office 2008. Once you have upgraded your application, uncheck the Copy Images to the Clipboard as PICT checkbox in Stata so that Stata will copy images to the Clipboard in the PDF format for the best possible output.

 

Posted by yan at 11:50 AM

now available: 2nd Edition of An Introduction to Survival Analysis Using Stata

From Stata News:

An Introduction to Survival Analysis Using Stata, 2nd Edition is now available

An Introduction to Survival Analysis Using Stata, Second Edition is the ideal tutorial for professional data analysts who want to learn survival analysis for the first time or who are well versed in survival analysis but not as dexterous in using Stata to analyze survival data. This text also serves as a valuable reference to those who already have experience using Stata’s survival analysis routines.

The second edition has been updated for Stata 10, containing a new chapter on power and sample-size calculations for survival studies and sections that describe how to fit regression models (stcox and streg) in the presence of complex survey data. Other enhancements include discussions about nonparametric estimation of mean/median survival, survival graphs with embedded at-risk tables, better hazard graphs through the use of boundary kernels, and concordance measures for assessing the predictive accuracy of the Cox model, as well as an expanded discussion of model building strategies including the use of fractional polynomials.

More details about the book on Stata's website.

 

Posted by yan at 11:48 AM

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2008-05-04

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

New Additions

4237 Afrobarometer: Round II Survey of Uganda, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04237.xml

4309 Sexual Assault During and After Separation or Divorce in Rural Ohio, 2003-2004
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04309.xml

4441 Current Population Survey: Annual Demographic File, March Supplements 1973-1975
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04441.xml

4478 CBS News Monthly Poll #4, March 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04478.xml

4480 CBS News Monthly Poll #3 and Call-Back Poll, September 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04480.xml

4481 CBS News Telenoticas Survey, October 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04481.xml

4493 CBS News/New York Times Election Poll, February 2000
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04493.xml

4647 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #4, October 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04647.xml

4648 CBS News/New York Times Call-Back Poll, November 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04648.xml

4656 ABC News/Washington Post Pre-State of the Union Address Poll, January 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04656.xml

21480 State Legislative Election Returns, 1967-2003
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21480.xml

21661 IEA Civic Education Study, 1999: Civic Knowledge and Engagement Among 14-Year-Olds in 23 European Countries, 2 Latin American Countries, Hong Kong, Australia, and the United States
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21661.xml

21900 Testing the Impact of Batterer Intervention Programs and Court Monitoring in the Bronx [New York City, New York], 2002-2004
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21900.xml

21980 Census of Population and Housing, 1960 [United States]: Documentation for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21980.xml

21981 Census of Population and Housing, 1970 [United States]: Documentation for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21981.xml

21982 Census of Population and Housing, 1980 [United States]: Documentation for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21982.xml

Updates

2934 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1998
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02934.xml

3154 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, 1995-1996: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03154.xml

3522 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, 1997-1998: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03522.xml

3672 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2000
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03672.xml

3884 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2001
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03884.xml

4050 Charleston Heart Study, 1960-2000
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04050.xml

4429 National Crime Victimization Survey: School Crime Supplement, 2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04429.xml

4587 American Community Survey (ACS): Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), 2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04587.xml

4626 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04626.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

Posted by ronbo at 07:42 AM

May 02, 2008

MAPSS list: Jeremy Bailenson - Virtual Reality for Social Science Research

Should We Be Experimenting On Second Life?

Stanford University Communication Professor Jeremy Bailenson explains the values of immersive virtual environments for conducting research this Tuesday (May 6th).

***Also, if you are eligible for a MAPSS certificate by the end of this quarter, please fill out an application at (http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/cert/index.html) as soon as possible and send an email to Josh Pasek (josh@joshpasek.com) -- MAPSS Certificates will be awarded on May 19th, 2008 for the 2007/2008 year. You can sign up for the awards reception at (http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup_cert.html).***

Pizza will be served at the Education Building (Cubberley) Room 128 at 12:00PM, talk starts at 12:15PM. (RSVP for food at http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html)

Tuesday, May 6th
12:15 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128

Immersive Virtual Reality as a Social Science Research Tool

Historically, at least 3 methodological problems have dogged experimental social psychology: the experimental control-mundane realism trade-off, lack of replication, and unrepresentative sampling. We argue that immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) can help ameliorate, if not solve, these methodological problems and, thus, holds promise as a newsocial psychological research tool. In this article,we first present an overview of IVET and review IVET-based research within psychology and other fields. Next, we propose a general model of social influence within immersive virtual environments and present some preliminary findings regarding its utility for social psychology. Finally, we present a new paradigm for experimental social psychology that may enable researchers to unravel the very fabric of social interaction.

Jeremy Bailenson earned a B.A. cum laude from the University of Michigan in 1994 and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Northwestern University in 1999. After receiving his doctorate, he spent four years at the Research Center for Virtual Environments and Behavior at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and then an Assistant Research Professor. He currently is the director of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab.

Bailenson's main area of interest is the phenomenon of digital human representation, especially in the context of immersive virtual reality. He explores the manner in which people are able to represent themselves when the physical constraints of body and veridically-rendered behaviors are removed. Furthermore, he designs and studies collaborative virtual reality systems that allow physically remote individuals to meet in virtual space, and explores the manner in which these systems change the nature of verbal and nonverbal interaction.

His work has been published in several academic journals, including Cognitive Psychology, Discourse Processes, Human Communication Research, Psychological Science, and PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, and his research is funded by the National Science Foundation, Stanford University, and by various Silicon Valley and international corporations.

MAPSS is an interdisciplinary methodology program designed to expose researchers to diverse modes of data collection and analysis from across the social sciences. MAPSS offers a colloquium series, a workshop, a graduate certificate program, and various research resources. If you would like to learn more about the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), please check out our website at mapss.stanford.edu.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html
.
Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:15.
For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 04:35 PM

SPSS 16 for Mac bug workaround: email program crashes when attaching .sav file

[From SPSS tech support:]

Resolution number: 74684 Created on: Dec 14 2007 Last Reviewed on: Jan 3 2008

Problem Subject: Trying to attach an sav file to an email within a web browser crashed the browser with SPSS 16.0 installed.

Problem Description: I am using SPSS 16.0 for Mac. When I use my Mac to compose an email from within a web browser (such as Yahoo.com) and then try to attach an SPSS data file, it immediately crashes my browser. I have tried two browsers (Safari, Firefox) on my Mac and received the same result. This problem only occurs with SPSS attachments (not with Excel, Word, Ppt, PDF, etc. attachments). If I use the same site on a Windows machine PC, I can attach the SPSS file and send it out without it crashing.

I could send SPSS files as attachments without incident before I installed SPSS 16.0.

What is wrong?

Resolution Subject: This problem has been reported to SPSS Development - Workaround Available

Resolution Description:
This problem has been reported to SPSS Development. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Please see the workaround described below.

Please try compressing the files you want to send (which is recommended when transferring files via email). If you do not have a compression or zip utility you could rename the file to include a different extension and then rename the file once it is received in the email.

This problem has been filed with SPSS Development. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. At present there is no workaround available.

This has been filed as a defect to be fixed in a future release.

Product(s) Affected:
Product Version
SPSS 16.0.1
SPSS 16.0 GP
SPSS 16.0

Posted by yan at 03:17 PM