Methodologies for Conducting Research on Giftedness

268 Pages·2010·1.721 MB·English

by  Bruce Thompson and Rena F. Subotnik (Editors)

Methodologies for Conducting
Research on Giftedness
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Methodologies
for Conducting
Research on
Giftedness
EDITEDBY
Bruce Thompson and Rena F. Subotnik
American Psychological Association
Washington,DC
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Methodologies for conducting research on giftedness / [edited by] Bruce Thompson and
Rena F. Subotnik. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4338-0714-5
ISBN-10: 1-4338-0714-9
1. Gifted children—Research. 2. Gifted children—Ability testing. I. Thompson, Bruce,
1951- II. Subotnik, Rena Faye.
BF723.G5M48 2010
155.45'5072—dc22
2009032682
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record is available from the British Library.
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition
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CONTENTS
Contributors............................................................................................... vii
Foreword...................................................................................................... ix
Robert J. Sternberg
Introduction: A Promising Future for Research in Gifted Education......... 3
Rena F. Subotnik and Bruce Thompson
I. Advanced Techniques............................................................................ 9
Chapter 1. Use of Factor Analysis Techniques in the Study
of Giftedness................................................................... 11
Robin K. Henson
Chapter 2. Q-Technique Factor Analysis as a Vehicle
to Intensively Study Especially Interesting People........ 33
Bruce Thompson
Chapter 3. pValues Versus Confidence Intervals as Warrants
for Conclusions That Results Will Replicate................. 53
Geoff Cumming
v
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Chapter 4. Statistical Significance, Result Worthiness
and Evidence: What Lessons Are There
for Giftedness Education in Other Disciplines?............. 71
Fiona Fidler
Chapter 5. Reliability Generalization Methods in the Context
of Giftedness Research................................................... 89
Kevin M. Kieffer, Robert J. Reese, and Tammi Vacha-Haase
Chapter 6. Mixed Data Collection and Analysis
for Conducting Research on Giftedness and Beyond.. 113
Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Kathleen M.T. Collins,
Nancy L. Leech, and Qun G. Jiao
II. Complex Analyses............................................................................ 145
Chapter 7. Promise and Pitfalls of Structural Equation
Modeling in Gifted Research....................................... 147
Rex B. Kline
Chapter 8. Hierarchical Linear Modeling Applications
in the Context of Giftedness Research........................ 171
J. Kyle Roberts, Kim Nimon, and Lindsey Martin
Chapter 9. Contemporary Methods for Handling Missing Data
in Observational Studies of Giftedness........................ 193
Jason E. King and Brian G. Dates
III. Reflections From Leaders in the Field........................................... 213
Chapter 10. Two Perspectives on Statistics in Gifted Education.... 215
Paula Olszewski-Kubilius
Chapter 11. Moving the Field of Gifted Studies Toward
Increasingly Sophisticated Approaches to Research:
An Homage to Michael Pyryt...................................... 229
Tracy L. Cross and Jennifer R. Cross
Chapter 12. Research Methods for Gifted Studies: Comments
and Future Directions................................................... 241
D. Betsy McCoach
Index ....................................................................................................... 253
About the Editors..................................................................................... 265
vi CONTENTS
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CONTRIBUTORS
Kathleen M.T. Collins, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and
Instruction, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Jennifer R. Cross, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Gifted Educa-
tion, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Tracy L. Cross,Jody and Layton Smith Professor of Psychology and Gifted
Education & Executive Director, Center for Gifted Education, College
of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Geoff Cumming, Emeritus Professor, School of Psychological Science,
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia
Brian G. Dates, Director of Evaluation and Research, Southwest Counsel-
ing Solutions, Detroit, MI
Fiona Fidler, ARC Post Doctoral Fellow, School of Psychological Science,
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia
Robin K. Henson, Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Uni-
versity of North Texas, Denton
Qun G. Jiao,Professor and Librarian, Newman Library, Baruch College, City
University of New York, New York, NY
Kevin M. Kieffer,Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psy-
chology, Saint Leo University, Saint Leo, FL
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Jason E. King,Associate Director, Evaluation and Research, Office of Con-
tinuing Medical Education, and Associate Professor, School of Allied
Health Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Rex B. Kline, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Concordia
University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Nancy L. Leech, Associate Professor, School of Education and Human
Development, University of Colorado–Denver
Lindsey Martin, Doctoral Student, Department of Teaching and Learning,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
D. Betsy McCoach, Associate Professor, Measurement, Evaluation and
Assessment, University of Connecticut, Storrs
Kim Nimon, Assistant Professor, Department of Learning Technologies,
University of North Texas, Denton
Paula Olszewski-Kubilius,Director, Center for Talented Development, Pro-
fessor, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University,
Evanston, IL
Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie,Professor, Department of Educational Leadership
and Counseling, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Robert J. Reese,Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational, School,
and Counseling Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington
J. Kyle Roberts,Associate Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Robert J. Sternberg, Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University,
Medford, MA
Rena F. Subotnik,Director, Center for Psychology in Schools and Education,
American Psychological Association, Washington, DC
Bruce Thompson,Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, and
of Library Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, and
Adjunct Professor of Allied Health Sciences, Baylor College of Med-
icine, Houston, TX
Tammi Vacha-Haase,Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Col-
orado State University, Fort Collins
viii CONTRIBUTORS
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FOREWORD
ROBERT J. STERNBERG
Everyone likes to receive gifts. Yet the field of giftedness has not been
accepted happily into the broader realm of education. Indeed, giftedness has
become more like that gift of an ugly tie you receive from your in-laws that
you quickly stuff in a drawer, pulling it out only when the in-laws visit and
hoping it has not become too wrinkled. Any observer of this reaction might
wonder why the study of gifts has not been welcomed in the ways gifts usually
are. Next, that observer might wonder why the gifted themselves often are
not welcomed into the U.S. educational system.
To take the second question first, the gifted often are not welcome
because they seem too much like the rich uncle who wants you, in your rela-
tive poverty, to help him become richer at your expense. Many educators feel
that the gifted are the last ones to need special services and thus feel put upon
when they are asked or even required to provide such special services. And
many gifted students want nothing less than to stand out from all their fellow
students, marked as being not quite special, but rather as especially dorky. Yet
these gifted students are often those who most need special services to allevi-
ate the repetition and excruciating boredom they may experience in a typi-
cal classroom.
ix