A preliminary study to evaluate the reproducibility of factor analysis results: The case of educational research journals in Turkey

In quantitative research, an attempt to reproduce previously reported results requires at least a transparent definition of the population, sampling method, and the analyses procedures used in the prior studies. Focusing on the articles published between 2010 and 2017 by the four prestigious educational research journals in Turkey, this study aimed to investigate the reproducibility of the factor analysis results from a theoretical perspective. A total of 275 articles were subject to descriptive content analysis. Results showed that 77.8% of the studies did not include an explicit definition of the population under interest, and in 50.9% of the studies, the sampling method was either not clear or reported to be convenience sampling. Moreover, information about the missing data or a missing data dealing technique was absent in the 76% of the articles. Approximately, half of the studies were found to have inadequate model fit. Furthermore, in almost all studies, it could not be determined whether the item types (i.e., levels of measurement scales) were taken into consideration during the analyses. In conclusion, the majority of the investigated factor analysis results were evaluated to be non-reproducible in practice

Does Project Children’s University Increase Academic Self-Efficacy in 6th Graders? A Weak Experimental Design

The purpose of this study is to determine whether students’ academic self-efficacy levels increase through a 20 week of education that is based on the problem-based learning theory and transmitted in an inter-disciplinary manner in Project Children’s University. The project aimed to teach students to learn how to learn. Eventually, students will be life-long learners and gain sustainable learning skills. In order to observe the effect of Project Children’s University, academic self-efficacy levels are measured in terms of “self-efficacy in ability„, “context„, and “education quality domains„. Changes in treatment group students’ academic self-efficacy levels are modeled in growth curve modeling framework throughout three waves. Then, they are compared with those of control group students using Welch’s t test. Results have shown that the levels of academic self-efficacy throughout the research have fallen significantly for the treatment group students. In addition, the levels of self-efficacy in ability of the treatment group students were significantly higher than the levels of the control group students. On the other hand, the levels of context of the treatment group students were significantly lower than the levels of the control group students. In conclusion, Project Children’s University has failed to increase students’ academic self-efficacy levels, but entitled them to understand what academic self-efficacy really means, to socialize, to be self-confident students, and to criticize themselves more rationally

A Preliminary Study to Evaluate the Reproducibility of Factor Analysis Results: The Case of Educational Research Journals in Turkey

In quantitative research, an attempt to reproduce previously reported results requires at least a transparent definition of the population, sampling method, and the analyses procedures used in the prior studies. Focusing on the articles published between 2010 and 2017 by the four prestigious educational research journals in Turkey, this study aimed to investigate the reproducibility of the factor analysis results from a theoretical perspective. A total of 275 articles were subject to descriptive content analysis. Results showed that 77.8% of the studies did not include an explicit definition of the population under interest, and in 50.9% of the studies, the sampling method was either not clear or reported to be convenience sampling. Moreover, information about the missing data or a missing data dealing technique was absent in the 76% of the articles. Approximately, half of the studies were found to have inadequate model fit. Furthermore, in almost all studies, it could not be determined whether the item types (i.e., levels of measurement scales) were taken into consideration during the analyses. In conclusion, the majority of the investigated factor analysis results were evaluated to be non-reproducible in practice