Statistical Techniques in AERJ Articles, 1979–1983: The Preparation of Graduate Students to Read the Educational Research Literature

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Abstract
The statistical techniques used in American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) research articles between 1979 and 1983 were coded by (a) type of technique, and (b) "major" or "minor" importance for comprehending the research findings. Twenty-seven types of technique were identified and further classified as "basic," "intermediate," or "advanced" level, in terms of typical statistics course progression. Of the "major" techniques, 33%, 37%, and 17% were basic, intermediate, and advanced level,, respectively. A review of statistics texts currently in use revert led that basic texts predominate and that the content coverage in both the basic-and intermediate-level texts generally matched well the techniques found in the AERJ articles. The findings suggest that students with both a basic-and intermediate-level knowledge of statistics would understand most of the techniques encountered in AERJ. Other topics addressed included an examination of trends in use of statistical techniques over time, and a comparison of AERJ techniques with those used in a sample of Journal of Educational Psychology (JEP) articles for the same time period.