The Research Symposia will be held synchronously. Prior to the conference, registered participants will receive, via email, links to access the synchronous sessions.

SYNCHRONOUS SESSIONS will be held using Zoom as the video conferencing platform.

Symposia Themes

Thursday, February 4th: But Does it Actually Matter? A Comparison of Parametric vs. Nonparametric Designs

The objective of this symposium is to draw attention to the patterns of results between parametric and nonparametric statistical tests when using the same data set. The purpose is to provide indicators as to when decisions to reject or fail to reject change and to unpack the use of non-parametric effect sizes. Discussions will include the conventions of using parametric tests versus nonparametric tests and nonparametric effect sizes. The impact of distribution shape and transformations have implications for null hypothesis testing and magnitude of effect. The goal of this symposium is to unpack the argument of what we know about the use and applicability of non-parametric analyses and non-parametric effect size estimates. Symposium Discussant: Kim Nimon ~ The University of Texas at Tyler

Friday, February 5th: Using Reflexivity as Rigor in Qualitative Research

Darawsheh (2014) cited Anderson (2008) and Hughes (2014) to define reflexivity as “the continuous process of self-reflection that researchers engage in to generate awareness about their actions, feelings and perceptions” (p. 561). Darawsheh (2014) also argued for the need for the increased usage of reflexivity as a form of improving rigor in qualitative research, as this is an underutilized tool of investigation. In this symposium, we take up the issue of rigor in qualitative research to examine the implications of using reflexivity as a researching and teaching tool with graduate students. Each presenter will examine reflexivity through the following papers. Symposium Discussant: Aaron Zimmerman ~Texas Tech University