Xing Liu
Curriculum Vitae
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Department of Educational Psychology
University of Connecticut
249 Glenbrook Road, U-2064
Storrs, CT 06269-2064
Residence (860) 429-2104
Campus office (860) 486-8327
Fax (860) 486-8325
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Academic Background
· Ph. D candidate, Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment in Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
· Master of Laws/Ed., Moral and Political Education, Hohai University, Nanjing, China, 2000.
· Associate Bachelor of Arts, English Language Education, Yangzhou Educational College, Yangzhou, China, 1994.
Teaching / Professional Experience
· Data analyst. Graduate Research Assistant for Teachers for a New Era (TNE) Project at UConn, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, May 2006 to present.
· Research Consultant. Graduate Assistant, Measurement, Evaluation & Assessment program (MEA), Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, August 2005 to May 2006.
· Data analyst. Graduate Research Assistant for Teachers for a New Era (TNE) Project at UConn, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, May to August 2005.
· Teaching Assistant for EPSY 309/313 (statistics courses), Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, August 2004 to May 2005.
· Program Graduate Assistant for Measurement, Evaluation & Assessment (MEA), Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, August 2003 to May 2004.
· Education Technology Graduate Assistant at University of Connecticut Educational Microcomputer Lab (UCEML), Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, August 2002 to May 2005.
· Educational Researcher, Taizhou Municipal Government Office, Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, China, 2000-2002.
· English Teacher, Xi Lai Middle & High School, Jingjiang City, Jiangsu Province, China, 1994-1997.
Research & Teaching Interests
Research methodology; Multilevel modeling; Longitudinal data analysis; Categorical data analysis; Structural equation modeling; Design of evaluation instruments; Applied psychometrics; Applications of classical test theory and item response theory; Classroom assessment and grading practices; Cross-cultural educational comparisons
Statistics Background and Measurement Skills
· Experienced in:
All levels of introductory and multivariate techniques, including t-test, One-way ANOVA, Two-way ANOVA, ANCOVA, Repeated Measures; Correlation, Multiple Linear Regression; MANOVA, MANCOVA, Canonical Analysis, Discriminant Function Analysis; Principle Component Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis; and additional advanced techniques include:
Causal Modeling (Structural Equation Modeling);
Logistic Regression Models, Ordinal Regression Models;
Multinomial response Models;
Poisson Models for count data;
Hierarchical Linear Models; Multilevel Growth Models;
Survival Analysis for Event Occurrence;
Multidimensional Scaling Analysis;
Cluster Analysis;
Reliability Analysis;
Design and Analysis of Experiments;
Applications of Generalizability Theory;
Applications of Item Response Theory (Test construction, test score equating, detection of DIF items, etc)
· Proficient in using the following statistics packages to analyze data:
Three main general purpose statistics packages: SPSS, SAS, and STATA;
Other specialized packages: HLM (for hierarchical linear models), AMOS (for structural equation modeling), nQuery (for power analysis) and BILOG (for IRT parameter estimation)
· Proficient in using other software packages:
Microsoft ACCESS (for database management), Stat/Transfer (for data files transformation in different programs), Perseus Survey Solutions (for on-line survey design)
Awards and Scholarship:
· Pre-doctoral Scholarship, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, 2005
· J. Raymond and Augusta Gerberich Scholarship, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, 2005
· Robert Gable Scholarship, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, 2004
· Excellent Graduate Student Title, Hohai University, 2000
· Outstanding Graduate Scholarship, Hohai University, 1998-1999
· Excellent Prize of National Wen Hua Cup Chinese Calligraphy Competition, 1998-1999
· First Prize of Graduate Calligraphy, Hohai University, 1998-1999
· Liu Yuzao Scholarship, Hohai University, 1997-1998
· Second Prize of Hohai Cup Calligraphy Competition, Hohai University, 1997-1998
· Outstanding Graduate Scholarship, Hohai University, 1996-1997
· Third Prize of Teaching Competition of Teachers in Jingjiang City, 1994-1995
Publications:
O’Connell, A.A., Ataya, R.L., Zhao, J., Liu, X., & Allen, S. (2006). Web-based instruction for statistical power analysis (Allan Rossman and Beth Chance, Eds.) Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Teaching Statistics, International Statistics Institute.
Liu, X. (2002). The study of the reforms of administrative examination and approval system and its relationship with WTO, Science of Leadership (China), 2.
Liu, X. (2000). Intellectual economy and the changing of higher education ideas. Journal of Liuzhou Teacher’s College (China), 1.
Hu, J., & Liu, X. (1999). On government equality function and sustainable development. Jiangxi Social Sciences (China), 6.
Presentations:
Liu, X., (2007, April). Ordinal regression analysis: Fitting the proportional odds model using Stata, SAS and SPSS. Paper accepted for presentation at the 2007 Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA). Chicago, IL.
Liu, X., & O’Connell, A.A. (2006, October). Ordinal regression analysis: Fitting the proportional odds model using Stata and SAS. Poster presented at the 37th Northeastern Educational Research Association annual meeting. Kerhonkson, New York.
Liu, X., & Swaminathan, H. (2006, October). Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC): An extension of reliability analysis to multilevel growth models. Paper presented at the 37th Northeastern Educational Research Association annual meeting. Kerhonkson, New York.
O’Connell, A.A., Ataya, R.L., Zhao, J., Liu, X., & Allen, S. (2006, July). Web-based instruction for statistical power analysis. Invited presentation for the 7th International Conference on Teaching Statistics, Salvador, Brazil.
Liu, X., O’Connell, A.A., & McCoach, D.B. (2006, April). The initial validation of teachers’ perceptions of grading practices. Paper presented at the 2006 Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA). San Francisco, CA.
O’Connell, A.A., Liu, X., Zhao, J., & Goldstein, J. (2006, April). Residual analysis for proportional and partial proportional odds models. Paper presented at the 2006 Annual American Educational Research Association (AERA). San Francisco, CA.
Brown, S., Behuniak, P., Goldstein, J., Richards, C., Natale, C.F., Tomala, G., Stern, D., Liu, X., & Gehlbach, H. (2006, Febrary). The teachers for a new era project at UConn: Induction survey results. Paper presented at the 2006 Annual Conference of Eastern Educational Research Association (EERA). Hilton Head, SC.
Liu, X., & O’Connell, A.A. (2005, October). Using multilevel modeling for change to assess early children’s reading growth over time. Paper presented at the 36th Northeastern Educational Research Association annual meeting. Kerhonkson, New York.
Liu, X., & Rogers, H. J. (2005, October). Evaluation of some fit statistics for item response models. Paper presented at the 36th Northeastern Educational Research Association annual meeting. Kerhonkson, New York.
Zhao, J., O’Connell, A.A., & Liu, X. (2005, April). Students’ use of statistical representations and their attitudes towards statistics: An examination of relationships and instructional implications. Symposium paper presented at the Educational Statisticians (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association conference. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Levitt, H., Idzelis, M., Liu, X., Heybruck K., & Zhao, J. et. al. (2005, April). Reflection on the role of service learning in the teaching of program evaluation. Paper presented at the 19th Annual Edward F. Kelly conference. Albany, New York.
Liu, X., & O’Connell, A.A. (2004, October). An application of HLM to estimate the school and children’s effects on reading achievement. Paper presented at the 35th Northeastern Educational Research Association annual meeting. Kerhonkson, New York.
Liu, X. (2004, October). The initial validation of teacher’s perception of grading practices. Paper presented at the 35th Northeastern Educational Research Association annual meeting. Kerhonkson, New York.
O’Connell, A.A., Liu, X., Zhao, J., & Goldstein, J. (2004, October). Understanding residual diagnostics of ordinal regression models. Paper presented at the 35th Northeastern Educational Research Association annual meeting. Kerhonkson, New York.
Technical Reports and Other Manuscripts
Liu X., & Gehlbach, H. (2006). Research Report: TNE Common Entry and Exit Survey. Teachers for a New Era (TNE), University of Connecticut.
Liu X., & Gehlbach, H. (2006). Technical Report: Scales of the TNE Common Entry and Exit Survey. Teachers for a New Era (TNE), University of Connecticut.
Selected Research Projects
Teachers for a New Era (TNE) Project (May, 2006- the current; May-August, 2005), University of Connecticut
Project Lead: Dr. Scott W. Brown, Director
Using repeated measures to analyze students’ achievement progress; Using Logistic regression to predict students’ achievement levels; Conducting reliability analysis for the repeated measures; Using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to validate the survey instruments; Conducting extensive data analyses of TNE Common Entry and Exit Survey, and writing technical and research reports; working on the large data sets of TNE Induction Survey regarding mentoring and the Connecticut BEST program (Beginning Educator Support and Training), conducting data analysis to study the beginning teachers’ perceptions of mentoring and BEST program among different education reference groups (ERG), and large datasets management.
Statistical Power Analysis Project (June – July, 2006)
With Major Advisor, Dr. Ann A. O’Connell
Developing research-based tutorial lessons for power, effect size, and sample size questions; demonstrating how to use the nQuery software to conduct power analysis for the Chi-square test (http://power.education.uconn.edu/Chi-square%20Test.htm).
Research Consulting Center (August, 2005 – May, 2006), Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut
Supervisor: Dr. Hariharan Swaminathan
Providing research and statistical assistance to the faculty and graduate students in Neag School of Education. Data analysis covers multilevel growth curve models, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, instrument design, logistic regression models, ordinal regression models, multinomial regression models, and multivariate statistics.
Model Diagnostics for Ordinal Logistic Regression Models (February – April, 2006; May –October, 2005)
With Major Advisor, Dr. Ann A. O’Connell
Conducting residual diagnostics for proportional and partial proportional odds models using SAS, SPSS, and STATA packages. An application of these diagnostic methods was used to predict the proficiency in early literacy for children drawn from the kindergarten cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K).
Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis of the Bilingual Students’ Correct Long Vowel Spelling (November, 2005- January, 2006)
With Dr. Besty D. McCoach
Using multilevel modeling to assess the growth trajectories of the correct long vowel spelling for the bilingual students.
A Study of Fit Statistics for Item Response Models (May – October, 2005)
With Dr. H. Jane Rogers
Examining the Orlando-Thissen statistic and comparing its performance in detecting model misfit to the conventional chi-square fit procedures under conditions not examined in previous studies. Data were generated according to three-parameter unidimensional IRT models and multidimensional models with varying dimensional structures. Dgen, Bilog-MG, Resid and Sum programs were used for data simulation and analysis.
Professional Organizations & Services:
· Member and proposal reviewer for Division D (Measurement and Research Methodology) of AERA, 2005-2007
· Member and proposal reviewer for Educational Statisticians SIG of AERA, 2004-2007
· Member of Teaching Educational Psychology SIG of AERA, 2005-2006
· Member and Reviewer of International Educational Studies SIG of AERA, 2005-2006
· Member of American Statistical Association (ASA), 2006 to 2007
· Member of Northeastern Educational Research Association (NERA), 2003 to 2007
· Member of TNE Assessment Committee, 2006-2007
· Member of Connecticut Area Program Evaluator’s Network (CAPE.Net) (AEA Affiliate), 2004-2005
· Reviewer of Multilevel Analysis of Educational Data (Chapter 15) by Ann A. O’Connell & D. Betsy McCoach (Eds.) (forthcoming).
· Reviewer for the first issue of the Journal of Advanced Academics (JAA) (forthcoming).
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