Faculty Profiles
Below you will find profiles for each of the Research Methodology Program faculty. Feel free to contact them with any questions.
Razia Azen, Ph.D.
Current Rank: Associate Professor and Area Chair, Research Methodology
Education: M.S. in Statistics (with specialization in Psychometrics and Behavioral Statistics), A.M. and Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Courses Typically Taught: Educational Statistical Methods I and II; Multiple Regression and Multivariate Methods; Advanced Experimental Design and Analysis; Analysis of Cross-classified Categorical Data.
Research Areas: My research focuses primarily on statistical models that have a wide range of applications in the social sciences and beyond. The main goals of my research are to develop methods that can address a wide variety of research questions and to aid researchers in properly applying statistical methods and interpreting statistical information. I have published in the area of psychological and educational statistics in journals such as Psychological Methods, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, and the British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology. In addition I have collaborated on research projects in the area of educational measurement that were published in Educational and Psychological Measurement as well as Applied Measurement in Education. I have also co-authored research projects using meta-analysis and mediation analysis in applied areas such as counseling psychology.
Current Research Projects: My current research projects include the investigation and improvement of statistical methods such as dominance analysis for comparing predictors in general linear models, including linear, hierarchical and multivariate models. In addition, I am investigating applications of the bootstrap technique and co-writing a textbook on categorical data analysis.
Professional Service (Editorial Boards, Offices): I am a member of Division 5 of the American Psychological Association and served as the chair of the membership committee of that division. I review manuscripts for various journals, including Psychological Methods, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, and the British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology.
Contact Information
Razia Azen
Department of Educational Psychology
P.O. Box 413
University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
E-mail: azen@uwm.edu
Office: Enderis 769
Phone: 414.229.5173
Vita for Razia Azen, Ph.D. at http://www.uwm.edu/~azen/vita.html
Wen Luo, Ph.D.
Current Rank: Assistant Professor, Research Methodology
Courses Typically Taught: Multiple Regression Analysis, Structural Equation Modeling
Research Areas: My primary quantitative research interests include Multi-Level Modeling (MLM), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and the application of these methods in longitudinal data analyses and mediation analysis. I am also interested in children's social and emotional development and the multilevel examination of teacher and school effectiveness.
Current Research Projects: My current research project involves investigating the consequences of ignoring crossed random effects in both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.
Professional Service (Editorial Boards, Offices): Ad-hoc reviewer of Multivariate Behavior Research.
Contact Information:
Wen Luo
Department of Educational Psychology
P.O. Box 413
University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
E-mail: luo@uwm.edu
Office: Enderis 759
Phone: 414-229-4998
To view Dr. Luo's Vita click here.
Cindy Walker, Ph.D.
Current Rank: Associate Professor, Research Methodologies; Director, Consulting Office for Research and Evaluation
Education: B.S. Mathematics, Roosevelt University; M.S. Mathematics Education, Illinois State University; Ph.D. Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Courses Typically Taught: Educational Statistical Methods I and II; Techniques of Educational and Psychological Measurement; Techniques of Educational Research; Psychometric Theory and Methods; Modern Test Theory; Categorical Data Analysis; Instrument Development
Research Areas: My research focuses primarily on testing and measurement, or applied issues in psychometrics, especially those related to item response theory. I have worked with the Certification and Skills Assessment team at Microsoft Corporation, the Office of the Superintendent of Instruction in the state of Washington, the Division of Research and Assessment at Milwaukee Public School District, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the National Science Foundation. Moreover, I have extensive experience working with large testing databases, such as TIMSS, NAEP, PISA and those associated with states and districts.
I have published on the topics of differential item functioning, multi-dimensional item response theory, proficiency classifications, and computer adaptive testing in the Journal of Educational Measurement, the International Journal of Testing, Applied Psychological Measurement, Applied Measurement in Education, and Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. My interest in psychometrics is enhanced by my interest in how children learn and are assessed in a constructivist mathematics classroom.
Current Research Projects: I am currently collaborating with Dr. Marilyn Shapiro, who is a faculty member at the Medical College of Wisconsin, on a research project funded by NIH. The purpose of this project is to develop and validate a theoretically based measure of health numeracy. I am also currently working as the internal evaluator for the Milwaukee Mathematics Partnership (MMP), a project funded by NSF that seeks to substantially improve mathematics achievement for the 100,000 K-12 Milwaukee Public Schools students. My role as the internal evaluator is to determine the impact of the MMP, in terms of increasing student achievement in mathematics. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, I have been able to demonstrate that a small proportion of the between school variability in student growth in mathematics can be explained by the level of a school's involvement in MMP professional development activities.
Professional Service (Editorial Boards, Offices): I currently serve on the editorial board of Applied Measurement in Education. I am a member of Division D (Measurement and Research Methodology) of the American Educational Research Association and am currently serving a three year term on the Significant Contributions to Research Methodology Award committee. I am also a member of the National Council for Measurement in Education and am currently serving a three year term on the NCME Standards & Test Use committee.
Contact Information
Cindy M. Walker
Department of Educational Psychology
P.O. Box 413
University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
E-mail: cmwalker@uwm.edu
Office: Enderis 777
Phone: 414-229-4165
Web site: http://www.uwm.edu/~cmwalker/
To view Dr. Walker's Vita click here.
Bo Zhang, Ph.D.
Current Rank: Assistant Professor, Research Methodology
Education: Ph.D. Research Methodology, University of Pittsburgh
Courses Typically Taught: Techniques of Educational and Psychological Measurement, Psychometric Theory, Item Response Theory, Survey Methodology, Classroom Assessment (undergraduate).
Research Areas: The main objective of my research is to ensure the appropriate measurement and interpretation of students' performance in various testing situations. To achieve that, I have been working on the appropriateness of measurement models, the procedures in estimating item parameters and students' ability levels, and the techniques in handling complex test data.
Other research areas include performance assessments and large-scale assessments. I am interested in ways of analyzing and interpreting test results when the student population is highly diversified in cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds
Contact Information:
Bo Zhang
Department of Educational Psychology
P.O. Box 413
University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
E-mail: boz@uwm.edu
Office: Enderis 729
Phone: 414-229-5742
To view Dr. Zhang's vita, click here.
