The objective of meta-analysis is to combine results from several independent studies in order to create generalization and provide evidence base for decision making. But recent studies show that the magnitude of effect size estimates reported in many areas of research significantly changed over time and this can impair the results and conclusions of meta-analysis. A number of sequential method...

The main objective of this paper is to provide experimental designs for the estimation of fixed effects and two variance components, in the presence of nested random effects. Random nested factors arise from quantity designations such as lot or batch, and from sampling and measurement procedures. We introduce a general class of designs for mixed-effects models with random nested factors, called...

This article introduces a new class of experimental designs, called split factorials, which allow for the estimation of both response surface effects (fixed effects of crossed factors) and variance components arising from nested random effects. With an economical run size, split factorials provide flexibility in dividing the degrees of freedom among the different estimations. For a split factor...

What Do Social Scientists Know About the Benefits of Marriage? A Review of Quantitative Methodologies This study critically reviews quantitative methods that have been employed and evidence that has been gathered to assess the benefits of marriage and consequences of other family structures. The study begins by describing theoretical models of the determinants of different well-being outcomes a...

19 The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the influence of rein contact and 20 the movement of the rider’s hand on the horse’s behaviour, analysing data on horses ridden 21 in two different head and neck positions. We hypothesized that the rider’s hand movements 22 and rein tension generate behavioural responses from the horse, and more so when ridden 23 on the bit compared to fre...