Xing Liu
Curriculum Vitae
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
Xing.2.Liu@uconn.edu
Academic Background
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Ph. D candidate, Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment in Educational
Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
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Master of Laws/Ed., Moral and Political Education, Hohai University, Nanjing,
China, 2000.
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Associate Bachelor of Arts, English Language Education, Yangzhou Educational
College, Yangzhou, China, 1994.
Teaching / Professional Experience
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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.
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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
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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)
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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)
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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:
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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, 19971998
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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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, 20042007
Member of Teaching Educational Psychology SIG of AERA, 2005-2006
Member and Reviewer of International Educational Studies SIG of AERA, 20052006
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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