Sample A: Cover Page of Thesis, Project, or Dissertation Proposal

independent variables will simply be referred to as independent variables throughout the
remaining discussion of the results. Dependent variables were not centered before
inclusion in analyses. When a dependent variable is in its original scale, predicted scores
are also in the units of the original scale and thus have the same arithmetic mean as the
observed criterion scores (Cohen et al., 2003).
Hierarchical regression analyses included the following independent variables in
the following sequential steps: (1) children‘s pre-intervention scores and the effect code
for group assignment; and (2) a variable representing the interactions of the effect code
for group assignment and children‘s pre-intervention scores. Children‘s post-intervention
scores were included as dependent variables for all analyses.
Literacy skills. To test the effects of the intervention in enhancing children‘s
vocabulary skills, one hierarchical regression analysis included the following independent
variables in the following sequential steps: (1) children‘s pre-intervention TOPEL
Definitional Vocabulary scores and the effect code for group assignment; and (2)
variables representing the interactions of children‘s pre-intervention scores and the effect
code for experimental group assignment. Children‘s post-intervention TOPEL
Definitional Vocabulary scores were included as the dependent variable.
Results revealed that the interactions of the effect code and pre-intervention
TOPEL Definitional Vocabulary scores together did not predict post-intervention TOPEL
Definitional Vocabulary scores after partialing the effects of pre-intervention TOPEL
Definitional Vocabulary scores and the effect code (∆R 2 step two = .00, ns). Only pre-
intervention TOPEL Definitional Vocabulary scores significantly predicted post-
109