¹For more information on the B&B survey, consult U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Methodology Report for the 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (NCES 2003–156) (Washington, DC: 2003). (return to text)

²The B&B:2000/01 sample is not a simple random sample, and therefore, simple random sample techniques for estimating sampling error cannot be applied to these data. The DAS takes into account the complexity of the sampling procedures and calculates standard errors appropriate for such samples. The method for computing sampling errors used by the DAS involves approximating the estimator by the linear terms of a Taylor series expansion. The procedure is typically referred to as the Taylor series method. (return to text)

³A Type I error occurs when one concludes that a difference observed in a sample reflects a true difference in the population from which the sample was drawn, when no such difference is present. (return to text)

⁴U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, A Note from the Chief Statistician, no. 2, 1993. (return to text)

⁵Ibid.(return to text)

⁶The standard that p < .05/k for each comparison is more stringent than the criterion that the significance level of the comparisons should sum to p < .05. For tables showing the t statistic required to ensure that p < .05/k for a particular family size and degrees of freedom, see Olive Jean Dunn, “Multiple Comparisons Among Means,” Journal of the American Statistical Association 56 (1961): 52–64. (return to text)

⁷More information about ANOVA and significance testing using the F statistic can be found in any standard textbook on statistical methods in the social and behavioral sciences. (return to text)