Research for CRC

Syndicate content
Polynomial Families of Distributions
March 1, 1992
It is often necessary to estimate the population distribution of a random variate from a sample of observed values. Standard parametric families may not provide satisfactory fit to the data. A polynomial family is constructed by assuming that the distribution function G is a constrained polynomial of the cumulative distribution F of a convenient parametric family. Polynomial families offer great flexibility in data fitting, while retaining the important feature of parametric families that information in the data is condensed into a moderate number of values. This research contribution presents some theory of polynomial families.
Read More | Download Report
Analyzing Soviet Intentions: A Short Guide to Soviet Military Literature
March 1, 1989
This research contribution lays out a methodology for interpreting the Soviet literature dealing with military affairs. The following aspects are covered: the subject matter that normally yields the best evidence of Soviet intentions; the theoretical disciplines involved with this subject matter and their relationship to official channels; the problem of determining the truthfulness and authoritativeness of Soviet statements; and the rules of analysis in coping with their literature.
Read More | Download Report
Are Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Really Opposites? Ordered versus Unordered Models of Satisfaction with Military Life
January 1, 1989
This paper discusses the degree to which satisfaction and dissatisfaction with military life represent directionally opposite aspects of the same basic phenomenon. The analysis approach is to estimate an unordered model of survey responses regarding satisfaction with military life from Marine respondents to the 1985 DOD Member Survey. These estimates can be used to test whether satisfaction and dissatisfaction are opposites with respect to a particular set of variables.
Read More | Download Report
Military Herald Indices (1975-1979), Volume I
November 1, 1988
This group of indices lists all articles published in the Soviet military journal Voyenny vestnik (or Military Herald) from 1975 through 1979. The indices have been compiled from available FSTC translations of the article titles. If they were not available, the titles were translated by the staff at the Center for Naval Analyses. Volume I contains two sections. Section 1 lists the articles in chronological order. In Section 2, the articles have been arranged alphabetically by author. Volume II is a title index that lists the titles alphabetically by each key word in the title. These indices will be useful, for example, to researchers desiring to obtain all articles written on a specific subject regardless of author, articles by a particular author, or articles appearing in certain issues of Voyenny vestnik.
Read More | Download Report
Military Herald Indices (1975-1979), Volume II
November 1, 1988
This group of indices lists all articles published in the Soviet military journal Voyenny vestnik (or Military Herald) from 1975 through 1979. The indices have been compiled from available FSTC translations of the article titles. If they were not available, the titles were translated by the staff at the Center for Naval Analyses. Volume I contains two sections. Section 1 lists the articles in chronological order. In Section 2, the articles have been arranged alphabetically by author. Volume II is a title index that lists the titles alphabetically by each key word in the title. These indices will be useful, for example, to researchers desiring to obtain all articles written on a specific subject regardless of author, articles by a particular author, or articles appearing in certain issues of Voyenny vestnik.
Read More | Download Report
Learning Curves, Personal Characteristics, and Job Performance
March 1, 1988
This research contribution uses data on the productivity of Naval Reserve recruiters to estimate the effects of on-the-job learning, experience, and individual characteristics on job performance. The econometric approach begins with the Poisson distribution, whose mean is assumed to be a function of explanatory variables. Generalizations are specified to control for individual heterogeneity as well as over-dispersion.
Read More | Download Report
Is There Such A Thing As Overall Satisfaction With Military Life? A Factor Analysis of Marine Corps Data
February 1, 1988
This research contribution attempts to determine the number of dimensions in which satisfaction with military life should be measured. The analysis used a correlation matrix of satisfaction measures for Marine respondents to the 1985 DOD Member Survey and performed a standard factor analysis on that matrix. Three distinct dimensions of Marine satisfaction, having to do with personal fulfillment in the military, military family stability, and military fringe benefits, were identified.
Read More | Download Report
Estimating Reliabilities of CAT-ASVAB Subtests
January 1, 1988
An experimental computerized adaptive testing (CAT) version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) has been developed and administered, and a new version is under preparation. It is important that each CAT-ASVAB subtest be at least as reliable as its paper-pencil counterpart. This report presents two methods for estimating subtest reliabilities of the CAT version of the ASVAB, and illustrates them using data from the experimental version. These methods can be used with later versions.
Read More | Download Report
Developing a Competency Scale for Hands-on Measures of Job Proficiency
December 1, 1987
To make informed decisions concerning the allocation and management of military personnel, policymakers must have information that reflects the competence of their personnel -- the extent to which individuals can perform their job requirements. The Marine Corps Job Performance Measurement Project is a significant research effort to produce measures of job proficiency that will allow for such an absolute interpretation of test scores. This research contribution describes a test construction technique that results in the estimation of competency scores. Although the distribution of competency scores has implicit meaning with respect to a domain of job requirements, policymakers often have little knowledge of whether a particular score is acceptable or not. The interpretation of competency scores can be enhanced by establishing interpretative anchors for various performance levels of the competency score distribution. These interpretative anchors assist policymakers by providing a concrete reference against which to base their decisions and are essential in establishing the linkage of aptitude and job performance in determining enlistment standards.
Read More | Download Report