Ann O'Connell, EdD
Dr. Ann A. O’Connell is a Professor in the Department of Educational Studies, Program Chair for the Quantitative Research, Evaluation and Measurement Program at The Ohio State University and a Faculty Associate in the Center for Education and Training for Employment.Dr. O’Connell’s research interests are in quantitative methods, the use of research evidence and evidence-based interventions, and capacity-building for quantitative research methods. The types of statistical models she works with the most are generalized linear and mixed models – particularly for ordinal or count outcomes – and models for complex survey data. She is passionate about strengthening methodological capacity among applied researchers, and working with her students and colleagues on evaluation of educational, health, and wellness initiatives.
Dr. O’Connell is engaged in a variety of projects at local, national, and international levels. She is currently the Principal Investigator for EBITE: Evidence-based Intervention Training for Education, a 3-year Methods Training grant from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) in collaboration with colleagues at The Ohio State University and Ohio University. The goal of EBITE is to strengthen capacity among schools, districts, and their higher-education partners for the selection and use of evidence-based interventions. Training involves a week-long summer workshop coupled with academic-year coaching, with the first cohort (2021-22) targeting Ohio schools, districts, and higher education institutes. National recruitment for Cohort 2 is underway.
For the past decade, Dr. O’Connell has been teaching courses in statistics and research methods at Addis Ababa University (AAU), in Ethiopia, and received a Fulbright Scholar award in 2013-14 during which she taught at the College of Education and Behavioral Studies (CEBS) at AAU. She provided additional trainings and workshops throughout Ethiopia at Jimma University, University of Gondar, and Mekele University, and formalized an MOU and partnership between the College of Education and Human Ecology with AAU/CEBS. Through this partnership, CEBS faculty have visited and worked within EHE, and EHE faculty and graduate students participate in research activities and teach courses and workshops at AAU. Much of this work focuses on methodology capacity, early childhood care and education, and STEM education.
Dr. O’Connell teaches courses on Multilevel Modeling, Introductory Statistics, Regression/Anova, Categorical Data Analysis, Multivariate Analysis, and Sampling and Survey Research Methods. She developed and directs OSU’s Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Quantitative Research Methods (GISQRM) with co-directors Dr. Xin Feng (Human Sciences) and Dr. Rebecca Garabed (Veterinary Preventive Medicine).
Her research is published in the Journal of Research in Educational Effectiveness, Journal of Experimental Education, Journal of Educational Psychology, New Directions in Program Evaluation, and other outlets. She is the author and editor of a number of books on advanced statistical methods, and is the recipient of several awards, including the Educational Statisticians’ Outstanding Service Award, awarded by the American Educational Research Association, the Lorne H. Woolatt Distinguished Paper Award from the Northeastern Educational Research Association, and the College of Education Outstanding Award for Research, awarded by the University of Memphis. More information on her work can be found on her website.