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Sarah L. Thomas

2617B Jefferson Park Circle Charlottesville, VA 22903

Sarah.L.Thomas.8@ | (704) 418-0025

pub/sarah-thomas/5a/aa/630/



SUMMARY

▪ Skilled in data analysis with a specialization in Rasch and Item Response Theory models

▪ Experienced in factor analysis, ANOVA, regression, mediation, structural equation modeling, dynamical systems analyses, and mixed effects models

▪ Excellent interpersonal, public speaking, and writing skills developed through academic conference presentations, doctoral studies, teaching, research, and work experience

▪ Proficient in Windows, Excel (including Macros), R, Winsteps, SPSS, QDA Miner (Qualitative and Text Data Analysis Software), and Onyx (Structural Equation Modeling)

Education

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Fall 2012 - May 2016

Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology, May 2016

Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

Fall 2010 - Summer 2012

M.A. in Psychology, August 2012

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Fall 2008 - Spring 2010

B.S. in Psychology; Minor in Biology, May 2010

Relevant Coursework

• Graduate-Research Design and Analysis in Psychology I and II (Univariate and Multivariate), Structural Equation Modeling, Tests and Measurements, Machine Learning & Data Mining, Item Response Theory, Dynamical Systems Analysis, Quantitative Methods I: Probability and Statistical Inference (audited) & II: Experimental Design, Multilevel Modeling (audited), and Introduction to Applied Multivariate Methods.

• Undergraduate- Introduction to Statistics, Psychological Measurement and Appraisal, Laboratory Research in Psychology.

• Workshops-Weeklong workshop on structural equation modeling with David Kenny and Betsy McCoach at the University of Connecticut, July 2011.

Research Experience

University of Virginia, Department of Psychology August 2012 - May 2016

Dr. Karen M. Schmidt, Supervisor

• Conducted projects to statistically detect test fraud on standardized certification exams both individually and as part of a team. The results were presented at the 2013 Detection of Potential Test Fraud Conference and the 2014 and 2015 Conference on Test Security. See “Do cheaters never prosper? Using psychometric analyses to detect test fraud.” in manuscripts.

• Completed a research project on how different anchoring methods perform in longitudinal Rasch models.

• Conducted a project investigating how different levels of degradation effect IRT estimates for Positive Affect scales in a longitudinal data set with increasing missing data over time, see “What you don’t know can hurt you: Partial credit model estimates under missing data” in publications.

• Analyzed data on HIV+ patients’ medication adherence beliefs, clinical diagnoses, and personality traits using Item Response Theory models and structural equation models.

Wake Forest University, Department of Psychology August 2010 - August 2012

Dr. Dustin O. Wood and Dr. Eric R. Stone, Supervisors

• Conducted a research project on anxiety across many situations and the Big Five personality traits and completed a thesis entitled “Situational Contingencies of Anxiety: What Anxieties Are Associated with Each of the Big Five?”

• Collaborated with a faculty advisor to collect and analyze survey data on participants’ likelihood of information disclosure in 83 situations and on their personality traits and wrote a major area paper on the results.

• Developed a coding rubric for features of situations and coordinated a coding team of five lab members to code features for two research projects.

University of North Carolina, Department of Psychology August 2009 - May 2010

Dr. Donald Baucom, Supervisor

• Coded videotaped interactions of couples dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer.

• Conducted a literature review on how breast cancer surgery affects sexual functioning.

Gardner-Webb University, Department of Psychology January 2008 - May 2008

Dr. David Carscaddon, Supervisor

Psychological Test Development Project

Project Manager

• Organized a student group that developed, pilot tested, and assessed the effectiveness of a test measuring how people respond to academic failure.

Manuscripts

Thomas, S.L., Schmidt, K.M., von Oertzen, T., & Brunnert, K.A. So Happy Together: Combining Rasch and Item Response Theory model estimates with Support Vector Machines to detect test fraud. Manuscript in preparation.

Thomas, S. L., Brunnert, K.A., Schmidt, K.M., Bontempo, B.D., Wilson, D.J., & Maynes, D. Do cheaters never prosper? Using psychometric analyses to detect test fraud. Manuscript under review.

Thomas, S. L., Schmidt, K.M., Erbacher, M.K., & Bergeman, C.S. (2015). What you don’t know can hurt you: Partial credit model estimates under missing data. Journal of Applied Measurement, 17.

Open Science Collaboration (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349.

Presentations and Posters

Thomas, S.L., Schmidt, K. M., & von Oertzen, T. (2016, April). Identifying compromised test items using the Rasch model and support vector machines. Presentation given at the 2016 International Objective Measurement Workshop, Washington, D.C.

Thomas, S.L. (2016, March). The case of the stolen test items. Presentation given at the UVA 2016 Robert J. Huskey Graduate Research Exhibition, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2016, March). Can a machine learn to detect compromised test items? Combining Support Vector Machines with Rasch and Item Response Theory models. Presentation given at Design and Data Analysis at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2016, March). Detecting cheating on standardized tests. Presentation given at the UVA 3 Minute Thesis Competition, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2016, February). Detecting cheating on standardized tests. Presentation given at the UVA 3 Minute Thesis Preliminary Heats, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas. S.L., Brunnert, K.A., Matthews-Lopez, J., & Schmidt, K.M. (2015, November). A comparison of correlational, cluster, and Item Response Theory analyses in the detection of compromised items. Presentation given at the 2015 Conference on Test Security, Lawrence, KS.

Thomas. S.L., Schmidt, K.M., & Brunnert, K. A. (2015, November). Detecting brain dump test fraud using support vector machines and the Rasch model. Presentation given at the 2015 Conference on Test Security, Lawrence, KS.

Thomas. S.L. (2015, October). Learning support vector machines in R: A better tutorial. Presentation given at Design and Data Analysis at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas. S.L., Schmidt, K.M, Erbacher, M.K., & Bergeman, C. (2015, April). Sliding scales and changing rulers: Anchoring the longitudinal measurement of positive affect. Presentation given at the International Outcomes Measurement Conference. Chicago, IL.

Thomas, S.L. (2015, March). Do cheaters never prosper? An introduction to test fraud research. Presentation given at the Robert J. Huskey Graduate Research Exhibition. Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2015, February). Current trends in the field of test fraud. Presentation given at Design and Data Analysis at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2014, November). “Cheaters gonna cheat”: Detecting test fraud in complex data. Presentation given at Design and Data Analysis at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Brunnert, K., Thomas, S.L, Lai, K., Meyer, J.P., Skorupski, W., & Maynes, D. (2014, October). Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew: Multiple detectives investigate invalid scores. Presentation to be given at the Conference on Test Security. Iowa City, IA.

Thomas. S.L. (2014, April). What you don’t know can hurt you: Missingness and Partial Credit Model estimates. Presentation given at the International Objective Measurement Workshop. Philadelphia, PA.

Thomas, S.L. (2014, March). Identification of test fraud through psychometric analyses. Presentation given at the Robert J. Huskey Graduate Research Exhibition. Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2013, November). The test fraud challenge: Blind identification of cheating through psychometric analyses. Presentation given at Design and Data Analysis at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Brunnert, K., Bontempo, B., Wilson, D.J., & Thomas, S.L. (2013, October). Test fraud detection challenge. Presented by K. Brunnert at the meeting of the 2nd Annual Statistical Detection of Potential Test Fraud Conference. Madison, WI.

Thomas, S.L. (2013, April). Missingness in longitudinal data and the Notre Dame Study on Health and Well-being. Presentation given at Design and Data Analysis at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2013, March). Predicting adherence beliefs about HIV treatment from clinical, personality, and social support variables. Presentation given at the Robert J. Huskey Graduate Research Exhibition. Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2012, December). Clinical and personality variables as predictors of adherence beliefs in HIV+ patients. Presentation given at Design and Data Analysis at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Thomas, S.L. (2012, April). Situational contingencies of information disclosure: Using basic correlations to illuminate who talks when and what that means. Poster session was presented at Graduate Research Day, Wake Forest University.

Thomas, S.L. (2012, January). Finding a link between personality and residential mobility: The importance of movement related experiences. Poster session was presented at the meeting of SPSP, San Diego, CA.

Thomas, S.L. (2011, October). Situational contingencies of information disclosure: Using basic correlations to illuminate who talks when and what that means. (Major Area Paper, Wake Forest University).

Thomas, S. L. (2011, May). Situational and dispositional correlates of information disclosure. Presentation given as a colloquium at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.

Honors

• Winner of the Benjamin D. Wright Innovations in Measurement Award, 2016

• UVA 3 Minute Thesis Finalist, 2016

• UNC Dean’s List Fall 2008, Spring 2009, and Spring 2010

• Member of UNC Tau Sigma National Honor Society 2008 - 2010

• GWU Dean’s List Fall 2006 - Spring 2008

• Gardner-Webb University’s One-Year Scholastic Award 2006 - 2007

• Gardner-Webb University’s Presidential Scholarship Fall 2006 - Spring 2008

• Gardner-Webb University’s Director’s Choice Award Fall 2006 - Spring 2008

Statistical Consulting Experience

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA July 2015 - present

Program for Anxiety, Cognition, and Treatment (PACT) Statistical Consultant

PI: Bethany Teachman

Collaborated with graduate students, post-docs, and faculty members to address data analysis issues in clinical datasets.

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA August 2015 – December 2015

Department of Psychology Statistical Consultant

Helped graduate students and faculty members address data analysis issues (ANOVA, MANOVA, RMANOVA, regression, moderated mediation analysis, SEM, and mixed effect models).

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA June 2014 – January 2015

Behavioral Medicine Statistical Consultant

PI: Daniel Cox

Managed, formatted, and analyzed data on executive functioning, physical fitness, risk taking, and driving skills (in a simulator and in reality) in adolescents.

Work Experience

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA June 2013 - August 2013; July 2014 - August 2014

Institutional Assessment and Studies Intern/Consultant August, 2015

Managed, formatted, anonymized, and analyzed large institutional data sets of text comments. See or for examples of how this work was used.

Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, Charlottesville, VA February 2013 - August 2014

Research Coder for Study of Boy Scouts of America Ineligible Volunteer Files

Reviewed files concerning alleged sexual abuse that occurred both nationally and internationally using sophisticated file and data storage systems to perform work securely and maintain confidentiality.

Teaching Experience

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA August 2012 - May 2015

Teacher’s Assistant for Research Methods

As a lecture TA: Answered students’ questions, held review sessions, conducted in-class exam reviews, and graded exams.

As a lab TA: Prepared and taught lab sections, attended weekly TA meetings, and graded assignments and papers.

As head TA: Formatted assignments in Collab for electronic submission, prepared and piloted lab content (including powerpoint slides, R scripts, Collab assignments, and TA materials), conducted weekly TA meetings, managed 11 TAs, and taught one lab section per week.

Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC August 2010 - May 2012

Teacher’s Assistant/Lab Instructor for Research Methods I

Conducted lab once or twice a week, generated exam questions, graded research reports and exams, and guided students through several research projects.

Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, NC August 2007 - May 2008

Tutor and Note Taker for Western Civilization and Personality Psychology

Met with students once a week or more to go over their notes for the class, create study guides, discuss confusing concepts, and complete practice questions. Took and distributed thorough notes to students through the learning assistance program.

Service

Graduate Student Well-Being Committee, Charlottesville, VA October 2012 - present

Committee Member

Attended meetings, generated ideas, surveyed graduate students, designed and implemented programs such as free yoga/mindfulness classes for graduate students, a graduate social event calendar and newsletter, and graduate student writing groups.

Reviewer for the Journal of Personality Assessment October 2015

Served as a peer reviewer for a submitted manuscript.

Collaborator on the Open Science Reproducibility Project: Psychology February 2015 - May 2015

Replicated analyses in R given a data set and a write-up of the results, assessed the appropriateness of the analyses used by the original author, and decided if the results replicated or not based on my analyses.

Research Methods Course Revision Team Member, Charlottesville, VA August 2014 - August 2015

Reviewed, assessed, edited, proof read, and finalized course powerpoints, R scripts, assignments, and syllabus. Helped choose and prepare the next head TA of the course.

Design and Data Analysis (DADA) Coordinator, Charlottesville, VA August 2014 - May 2015

Found and scheduled presenters, organized individuals to introduce presenters, made weekly announcements, and sent reminders about upcoming presentations.

Nesselroade Lab Co-Coordinator, Charlottesville, VA August 2013 – December 2015

Found and scheduled presenters, prepared presentations myself, sent reminders about upcoming presentations, managed the meeting space and prepared it each week.

CanThrive Research Lab, Chapel Hill, NC January 2010 - May 2010

Volunteer Coder

Coded videotapes of couples’ interactions.

Abuse Prevention Council, Shelby, NC January 2008 - May 2008

Volunteer

Answered calls to a rape hotline and volunteered at a local women’s shelter.

Skills

• Windows, Excel (including Macros), R, Winsteps, SPSS, Onyx Structural Equation Modeling, OpenMx, QDA Miner (Qualitative and Text Data Analysis Software)

• Basic Statistics, Factor Analysis, Regression, Mediation, Structural Equation Modeling, Item Response Theory Analyses, Dynamical Systems Analyses, Mixed Effect Models

• IRB Applications and Grant Writing

• Sona Systems: Human Subject Pool Management Software

References

Dr. Karen M. Schmidt (kmm4f@virginia.edu), University of Virginia.

Dr. Steven M. Boker (smb3u@virginia.edu), University of Virginia.

Dr. Timo von Oertzen (timo@virginia.edu), University of Virginia.

Dr. Kimberly A. Brunnert (k.brunnert@), Elsevier, Inc.

Lois Myers, M.A. (lm2r@virginia.edu), University of Virginia.

Sarah Schultz Robinson, M.S. (sas6tb@virginia.edu), University of Virginia.

Dr. R. Michael Furr (furrrm@wfu.edu), Wake Forest University.

Dr. Dustin O. Wood (dwood@wfu.edu), Wake Forest University.

Dr. Eric R. Stone (estone@wfu.edu), Wake Forest University.

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