Ann A. O’Connell

Dr. Ann A. O’Connell is Professor of Educational Statistics, Measurement, and Evaluation in the Department of Educational Psychology at Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education. Her research interests are in applications of multilevel and generalized linear models, quantitative approaches to the use of research evidence, data science in education, and evaluation of interventions in health and education. Dr. O’Connell is engaged in a variety of projects at local, national, and international levels.

She was the Principal Investigator for a recently completed Methods Training Grant from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) focused on strengthening capacity for selection and use of evidence-based interventions and practices and data-informed decision making in choice of interventions. She is the lead evaluator for the NCI Awardees’ Skills Development Consortium (NASDC) examining the impact of cancer research training on new investigators’ research trajectories.

On an international level, Dr. O’Connell has an ongoing collaboration with Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Ethiopia, teaching courses in statistics and research methods and partnering with faculty and graduate students to study STEM education and early childhood learning outcomes and teacher practices in Ethiopia. She received a Fulbright Scholar award in 2013-14 during which she taught at AAU as well as Jimma University, University of Gondar, and Mekele University in Ethiopia.

Dr. O’Connell teaches courses in Multilevel Modeling, Regression and Multivariate Analysis, Introductory Statistics, Sampling and Survey Research Methods, and has led graduate seminars in data science and big data in education. She is an advocate for interdisciplinary science, and while at The Ohio State University (prior to Rutgers) she developed and directed the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Quantitative Research Methods.

She is the author and editor of a number of books on advanced statistical methods and 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.