Publications

Publications (Google Scholar) 

1. Shen, Z., Li, W., & Leite, W. (in press). Statistical power and optimal design for randomized controlled trials investigating mediation effects. Psychological Methods. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000698

2. Marcoulides, K., Suen, K., Fisk, C., Harring, J., Shen, Z., & Leite, W. (in press). Sensitivity analyses for omitted confounders in structural equation models with tabu search optimization. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2026.2655840

3. Shen, Z. (2026). Optimal design and analysis for equivalence tests in randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Evaluation, 47(3), 421-440. https://doi.org/10.1177/10982140261441196

4. Shen, Z., Guo, R., Li, J., Dong, N., & Cox, K. (2026). Statistical power and optimal design in randomized controlled trials testing equivalence. In Kim, J.-S., Wallin, G., Wu, H., Sweet, T. M., Junker, B. W., Moustaki, I., Harring, J. R., Bulut, O., Tong, X. C., & Di Plinio, S. (Eds.). Proceedings of the 90th Annual International Meeting of the Psychometric Society, Minneapolis, United States (2025). https://doi.org/10.64028/imps2025.e6i0impmgh

5. Shen, Z., Kelcey, B., Li, J., Leite, W., & Lu, Z. (2026). Cost-efficient sampling strategies for cluster-randomized trials detecting moderation and main effects. In Kim, J.-S., Wallin, G., Wu, H., Sweet, T. M., Junker, B. W., Moustaki, I., Harring, J. R., Bulut, O., Tong, X. C., & Di Plinio, S. (Eds.). Proceedings of the 90th Annual International Meeting of the Psychometric Society, Minneapolis, United States (2025). https://doi.org/10.64028/imps2025.smoja9udpf

6. Shen, Z., Curran, C., Fleming, K., Splett, J., Poekert, P., & Bratsch-Hines, M. (2026). Science outcome design parameters for cluster-randomized trials involving teachers. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 19(1), 49-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2024.2417283

7. Fabes, R., Shen, Z., McDonald, A., & Catherine, E. (2026). Levels of use of exclusionary discipline in U.S. public elementary schools: Patterns over time and relations with chronic student absenteeism. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, 4:1773644. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2026.1773644

8. Shen, Z., Leite, W., Zhang, H., Quan, J., & Kuang, H. (2025). Using ant colony optimization to identify optimal sample allocations in cluster-randomized trials. The Journal of Experimental Education, 93(1), 167-185. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2024.2306392

9. Zhang, H., Shen, Z., & Leite, W. (2025). The impacts of small teacher-level sample sizes in experimental studies. The Journal of Experimental Education, 93(1), 218-237. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2024.2376627

10. Mammadov, S., Shen, Z., Lamb, K. N., & ‡Avci, A. H. (2025). The role of basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration and emotional well-being in everyday creativity: A daily diary approach. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 59(3), e70060. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70060

11. Li, J., Lu, Z., Madison, M., Shen, Z. (2025). Performances of collapsed Gibbs sampling, posterior mode estimation and joint maximum likelihood estimation on diagnostic classification models for boundary problems. In Kim, J.-S., Wu, H., Sweet, T. M., Molenaar, D., Junker, B. W., Moustaki, I., Harring, J. R., Bulut, O., Tong, X., Wallin, G., & Di Plinio, S. (Eds.). Proceedings of the 89th Annual International Meeting of the Psychometric Society, Prague, Czech Republic, 2024. https://doi.org/10.64028/rqjc519600

12. Griffith, R., Fite, P., Shen, Z. (2025). Hostile attribution bias and working memory in the link between trauma exposure and violence in justice-involved youth. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 23(1), 34-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/15412040241271239

13. Fabes, R., Shen, Z., Catherine, E., McDonald, A., Low, S., & Xie, F. (2024). Relations of the use of out-of-school suspensions in U.S. public pre-kindergarten programs to neighborhood opportunity. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, 2, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2024.1479290 

14. Shen, Z., Curran, C., You, Y., Splett, J., & Zhang, H. (2023). Intraclass correlations for evaluating the effects of teacher empowerment programs on student educational outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 45(1), 134-156. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737221111400

15. Fabes, W., O’Rourke, H., Catherine, E., Shen, Z., McDonald, A. (2023). Out-of-school suspensions in U.S. public schools: Relations with chronic teacher absenteeism. Frontiers In Developmental Psychology. 1:1199570. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2023.1199570

16. Splett, J., Brann, K., Trainor, K., & Shen, Z. (2023). Examining utility and impact of social, emotional, and behavioral screening results to identify and address risk. School Psychology, 38(3), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000540

17. Fisk, C., Harring, J., Shen, Z., Leite, W., Suen, K., & Marcoulides, K. (2023). Using simulated annealing to investigate sensitivity of SEM to external model misspecification. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 83(1), 73-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131644211073121

18. Leite, W., Bandalos, D., & Shen, Z. (2023). Simulation methods in structural equation modeling. In R. H. Hoyle (Eds.), Handbook of structural equation modeling (2nd ed., pp. 110-127). New York: Guilford Publications.

19. Leite, W., Kuang, H.,  Shen, Z., Chakraborty, N., Michailidis, G., DMello, S., & Xing, W. (2022). Heterogeneity of treatment effects of a video recommendation system for algebra. Proceedings of the Ninth (2022) ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale, 12-23. https://doi.org/10.1145/3491140.3528275

20. Shen, Z., & Kelcey, B. (2022). Optimal sample allocation for three-level multisite cluster-randomized trials. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 15(1), 130-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2021.1953200

21. Shen, Z., & Kelcey, B. (2022). Optimal sample allocation in multisite randomized trials. The Journal of Experimental Education, 90(3), 693-711. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2020.1830361

22. Shen, Z., & Leite, W. (2022). SEMsens: An R package for sensitivity analysis of structural equation models with the ant colony optimization algorithm. Applied Psychological Measurement, 46(2), 159-161. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F01466216211063233

23. Leite, W., Shen, Z., Marcoulides, K., Fish, C., & Harring, J. (2022). Using ant colony optimization for sensitivity analysis in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 29(1), 47-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2021.1881786

24. Monachino, C., Splett, J. W., Shen, Z., Cornett, S., Halliday, C., & Weist, M. D. (2021). Patterns and pathways of peer victimization across the transition to middle school. School Psychology Review, 50(2-3), 420-440. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.1904792

25. Shen, Z., & Kelcey, B. (2020). Optimal sample allocation under unequal costs in cluster-randomized trials. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 45(4), 446–474. https://doi.org/10.3102/1076998620912418

26. Kelcey, B., & Shen, Z. (2020). Strategies for efficient experimental design in studies probing 2-1-1 mediation. The Journal of Experimental Education, 88(2), 311–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2018.1533796

27. Kelcey, B., Dong, N., Spybrook, J., & Shen, Z. (2017). Experimental power for indirect effects in group-randomized studies with group-level mediators. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 52(6), 699–719. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2017.1356212

28. Kelcey, B., & Shen, Z. (2017). Experimental evaluations of school-based HIV programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 55, 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2017.04.004 

29. Kelcey, B., & Shen, Z. (2017). Planning community-based assessments of HIV education programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Health Education Research, 32(4), 353–363. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyx046

30. Shen, Z., Simon, C., & Kelcey, B. (2016). The potential consequence of using value-added models to evaluate teachers. eJournal of Education Policy. https://in.nau.edu/ejournal/fall-2016

31. Kelcey, B., Shen, Z., & Spybrook, J. (2016). Intraclass correlation coefficients for designing cluster randomized trials in Sub-Saharan Africa education. Evaluation Review, 40(6), 500–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X16660246

32. Kelcey, B., & Shen, Z. (2016). Multilevel design of school effectiveness studies in Sub-Saharan Africa. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 27(4), 492–510. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2016.1168855