ABSTRACT
Propensity score matching (PSM) is one statistical method that can help researchers reduce the impact of confounding effects and control for self-selection in order to demonstrate the important impact of high-impact practices (HIPs) on student success. The factors that predict student success in higher education are often the same factors that predict a student’s participation in engaged learning or HIPs. The Sam H. Jones Scholarship is a community service scholarship offered by the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Center for Service and Learning and awarded to students with prior service to their high school, campus, or community. The PSM model matched students who participated in undergraduate research with similar peers in terms of gender, ethnicity, prior academic performance, socioeconomic status, parental education, and major. Inkelas et al. developed a comprehensive research-based model for residential-based learning communities that synthesized the experiences of multiple campuses from the National Study of Living-Learning Programs.
