Publications
Methodological research, applied measurement, and quantitative social science
My publication program has two connected strands: methodological research in Bayesian modeling, psychometrics, measurement, and statistical decision making, and applied quantitative research in education and social science. Applied studies often motivate the methodological questions I pursue, while methodological work informs how I design, analyze, and interpret substantive studies.
Accepted
METHODS · BRM · ACCEPTED
Calibrating fit-index cutoffs for sparse ordinal CFA: Scenario-specific thresholds and operating characteristics
Behavior Research Methods
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Methodological Research
Mode-matched inverse-gamma priors for variance components in Bayesian multilevel models
Liu, L. (2026). Multivariate Behavioral Research. Advance online publication.
A tutorial on selecting, translating, and reporting variance priors in Bayesian multilevel models
Liu, L. (2026). Behavior Research Methods, 58, Article 328.
Longitudinal dyadic modeling with limited numbers of dyads: Aligning estimands, information sources, and multilevel structure
Liu, L. (2026). Methods in Psychology, 15, 100281.
Simulation-cum-ROC fit evaluation in sparse ordinal CFA under category collapsing
Liu, L., Liu, J., Yi, H., & Okech, D. (2026). Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1–12.
New perspectives on respondent-driven sampling with application to sex-trafficked population in Senegal
Yi, H., Liu, X., Okech, D., Clay-Warner, J., Liu, L., & Deng, X. (2026). Journal of Statistical Theory and Practice, 20(3), Article 84.
Explained: Artificial intelligence for propensity score estimation in multilevel educational settings
Collier, Z. K., Zhang, H., & Liu, L. (2022). Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 27(1), 3.
Applied & Interdisciplinary Research
Household and child correlates of child trafficking indicators in Eastern Sierra Leone
Liu, L., Okech, D., & Cody, A. (2026). PLOS ONE, 21(10), e0347898.
Explainable AI for predicting and interpreting mathematics achievement: A cross-national analysis of PISA 2018
Liu, L., & Dai, R. (2026). Large-scale Assessments in Education, 14, Article 46.
Human-centered child trafficking prevalence: A latent class analysis of exploitation sectors
Liu, L., Okech, D., Cody, A., & Konteh, F. (2026). International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 1–30.
Sex trafficking and commercial sex: Outcomes in suicide ideation and economic strain among young women
Okech, D., Liu, L., Cody, A., Hwang, E., & Konteh, F. (2026). Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17, Article 1843240.
Early childhood educators pay equity: A dream deferred
Liu, L., Joseph, G. E., Taylor, J. M., Hassairi, N., & Soderberg, J. S. (2025). Early Childhood Education Journal, 53(2), 463–476.
Preliminary efficacy of Let’s Talk Tech: Technology use planning for dementia care dyads
Berridge, C., Turner, N. R., Liu, L., Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I., Lyons, K. S., Demiris, G., … & Lober, W. B. (2023). Innovation in Aging, 7(3), igad018.
Advance planning for technology use in dementia care: Development, design, and feasibility of a novel self-administered decision-making tool
Berridge, C., Turner, N. R., Liu, L., Karras, S. W., Chen, A., Fredriksen-Goldsen, K., & Demiris, G. (2022). JMIR Aging, 5(3), e39335.
Book Chapter
Student-level variables and academic achievement in a Mandarin dual language immersion program
Lü, C., Pace, A. E., & Liu, L. In D. Zhang & R. T. Miller (Eds.), Crossing boundaries in researching, understanding, and improving language education (pp. 213–229). Springer.
Selected Manuscripts in the Pipeline
UNDER REVIEW · APPLIED MEASUREMENT IN EDUCATION
Calibrating informative variance priors in Bayesian multilevel item-response models: A practical evaluation using PISA 2018
UNDER REVIEW · METHODOLOGY
Benchmark-based calibration of scalar variance priors across Bayesian multilevel software
UNDER REVIEW · BEHAVIOR RESEARCH METHODS
Role parameterization in longitudinal models for distinguishable dyads: A practical framework for fixed effects, random effects, and post-estimation
UNDER REVIEW · MULTIVARIATE BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
How dyad sample size and repeated measurements shape the performance of multilevel actor-partner growth models for longitudinal distinguishable dyads
UNDER REVIEW · BEHAVIOR RESEARCH METHODS
When collapsing sparse categories alters model decisions: Evidence from confirmatory factor analysis across estimators
UNDER REVISION · STUDIES IN EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION
A DoWhy-assisted causal workflow for observational educational evaluation: An applied charter school enrollment case
Selected Conference Presentations
Are human trafficking severity scores comparable across contexts? Evidence from Malawi and Zambia
Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference
Bayesian multilevel modelling for policy-usable prevalence estimates: Pooling information across settings and data sources
TIP Global Practice Summit · September 23–25, 2026
Scenario-specific fit-index cutoffs for sparse ordinal CFA: Monte Carlo calibration across estimators and category collapsing
Modern Modeling Methods Conference
Assessing the performance of Bayesian and traditional estimators in confirmatory factor analysis with sparse Likert-scale data
American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting
Informative variance priors for Bayesian multilevel modeling with large and small samples
Joint Statistical Meetings
Informative inverse-gamma variance priors for Bayesian multilevel item response model precision
National Council on Measurement in Education Annual Meeting
Bayesian variance component priors for small-sample multilevel models
International Meeting of the Psychometric Society
Research Reports & Technical Publications
Air travel linkages to Atlanta’s human trafficking landscape: The intersections of human trafficking and the aviation industry in the state of Georgia—A scoping study
Okech, D., Kinnish, K., Dockweiler, H., Cody, A., Liu, L., Hwang, E. M., Tinsley, K., & Caplan, S. (2026). University of Georgia Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach.
Assessing changes in child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor in Sierra Leone from 2019–2024
Okech, D., Cody, A. M., Clay-Warner, J., Balch, A., Yi, H., Callands, T., Bolton, C., Konteh, F., Jalloh, A., Dockweiler, H., Goulart, P., Schroeder, E., Liu, L., Eng, C., Waswa, A., & Fofanah, U. (2025). University of Georgia Center on Human Trafficking Research and Outreach.