A review of the application of logistic regression in educational research: common issues, implications, and suggestions

ABSTRACT

This study reviews the international literature of empirical educational research to examine the application of logistic regression. The aim is to examine common practices of the report and interpretation of logistic regression results, and to discuss the implications for educational research. A review of 130 studies suggests that: (a) the majority of studies report statistical significance and sign of predictors but do not interpret relationship magnitude in terms of probabilities; (b) odds ratio is the most commonly reported effect size, and it tends to be incorrectly interpreted as relative risk, which leads to significant exaggeration of the association magnitude and misleading conclusions; and (c) marginal effects and predicted probabilities are reported by only 10.7% of reviewed studies, and the specification of independent variables’ values is frequently missing. It is suggested that marginal effects and predicted probabilities be reported more frequently to fully utilise the information provided by logistic regression results.

KEYWORDS:

• Logistic regression
• odds ratio
• relative risk
• marginal effects
• effect size exaggeration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Appendix A. List of reviewed studies not cited in the text