Randolph, J. J.(2013). Factorial validity and reliability of the Sense of Community in Online Courses scale. Journal of Interactive Online Learing, 12(2), 53-69.

The alarmingly high rate of attrition in online courses results in many negative consequences for students, faculty, online institutions, and for society as a whole. One reason theorized for this attrition is a lack of a sense of community in online courses; however, there is much theoretical and empirical debate on what factors contribute to that sense of community. Therefore, in this article, we present a revised version of the Sense of Community in Online Courses Scale, which has 4 components and 16 items, and we provide evidence that the scale is reliable and has factorial validity. We also use structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among the components. It is our hope that this scale will be beneficial to researchers of online learning and to instructors of online courses interested in improving the sense of community, and reducing attrition, in their courses.

Randolph, J. J., Kangas, M., & Ruokamo, H. (2010). Predictors of Dutch and Finnish students' satisfaction with schooling. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(22), 193-204.

Considerable research has shown that there are clear links among satisfaction with schooling, overall life satisfaction, and physical and psychological well-being. In this investigation, we expand on that line of research by identifying the predictors of overall satisfaction with schooling of 331 Dutch and Finnish pupils aged 6–13. Similar to previous research, student age, student gender, and teacher likeability were strong predictors of students’ overall satisfaction with schooling. New findings from this investigation were that teacher gender and class size were significant predictors of overall satisfaction with schooling.