A Review of Missing Data Handling Methods in Education Research

Source: Review of Educational Research, 84(4), December 2014, p. 487-508

This study reviews the current literature on missing data handling methods within the special context of education research.

Missing data are a common occurrence in survey-based research studies in education, and the way missing values are handled can significantly affect the results of analyses based on such data. Despite known problems with performance of some missing data handling methods, such as mean imputation, many researchers in education continue to use those methods as a quick fix. The article summarizes the pros and cons of various methods and provides guidelines for future research in this area.