Professional Summary
Amota is an international doctoral student under the mentorship of Dr. Ben Kelcey, a Professor of Quantitative Methods at the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. His research interests lie in causal inference and machine learning, particularly within the fields of education and social sciences. Amota focuses on the design and analysis of randomized trials—individually and within clusters (both fully and partially-nested)—as well as in areas such as sample size optimal determination or power analysis. Currently, Amota is investigating the use of Super Learners (combination of Machine Learning models, such as neural networks and explainable boosting) that can help with complex nonlinear, multilevel and high-dimensional data structures in social science contexts. He is also collaborating with Australian researchers to develop a more nuanced and equitable evaluation framework grounded in QuantCrit that merges quantitative and critical inquiry methodologies. Amota has presented his work at top-tier national conferences, including the American Evaluation Association (AEA), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), and the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM).
Education
Bachelor of Economics: University of Queensland Australia, 2011
Master's of Public Administration (MPA): University of Hawaii USA, 2017
Research Support
Grant: #1760884 Investigators:PIs: Benjamin Kelcey, Nianbo Dong National Science Foundation (NSF) Designing Multisite Mediation Studies to Track Teacher Development Processes in Mathematics Role:Collaborator $499,996.00 Completed Type:Grant
Grant: #1552535 Investigators:PIs: Benjamin Kelcey National Science Foundation (NSF) Multilevel Mediation Models to Study the Impact of Teacher Development on Student Achievement in Mathematics. Role:Contributor $679,105.00
Publications
Peer Reviewed Publications
Bai, F., Xie, Y., Kelcey, B., Ataneka, A., McLean, L., Dong, N., & Phelps, G. (2024. ) Design Parameter Values for Planning Mediation Studies With Teacher and Student Mathematics Outcomes,.Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, , More Information
Ataneka, A., Bai, F., Xie, Y., Kelcey, B., McLean, L., Dong, N., & Phelps, G. Evaluations of Literacy-Based Programs: Empirical Values for Designing Studies Probing Mediation .Evaluation Review Journal https://journals.sagepub.com/home/erx, ,
Other Publications
Ataneka, A., Kelcey, B., Dong, N., Bulus, M., & Bai, F. (2023. ) Power-Up Shiny App User Guide 0.9 .https://www.causalevaluation.org/power-analysis.html,
Ataneka A., (2016. ) Evaluating the efficiency of public hospitals in the State of Hawaii .
Hawaii public Hospitals Efficiency
Book Chapter
Ataneka A., Kelcey B., (2026 ) Cluster Randomized Trials (CRT) Oxford Handbook for Impact Evaluations .Oxford Press
Presentations
Invited Presentations
Bai, F., Ataneka, A., Kelcey, B., & Xie, Y (2023. ) Designing Adequately Powered Multilevel Studies Cluster Randomized Trials to Detect Main Effects, Moderation, and Mediation .University of Connecticut, Trumbull, Connecticut, USA. Workshop. . Level:Regional
Colloquium
Ataneka, A., Xie, Y., Bai, F., Kelcey, B., & Dong, N. (04-2024). Design Parameter Values for Planning Mediation Studies With Teacher and Student Mathematics Outcomes. . Spring Conference, Louisville, Kentucky. Conference. Level:Regional
Ataneka, A., Xie, Y., Bai, F., Kelcey, B., & Dong, N. (10-2022). Design Parameter Values for Planning Mediation Studies With Teacher and Student Mathematics Outcomes. . American Evaluation Association , Indianapolis. Conference. Level:National
Paper Presentations
Ataneka, A., Xie, Y., Bai, F., Kelcey, B., & Dong, N. (05-2023. ) Design Parameter Values for Planning Mediation Studies With Teacher and Student Mathematics Outcomes. .Chicago. Conference. Level:National
Ataneka, A., (2017. ) Examining the Efficiency of Public Elementary Schools in the State of Hawaii: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis .California. Conference. Level:National
Bai, F., Xie, Y., Kelcey, B., Ataneka, A., McLean, L., Dong, N., & Phelps, G. (10-2023. ) Design Parameter Values for Multilevel Mediation Studies of Teacher Development. .Connecticut. Conference.
Ataneka, A., Xie, Y., Bai, F., Kelcey, B., & Dong, N. (09-2023. ) Design Parameter Values for Multilevel Mediation Studies of Teacher Development. .Arlington Virginia . Conference. Level:National
Symposium
Ataneka, A., Cox, K., Kelcey, B., Bai, F., Luce, Hannah., (10-2022. ) Detecting Moderation Effects in Cluster Randomized Trials with Partially Nested Data .Washington DC. Conference. Level:International
Ataneka, A., (Discussant) (11-2022. ) Principles of Estimation, Inference & Design in Partially Nested Regression Discontinuity Studies .New Orleans, Louisiana. Conference.
Professional Affiliation
2022 -2025: Official Member AERA (American Educational Research Association) , Washington DC
2022 -2025: Official Member AEA (American Evaluation Association), Washington DC
2022 -2025: Official Member APPAM (Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management), Washington DC
2022 -2025: Official Member SREE (Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness), Washington DC