CliffInsight: An Educational Web Application That Visualizes the Calculation of Effect-Sizes Using Cliff's Delta
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Source of Publication
International Conference on Computer Supported Education Csedu Proceedings
Publication Date
1-1-2026
Abstract
The purpose of calculating effect sizes in statistics is to quantify the practical significance of observed differences beyond mere statistical significance. While standardized mean difference measures such as Cohen’s d are widely used, they require normally distributed data, an assumption frequently violated in educational and social science research. Non-parametric alternatives such as Cliff’s delta (δ) are more robust under these conditions yet remain underused due to perceived computational complexity and limited accessible resources. Existing web-based tools for Cliff’s delta function primarily as numerical calculators and do not expose the underlying dominance structure that gives the statistic its meaning. This paper presents CliffInsight (https://profmelattar.github.io/CliffInsight/CliffsDelta.html), an interactive browser-based web application that provides a step-by-step visual walkthrough of the dominance matrix computation. Through color-coded cell highlighting, hover-over tooltips explaining individual pairwise comparisons, and a visual derivation of the final δ value from intermediate averages, CliffInsight makes the mechanics of Cliff’s delta transparent and pedagogically accessible. The tool’s design is grounded in Cognitive Load Theory and Constructivist learning principles. Computational validation confirms numerical correctness across multiple published datasets.
DOI Link
ISBN
[9789897588334]
ISSN
Publisher
SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications
Volume
2
First Page
1806
Last Page
1815
Disciplines
Computer Sciences
Keywords
Cliff's Delta, Dominance Matrix Visualization, Educational Statistics Software, Effect Size Calculation, Statistical Web Application
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
El-Attar, Mohamed; Shuhaiber, Ahmed; Grati, Rima; and Kohail, Sarah, "CliffInsight: An Educational Web Application That Visualizes the Calculation of Effect-Sizes Using Cliff's Delta" (2026). All Works. 8330.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/8330
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series