Directed primarily at teachers in bilingual programs, this report suggests ways in which they may assist evaluators in improving the quality of evaluation, particularly regarding descriptive information about the bilingual classroom. Six principles of classroom description are examined: (1) program model, type, and design; (2) student…

This guide provides practical advice, based on research expertise, for teachers looking for reliable research results without waste of time or effort. The six sections of the guide present and discuss the decisions and actions that have to be taken to get good results: (1) the pros and cons of collecting information by questionnaire; (2) sampling;…

This paper discusses the nature of research and identifies some of the questions which it is important to address at the planning stage and to return to throughout the life of any research study. In a discussion of the nature of research, it is noted that research findings must be potentially generalizable. The criteria for identifying research…

This book for state early childhood licensing administrators addresses the problem of obtaining systematic and reliable information about the operation of an early childhood or child care program. The book: (1) provides an introduction to early childhood program evaluation; (2) describes systematic observation techniques; (3) discusses summative…

This book presents hands-on information on how to plan, administer, and analyze opinion polls. Guidance is also offered on how to make this strategy accessible to public interest groups. Several examples, checklists, warnings of possible pitfalls, and lists of material and human resources occur throughout the chapters. Major sections address the…

This document provides an overview of the needs assessment literature related to continuing professional education and guidelines for designing needs assessment procedures for a given project or professional group. Section 1 reviews the literature. It considers key concepts and definitions, reviews factors that may influence the development of a…

The manual is intended to help administrators evaluate special education programs. Information is organized according to 11 training activities designed for a one day inservice session. Introductory information reviews the purposes of training, and provides suggestions for trainers in planning, conducting, and following up the session. Activities…

A code to systematically observe preschool settings in which handicapped children were placed was designed to determine the types of interaction and play behavior that occurs in these settings. The code records the following information: play area the child is in, how many children are in the same area, the play behavior the child is undertaking,…

Designed as a concerted effort to control the paperwork and reduce the number of data collection reports required by the Connecticut State Department of Education, this report lists the forms the department will use in the 1987-88 school year to collect data on the condition and the progress of education in Connecticut. An introductory discussion…

Statistics tend to become interesting to non-methodologists when taught in a research context that is relevant to them. Real data sets supplemented by sufficient background information can provide just such a context. Despite this, many textbook authors and instructors of applied statistics rely on artificial data sets to illustrate statistical…

A series of projects were conducted in Maryland as part of an effort to develop a valid and reliable student database for planning, decision making, and Vocational Education Data System reporting; and a systematic and objective procedure to evaluate the quality of occupational programs in Maryland's community colleges. The projects had three…

Furniture, clothing, and even the candy dish help amateur archaeologists uncover the "facts" through hands on experience. (Editor)

Considers the use of personal information given by students to teach about understanding and appreciation of data analysis in college sociology courses. Students are directed to describe their personal style by a five step process: simple measurement of personal characteristics, recoding and indexing, quantifying a dimension, discussing recoding…

This example of online searching, employed as a research method rather than as a tool to gather bibliographic information, used Magazine Index to collect data which were manipulated using geographic codes and compared with the buildings of a 1977 study on geographic bias in television news reporting. (EM)

Describes a methodology which analyzes courses described in university catalogs in order to produce a database used in the compilation of a collection development policy statement. Each step of the analysis is described, and tables are used to track sample data through the entire process. (CLB)