While attempting to investigate modes of musical transmission among the Yolnu People in Northeast Arnhem Land Australia, questions regarding the meaning of the word "research" led to the decisive abandonment of data collection. Specifically, the processes of observation, recording, and other typical Western means of generating data…

The "gold standard" for evaluating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention programs is a partner-by-partner sexual behavior assessment that elicits information about each sex partner and the activities engaged in with that partner. When collection of detailed partner-by-partner data is not feasible, aggregate data (e.g., total…

In this paper, two beginning qualitative researchers describe the challenges and successes of conducting a collaborative self-study. For two academic years, the authors wrote and analyzed personal narratives related to their experiences as a lesbian and a gay man, respectively, in educational contexts. This article addresses the data analysis…

This article introduces a bootstrap generalization to the Modified Parallel Analysis (MPA) method of test dimensionality assessment using factor analysis. This methodology, based on the use of Marginal Maximum Likelihood nonlinear factor analysis, provides for the calculation of a test statistic based on a parametric bootstrap using the MPA…

This chapter presents a sophisticated approach for tracking student cohorts from entry through departure within an institution. It describes how a researcher can create a student tracking model to perform longitudinal research on student cohorts. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

This technical report and user's guide is designed to provide researchers with an overview of the design and implementation of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), as well as with information on how to access the PISA 2009 data. This information is meant to supplement that presented in Organization for Economic Cooperation…

All evaluators face the challenge of striving to adhere to the highest possible standards of ethical conduct. Translating the AEA's Guiding Principles and the Joint Committee's Program Evaluation Standards into everyday practice, however, can be a complex, uncertain, and frustrating endeavor. Moreover, acting in an ethical fashion can require…

This paper is a personal account of the use of the focused interview technique to collect data on the factors that facilitated and inhibited the research productivity of faculty members in vocational education. A brief literature review is followed by an explanation of how the researcher was urged to abandon her original intention of interviewing…

This publication presents estimates of drug-related emergency department (ED) episodes from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) from 1994 through the first half of 2001. DAWN is an ongoing, national data system that collects information on drug-related visits to EDs from a national probability sample of hospitals. This publication marks a major…

Creating a survey that asks the right questions at a level appropriate for the intended audience is a difficult task. This guide is designed to support educators who want to be confident that the data they gather will be useful. The guide is organized according to the developmental steps in creating a survey. Individual chapters correspond to the…

This section of the "Archiving Methodology" is concerned with the role of data collection contractors in the archiving process. Their role is discussed from three perspectives: (1) the nature of the relationship of the data collection contractor, the project officer, and the archivist; (2) the considerations contractors must make when…

This volume of "Archiving Methodology" is devoted to file-level documentation. File-level documentation refers to the description of the contents of a single data file or a group of identically structured files. It consists of three sections: (1) file background--information pertaining to the origin, purpose, and collection methodology…

This paper reviews the prominent concepts of the stuttering event and concerns about the reliability of stuttering event measurements, specifically interjudge agreement. Recent attempts to resolve the stuttering measurement problem are reviewed, and the implications of developing an improved measurement system are discussed. (Author/JDD)

The authors reviewed the application of consensual qualitative research (CQR) in 27 studies published since the method's introduction to the field in 1997 by C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, and E. N. Williams (1997). After first describing the core components and the philosophical underpinnings of CQR, the authors examined how it has been applied in…

California currently faces an opportunity to develop an effective data system that can assist in improving the state's future understanding of the educational progress of English learners (ELs). This policy brief outlines the needs for good data on ELs and makes recommendations for creating an effective longitudinal data system for ELs. It…