Chapters cover the essential character traits and skills that are necessary to become an effective researcher, walk through the main steps for completing a research project from start to finish, and discuss considerations when building a career and research program. Rather than the nitty-gritty of research methods, authors Joshua N. Hook, Don E.…

Across all social science disciplines, but in particular public administration, there is a shared concern about the costs of using traditional random samples to generate data, and its impact on researchers' ability to engage in "quality" research. As a result of these costs, more academics, practitioners, and students are turning to…

Districts now have access to a wealth of new information that can help target students with appropriate supports and bring focus and coherence to college readiness efforts. However, the abundance of data has brought its own challenges. Schools and school systems are often overwhelmed with the amount of data available. The capacity of districts to…

This tenth in a series of eleven learning modules on program planning, development, and evaluation is designed to acquaint secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers with student follow-up procedures and help them to develop skill in planning and conducting a student follow-up study. Introductory sections relate the competencies dealt with…

A manual is presented which provides a common, preliminary frame of reference for seminar participants who desire to develop procedures for studying major social problems through the use of the urban community as a laboratory. Broadly, the seminar concentrates upon providing access to data and facilitation data collection and analyses. Although…

This instructional module is intended to present an overview of the interviewing process and to describe and allow practice in the basic skills and techniques of conducting a survey research interview. The module is designed for both undergraduate and graduate courses in research methods or as part of any established course in education or social…

Instruction for faculty/staff members on the needs assessment task force to lead others in preparing, administering, and collecting questionnaires is contained in this guide, one of twelve documents describing the Career Planning Support System (CPSS) and its use. (CPSS is a comprehensive guidance program management system designed to provide…

Procedures, practices, and materials contained in this guide for counselors have been field tested and successfully used in a variety of school settings. The guide has two major sections. The first section deals with the development of the original project and includes discussion of student needs assessment, staff assessment, and establishing…

The National Longitudinal Study (NLS) of the High School Class of 1972 is a large-scale long-term survey effort supported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education. NLS is designed to provide statistics on a national sample…

The procedures manual, developed for the vocational curriculum evaluation model, details the process used to evaluate programs. In the first of eight sections, the manual presents seven criteria for judging the program: (1) meeting job market needs, (2) meeting past-present students' vocational aspirations, (3) demonstrating graduates' successful…