Describes a study of reliability among coders of information for meta-analysis (a quantitative procedure for synthesizing data in primary research reports) of research on life satisfaction in American adults. Identifies sources and areas of disagreement among coders and discusses measures that can be used to enhance intercoder consistency.…

Developed in this paper is a preliminary model of rationality designed to suggest what "applied" research should be like. The model is based on two ideas which are described and analyzed. One concerns epistemology in practical research, and the other discusses where problems come from in such research. (Author/EB)

Outlines the recent transition, within educational research, from conflict to cooperation between quantitative and qualitative approaches. Asserts that compatibility is based on a confusion between method as technique and method as logic of justification. Argues that the claim of compatibility cannot be sustained and blocks an interesting and…

Researchers should systematically seek out their subjectivity, not retrospectively when the data have been collected and the analysis is complete, but while their research is actively in progress. Demonstrates an example of this pursuit of subjectivity in the course of fieldwork. (Author/BJV)

Examines characteristics of educational knowledge produced by educational researchers and considers how this impacts on educational research. Reviews the negative and positive consequences of this structurally egalitarian and substantively divergent knowledge production in education schools. (MMU)

In educational research, rigid distinctions between the relative merits of quantitative research often rest on positivistic dogma. In contrast, post-positivistic thought eliminates the intractable problem engendered by positivistic epistemology of a forced choice between value-laden and value-free research methods. (KH)

Educational research has been excessively atheoretical and has not produced an accumulating body of systematically observed empirical facts. Much of the best work has been reductionist, partly because it has been rooted in paradigms of the behavioral sciences and partly because of the fragmentation of the community of professional researchers.…

Criticizes an earlier essay that questioned the validity of contemporary educational research practices, especially those involving experimentation. Argues that research using experimentation is valid and can lead to new and generalizable knowledge. (FMW)

The solution to the lack of productivity of educational research is the recognition that applied research can be scientific and the reexamination of the implications of the scientific orientation for research strategies. (Author/EB)

Knowledge, rooted in experience, requires forms for its representation. Forms of representation limit what we seek. As a result, socialization in method is a process that shapes what we can know and value. At base it is a political undertaking. Examines the effects of the politics of method on educational research. (Author/BJV)

Researchers studying the educational uses of computers can learn from the mistakes of television research. They should: avoid asking whether computers teach better than other media; utilize holistic as well as standard experimental paradigms; and realize that when learners encounter a new medium, a wide range of usages and outcomes should be…

Describes the evolution of national educational assessment in the United States, its present stage of development, methodological and reporting problems, and approaches applicable to assessment data. Examines how proposed approaches can be applied in the California Assessment Program and in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. (MJL)

Three reactions to the paradox in question are given. Generally, some evaluation feedback is considered to hurt more than help, but more often than not evaluations can provide direction and guidance to educators. (AM)

Suggests that because of deficiencies in the statistical analysis and errors of inference, neither the conclusions nor the policy recommencations derived by Coleman are well supported. (Author/AM)

Reviews four hypotheses that describe the disconnection between educational research and practice. These hypotheses claim that research needs to be more authoritative, relevant, and accessible; and that the educational system is often unable to adequately reply to research findings. The historical thought behind each hypothesis and the place for…