Undergraduate students compared Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) estimates of storm total precipitation to measurements from a network of 20 rain gauges. Student researchers gained valuable experience in field data collection, global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), Internet data access and downloading,…

This article describes a system based on the Epson HX-20 used for real time (rather than time-sample) recording of behavior observation data, which allows the researcher additional options in analysis. Examples of the programs developed, types of research questions asked, and data analyses conducted are provided. (Author/PB)

Describes a school project to choose a mascot in which students learned about sampling and polls while collecting, organizing, and analyzing data. (MKR)

Examines consistency of results and variables that may confound validity in child sexual abuse cases. Concludes that the ways in which information on the incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse has been collected, analyzed, and reported have been flawed to the extent that few reliable conclusions can be made. Includes suggestions for…

Presents a method for the collection and analysis of collateral data about research subjects (i.e., measurements of events in subjects' lives that may affect outcome measures and/or lead to attrition). A six-step procedure evaluates bias resulting from subject attrition from a study using data from lost and retained subjects. (SLD)

Methods for recording information derived from focus groups are described as follows: (1) transcribe the entire discussion from a tape; (2) expand reporter's notes by using a tape; and (3) work from reporter's notes only. Three approaches are also suggested for synthesizing the discussion into an accurate text. (SLD)

This poem, with stanzas in limerick form, refers humorously to the many threats to validity posed by problems in research design, including problems of sample selection, data collection, and data analysis. (SLD)

Suggests two complementary frameworks for providing validity evidence for rating data. One conceptualizes raters as data collection instruments that should be subject to traditional procedures for establishing validity evidence; the other evaluates studies using raters from an experimental design perspective allowing the assessment of the study's…

Grounded teaching and learning based on grounded theory involves continuous collection and analysis of data; hypotheses formed, rejected, and reformed during the process; and the data (learners' self-reporting of their learning experiences) as the focal point of activity. (SK)

Concept mapping is a participant-based methodology that involves three processes: participant generation of ideas or experiences about a specific question, grouping together responses through an unstructured card sort by participants, and statistical analysis of card-sort results using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. A research…

Limiting data collection to a sample group is one way to increase effectiveness in dealing with data. The paper describes how to draw a sample group (random sampling, stratified random sampling, purposeful sampling, and convenient or opportunity sampling) and discusses how to determine the size of the sample group. (SM)

Case study research aims to explore and depict a setting with a view to advancing understanding. This note explores the dimensions of case study research in higher education, with special reference to geographical fieldwork. It explores Stake's three categories of case study research: intrinsic, instrumental and collective. It provides guidelines…

Without using data to inform their actions at every step of the way, teachers and administrators will probably not reach their goals for school improvement. In this article, the authors describe a CRESST initiative that helps educators develop the skills to collect, analyze, and be guided by data. Five steps to effective date use are described in…

This paper explains the principles and procedures of second-order theoretical analysis of observation data. The second-order theoretical procedure is illustrated by analysis of the student-teachers seminar on the subject of the Holocaust, focusing on dilemmas of Holocaust survivors. Analysing observational data allows two distinctive method of…

This article aims at analyzing laddering as a technique of qualitative research, emphasizing the procedures for data collection, analysis and interpretation, and its main limitations as well. "Laddering refers to an in-depth, one-on-one interviewing technique used to develop an understanding of how consumers translate the attributes of products…