Many organizations and agencies collect data related to postsecondary education. To improve the coordination of data definitions and surveys, guidelines have been prepared to define the best survey practices for data collectors and data providers. The first section of this document, "Best Practices for Data Collectors," covers the…

Computer software that is intended to assist the qualitative researcher in the analysis of textual data is relatively new. One such program, the Data Collector, is a HyperCard computer program designed for use on the Macintosh computer. A tool for organizing and analyzing textual data obtained from observations, interviews, surveys, and other…

The collection of observational data in natural settings and in real time requires equipment that is light and easily used, and programs that permit rapid and flexible encoding of data. This paper describes a set of four programs for collecting and analyzing continuous time sample, focal-individual data as described by J. Altmann (1974), using a…

The last decade has seen the emergence in the policy arena of a new form of qualitative research, one intended to strenghten its ability to generalize while preserving in-depth description. These multisite qualitative studies address the same research question using similar data collection and analysis procedures in a number of settings. To gain…

Various procedures, technologies, and products were developed by the Massachusetts Board of Regents and the Massachusetts Community Colleges in implementing the student followup component of the Vocational Education Data System (VEDS). The Board of Regents took the lead in coordinating the VEDS followup study among the 15 state-supported community…

Designed for use by Michigan community colleges wishing to conduct a self-study of their occupational programs, this manual provides step-by-step instructions and instrumentation for implementing the Program Review in Occupational Education (PROE) model. PROE is a component of the Michigan Community College Occupational Education Evaluation System…

Uses a printed sheet of paper to represent a plant population in a given area. Quadrat sampling is simulated by dropping a square coverslip on the sheet and recording the symbols under the coverslip. Line-transect method is simulated by having a student randomly adjust the sheet under a string. (GS)

This paper summarizes four reports that comprised a study of ways in which technical and further education (TAFE) curriculum research for curriculum development can be speeded up in the data collection and analysis phases. The reports are "TAFE Curriculum Research: A Review of Group Process Methods" (T. Anderson, N. Jones); "The…

Prepared for cooperative education placement and career service professionals, this paper considers the applications of microcomputers in the development of a comprehensive management information system (MIS) for cooperative education programs. After noting the complicated information needs of cooperative education and common weaknesses of current…

This brochure describes the mission of National Assessment, the highlights of recent findings, and the procedures used in gathering the data. It also outlines how the project is administered and governed and projects a framework for the development of upcoming assessments. The booklet includes a number of charts and graphs depicting achievement…

Federal statistics form the foundation and are the standard for private statistics. Reliable and accurate statistics are increasingly used in complex models of the economy and society that have become important tools for management of large business concerns and for policy planning in governmental bodies. Reductions in government funding threaten…

This guidebook aims to provide clear, non-technical descriptions of procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of local gifted education programs in Virginia. The procedures were developed with both external and internal evaluations in mind. The evaluation process is described in four phases: planning, collecting the data, interpreting the data…

When different individuals operating in different contexts implement similar innovations, they approach the various parts of the innovation in different ways. When assessed according to the research procedures used to study innovation implementation at the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin,…

The Research on the Improvement Process (RIP) Program of the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education has made the investigation of the change process in high schools their primary research priority for the 1980s. In this paper, the high school research endeavors of the RIP program are described, with special attention being given to…

Developed to provide an alternative system for identifying emotional disturbance in students, the manual begins by briefly reviewing problems in current identification approaches. An emotionally disturbed person is defined in the paper as someone who exhibits either too much or too little of a socially significant behavior. An approach is then…