Responds to a critique by Mudford, Hogg, and Roberts (1997) that raised concerns about the observation code used in a longitudinal research project to assess emerging behavior state patterns in young children with disabilities. Concerns about the thoroughness of the reliability data collected by Mudford are discussed. (Author/CR)

Research is reviewed on the use of direct observation methods to collect special education data focusing on seven major factors: reactivity; observer drift; the recording procedure; location of the observation; reliability; expectancy and feedback; and characteristics of subjects, observers, and settings. Recommendations are offered for increasing…

This article discusses the withdrawal of a publication that tracked British local education agency (LEA) trends in placement of pupils with disabilities in special schools. It describes the data problem encountered by counting pupils in non-LEA special schools within the boundaries of LEAs that did not place the students. (CR)

Guidelines for the implementation of qualitative methods in special education research are offered, addressing rigor, sample selection, data collection, and data management/analysis. Five possible pitfalls are identified, including the quantitative-qualitative methods debate, premature data collection, the tendency to use a linear procedural…

A 1986 national survey of state agencies showed that level of foster care for handicapped children was lower than that shown by a 1981 national study of county agencies. Outlines limitations of collection of data from states and of comparison of two surveys. Discusses noteworthy increases in foster care that have occurred in some states since…

This report summarizes activities of the National Center on Educational Outcomes directed at producing a report on the status of students with disabilities from the secondary analysis of state-collected achievement data. Although 27 states reported that large-scale achievement data were available for some students with disabilities, potentially…

From a priori and post hoc data collection perspectives, this paper describes the interrelations among (1) power, alpha, effect size, and sample size for hypothesis testing; and (2) precision, confidence, and sample size for interval estimation. Implications for special education researchers working with convenient samples of fixed size are…

This report discusses the findings of a study that attempted to investigate the participation rates of students with disabilities in the Oregon statewide testing program. The study joined individual student data from the Oregon Statewide Assessment Program and the Oregon Special Education Child Count to examine participation rates. The report…

This literature review discusses the need for rehabilitation organizations to become culturally competent and for rehabilitation research to reach and be utilized by minority populations. Sections address the incidence of disability in minority populations, the socially constructed nature of race, culture, and disability, cultural power and the…

The extent to which students with disabilities are represented in national data collection programs was investigated by reviewing nine such programs that are receiving attention in current educational reform initiatives. Results suggest that 40-50% of students with disabilities are excluded from these prominent data collection programs. (SLD)

This digest reviews scientific and methodological problems in special education research related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The first section of the digest discusses the various definitions of race, ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status. The problems with current race classification and the difficulties in determining the…

Reviews materials developed by the now-defunct Russian President's Coordinating Committee for Handicapped Affairs. Reveals a system barely meeting the needs of its handicapped citizens and hampered by inadequate accounting and reporting. Provides a broad range of information on the handicapped in Russia based on approximate data. (MJP)

This study examined the extent to which data are available for 77 indicators for all students, including students with disabilities, at the school completion level. Data managers from 36 states or territories reported that data are available for indicators in the Presence and Participation domain and the Contribution and Citizenship domain, but…