In John Raven's "Diving in Where Angels Fear to Tread: Pre-Requisites to Evidence-Based Interventions," he outlines several critical failings in which social scientists bear a responsibility for potentially a great deal of damage toward children, society, and notably, the planet itself. The nature of the damage appears to be one of…

In community interventions more generally, the concept of fidelity refers to the degree to which a program is delivered as intended. The present paper discusses ways in which fundamental aspects of participatory research challenge the concept of fidelity and differ from more traditional science-dominated approaches. We begin with a discussion of…

This article argues for a citizen social science methodology in which residents from the sites of inquiry play a central role in key activities of the research process and beyond: research design and data collection, presentation and publication of findings, and design and implementation of urban interventions that address challenges to quality of…

The current data-based review encompasses 30 years of research involving parental use of time-out (TO). Although extensively researched for decades, parental usage of TO continues to vary widely across a number of procedural variables. As such, the current review provides descriptive data for 40 articles published between 1977 and 2007 along both…

Intervention research is vital for social work, as it aims to develop practice/program approaches and provide evidence to understand which interventions are effective and for whom. Despite growing attention, little social work research exists that evaluates interventions. Among the reasons for the dearth of intervention research within social work…

To do research that really makes a difference--the authors of this book argue--social scientists need questions and methods that reflect the complexity of the world. Bringing together a consortium of voices across a variety of fields, "Methods that Matter" offers compelling and successful examples of mixed methods research that do just…

Instrumental variable estimators hold the promise of enabling researchers to estimate the effects of educational treatments that are not (or cannot be) randomly assigned but that may be affected by randomly assigned interventions. Examples of the use of instrumental variables in such cases are increasingly common in educational and social science…

Objective: The goal of this study is to advance an approach to the assessment of the quality of studies considered for inclusion in systematic reviews of the effects of social-care interventions. Method: To achieve this objective, quality is defined in relation to the widely accepted validity typology; prominent approaches to study quality…

A theory of policy intervention in social problems is needed to enhance our understanding of the processes of change when investigated by social engineers. The development of such a theory could encourage the integration of basic and applied research. (Author/RLV)

Evaluation research is discussed as an applied social science that uses quantitative-comparative techniques to assess the effects of planned intervention. Focus is on the generally insufficient validity of treatment effectiveness research, and the relationship between research constructs and theory and their operationalization. (TJH)

Despite recent research indicating that 1 of the pivotal times for identifying pathways to early conduct problems is the toddler period, few family-based preventive interventions have been specifically designed to modify child disruptive behavior during this age period. This randomized trial tested the effectiveness of the Family Check-Up in…

Some of the distinguishing features associated with behavioral prevention methodology are discussed. Behaviorists for Social Action have already implicitly identified target populations for preventive interventions, and the two distinct populations which have been identified can form the focus of preventive endeavors. The dissimilar populations…

In the interest of preventing or intervening in genocidal acts, proposes a World Genocide Early Warning System Foundation that would develop a research databank for human rights information. Presents 10 early warning processes. Explains why even democratic governments have historically not prevented genocide, and cites examples of governmental…

The compilation offers abstracts and source information about 328 behavioral science research projects in Sweden during 1976 and the first four months of 1977. The entries, grouped alphabetically by author, include 24 subject categories such as adult education, applied psychology, communication systems, developmental psychology, experimental…