Reviews and criticizes papers by Rist, Fienberg, and Erickson in this issue of the Quarterly. (JM)

This paper provides a rationale for basic research and metatheory development in the field of learning disabilities, outlines the steps and cognitive parameters involved in validating such a metatheory, and discusses integrating the findings of basic research with instructional manipulations and reasons for the poor integration of theory and…

Reports on a program held at the 1986 American Library Association Conference which offered a model for locating and evaluating existing research on libraries. Six guidelines for evaluating research are provided, and small group sessions which evaluated actual research and talked directly with researchers are described. (EM)

Discusses lack of integration between communication and educational technology research, and argues that theory and research must be reciprocal, that media research efforts will continue to produce limited observations without acknowledgement of commonality with communication, and that findings of previous media research need to be integrated…

The recent research on school or educational leadership is reviewed in an attempt to define some of the major recurring research problems. This paper outlines and describes both methodological problems and organizational perspective problems so that future research efforts can be strengthened. (BW)

Examines the design, problems, and applications of a research model in which teachers and researchers combine their efforts toward educational improvement. (RL)

Reviews research using Leader Match. Indicates that evidence for the model is unconvincing because of lacking criteria on leader effectiveness. A second article identified and examined problems with using the Least Preferred Co-Worker score (LPC) in Leader Match. Normative procedures created bias toward categorization as a high LPC individual. (RC)

Asserts that the emphasis on explaining individual differences in political orientations among preadults accounts for "the disappointing contribution of political socialization research to political understanding." Argues that "possessing an explicit model of democratic citizenship would provide greater political meaning to empirical data."…

This paper addresses neglected questions in item response theory (IRT): measurement of ability or trait parameters and item difficulty in the Rasch model; measurement of individual change based on a Rasch test; and the general framework for detection of differential item functioning under the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. (SLD)

Reviews recent research that suggests that changes in family environments because of parental depression increase children's risk for psychopathology. Argues that some aspects of family and child functioning may not be adversely affected by parental depression. Considers conceptual models to explain the effects of parental depression, and areas…

This commentary on a paper by Douglas Detterman and others (EC 604 995), which tested a model assessing basic cognitive abilities in young adults with and without mental retardation, criticizes the paper for drawing conclusions not justified by the empirical results. (JDD)

Asserts that research in technical communication must grow in quantity, quality, and coherence. Assesses the research reports in the proceedings of the annual conferences of the Society for Technical Communication for the last 20 years. Suggests a model for future growth. (SR)

Examines the conceptual framework of bipolar models of social knowledge use that are transactions between knowledge producers and decision makers. Topics discussed include methodological consequences of bipolar models; levels of validity in social research; social contexts of choosing models for social research; and views on the practice of…

Criticizes the current status of school-level factors as they appear in research reviews and in school-effectiveness models, from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. Argues that most studies do not investigate factors at the classroom level. Outlines a theoretical basis for these factors based on learning theories and instruction…

Introduces the "person approach" to the study of adolescence, and discusses the consequences of the approach for theoretical thinking and research methodology. Reviews major types of pattern-based methods used for carrying out a person approach and discusses methodological challenges for adolescent research, including interindividual…