The scientific method is described as intending to be the guarantor of objectivity, neutrality, and diligent application of its rigorous procedures and to produce a body of cumulative knowledge that is systematic and general. The central argument of this essay addresses the discovery that research findings appear to be context-dependent; methods…

Purposes and alternative forms of mass communications research are explored in this four-part presentation. Part One examines the origins of, and the differences between, two conflicting types of research: administrative research, in which the mass media are perceived as neutral tools, capable of serving a wide range of purposes; and critical…

The methodological difficulty of evaluating alternative programs in specific, measurable terms is described. Based on an alternative program at Talawanda High School in Oxford, Ohio, the writer attempted to develop a model for evaluating an alternative program. The following evaluation procedures were selected: (1) attendance and grades prior to…

Psychological researchers should deal with the concrete stimulus-response principles of learning on which behavior is based, and study behaviors that are representative of real life behaviors. The present research strategy has come from two faulty ideas: first, a concern with underlying, inferred mental processes, rather than with actual tasks or…

The activities and research directions of the Educational Search Strategies project are outlined in this progress report. A pilot project was undertaken to study the development of problems into research projects. The research was to be divided into three areas: problem perception and problem definition, information search and dissemination, and…

The need for competent formal evaluation programs, particularly for new federally assisted programs, is expressed. Problems in defining educational evaluation and its requirements, in designing such evaluations, and 3 possible sources of faulty conceptual bases for evaluations, are presented. An attempt is made to define evaluation in general, to…

The increasing occupation of journals with the subject of political persuasion is briefly surveyed. A set of principles which might be utilized to reconceive an inventional theory are proposed, and means through which these principles may be applied in studies of political persuasion are suggested. The decision to shift from a speaker/message…

A potential solution to a part of the philosophical and methodological problems of defining nonbureaucratic and alternative organization models is the suggestion that a clear, definitional distinction be made between nonbureaucratic models (which are developed using bureaucratic-related variables) and alternative models (which are developed using…

Critical features of sound observational studies fall under three categories: the sampling framework; the theoretical model; and the statistical procedure. If the methodology for explanatory, rather than descriptive, observational studies can be applied within these categories, more consistent, convincing, useful explanations of educational…

Examines major issues and problems for research on television and its effects on children through a critical discussion of Cullingford's book, "Children and Television," which focuses on ways in which children learn and what they learn from television. (MBR)

Longstreth's critique of Jensen's research on the relationship of IQ to individual differences in visual reaction time (RT), measured in the Hick paradigm, is said to have numerous errors of fact and interpretation, some trivial and some of theoretical importance. (Author/LMO)

The existing outcome literature on the use of oral-only and total communication approaches for young deaf children is reviewed and methodological and practical difficulties of outcome research explored. The authors propose a developmental/transactional, clinically based process model for evaluating the effectiveness of early intervention.…

Existing classroom data were used in a preliminary test of a theoretical model of student academic motivation. Expected relationships among verbal ability, internality, self-esteem, and success were found, along with evidence that class grouping may alter them. Problems encountered using existing research for other purposes are described.…

A study by Rebecca Marcon, published in a preceding issue of Early Childhood Research and Practice, examined the effects of various preschool models on later academic achievement and found that an academically oriented preschool model had negative effects in later school years. This document combines a commentary by Christopher J. Lonigan and…

In this new edition, the author explains quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, and incorporates the viewpoints of various research paradigms (postpositivist, constructivist, transformative, and pragmatic) into descriptions of these methods. Special emphasis is provided for conducting research in culturally complex communities. Each chapter…