Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and…

Reports on an experiment in institutional funding. Grants were awarded to universities with detailed plans for developing their science programs. Major findings of the study are reported in the areas of faculty size, faculty mobility, scholarly productivity, graduate student enrollment, Ph.D. production, postdoctorate employment and geographical…

Summarizes and reviews the peer review system of evaluating research proposals by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health. Includes National Academy of Sciences study of NSF peer review, appeals mechanism, and alternatives to peer review, such as Black grants and research productivity criteria. (SK)

The College Science Instrumentation Program (CSIP) was developed to provide seed money matching funds for the acquisition of laboratory instrumentation in order to improve the quality of undergraduate science/engineering education. This report describes the impact of the program and the program characteristics during the years 1985-87. An…

The quality of doctoral-level biochemistry (N=139), botany (N=83), cellular/molecular biology (N=89), microbiology (N=134), physiology (N=101), and zoology (N=70) programs at United States universities was assessed, using 16 measures. These measures focused on variables related to: (1) program size; (2) characteristics of graduates; (3)…

College and university efforts to address minority students' needs are described. The Minority Achievement Program (MAP) provided grants to selected colleges to test a range of programs and services to help certain student groups succeed in achieving their educational goals. Descriptions of 10 selected projects are provided, along with information…

The quality of doctoral-level chemistry (N=145), computer science (N=58), geoscience (N=91), mathematics (N=115), physics (N=123), and statistics/biostatistics (N=64) programs at United States universities was assessed, using 16 measures. These measures focused on variables related to: program size; characteristics of graduates; reputational…