Describes practical problems and issues that arose during multisite and single site studies that used qualitative research methods. Studies described include study of student involvement in out-of-class learning opportunities at 14 institutions of higher education and study of what students learned as result of membership in National PanHellenic…

Addresses methodological and ethical issues in context of three related school-based studies of primary and targeted prevention of depressive symptoms and disorder in high school adolescents. Issues discussed include obtaining subject consent and protection of confidentiality, minimizing attrition, unit of assignment issue, and ensuring therapist…

Describes two research projects linking family processes with elementary school children's competence in school to provide examples of methodological issues related to investigations that cross systems of family and school. Issues discussed include gaining cooperation from school, recruitment and consent procedures, data collection and measurement…

The author discusses a method to produce a cluster of focused nursing research projects. Her method includes (1) focal topic identification, (2) development, (3) communication, (4) integration, (5) collaboration, and (6) balance. (CH)

Discusses problems and issues of psychotherapy process research. Notes complexity of research that attempts to combine process and outcome adequately. Suggests that more than one therapeutic orientation be studied in specific project to include some type of control. Cautions that, although statistically significant correlations between process and…

Discusses the role of research methodology as disciplined inquiry in educational research. Uses examples to address issues of generalizability of results, precision, and choice of research methods. (MK)

Child abuse research has provided information on psychological sequelae of sexual molestation, with findings helpful in informing social policy and guiding mental health practice. Because of recency of interest, costs, and time investment associated with more rigorous longitudinal research, many studies have used correlational designs and…

Reviews methods for analyzing outcome data when some data are missing. Presents approach for comparing outcome results in two-group, randomized design with missing data. Proposed analysis is based on concept of "modeling our ignorance" by examining all possible outcomes, given known number of missing results with binary outcome, and then…

Notes the inconsistent findings that characterize research on marital instability and proposes several potential methodological sources of these inconsistencies. Presents an illustrative application to data from two recent national representative probability samples. (JAC)

Three-state study used Issues Validation, environmental scanning process for family life educators that combines literature reviews, professional and public opinion, and survey research to identify issues facing families and youth. Samples of residents, local advisory committees, and community professionals ranked 30 issues facing families and…

Develops random-effects probit model for case in which outcome of interest is series of correlated binary responses, obtained as product of longitudinal response process where individual is repeatedly classified on binary outcome variable or in multilevel or clustered problems in which individuals within groups are considered to share…

Addresses the problem of the equivalence of linguistically translated items that form measurement scales used to assess psychological traits or constructs in source and target cultures and languages. Outlines assessment procedures that are standardized but that also reflect cultural-specific concepts and values. (PS)

Barriers to evaluation of prevention programs arise from (1) attitudes that people have about such programs; (2) conceptual difficulties (lack of theory, difficulty in choosing criteria of success, lack of control over implementation strategies); and (3) methodological difficulties (monitoring program integrity over time, measuring program…

Looks at some of the core perspectives in teacher research, situates the movement in a wider context, and examines some of its explicit or implicit premises along with typical methodologies. Discusses the opportunities of teacher research; the craft-artistry perspective; communities of exchange, support, and inquiry; and warrants for knowledge in…

Based on a session at a recent National Reading Conference meeting in which researchers shared the dilemmas they faced and the strategies they developed for coping with the complexity of new forms of research, this paper examines some of the ethical dimensions of collaborative research. Following a discussion of the trade-offs in collaborative…