Basic and methodological considerations, organizational context of social action programs affect the introduction, execution, and utilization of evaluative research. Tensions between administrators and evaluators, and client activism are two of the problems discussed. (VW)

Explores concerns about the functions of research and uses of research findings, examines the institutional context of research and some of the problems faced by social sciences, and identifies some possible approaches and changes in institutional structure which would strengthen the role and effectiveness of social scientists and rural…

An information feedback model and an ideology of evaluation are posed and contrasted with experiences in evaluation research. Impact on policy is the criterion for success of an evaluation and political constraints block this impact. Some ways social researchers might conceptualize and construct an appropriate base of power are considered.…

It is pointed out that researchers must articulate clearly both the implications of their data for policy and the limitations of those data. Both researchers and policy-makers should remember that each student is more than a collection of variables. (Author/AF)

The academic community and the support base for higher education are seen as two seemingly opposing forces. Institutional research is proposed as a third force which, in its role of intermediary and articulator, can re-energize the planning-management systems of higher education. (Article originally published in 1972.) (AF)

Much institutional research is carried out at great cost but has little continued impact on institutions of higher education. Some of the barriers to the effective use of research and the experience of institutional research at the Open University of Great Britain are discussed. (JMD)

Criticizes the large amount of often irrelevant, poorly designed, and poorly written quantitative journalism research. Notes that journalism education and mass communication education research published in scholarly journals is largely ignored by professional journalists, who find more value in the qualitative research reported in the journalism…

Analysis of Pegnato and Birch's data invalidates the observation that teacher nominations should not be relied upon in gifted identification, as analysis shows that effectiveness and efficiency are related to number of subjects singled out as a result of the chosen cutoff value. An alternative is presented: compare correlation coefficients of the…

Reviews Tennessee's Project Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) and puts the results in the context of other nonexperimental evidence about class size. Nonexperimental evidence does not support any achievement gains attributable to class-size reduction, and empirical evidence from STAR has design and implementation flaws that cast doubt on…

The recent releases of two major international comparative studies that addressed mathematics--the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 (TIMSS 2003) and the Program for International Student Assessment 2003 (PISA 2003)--provide opportunities and challenges for mathematics education researchers interested in using the…

Perhaps no facet of long-term care (LTC) research has received as much attention as the evaluation of community-based LTC demonstrations. Recent thinking has called into question the validity and policy relevance of the findings of these studies, yet their efforts will continue to receive strong financial backing. The time has come for LTC…

Practical guidelines are provided for the development of training programs for educational research workers. There are five chapters. Background, objectives, and organization of the seminar are discussed in the first chapter. The second chapter examines common directions, trends, and problems in the educational research of the Asian and Pacific…

The author examines, in the light of funding problems for Federal agencies supporting educational research, the difficulties inherent in the research process as it now exists, and methods for attacking these difficulties. The thought is presented that only by working on these general problems, will the more specific problem of funding be…

CHANGES IN ARMY TRAINING PROGRAMS AND PROCEDURES ARE DESCRIBED TO ILLUSTRATE INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE RESULTING FROM IMPLEMENTATION OF APPLIED RESEARCH. SERVING SINCE 1951 AS A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY UNDER CONTRACT TO THE ARMY, THE HUMAN RESOURCES RESEARCH OFFICE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HAS IDENTIFIED INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE THROUGH…

This paper explores what is known and what is needed in the areas of (1) experiential learning and experiential education and (2) extending experience-based career education (EBCE) to groups not currently served by such a program. Following the introduction, the paper contains eight sections. Section 2 provides a discussion of what the experts are…