This article provides a history of the data set known as "the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY)." Promising research agendas that use the data set are described. These agendas concern maternal employment and child care, adolescent pregnancy and parenthood, divorce, poverty, and multigenerational parenting. (BC)

Argues that G. A. Cziko's conclusions about the inadequacy of mainstream educational research result from misunderstandings of statistical method, philosophy of science, and other topics. Perceptual control theory, which he espouses, may contribute for educational research but its potential does not result from shortcomings of mainstream…

Responds to commentaries in this issue by Greta Fein and by Daniel Walsh and Gary King on criticisms of quantitative research. Argues that the data-driven nature of child development research has an impact not only on how research questions are answered but on what questions are asked in the first place. (MDM)

Presents two chain-of-choices models, one for adoptive parents and one for birth parents and adoptees, as possible frameworks within which to consider the role of individual differences, choices, and selections in understanding the process of adoption and adoption outcomes. Discusses the research and practice implications following from the…

In a review of the challenges to progress in providing social research evidence that might usefully inform policy, Oakley (2004) argues strongly that the "paradigm divide" between qualitative and quantitative research communities continues to constitute a major problem. Oakley refers to a number of recent critiques of what is seen as "misplaced…

In 1990, Milwaukee (Wisconsin) became the site of the first publicly funded school-choice program providing low-income parents with vouchers that could be used to send their children to secular, private schools. An evaluation of Milwaukee's school-choice experiment was conducted by a team of researchers, headed by John Witte at the University of…

It is argued that the debate between qualitative and quantitative research for educational researchers is actually an argument between constructivism and positivism. Positivism has been the basis for most quantitative research in education. Two different things are actually meant when constructivism is discussed (constructivism and…

This preliminary study investigated the perceptions of the research process of teachers who had newly become researchers and, in particular, it sought to explore the relationship between teacher-conducted research and professional growth. Six experienced English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers were…

This document reports on a study of the likelihood of individuals participating in the Federal food stamp program and the Medicaid program and the likelihood of exiting those programs. Data were analyzed from the first panel file of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Special problems with representativeness and measurement…

This textbook in educational research is intended to guide students as they plan and carry out a research project. The book has three goals: to provide basic information needed to understand the research process; to enable students to use this knowledge to design their own research project; and to permit students to read and understand the…

In addition to the usual problems of obtaining a representative sample, the family researcher is confronted with the problem of who speaks for the family. Traditionally women have been the informants in family research. To examine the coparental relationship between divorced spouses, data were collected from both former spouses (N=98 couples). The…

This paper discusses the problems of gathering and analyzing data on classroom behaviors. The difficulties involved in using the common pretest-posttest experimental design are described. To grapple with these problems, a study was conducted on the effect of environmental changes on student behavior, employing a time-series design and time-series…

The purpose of this paper is to outline and explain the evaluation system used by the Rhode Island Department of Education to measure the effectiveness of compensatory education programs. An exposition of how relevant background, program and financial information is collected is presented. In addition, a delineation is made of the methods…

The technique originating from the study of ecological systems for the examination of dynamic educational systems over time is utilized. The technique is based on the theory of energy exchanges in interactions between variables. Using this technique, interactions among variables can be specified and simulated over time using an analog computer.…

This guide presents many new experimental designs for data analysis and reviews certain standard procedures. It is hoped that the treatment of the material will stimulate new applications since the emphasis of the guide is on the problems encountered in running experiments rather than on an elaboration of mathematical models. Discussed are:…