Examines the use of conceptual frameworks in collecting qualitative data from multiple sites. Presents strategies for devising frameworks that are flexible and general without sacrificing specificity. (JOW)

Describes study designed to (1) determine frequency of use of descriptive research in adult education in the United States, (2) identify range of topics examined by descriptive research, (3) identify data collection procedures, and (4) determine if there is a trend in the publication of descriptive research. (Falmer Press, Falmer House, Barcombe,…

Presents a sense of the methodology associated with participant observation and suggests that it may supplement existing research practices. (JOW)

Discusses seven basic themes that underlie the author's "direct research" activities. These themes include reliance on research based on description and induction instead of prescription and deduction, and the measurement of many elements in real settings, supported by anecdote, instead of few variables in perceptual terms from a…

Heavy prior reliance on self-report has excluded crucial populations from organizational inquiry, postponed cross-checking of propositions, inflated the apparent consequentiality of minor irritations in the workplace, and imposed a homogeneity of method that raises the prospect that the findings of the field are method-specific. (Author)

The work-sampling approach derives a composite overall picture of how an individual allocates time by taking a sufficiently large number of spot observations of activity at random intervals. (For availability, see EA 507 433.) (Author)

Considers how results of systematic data collection can be used in decision making and how they are often not used properly. Examines two similar yet distinctive perspectives by which the performance technologist can assist organizational leaders in making difficult decisions based on valid and useful data. (Author/LRW)

This personal narrative describes the use of ethnographic data collection as a means for its author, a New York City resident, to take stock of local reaction and response to the events of September 11 by documenting and analyzing the writings New Yorkers posted in public spaces during the 3 weeks following the attacks on the World Trade Center.…

Discusses the history, features, and ongoing development of the Data on Vocational Education (DOVE) system, which provides detailed information on vocational education at the national level. The DOVE system differs from the typical National Center for Education Statistics data collection effort because it is a "synthetic" system that…

This article describes the establishment in fall 2002 of a School of Education Research Center designed to support faculty in increasing productivity and quality in research. Details are provided about center goals, services, staffing, space, resources, and logistics during the first year of operation. In addition, data are shared about faculty…

Library media centers need to present the data they collect in a way that attracts funding from sources that increasingly look to quantifiable measures rather than qualitative reports before parting with money. Tips on how to compile numbers through Automatic Data Generation as well as Manual Data Generation are offered.

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…