Reviews basic sociometric tools and their analysis, provides information on computer programs to analyze sociometric data, and briefly examines considerations in conducting sociometric investigations. Looks at the social atom (significant others), constructing sociometry questions, and offers an analysis of individual status and interactional…

Explores the interdisciplinary nature of interdisciplinary research, provides a brief explanation of the Integrative Review of Research of which meta-analysis can be a part, and describes the librarian's role, particularly in data collection. Discusses developing trends in the area, including the use of the World Wide Web. (Author/LRW)

Challenges the reliability of data sets by pointing out the following pitfalls in major census data: (1) changes in the definition of racial/ethnic categories and (2) the question of gender in determining household composition, paid/unpaid work, occupation, employment status, and poverty. (SK)

Examines pitfalls in analyzing school-level data, particularly expenditure data. Examples come from Ohio's experience with creating usable data structures for examining school-level information, aided by a statewide, complex, multipurpose Education Management Information System (EMIS). Since districts can choose different reporting software…

Describes school-level K-12 revenue and expenditure data collection in California, Texas, Florida, and Minnesota. Neither California nor Minnesota collects school-site fiscal data. Florida's highly advanced district and school-level data collection system has inconsistently reported standardized test scores. Texas has developed a good database to…

Discusses efforts to locate studies on the older adult second language learner. Notes that one online and three compact disk databases were searched, using search strategies and subject headings appropriate to each particular file. Results reveal that most of the relevant studies were retrieved from the ERIC and the Linguistics and Language…

Nine types of errors occurring in the process of synthesizing research are described, with examples from a recent synthesis of research on teacher professional growth. Types of errors include excluding relevant literature, wrongly reporting details such as sample size, erroneously attributing findings to studies, and stating unwarranted…

Data collection and assessment processes used by a nursing school are described. Sources include student achievement data from tests, projects, journals, case studies, community service, and clinical practicums. The ways in which data are organized, presented, and used are discussed. (SK)

This article reviews the literature on the academic status of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities including student, placement, and assessment characteristics; functioning level of students; and trends in the research over the past four decades. Limitations of existing research are identified, such as incomplete reporting of…

Distinguishes between "research methods" and "research methodology" in social science research, particularly in the field of comparative education. Discusses the influence of the researcher's theoretical orientation on his or her choice of methods for data collection and data analysis, and the importance of scholars outlining this…

Modifies the "What's in a Bag?" activity to effectively and engagingly demonstrate the nature of science. Describes each step of the activity and lists necessary materials. Shows students that, like scientists, their scientific models change as more data are gathered and incorporated into what is already known. (NB)

Presents findings from a questionnaire administered at two science centers and two natural history museums. Tables reflect demographic characteristics, education level, group size, number of children per group, and respondents' preferences regarding live demonstrations, objects to handle, dioramas, and video programs. The purpose of this study was…

Reports on a study to investigate the factors that influence the creation of links to journal Web sites. Specific questions addressed are whether site age and site content are inducers of links to a journal's Web site as measured by the ratio of link counts to Journal Impact Factors. (Author/MES)

Discusses level 3 evaluation from Donald Kirkpatrick's Four Level Evaluation Model (level: 1-reaction; 2-learning; 3-behavior; 4-results) to measure training program performance. Highlights include an evaluation planning matrix; increasing evaluation data accuracy and reliability; data collection method selection; designing data collection…

Chronicles the need for and development of an interdisciplinary, integrated neighborhood-level database for Boston, Massachusetts, discussing database content and potential applications of this database to a range of criminal justice problems and initiatives (e.g., neighborhood crime patterns, needs assessment, and program planning and…