"Vague quantifiers" used on quasi-quantitative rating scales (such as "often, sometimes, rarely, or never") are discussed in this paper in terms of the problems they create both for theory development and for issues of analysis. The purpose of the paper was to investigate some of these issues as they relate to the measurement…

This chapter addresses the problems encountered in the formative evaluation of instructional development projects and the instructional development process. Three types of formative evaluation--component, convergent, and contextual--are distinguished, and the consequences of using the wrong type of evaluation in a particular situation or project…

This study explores an approach to the evaluation of expert system shells using case studies. The methodology and some of the results of an evaluation of the prototype development of an expert system using the shell "M1" are detailed, including a description of the participants and the project, the data collection process and materials,…

Five studies of holistic writing assessment procedures examined interactive relationships of the participants, processes, and products of writing assessment episodes. The first study examined practices in designing writing test prompts. The second study investigated the effects of variation in the specification of audience in a writing test prompt…

As a continuation of research into online public access catalog systems (OPAC's), this study focused on the actual use of OPAC's and on refinement of the methodologies used in carrying out transaction analysis studies. Current patron use patterns were obtained via machine-readable catalogs from four online public catalog systems: The Library of…

Stategies for organizing data on a district's energy use are presented in this guide, originally intended for use in California schools. Also presented are methods of communicating this information to those involved in planning, in recordkeeping, and in motivating staff and students to save energy. The energy accounting system offered in the first…

This data file user's manual documents the procedures used to collect and process high school transcripts for a large sample of the younger cohort (1980 sophomores) in the High School and Beyond survey. The manual provides the user with the technical assistance needed to use the computer file and also discusses the following: (1) sample design for…

A set of recommendations is provided regarding data collection and reporting to support and facilitate the accreditation process in postsecondary education. The following chapters are provided: (1) introduction (types of accreditation, evaluation of standards, potential users, and the development process); (2) conceptual schema (conceptual…

Participants in the workshop on literacy reported in this document included 15 educators and specialists from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, and Western Samoa. Chapter 1 reports an assessment of the present literacy situation in the South Pacific with particular attention to the problem of hidden illiteracy. Chapter 2…

This paper points out the value of methods that are qualitative in nature in order to collect data regarding the essence of a formalized relationship between a mentor teacher and an intern teacher. Of several cases examined during the second year (1987-88) of the New York State Mentor Teacher-Internship Program, one case is presented as an…

This booklet describes how the effectiveness of a one-on-one internal labor union organizing effort can be improved by incorporating an organizing survey within the one-on-one canvassing process. It also explains how collective bargaining strategies can benefit from the inclusion of a survey of the bargaining unit. To explore these applications of…

A Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) evaluation framework describes the decision to be made, appropriate evaluation activity and activity description. The topic of this third CSE Evaluation Workshop is program planning, the second stage of the four stage evaluation framework. Evaluation activities should follow an orderly and logical…

These four papers were presented as background at a national symposium exploring the relationships among law, ethics, and technology as they relate to the individual's informational privacy. George B. Trubow's "The Development and Status of 'Informational Privacy' Law and Policy in the United States" discusses privacy as it relates to the…

Noting the increasing interest in qualitative research in general and ethnographic research in particular, the authors of this report clarify the place of the latter within the former. The authors present six criteria for an ethnographic approach to education, illustrated with examples, and discuss ethnography's advantages and disadvantages. The…

The Technical Assistance Development System--TADS (a project to provide technical assistance to personnel implementing programs for preschool handicapped children and their families) conducted an evaluation of three technical assistance needs assessment strategies during 1979-80. The three strategies were: (1) on-site--conducted by a trained needs…