Examines measures of children's perspectives on physical activity, focusing on the Children's Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale and other measurement approaches. The article identifies current measurement issues and makes five recommendations for assisting in the development of useful research instruments. (SM)

Conducting qualitative research takes researchers to places and into lives to generate new knowledge. When researchers move beyond academic curiosity to caring, they cross a fine line. This article recounts a three-year study of middle-schoolers, in which subjects and researchers moved beyond invasive inquiry to develop common ground, mutual…

Recommends that teachers avoid cookbook-type exercises and predescribed protocols for laboratory work and instead engage students in research that can teach critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills. (DDR)

Argues that the conventional Delphi procedure offers decision makers a user-friendly, rigorous, and systematic strategy for collecting and disseminating critical information. Reviews literature related to the Delphi procedure, provides a rationale for its use, describes its distinctive features, reviews points of contention, and provides an…

Discusses action research and its implications for library media centers; measurement and study; and steps in the action research process: clarify research need and define research problem, plan research to provide relevant data, collect and organize, analyze and interpret, report to relevant audiences, and integrate the results into library media…

Uses school-level data to measure distribution of educational resources within districts, between districts, and among schools within the states, focusing on quantity (but not quality) of teachers allocated to students. Results confirm that school-level teacher-distribution inequalities exist both within and across districts. Implications are…

Describes the method employed for scholarship that involves the analysis of original unpublished scripts. A professional-development grant provided an opportunity to travel to a university archive to read primary research materials unavailable through conventional means, and to develop a detailed analysis of selected works by Ray Bradbury,…

Describes a process of data collection with young children using the outdoors as a mathematical context. The process of data collection and processing introduces children to more abstract mathematics as they sort and classify data, create graphs, compare datasets, examine patterns, and interpret graphical representations. (ASK)

Discusses lack of data on children with visual impairments and development of the National Plan for Training Personnel to Serve Children with Blindness and Low Vision (NPTP) to address personnel shortages and to conduct a needs assessment. The NPTP estimate of 93,000 students with visual impairments is analyzed. (CR)

This article describes the Council of Schools for the Blind Learning Outcomes Project, which is developing a data collection infrastructure that will create relevant information based on current knowledge-management principles. The results of the first year of data collection are presented to illustrate the process. (Contains references.)…

Discusses the methodology and content of the evaluation of the Homeless Families Program. Focuses on data collection and the determination of program outcomes. Stresses the importance of stakeholder involvement and the flexibility of the evaluators as the evaluation unfolded. (SLD)

Illustrates the role of technology and multimedia in enhancing research through the use of examples from qualitative approaches to inquiry. Discusses characteristics of qualitative techniques; impact of technology and multimedia on data collection, analysis, and presentation; using research for educational change; and improving research practices.…

Responds to a critique by Mudford, Hogg, and Roberts (1997) that raised concerns about the observation code used in a longitudinal research project to assess emerging behavior state patterns in young children with disabilities. Concerns about the thoroughness of the reliability data collected by Mudford are discussed. (Author/CR)

Presents an experiment on collecting data while measuring the dissolved-oxygen levels in Thames River tap water straight from the water mains and dissolved-oxygen levels in rainwater containing Hornwort water weed over 24 hours. (Author/ASK)

Outlines a class project in which students explore characteristics of paper towels and paper towel advertising. Students design a variety of experiments related to paper towels and their claims. Provides four activities. (DDR)