Fifteen studies of severe mental retardation in children are reviewed, from the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Quebec, and West Germany. For each study, the aims, definitions, subpopulations studied, case-finding methods, and findings are reported. Findings are then analyzed in terms of prevalence, etiology, service provision, and associated…

Methods for approximating confidence intervals for the population standardized mean difference (delta) were evaluated analytically in small samples. An empirically determined simple linear adjustment to the sample delta demonstrated the most consistent precision when used to construct confidence intervals for the delta parameter. (SLD)

The critical evaluation of data-based studies concerned with social and vocational problems of adults with learning disabilities concludes that, despite methodological problems of existing research, professionals need to take a life-span approach to learning disabilities since many children with learning disabilities will become learning disabled…

Large sample multivariate methods for estimating and comparing effect sizes across independent samples within a single study are presented. Procedures for pooling treatment effects are provided to allow determination of overall study effect sizes for treatments with similar effects prior to implementation of meta-analyses. (TJH)

Examined relation of characteristics of career counseling interventions to career counseling outcomes. Explored 240 treatment-control comparisons resulting from 58 studies containing 7,311 subjects. Class interventions were most effective but required most time. Individual counseling produced more client gain per hour than other intervention…

Examines implications of incorporating a metacognitive focus in the curriculum. Recommends an integrative and contextualized approach to teaching children to understand and apply metacognitive strategies. (RAE)

Presents situations in which researchers can use the general linear model to uncover reasons for discrepant effect-size results of meta-analysis of similar studies. Situations include similarly labeled treatments or participants differing in important ways, treatment effectiveness varying by subject aptitude or situational variables, research…

Pooled data from previous studies in which autistic, mentally handicapped, and normal young children had been tested on theory of mind tasks. Found that normal children at a verbal mental age of four years, but autistic children at a verbal mental age of more than nine years, had a 50% chance of passing the theory of mind tests. (BC)

Discusses recent research findings, which do not appear to support the idea that boys' superiority in mathematics is biological. Cerebral lateralization studies are discussed; meta-analysis showed that the gender gap has narrowed, casting doubt on the importance of innate ability determining mathematics performance. Discusses implications of…

A review of 45 published studies yielded 518 pairs of response times (RTs) consisting of a mean RT for persons with mental retardation and the corresponding mean RT for persons without mental retardation. RTs of individuals with mental retardation increased linearly as a function of RTs for persons without mental retardation in corresponding…

Recommends that analysts (1) use conventional meta-analytic statistics when testing for moderator variables; (2) perform tests between mean effect sizes; and (3) continue to perform model tests in meta-analyses for which study outcomes are already consistent if they have theoretical expectations about moderators. (RS)

Presents a classification system for developmental psychology that was constructed by means of a survey of articles published in the journals "Child Development" and "Developmental Psychology" in 1969 and 1987. The survey found that eight empirical questions encompassed the full range of empirical interests expressed by…

Reviewed 252 empirical studies of psychotherapy from "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology" in 1967/1968, 1977/1978, and 1987/1988. Found main trend to be decline in theory-guided and rise in pragmatic, clinically oriented research. Discusses disadvantages of purely empirical approach to psychotherapy research and makes…

Explores how magazine type has been defined and on what criteria categories of magazines have been based in communication research. Observes 4 definition strategies in 223 research reports published between 1977 and 1991. Critiques them on their apparent ability to meet five generally accepted standards for the usefulness of scientifically…

Argues that historians have often neglected ideological forces that have shaped their work. Offers a meta-analysis of the ideological dimensions of historical scholarship. Proposes a social psychoanalytical approach to history. Argues that a recognition of the connection between past and present would expose the ties between history and politics.…