Meta-analysis, a statistical method for combining quantitative findings from several studies addressing the same research problem, follows basic integrative research review procedures. Researchers must complete 11 specific, sequential steps, including selecting the type of meta-analysis, indicating the common research hypothesis, identifying…

This study applied the methodology of an analog experimental (functional) analysis of behavior to the specific interaction between parents and three children with mental retardation exhibiting food refusal and related mealtime problems. Analog results were highly consistent with other forms of functional assessment data, including interviews,…

Introduces an activity on photosynthesis for middle school students involving observation and data collection. (YDS)

Four organizations (the California Department of Education, the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, the Alameda County Office of Education, and EdSource) are cooperating to provide a one-stop shopping place for financial and demographic data at the state, county, district, and local school levels. (MLH)

Reviews the rationale for and implications of case study research in therapeutic recreation, examining: what can be learned from studying a single case; issues of validity and reliability; ethical conduct of research; and the practice of case study research (case protocol, case selection, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting data, and…

Synthesizes information from a 1995 international symposium on longitudinal research in learning disabilities. Discussion of generic considerations of longitudinal research is followed by examination of issues specific to learning disabilities including definition, attrition, composition of research teams, ethical concerns, data collection, and…

Explores the effects evidence-based practice and the guideline movement will have on evaluation in the future and discusses the impact on evaluation of three aspects of the current information revolution: (1) e-government; (2) new approaches to data access; and (3) real-time evaluation. Also considers the sources of evaluation innovation and the…

The reports highlighted in this issue offer an excellent view of the success, value, and contributions of the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) Program. Also discusses the federal statistical system and the role that NHES and other national household surveys play in providing the United States with information needed for policy…

Presents 1999 comparative survey data on school construction in the United States revealing rapidly increasing numbers of construction projects. Data are presented by region on school construction projects completed in 1999; projects expected to be completed and started in 2000; types of schools being built, expanded, and renovated; and what the…

Compared self-administered diaries and telephone interviews as ways of collecting data from 100 adults and adolescents in a survey of drinking, drug use, and sexual activity. Outlines advantages of each method and the higher personnel costs of telephone interviews. (SLD)

Author Mike Schmoker argues that data should play a crucial role before staff development begins by helping to select the most results-oriented initiatives. Staff development proposals should be based on data that indicate the initiatives have led to higher achievement. This interview discusses barriers to using data and notes the role of…

Presents 1999-00 data of K-12 school administrator's compensation in the areas of base salaries and pension payments compared to private-sector executives. Data reveal that administrative salary increases outpaced those received by other non-education professionals. (GR)

Longitudinal data about individual students and groups of students can be used to track their progress in ways that hold district-level administrators, school principals, and teachers responsible for what's happening in schools. The key is to examine data that show how well individual students perform in specific classrooms in specific schools.…

This 1967 paper examines the importance of keeping student health records, proposing that modern data processing methods be used to keep those records more efficiently. The paper describes how efficiently a computer could keep such information and makes a brief cost-benefit analysis of computerizing student health records. (SM)

Since the mid 1990s of last Century, university rankings have become very popular in China. Six institutions have published such rankings; some of them have also detailed their ranking methodologies. This paper features a general introduction to university ranking in China, and to the methodologies of each ranking discussed. The paper also…