The M.I.T. INSITE (INstitutional Space Inventory TEchniques) system, a management information system developed specifically to provide facilities management information for decision making in the planning stages, is described. Since 1973, M.I.T. has shared the INSITE technology with a consortium of users from academic, health care, corporate and…

Comments on the importance of the census to the constitutional process. Stresses the census' origin and the importance of the 1990 Census. Remarks on the involvement of the National Council for the Social Studies' (NCSS) efforts to increase educators awareness of the 1990 Census. (LS)

Addresses the need to include all available data (physical, environmental, language, cognitive, affective, and educational correlates of reading) to evaluate students' reading strengths and weaknesses. Argues that this holistic approach makes the assessment of reading skills efficient and avoids test replication. (RS)

The article describes the pilot testing of a direct observation procedure for observing social interactions of mentally retarded and non-retarded workers in supported work settings. The instrument was found to be capable of assessing such interactions and was readily utilized by practitioners. (DB)

Using portable microcomputers, three applications programs were developed and implemented to collect, store, transmit, and analyze teacher/student observational data. The three applications involved: analyzing teaching behaviors of trainees in field-site placements, using microcomputers to educate mildly handicapped high-school students, and using…

Compared accuracy of medicine use information obtained from older adults through either telephone interviews or mail questionnaires, using in-home medicine check as standard of assessment. Found validity of medicine use information to vary by data source, level of specificity of data, and respondent characteristics. Mail questionnaire was more…

Investigates implementation of the 1990-91 New York City Parent Involvement Program. The first section summarizes the research underlying development of methodology for measuring parent involvement program implementation across diverse program sites. The second section outlines a six-step data collection and measurement methodology involving site…

This article explores two issues in conducting qualitative research: (1) the essentials of data collection, and (2) the unique role of the researcher in the data collection process. The author's own research study on use of health and medical information by various members of a classroom team for special education students is used to illustrate…

Quick power estimates for detecting a difference in two population proportions are expedient during early stages of research planning. Such estimates are tabled and graphed in this article. They are shown to be conservative but accurate for most research situations when proportions fall in the range of 0.25 to 0.75. (SLD)

The authors of EC 610 841 comment on problems encountered in their research, such as difficulties in analyzing interview data, and discuss their ongoing three-year study of personal and environmental influences affecting attrition of special education teachers. (DB)

Presents activities that center on the excitement of going back to school by collecting and analyzing data and exploring probabilities. Contains reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

The six articles of this issue discuss the place of meta-analysis in the health professions and present two state-of-the-art meta-analyses using a variety of innovative methodologies, statistics, and secondary analytic procedures. A survey conducted for this issue and its sequel explores interventions to facilitate meta-analysis. (SLD)

Includes three articles: the first presents rules and regulations from the "Federal Register" that focus on educational effectiveness in postsecondary institutions; the second discusses the appropriateness of various research methodologies for assessment and accountability of reference services; and the third examines data collection…

The REDSIL model for ongoing evaluation of gifted education programs involves interviewing stakeholders, isolating and categorizing critical study issues, designing a data collection plan that uses several forms of qualitative methods, implementing the plan, analyzing data, searching literature relative to each issue, analyzing data again, and…

The model of performance indicators for educational assessment in Portugal includes context; physical, human, technological, and financial resources; functions; and results. Indicators need to partake of the information systems in schools whereby teachers and administrators gain a better understanding of their own processes and planning…