After briefly introducing the effective schools movement, chapter 1 of this monograph describes Ron Edmonds' criterion for effective schools (poor and minority children should score well on standard achievement tests in proportions equal to those attained by children in the dominant culture) and his five basic characteristics (a strong,…

Most of the observational study of marriage has focused on relatively young and highly educated couples from professional backgrounds; working-class couples, older couples, and couples from distressed marriages seem reluctant to volunteer for research on close relationships. The development of techniques for recruiting these couples represents an…

The ability of individuals to make accurate judgments about others is examined and literature on this subject is reviewed. A wide variety of situational factors affects the appraisal of performance. It is generally accepted that the purpose of the appraisal influences the accuracy of the appraiser. The instrumentation, or tools, available to the…

The paper reviews research on effects of metal pollutants on behavioral disorders in children. Methodological programs of studies conducted in the 1970's are described. Research since 1980 is then addressed in terms of general population studies and studies of behaviorally disordered populations. Findings of research on the latter subject group…

This paper examines concepts in information-processing theory which are likely to be relevant to development and characterizes the methods and data upon which the concepts are based. Among the concepts examined are those which have slight empirical grounds. Other concepts examined are those which seem to have empirical bases but which are…

A brief review of research on protective factors that allow some individuals to make healthy adaptations despite debilitating circumstances precedes a critical discussion of symposium papers. The discussion is organized around three questions. First, does the search for protective factors demonstrate an important programmatic shift in…

The discourse classification systems used most frequently by reseachers in composition credit A. Bain, J. Moffett, J. Emig, J. Kinneavy, J. Britton, and R. Lloyd-Jones. A majority of the studies that have included discourse types as a major focus of their work were designed to investigate students' syntactic structures. Other studies focused on…

An experiment which varied indications about the possibility of psychological risk and deception in consent information provided to subjects prior to participation in Asch's (1952) line-judgment task is presented. The number of erroneous line-judgments (conformity) made by subjects across five consent treatments and a no-consent control group were…

This paper addresses several issues in quantitative research that educational researchers should examine with more care. While the purposes of experimentation is to determine causality, the study of causal relations is difficult and problematic. Computational and conceptual errors in statistical analysis seem limited only by the creativity of the…

After the terms "qualitative research" and "quantitative research" are defined, this paper considers why it makes sense to integrate these approaches, at least under some circumstances. This discussion necessitates attention to the issue of whether quantitative and qualitative research are inextricably linked to incompatible…

The four papers in these proceedings provide a comprehensive picture of the rationale, methodology, strengths, and limitations of case studies. In "Doing Justice in Evaluation Research," David Hamilton argues that the application of scientific methods to the study of social systems has given us a false illusion of certainty. He offers an…

If the findings of educational research are to be more intuitively appealing, readily understood, and widely accepted, educational researchers should give better attention to the reduction of needless methodological complexity and to the improvement of conceptual clarity. (Editor)

The effects of selective dropout and retesting on the assessment of developmental changes in abilities during adolescence are examined. (ST)

One of the most difficult problems facing scholars interested in conducting empirical research concerning the gratification that audience members seek or receive from the media is measurement of gratification itself. This paper outlines the strategies commonly used by researchers and describes some of the limitations of each. Particular attention…