Preparation of this paper aided by Grant MH-11521 from the National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Public Health Service.

A theory of policy implementation, as opposed to policy results, would allow analysts to estimate how government programs would actually work. To help achieve such a theory, a general framework is presented along with testable propositions about the implementation of federal programs. Implementation is defined as including two components: the…

Several aspects of interview research heretofore receiving little attention are discussed. A brief description of the different types of interview formats and levels of analysis is presented. Following a discussion of the problem of analyzing protocol data, some suggestions are offered about analysis procedures that derive from constructionist…

Researchers often use the analysis of variance to test hypotheses about the means, followed by a multiple comparison technique when the F-test is significant. The technique is this study was developed by Newman (1939) and Keuls (1952). A flaw in the rationale underlying this technique was evaluated to determine whether the flaw is sufficiently…

This study shows that the test statistic for Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) has a noncentral F-districution with noncentrality parameter equal to zero if and only if the regression planes are homogeneous and/or the vector of overall covariate means is the null vector. The effect of heterogeneous regression slope parameters is to either increase…

Psychologists and linguists often suggest that empathy or role-taking ability is important in the communication process because it enables a speaker to consider in advance the informational demands of his audience. Despite the vintage of the empathy-effective communication hypothesis, it has never been directly tested. In this study, empathy was…

A comparative study of first-grade reading instructional methods was undertaken with the support of the Granite School District Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction. This study was conducted in 19 schools of the district and involved approximately 1,295 students. Nine hypotheses concerning the various approaches used in reading instruction…

The purposes of this paper are to: (1) describe some of the serious shortcomings in the current use of tests of statistical significance, (2) discuss how misuses are perpetuated in some widely used references, and (3) present an alternative significance testing model that overcomes some, but not all, of the shortcomings of the currently used…

A statistical test for cheating is developed. The case of a single examinee who has taken parallel forms of the same selection test on three occasions, obtaining scores x, y, z, is used to illustrate the development. It is assumed that each score is normally distributed with the same known variance, that is, the variance of the errors of…

Behavioral scientists often wish to determine if a sample has been taken from a symmetric population. Similarly, classroom teachers are interested in symmetry if they wish to grade on a "curve." Previously, the sign test, the Wilcoxon test and the t-test have been used to test a hypothesis concerning the symmetry of a distribution of…

A sample of 2,290 airmen who were eligible for promotion to grades E-4 through E-7 was used to field-test the proposed weighted Airman Promotion System. Data included scores on the Specialty Knowledge Test and the Promotion Fitness Examination, points credited for time in grade, time in service, decorations, and Airman Performance Report mean…

Statistical inference concerning the parameters of k multivariate normal populations is considered. Several models in which the parameters have certain hierarchical relationships are discussed, in particular as related to testing the hypothesis that k psychological tests are parallel forms of the same test. The report contains the following…

The inferences allowable with a significant F in regression analysis are discussed. Included in this discussion are the effects of specificity of the research hypothesis, incorporation of covariates, directional hypotheses, and the manipulation of variables on the interpretation of significance for such purposes as causal and directional…

When H. M. Johnson argued that all inductive reasoning is based on the fallacy of affirming the consequent and cannot therefore establish the 'truth' of scientific hypotheses, he posed a paradox for strict empiricists. Author examined Johnson's argument. (Editor/RK)