Discusses the emphasis on promoting policy and practice changes based on research evidence in projects (funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation) related to housing, social policy, social care, youth, and families. Discusses the difficulties in using random control trials for assessing the effectiveness of interventions with individuals. Concludes…

In this discussion of quantitative research synthesis, past criticisms of meta-analysis are reviewed along with the ways they have been addressed. Objections to single-subject synthesis methods are discussed, along with the advantages of using the percentage-of- nonoverlapping-data metric. The article concludes by questioning the veracity of…

Illustrates the use of auto- and biographical materials as part of a research process concerned with problematic aspects of learning science. Draws on an extended study of graphing among university students and research scientists, and on the autobiography and interview data from one of the authors to point out some of the sources of difficulties…

A winner of the Council for Exceptional Children Research Award reflects on the enabling effect of a supportive context for research, lessons learned relating to career successes and failures, and the value of applied research. The need develop a program of long-term research is discussed. (Contains references.) (CR)

This article examines contributions of teacher efficacy literature to the study of teaching students with severe disabilities. The self-efficacy construct is explained, followed by a review of associated research problems. Findings on relationships between perceived self-efficacy of teachers and perceptions of student abilities, classroom…

This article examines the social skills training research-to-practice process and argues that a logical and attendant line of rigorous study is lacking. Areas of social inquiry are drawn from to discuss the need for conceptual frameworks to guide investigation and offer a way for research to be designed and interpreted. (Contains references.)…

In recent years, college administrators have become concerned with survey fatigue among students and declining response rates. Some campuses have responded by implementing policies about who can conduct surveys and which topics are permitted. This chapter describes the development of such policies and provides valuable suggestions to campus…

Motivating students to perform well on assessment tests is difficult when students know the results have no academic consequence. The present study evaluates the influence of assessment context (graded vs. non-graded) on the reliability of an assessment measure. Results indicate the graded condition produces higher reliability (r = 0.71) than the…

The idea that all stages of social research are gendered has been discussed extensively in the literature. A great number of texts are devoted to reflection how gender influence researcher/respondent interaction. In this article, the author presents reflection on discrepancies between her interviews with men and women conducted within the research…

Most of the recent literature on the achievement effects of school size has examined school and district performance. These studies have demonstrated substantial benefits of smaller school and district size in impoverished settings. To date, however, no work has adequately examined the relationship of size and socioeconomic status (SES) with…

This synopsis chapter begins with a review of the main points each of the contributing authors made in their respective articles to this special publication on evidence-based practice in college counseling. A listing and explication of their common concerns about the applicability of EBPs for university mental health then follows. Finally,…

This article utilises Rokeach's categorisation of values (i.e. moral, competency, personal and social) to analyse how values influence the choice of research method. It discusses how the ontological and epistemological position adopted by the researcher is influenced by their competency and personal values. The next section is concerned with the…

This article explores the place of self-assessment in religious education in the light of general research into self-assessment, particularly as part of assessment for learning. In particular, it analyses the problems of "enculturation" of learners into classroom assessment practice in religious education. The distinction between…

Five sister reports published by the Friedman Foundation over the past two years have ignored the relevant research literature in asserting that private-school voucher programs can reduce the social costs of dropping out while increasing graduation rates. The reports are state-specific, targeting five different states. But each report follows a…

Global economic transformations have never been as dramatic as in the twentieth century. Most countries have experienced radical changes in the standards of income per capita, technology, fertility, mortality, income inequality and the extent of democracy in the course of the past century. It is the goal of many disciplines--economics, history,…