The concept of a qualitative model provides a unifying perspective for understanding how expert systems differ from conventional programs. Knowledge bases contain qualitative models of systems in the world, that is, primarily non-numeric descriptions that provide a basis for explaining and predicting behavior and formulating action plans. The…

Recent research suggests that a key educational reform step is developing interdisiplinary collaborative inquiry activities. Bringing together professionals representing diverse, interrelated disciplines yields a more thorough understanding of organizational systems. Despite widespread support for interdisciplinary collaboration (IDC), few…

This discussion of the development of database management systems specifically created to support qualitative research identifies two main problems in qualitative approaches, i.e., the issues of data collection and analysis, and the cumbersome nature of traditional qualitative approaches. These problems are reviewed with a comparison of the…

The study examined the meaning of outdoor education experiences and the role photography plays in assisting students to make connections from their outdoor experiences to their everyday lives. Specifically, this exploratory qualitative study utilized photo-elicitation interviews to investigate the inner significance of structured university-based…

The review of some recent studies on use of microcomputers in early childhood special education highlights methodological issues including the qualitative quantitative distinction and the interdependence of research design and interpretation. Imbedding qualitative methods into quasi- or true-experimental designs can provide more information than…

The author examines the relevance of the monitoring and evaluation literature and practice to the issue of how to understand and to monitor and evaluate nonmaterial or nonproductive objectives of rural development. He discusses an alternative monitoring and evaluation approach that will resolve this issue. (CH)

Considers contributions of basic/theoretical, applied/practical, and marketing research to the field of camping. Outlines research concerns: application of qualitative methods, practical application of marketing research, effective research dissemination, and focus on longitudinal studies using larger samples. Affirms role of research to document…

Reports the results of a phenomenographical study of teaching which provides a framework for analyzing how teaching is viewed by teachers. The study focused on how 29 teachers viewed the development of skill in their work. Four conceptions of skill development were derived from the interviews. (JDH)

Three perspectives on combining quantitative and qualitative methods in one evaluation are reviewed: mutually exclusive; separate but equal; and integrated. Ways to corroborate, elaborate, or initiate findings from the other method are illustrated, using a large-scale, three-year evaluation of regional educational service agencies. (Author/GDC)

In educational research, rigid distinctions between the relative merits of quantitative research often rest on positivistic dogma. In contrast, post-positivistic thought eliminates the intractable problem engendered by positivistic epistemology of a forced choice between value-laden and value-free research methods. (KH)

This report is the result of a nine-month, national study of nontraditional funding and financing of facilities for charter and other public schools. The qualitative research in this report, based on fourteen study states and the District of Columbia, describes the growing range of private involvement in the acquisition, construction, and…

This original contributed book will become an essential text for those teaching Ethnography, Research Methods (qualitative emphasis), applied sociology, and related subjects across Canada. Chapters in the first section of this volume consider the merits of qualitative research, profile interviewing strategies, and discuss the relationship to…

This book outlines the basic elements of longitudinal qualitative data, focusing on micro-levels of change observed within individual cases and groups of participants, and presents 16 questions through which researchers can approach the analysis of longitudinal qualitative data. The chapters are: (1) "Longitudinal Qualitative Studies, Time, and…

Little of the scholarship that focuses on the professional lives of women faculty addresses how faculty women mobilize or how and with whom they create networks to work in academe. Women now make up more than 50% of the undergraduate student population, and just over 40% of Ph.D. recipients are women. Many campuses house women's centers and other…

This qualitative study focused primarily on career women, managing learning, and the application of lifelong learning concepts. The main purpose of the study was to discover how lifelong learning concepts may have been instrumental in influencing the vision, attitude, and goals of the 20 career women included in this inquiry (two women were…