Describes design and development of a thesaurus based on lexical-semantic relations, and compares results of experiments with queries enhanced using thesauri based on several different groups of relations against performance with original queries run on IRS information retrieval system developed at Illinois Institute of Technology. Twenty-one…

"Research in the Schools" publishes empirical studies focusing on the results of applied educational research, scholarly reviews of research, descriptions of technology applications and innovative teaching strategies, and other topics of interest to educational researchers. Issue number 1 contains these articles: (1) "Factors…

A sensitive measurement model is developed that provides transactional scale values for individual members of a group, as well as an evaluation of pairwise interactions and balances that are emergent properties of the group itself. (Author/DG)

A content analysis of 10,279 dissertation abstracts in education from 1950 to 1990 shows that the descriptive design, predominantly in surveys, has dominated. Almost one-fourth of the dissertations used no statistics, and almost one-third failed to find statistically significant results. Few changes are apparent over the years. (SLD)

Criticizes methodological tendencies of economics and sociological researchers who do not ask "how large is large?" Reliance on statistical significance and existence theorems shows the limits of formalistic rather than humanistic research approaches. Argues that serious scholars develop whole arguments and understand the rhetoric of…

Ten articles on the use of multilevel data in educational research are presented. Topics include model specification and building, analytical procedures, aggregation bias, least squares statistics, hierarchical linear models, significance testing, and testing multilevel product-process networks. (TJH)

Reports on a review of empirical research reports submitted over the past several years to the "American Journal of Distance Education" that identified common analytic problems and errors often overlooked by distance education researchers. Topics discussed include significance testing; assessment issues, including reliability and…

Discussion of automated indexing techniques focuses on ways to statistically document improvements in the development of an automated keywording system over time. The system developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to automate the storage, categorization, and retrieval of information from military exercises is explained, and performance measures are…

Reports on five observations of children and adults involved in music activities and discusses three issues related to experimental research. Argues against the Mozart Effect, stating that the effects of music instruction seen within the classroom everyday are more significant. Discusses the results of Mozart Effect studies and educational…

We explore the impact of student gender, teacher gender, and their interaction on academic motivation and engagement for 964 junior and middle high school students. According to the gender-stereotypic model, boys fare better academically in classes taught by males and girls fare better in classes taught by females. The gender-invariant model…

Because of criticisms leveled at statistical hypothesis testing, some researchers have argued that measures of effect size should replace the significance-testing practice. We contend that although effect-size measures have logical appeal, they are also associated with a number of limitations that may result in problematic interpretations of them…

Background and aims: There is uncertainty about the extent or even existence of sex differences in the mean and variability of reasoning test scores ( Jensen, 1998; Lynn, 1994, ; Mackintosh, 1996). This paper analyses the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) scores of a large and representative sample of UK pupils to determine the extent of any sex…

Using data from the final two rounds of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a longitudinal study begun in 2001, this First Look provides a snapshot of the demographic characteristics, reading and mathematics knowledge, fine motor skills, school characteristics, and before- and after-school care arrangements of the cohort…

This dissertation explores the use of formal and informal networks through cyber- and traditional communication methods in the college search and selection process by native and immigrant students to examine various postulates and propositions of social capital theory. In addition, the analysis of cybernetworks used by disadvantaged, college bound…