The Cochrane Collaboration is an international project to locate, review, and disseminate information on available randomized controlled trials of health care interventions. Occupational therapists can use it to learn about best practices and evaluate research relevant to their clients. (SK)

A new method is presented for the parameterization of glottal volume velocity waveforms that have been estimated by inverse filtering acoustic speech pressure signals. The new technique combines two features of voice production: the AC value and the spectral decay of the glottal flow. Testing found the new parameter correlates strongly with the…

To test the effect of less-frequent interviews on data quality in longitudinal surveys, event history data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 regarding welfare and employment were analyzed. Due to the longer recall period, respondents failed to report short spells of welfare, employment, and unemployment. (SK)

Presents data on college spending for maintenance and facility operations for the 2000-01 school year. Data reveal a greater allocation of maintenance and operations being funded by colleges. Funding comparisons per student and per square foot of building maintained are provided along with data on median salaries and personnel allocation. (GR)

Presents examples of types of analyses that can be employed in cross-national comparisons of marijuana using samples from U.S. data. The data illustrate basic trends in use over time and the differences between demographic groups in the U.S. Suggests uniform data collection methods would help towards identifying marijuana use as a world-wide…

Discusses the use of Web log analysis to help understand user visit patterns to Web sites and describes the use of computer software to generate a variety of interactive visualizations of log data that can be used to explore server data across various dimensions. Explores difficulties of data collection, presentation, and interpretation.…

Midwifery students collected data during clinical preceptorships. Faculty review of data sheets highlighted errors in process, data entry, and mission, identifying areas for further learning. The data also provided more information about clinical practice sites. (SK)

Examines Blumenschein's "Description of Various Libraries in Europe" as an early example of library research methodology; discusses his methods of data collection; describes his use of a questionnaire; and suggests the necessity of further studies of the development of research in library and information science. (Contains 10…

This article reviews issues in questionnaire design beyond the creation of standardized questions and basic data collection rules. The use of magnitude scales, the application of decision theory, and the use of a questionnaire framework that replicates how choices are made by respondents are among the new design approaches discussed. (SLD)

Presents an outdoor activity requiring students to collect data and suggests some possible applications of the data. (ASK)

Describes the a-e-I-o-u program evaluation approach, a framework for organizing key evaluation questions that allows for many models of evaluation and/or methods of data collection. Evaluations by users of the approach have indicated that it provides a practical way to organize evaluation questions and collect appropriate data. (GCP)

Developed a monitoring system to record information on the scope and nature of the problem of sexual assault at an Australian university. Discusses the implications for Australian university campus safety, sexual assault policies and protocols, and prevention initiatives. (SLD)

Based on the ACE Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation, examines how universities can develop the capacity to assess change and determine the extent to which institutions are different. Defines transformation, describes types of evidence, presents a framework for determining evidence, suggests strategies for collecting evidence,…

Discusses the return-on-investment (ROI) process for determining the effectiveness of a training initiative in light of the organization's strategic plan for performance improvement. Describes data collection barriers and uses hypothetical deductive reasoning to overcome barriers and evaluate the effectiveness of an organization's training…

Discusses uses of household education surveys and the fact that not all educationally relevant data can be collected from schools. The two studies highlighted in this issue demonstrate the payoff from household surveys in their explorations of parent involvement in their children's schools and adult education. (SLD)