Five papers published in a special edition of Human Factors, August 1973 are examined in an attempt to explain and illustrate the characteristics and applications of central-composite designs in the context of response-surface methodology (RSM). A detailed analysis is provided to show that the experimental papers (1) fail to illustrate the most…

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) discuss the reasons for applying the experimental method to program evaluation; (2) review the basic elements of the experimental method; (3) illustrate refinements and variants of the experimental method with examples from program evaluation in the social sciences; (4) describe ways in which funding directives…

In the past year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has instituted new programs and initiatives designed to improve the exchange of information between the Commission and the research and academic community. An Office of Plans and Policy has been formed. As a result of the Future Planning Conference held last year, a research project is…

Using the evaluation of day care programs at the state level as a basis, this document focuses on the methodology, logistics, politics, and benefits of state-wide efforts, particularly as these efforts relate to the impact of day care services on the children served. Since every evaluation effort must be individually tailored, and each state's day…

In his paper, the author contends that ethnic minority groups must use the "weapon of research" to answer some of the unanswered questions in vocational education and to give guidance toward future corrections of these problems. But the topic is emotionally charged, as intensive research in the past has generated resentment among minorities. The…

This monograph summarizes the results of two mini-conference discussions on the general topic, evaluation of career education. It addresses three major points: (1) Problems involved in evaluation of career education, i.e., instrumentation, expectation, concept implementation, and perceived personal benefit, (2) examples of evaluation approaches…

This book includes papers related to reading research from the International Reading Association's 1974 preconvention institute on research held in New Orleans. The introduction by Samuel Weintraub and Roger Farr discusses such questions as: Where does reading research need to be improved? What is research? What areas of reading research demand…

This paper outlines the potential contributions and limitations of applying the life-span perspective of developmental psychology to childhood education. The long-range consequences of corrective, preventive, or optimizing endeavors are pointed out. Potential contributions to the establishment of educational goals as well as to the construction of…

This paper reviews the author's research on the role of certain aspects of alienation in education. The first part of the paper discusses similarities between anomie and locus of reinforcement control, as they assess the normlessness and powerlessness aspects of alienation. The second part reports results from studies attempting to modify one's…

This interim report is concerned with the analysis of educational experiments and quasiexperiments where alternative teaching methods are applied to intact classes or where alternative programs are set up in samples of schools or communities. Generally, such studies have used the class, the school, or the community as the unit of sampling with the…

Research in counseling effectiveness is moving from the use of gross outcome measures to analysis of the counseling process. One successful approach has been the adoption of a social-psychological model of interview analysis which attempts to specify within-interview conditions which facilitate client behavior change. The criteria and procedure…

The theoretical concept of the double bind and the possibilities for researching it are discussed. The author has observed that theory and research, which should be reciprocal and mutually beneficial, have been working, as concerns the double bind, at odds with one another. Two approaches to empirically investigating the concept are considered via…

This paper was presented at a symposium concerned with the results of research on teacher effectiveness and the procedures which might be used to review such research. The first part of the paper describes Rosenshine's research review procedure and analyzes the logic used to group research reports. Three possible standards which might be…

This paper is a preliminary attempt to specify what "interpersonal confirmation" is by classifying and categorizing its observable phenomena as they occur in human interaction. It considers the problems in defining operationally this highly significant, but nebulous, aspect of communication and reviews the literature which alludes to…

An emerging consensus is that investigations of media effects should focus on the most basic political function of the media. Attempting to move out of the usual modes of conceptualization and analysis, this paper concentrates on three major points: the reconceptualization of political knowledge to encompass the respondent's subjective…