Two thousand questionnaires were mailed to respondents allocated among seven treatments. Controls received an initial mailing (questionnaire and cover letter) only. The remaining six treatments varied by number of follow-up mailings and whether another questionnaire copy was included. Results suggest more than one follow-up letter with a…

Compared data collected through paper survey forms to data collected with handheld computer-based forms in a field study of alcohol purchase attempts at 47 community festivals. Agreement between the two methods was greater than 95%. Findings show handheld computers to be a feasible alternative to paper forms for field data collection. (SLD)

Asserts that, although the need to keep client records is clear, there is little information available as to how to construct client record. Presents guidelines for what data should be contained in intake summaries, along with assessments, treatment plans, case notes, and other supplemental materials. (Author/NB)

Critically analyzes magnitude estimation scaling for its potential use in business communication research. Finds that the 12-15 percent increase in explained variance by magnitude estimation over categorical scaling methods may be useful in theory building but may not be sufficient to justify its added expense in applied business communication…

Assessed the effects of three different methods of observation of couples (one-way mirror, audio recording, and video recording) on 30 volunteer, nonclinical married couples. Results suggest that types of observation do not produce significantly different effects on nonclinical couples. (Author/ABL)

Identified 40 studies published in "Journal of Counseling Psychology" from January 1980 through October 1989 that used mail survey procedures. Sent questionnaires inquiring about use of procedures to authors. Responses from 31 primary researchers, representing 34 of the studies, revealed that many studies did not follow empirically…

Survey data from 206 school counselors were examined to determine accountability efforts of counselors. Of counselors surveyed, 138 indicated that they were collecting some type of accountability information. Compared findings to those from 1984 survey. Comparison indicated that greater numbers of school counselors are becoming involved in…

Tips for designing user-friendly online surveys that can collect valuable data via the World Wide Web include the following: edit the questions, pretest, title the survey, provide an introduction, develop screening questions, determine length, offer promotional tie-ins, include the "other" option, make "no response" the default, provide a "clear…

Meta-analysis is a methodology that can be used to summarize the results of quantitative studies and allows a researcher to evaluate how the outcomes may vary systematically. (Author)

Critical elements in the success of off-site research projects include the following: negotiation, attention to personnel issues, communication, participation of research subjects, data management, and concern for privacy issues. (SK)

Discusses research on the development of estate management statistics for the higher education sector in the United Kingdom and the identification of key estate management "performance indicators." Key Estate Ratios (KERs) that institutions wish to focus upon from an estates perspective are listed and use of the KERs is discussed. (GR)

Discusses the origins and foundations of the Delphi technique. Outlines procedures for using it in research to obtain the insights of experts. Addresses limitations of the technique. (Contains 44 references.) (SK)

Discusses privacy issues related to use of the Internet. Topics include data gathering functions that are built into applications of the World Wide Web; cookies that identify Web site visitors; personal identity information; libraries and privacy, including the need for privacy policies; protecting your privacy; and developing privacy literacy.…

Evaluating the impact of volunteer programs should measure both program outcomes and volunteer growth and development. The Targeting Outcomes of Programs Model is a structured way to collect data on several levels. (SK)

This paper considers situations for which detailed metadata descriptions of learning resources are necessary, and focuses on human generation of such metadata. It describes a model which facilitates human production of good quality metadata by the development and use of structured vocabularies. Using examples, this model is applied to single and…