Field research in the gay world is shaped by two factors: the secrecy of many gay groups, and the stigmatization both of gays and of researchers who study them. Some relevant strategies and tactics of field research are discussed. (Author/AM)

It is possible to devise ingenious means for adapting basic methodological techniques to meet exigencies of the research situation while still meeting the requirements for the collection of valid data. (Author/AM)

Evaluators often assume that outcome studies assessing agency effectiveness should provide the most relevant data for decision makers who must form judgments about treatment in order to make policy, program, and clinical decisions. Yet evaluators have found that decision makers often fail to use results of evaluation studies. (Author/CTM)

Early clinical trials (observational or randomized) hasten the prompt evaluation of new operations. Early clinical surveillance facilitates the design and implementation of randomized clinical trials when they are necessary. Long-term surveillance of operations allows continuing evaluation when their use becomes widespread. (BB)

Various educational practices resulting from research recommendations and the associated problems are described. The author suggests that educational research can create a more reliable foundation for policy decisions concerning the introduction of reforms, by evaluating their resulting effectiveness. Investigators should suggest more pertinent…

This article outlines a data collection model designed by Riffel and associates. This model provides information which may assist district and school level personnel in facilitating the desegregation process. (Author/AM)

If it is impossible to measure the precise impact of school desegregation on "white flight", it is equally insupportable to claim that there is no effect whatever. Court ordered busing may be the primary stimulus for white flight, but it is impossible to prove that it is the reason for family decisions to remove children from urban…

The present paper attempts to provide a rationale for dealing with the ethical dimensions involved in protecting human subjects in educational research. (Author)

This paper discusses some of the ways in which social science research can be useful to inform the court in school desegregation litigation. (Author)

Discusses a survey of one hundred speech communication departments to determine practices and policies regarding selection and use of subjects in research. Looks at potential effects of generalizing research results from such a population and suggests methods for resolving generality problems in speech communication research. (MH)

A study of eight language arts textbooks to determine how well they reflect recent findings regarding the writing process. (DD)

Difficulties arising from attempts to convert educational research into practice are reviewed, with the conclusion that confronting teachers' subjectively reasonable theories with objective nontheoretical facts will result in a set of very confusing, ineffective theories. (Author/CB)

Use of the results of investigator-initiated research in dental health services policy and administration, and the relationship between the researcher and decision making or implementation based on his findings, are examined. (MSE)

Higher education research, still in its adolescence, suffers from (1) seldom addressing major issues, and (2) research methods that are too narrow. The scientific method is not appropriate for studying individuals or social institutions; higher education researchers need to develop a multi-faceted research strategy sensitive to its many ties with…

Notes utility of research linking teacher behavior to student outcomes and cautions that the research assumes that practitioners avoid certain common mistakes. Offers guidelines for appropriately interpreting and using teacher effects research and thus avoiding its misuse. (SKC)