Applies educational research on the composing process to the writing of junior high school students. Explains how tapes were used to create a new unit aimed at correcting student writing weaknesses. (JL)

Describes a polling procedure developed to ascertain student needs. Variations in carrying out the procedure are also described. Categories for research include needs assessment, program evaluation, market research, and opinion survey. The effective use of research results is discussed. (RC)

The dissemination activities through which college admissions officers heard about Project CHOICE, a three-year project to help colleges improve the information they provided to prospective students, were investigated. The study involved determining how well various dissemination methods (newsletter, journal articles, conference presentations,…

Explains how a teacher can prepare students to read content area material by helping them bring prior knowledge about a topic to memory. (AEA)

Outlines a taxonomy of six kinds of educational research and their individual impact on educational change. After discussing factors which limit the impact of such research, the author concludes that the social mechanisms for the diffusion of new ideas, rather than the research itself, determine educational change. (AM)

Examines the factors affecting the diffusion of educational assessment studies done in four countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines, Thailand). The author concludes that educational research designs in developing countries must include mechanisms for information diffusion to the public and policy-makers to insure both short and long-term…

Answers criticisms by Mary Anne Bunda, Ernest House, and Mary Kennedy. Discusses, among other issues, legal authorization for the use of higher quality evaluation designs and the use of evaluation research results. (GC)

This series of articles examines the use of research in vocational agriculture, including interpretation of findings, research needs and problems for the 1980s, using research in inservice education, and the role of supervisors in research. (SK)

In the United States, recent educational research and development efforts reflect an overriding concern for maximizing these impact areas on practice, as illustrated by five thrusts: development work; evaluation; fundamental research; dissemination; and attention to the process of social inquiry. The complexity of American education makes research…

The following issues are considered: the functions of educational research, the kinds of educational investigations conducted in Poland, ways of disseminating educational findings, and the organisation of research in Poland. The paper ends with a discussion of some of the more important conclusions reached. (Author)

Defining research as systematic, self-critical inquiry open to public criticism and/or empirical test, the author considers the relevance of scientific, historical, and educational research to practice. He asserts that teachers must be involved in educational research and that researchers must justify themselves to practitioners, not practitioners…

Lists the names and addresses of 12 sources of research in the academic sector and describes the types of research publications available from each. (CHC)

Examines an instructional research study (by S. W. Pflaum and E. T. Pascarella) according to several criteria for designing educational research and questions whether the information provided by context-stripping research paradigms can be of genuine use in helping teachers understand and create effective conditions for reading to learn. (MKM)

Argues that social science research provides evidence that desegregation has resulted in positive outcomes for children and society, and that it is increasingly possible to identify the conditions and practices that enhance the benefits of desegregation. Available from Duke University Press, Box 6697 College Station, Durham, NC 27708. (Author/IRT)

Ethical issues; institutional characteristics and organizational arrangements; and roles and skills of the researcher must be considered if the government is to apply social science research findings more widely for the public good. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single issue, $6.95.) (Author/GDC)