Evaluation takes place in a social context that influences research design, selection of variables, the written report, and the timing of its release. There are also consequences for program implementors and evaluators. Historical accounts of the school systems in Gary, Indiana and New York, New York illustrate these influences. (Author/CTM)

This article introduces a mini-series on research methods in school psychology. A conceptual overview of research methods is presented, emphasizing the degree to which each method allows the inference that treatment affects outcome. Experimental and nonexperimental, psychometric, descriptive, and meta-analysis research methods are outlined. (SLD)

This critique of H. Lee Swanson's "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities" comments on Swanson's concept of learning disabilities, cognitive science, and information processing theory. A different research and theory-building agenda is proposed, focusing on society's definition of learning disabilities and instructional issues and…

Urges community colleges to overcome their image problem by documenting the colleges' impact on their communities. Suggests ways to determine what data should be collected, how to collect the information, and how it can be used to empower faculty, staff, and alumni to change the institution's image. (DMM)

Research findings on the impact of language and studies with bilingual students learning mathematics are summarized. Suggestions for taking account of the influence of culture on learning, language switching, encouraging bilingualism, and supportive environments are discussed, with 13 implications presented. (MNS)

State and federal policy makers need more and better information growing out of faculty research, but because of the different arenas in which academics and politicians operate, the timing, simplicity, and channels by which research results are communicated are critically important in bridging the gap. (MSE)

This paper assesses the status of evaluation as a profession and examines the consequences of not attending to the manner in which the discipline evolves. Special concerns are (1) what the profession seeks to accomplish; (2) ways in which it functions; and (3) who can be identified as "professionals." (LMO)

The ways in which universities have prepared for and managed the issues of conflict of interest and policy concerning delay of publication of university-industry collaborative research results are discussed in the context of the growth of such research and the congressional response to university-industry relationships. (MSE)

Discusses the benefits of a source of guidance for teachers: language arts research. Explores an authentic classroom experience using a socio-psycholinguistic theoretical orientation and an ethnographic approach to research. (EL)

Followup studies of former students provide important information for higher education institutions. Careful planning, early involvement of users of the information, and multiple data presentation strategies are some keys to success for such studies. (MSE)

The results of student outcomes studies are of little value if they are not used in institutional planning and decision-making. Use of results can be made more effective if researchers understand the obstacles to information use on most campuses and tailor their presentations to overcome them. (Author/MSE)

A replication of D. Durkin's classic study of comprehension instruction reveals that the study has had profound effects on the way reading is now taught. (FL)

Reviews the history and conclusions of school effectiveness research, which focuses on student achievement, and of school improvement research, which emphasizes educational innovation per se; analyzes the methodologies of these two lines of inquiry. Distills from both bodies of literature seven school characteristics that constitute excellence.…

With funding from the Carnegie Corporation, in the spring of 2002, EDC's Center for Children and Technology began a two-year exploratory study that examined how educators and administrators within the New York City public school system are using data?made available to them through the print and web-based reporting system of the Grow Network to…

Scholarly communication is a multi-relationship topic that is interconnected to various fields and disciplines. Efforts of faculty members, librarians, publishers, information specialists, information technologists and archivists have to be combined together in order to establish and create scholarly communication in any society. In addition of…