Explored the relationship between asynchronous, text-based forms of social communication and students' perceptions of the social climate of computer conferences based on questionnaire responses from the University of Alberta's distance education courses. Discusses setting the climate for discussion; a taxonomy of social expressions; and directions…

Suggested research procedures for higher education practitioners with little research background, emphasizing college persistence and education studies, include seeking advice from qualified colleagues and statisticians, especially in the planning stages. Focal areas include scientific interest, practical significance, research design, previous…

Describes an experiment conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago that was designed to determine whether adding a substantial number of subject headings would raise circulation rates. The effects of added contents notes, keyword searching, browsing, and displays on the online catalog are examined, and further research is suggested. (27…

This article identifies issues for students with learning disabilities at the secondary level (e.g., underpreparedness, definition, and overidentification) and the postsecondary level (e.g., admission and academic adjustments, service delivery, training and research needs). It calls for policy formulation, research, and administrative planning for…

Examines composition research in the annotated bibliographies appearing from December 1984 to May 1989 in the journal "Research in the Teaching of English." Considers the question of what has been learned from this large corpus of research. Focuses on topics on which little research has been done and areas in which enough work has…

Multidimensional aspects of school effectiveness and areas for future research are discussed. Issues of stability of school effects, sampling, aggregate versus disaggregate data, school context, and outcome measures reflect some concerns of current school-effectiveness researchers. The debate over the unit of analysis and macrolevel/microlevel…

Discussion of the relationship of personality variables to programing ability highlights a study of undergraduates that investigated the influence of cognitive style on the programing skill of debugging. Use of the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) is described, scoring schemes for diagnostic tasks are explained, and suggestions for further…

Concludes from a review of 52 journal articles published in 1988 that periodic literature searches in circulation control are useful for identifying major trends, issues, and areas needing more serious study, and provide a basis for prediction. The issues discussed in the 1988 literature are summarized and areas for future study are suggested.…

Summarizes the results of a study that identified researchable issues related to the role of libraries in the information society. Specific research questions are presented within the categories of access to information; information needs and users; libraries and education; library models; the role of public services librarians; and education and…

Discussion of research problems in instructional technology emphasizes two main needs: (1) development of a prescriptive research methodology; and (2) more front end analysis that produces a distinction between instructional design research and instructional development research. Two examples of research using the prescriptive technology approach…

The lack of research and continuing disagreement on the definition and the purposes of supervision in education have stifled the identification and development of skills and have contributed to weak preparation programs for instructional supervisors. (SI)

Describes study of undergraduates that examined uses and effects of learner control of the context or theme of practice examples on a computer-based statistics lesson in combination with the number of examples examined. Student attitudes are discussed, and correlations between learner characteristics and task outcomes are examined. (38 references)…

Discusses problems involved with surveying and assessing literacy rates in developing nations. Defines current debates over literacy measurement, classification, and surveying. Examines and questions current assumptions linking literacy policy and economic development. Describes models for surveying and measuring literacy and numeracy skill…

Describes the history of early childhood intervention programs. Outlines research results related to the effects of the programs. Discusses the fadeout phenomenon of the graduates of the programs. Presents an introduction of the "Success for All" program in Baltimore. (YP)

Discusses the accuracy of reference service in libraries as measured by evaluating answers that reference librarians give to factual questions. More than 30 reference accuracy studies are analyzed, variables explored in each study are examined, further research needs are described, and suggestions for improving service quality for reference…