Investigated is the topic of research implementation and how it can affect evaluation results. Even when evaluations are well planned, the obtained results can be misleading if the conscientiously-constructed research plan is not correctly implemented in practice. In virtually every research arena, one finds major difficulties in implementing the…

The authors offer a detailed and systematic critique of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, examining it in relation to other theories of development. Chapter 1 points out some of the problems in building and evaluating scientific theories and considers contrasting approaches to cognitive development (including those which focus on…

The absence of firm knowledge about the nonintellectual activities of college students requires that care be taken about the information sources accepted and the way in which such information is phrased. A longitudinal study, conducted on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus on the nonintellectual factors in academic success, seeks to…

The University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) ought to reaffirm its commitment to theoretical research. Research in educational administration during the last twenty years has been applied or practical rather than purely theoretical or scientific. Although there is certainly a place for practical research, theoretical research ought…

Aggregation of data is, by definition, an obscuring of details for the sake of achieving a summary. It is, therefore, potentially harmful to accuracy. Attention should be given to the aggregation that scores undergo prior to statistical tests. Two familiar research designs where this is important are a) in two groups/one measure cases, and b) in…

Unanticipated obstacles and difficulties, endemic to industrial research in complex sociocultural settings, indicate that reliable conclusions concerning industrial life are problematic. Discussion of sampling biases reveals that error of unknown proportions is introduced into the research process: first, when decisions about whom to study are…

This report is a re-analysis of the data collected and analyzed by the Westinghouse Learning Corporation (WLC) and Ohio University concerning the average impact of Project Head Start on the cognitive development of a nationwide sample of children. The re-analysis was considered necessary because of unclear methodological issues in evaluation…

Reports on a study of the reasons why 40 of 125 persons did not respond to a questionnaire asking them about the accuracy of news stories in which they had been mentioned. (GW)

This article reviews reasons why research has shown so little application to practice. Among the reasons cited are: confusing definitions and terminology, failure to address questions which are important to practitioners, prevalence of inconclusive results, and failure to appreciate the political and social implications of research. (JDH)

Panel of nationally recognized experts in group-counseling research, practice, and training discusses major obstacles confronting advancement of research on groups and suggests ways to improve meaningfulness and validity of future research. Presents recommendations of Research Committee of the Association for Specialists in Group Work for…

Points out some of the difficulties involved in carrying out reading research, emphasizing the importance of simplification. (ARH)

This introduction to a special section on psychobiological studies of stress and coping discusses the problems of interpreting and integrating information on stress reactivity derived from a combination of behavioral and physiological measures. (PCB)

A recurrent problem in assessment work is to determine the degree of match for a client score profile to some known prototypic group patterns. It is more accurate to conceptualize the "known" group pattern as a range of values. Interval-banded profile analysis represents a generalization of the method of centours to this problem.…

Analyzes selected critical issues concerning participatory research in adult education. Defines participatory research and looks at its development. Links this with the significance and rationale of the participatory approach in adult education and focuses on the problems of this approach. (JOW)