A dialog between two fictional teachers provides some basic examples of how research that uses approved methodology may provide results that are significant statistically but not significant practically. (PGD)

Problems in research on chronic illness in children include the use of appropriate control groups and matching on control variables. The generic or cross-categorical approach has led to the identification of factors affecting children regardless of the particular illness. Adjustment to school depends on coordination of the family and health…

The second half of a dialogue between two fictional teachers examines the significance of statistical significance in research and considers the factors affecting the extent to which research results provide important or useful information. (PGD)

Evaluates some conceptual and methodological issues in research on field dependence-independence. Problems of the definition and measurement of "psychological differentiation" and "cognitive restructuring" are examined. Difficulties arising from the profusion of measures, inadequate control of intelligence and insufficient construct validation of…

Presents rationales for the increased use of sequential analyses of language variables in psychotherapy, including this strategy's special applicability in process investigations, its potential for specifying influence patterns, and its ability to produce findings pertinent to the practicing clinician. Replicable single-case studies, utilizing…

An examination of the scientific basis of both control group designs and comparative designs in outcome research reveals that comparative designs generally have fewer threats to validity and provide a more efficient means of control for nonspecific treatment factors suggesting that comparative studies warrant a larger role in the study of…

In this critique of Barris' article (CE 514 182) the authors find her conclusions undermined by Mannheim's Paradox--that a researcher's analysis is contaminated by his/her own ideological commitment. They suggest further clarification of the existence of ideological conflict in occupational therapy. (SK)

Replicated Pedhazur and Tetenbaum's study that raised questions about the unidimensionality of the feminine and masculine subscales of Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Factor analysis and smallest space analysis indicated that subsets are not unidimensional. However, results of factor analysis but not smallest space analysis were consistent with…

Identifies three sources of reporting deficiency for meta-analytic results: quality (adequacy) of publicizing; quality of macrolevel reporting, and quality of microlevel reporting. Reanalysis of 25 reports from the Smith, Glass and Miller (1980) psychotherapy meta-analysis established two sources of misinformation, interrater reliabilities and…

The paper presents strategies for conducting research helpful to community instruction for students with autism. Research issues in setting variables (including heterogeneous/homogeneous groupings and instructional environments) are addressed as well as the use of the discrete trial format (including prompts, responses, and consequences). (CL)

The authors question the assumption that parent participation is critical to the success of early intervention programs and cite the lack of research support for this notion in programs for young children with cerebral palsy. They note that financial considerations may still dictate the need for parent participation. (CL)

Item nonresponse is a problem for all types of survey research. Both age and race were found to be significant predictors in all models estimated. The probability of nonresponse to income questions increased with age and was higher for Whites than non-Whites. (Author/RM)

Examines problems and concerns of cross cultural counseling and psychotherapy. Raises specific questions concerning research designs and approaches, differences in cosmology, epistemology, differences in nosology, and problems of evaluation or testing. (JAC)

Warns that researchers should be wary of student writers' accounts of their writing processes. Suggests that reasonable, coherent, even captivating accounts are limited by problems of attendance, memory, and reporting and may not be based on recall but on other cognitive processes. (FL)

The paper presents a critical review of studies dealing with manual communication training for severely reading disabled students plus the case report of two severely reading disabled adolescents given reading instruction with the aid of fingerspelling and sign language. (Author/CL)