Describes the linguistic phenomenon of anaphora; surveys the approaches to anaphora undertaken in theoretical linguistics and natural language processing (NLP); presents results of research conducted at Syracuse University on anaphora in information retrieval; and discusses the future of anaphora research in regard to information retrieval tasks.…

Definitions of and approaches to naturalistic evaluation are discussed. The qualitative aspects of the discipline are reviewed; and use of naturalistic evaluation in descriptions, illustrations, explications, hypothesis testing, and assessment of public spending are defined. A new paradigm for naturalistic evaluation is proposed. (TJH)

Multivariate and univariate analysis of variance methods (MANOVA and ANOVA, respectively) are compared for their relative value in educational research. The favoritism shown multivariate techniques is questioned. Criteria for the selection of the appropriate technique are outlined. The relationships among research hypotheses, statistical…

Describes the nature and procedure of individualized inquiry and provides an illustration of its use in one social studies classroom. Steps include problem definition, hypothesis formation, information gathering, data analysis, hypothesis testing, and drawing conclusions. Recommends that teachers select responsible, intellectually capable, and…

A critique of a procedure developed by Becker and Williams (1986) for gauging the extend to which an organization's composition suggests discrimination. Their model and its associated statistical test suffer from two problems: (1) it is difficult to dismiss the null hypothesis of no discrimination; and (2) the model makes an overly simple…

Factors that might bias outcomes of meta-analytic reviews are discussed. The role of meta-analysis in theory development is considered, describing three types of meta-analytic tests of theory. A final section discusses the applicability of meta-analysis in the assessment of convergent and discriminant construct validity. (SLD)

Educational theories must be put to the test in a holistic manner that allows researchers to make decisions about recalcitrant research findings, whether revising the theory, amending initial conditions, rejecting observational evidence, or correcting the logic of the theory-observation-deduction. Pragmatic judgments are more important than…

Describes some student explorations of angle rotations and of reasonable and unreasonable conjectures using the Geometer's Sketchpad. (MKR)

The analysis or modeling of Piagetian and psychometric measures of mental ability is discussed. An application of structural modeling procedures allowing the testing of hypotheses in this domain is presented. Such a model is illustrated through a study of numerical functional relations tasks with 77 elementary school students. (SLD)

The minimalist hypothesis of inference processing is proposed. According to this hypothesis, the only inferences coded automatically during reading are those based on easily available information and those required to make statements in a text locally coherent. Five experiments with 249 college students support the hypothesis. (SLD)

The alternative proposed by Wilcox (1989) to the James second-order statistic for comparing population means when variances are heterogeneous can sometimes be invalid. The degree to which the procedure is invalid depends on differences in sample size, the expected values of the observations, and population variances. (SLD)

Discusses a lesson designed to demonstrate hypothesis testing to introductory college psychology students. Explains that a psychology instructor demonstrated apparent psychic abilities to students. Reports that students attempted to explain the instructor's demonstrations through hypothesis testing and revision. Provides instructions on performing…

Examined Bowlby's proposition that early experiences and the adaptations to which they give rise influence later development, even beyond the influence of current circumstances or very recent adaptation. Groups whose adaptation were similar during preschool years but consistently different earlier were defined and compared. Results supported…

A Bayesian solution is suggested to the problem of jointly estimating "k is greater than 1" binomial parameters in conjunction with the problem of testing, in a Bayesian sense, the hypothesis "H" of parametric homogeneity. Applications of the estimates are illustrated with several types of data, including ophthalmological…

Describes and compares the results from two surveys of academic librarians in the State University of New York (SUNY) system that were conducted to determine librarians' satisfaction with faculty status. Evidence suggests that satisfaction correlates with institutional compliance with ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) standards.…