Notes that one-semester field methods courses in sociology often lack adequate time for students to learn appropriate techniques and still collect and report their data. Describes how undergraduate students bypass this problem by using multiple observations of a single event to quickly form a corpus of ethnographic data. (JDH)

Describes how sociology students in undergraduate research methods are involved in conducting an annual poll for the university. The emphasis is upon interviewing as a general data-gathering method. Includes information about how useful research problems are determined and the process used to design and implement the poll. (JDH)

Action research is, quite often, the method of enquiry employed by undergraduate and postgraduate students in higher education who are studying for accredited courses. In recent years, students studying for taught doctorate (EdD) degrees with their focus on practical aspects of education are also adopting action research as a method of study. This…

The case of Lucina must be placed at a level of a partial advance achieved in the development of an exhaustive qualitative research recently conclude in a night elementary school of Mexico City, an institution that provides young people and adults with academic formation. The research problem herein discussed is the enrichment of semantic and…

This paper aims to show how its author/researchers were brought to reconsider some of the assumptions behind a small arc project that was being conducted on the professional development of student teachers in Australia. A small group of English Method students were invited to participate in three focus group interviews: before their first teaching…

Value-added learning dimensions resulting from the use of an integrative model for graduate student research skill development are shared by two student researchers, who used virtual teaming in a 10-week online statistics summer course. The researchers collected original data and conducted quantitative and qualitative research. The problems…

Transcription is an integral process in the qualitative analysis of language data, and is widely employed in basic and applied research across a number of disciplines and in professional practice fields. Yet methodological and theoretical issues associated with the transcription process have received scant attention in the research literature. The…

W.E.B. Du Bois describes the dichotomy of double-consciousness--living as both "an American and a Negro." Goli Rezai-Rashti extends Du Bois's notion of double-consciousness to include gender. Through the lens of double/multiple-consciousness, this paper presents ways in which ethnicity, gender, and education influence the social construction of…

A study examined 20 years of research represented in the National Reading Conference (NRC) Yearbooks with the purpose of creating an NRC Yearbook database. The study analyzed overall trends in research topics and paradigms used by individuals whose work was reported in the NRC Yearbook between 1975-1995. The analysis was guided by the following…

Encouraging parents to participate in school education to improve home-school relations is one of the prime focuses in the current education reform movement in Hong Kong. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies on how parental involvement in school is affected by parental social status. This study reports the thoughts and perceptions of…

One benefit often expected to flow from Internet use in schools is an increase in equality of educational opportunity as all kinds of schools gain access to the same extraordinary set of resources and opportunities for interaction with the outside world. Yet, prior research suggests that patterns of technology access often mirror existing…

This monograph provides a description of the curricular area "Area-Escola" (A-E), in the context of an innovative curriculum development process, presenting the history, aims, and guidelines of this curricular area and analyzing some of the results of qualitative and quantitative studies on its impact. A-E is seen as an emerging school…

This volume contains essays related to various aspects of higher education, focusing on both educational theory and research. The chapters are: (1) "Apologia pro Vita Mia" (Robert Berdahl); (2) "Varieties of Validity: Quality in Qualitative Research" (Yvonna S. Lincoln); (3) "Academic Freedom and Federal Courts in the 1990s: The Legitimation of…

Many school systems are facing mandated, systemic change, through the imposition of standards-based reform. Ontario (Canada) is no different than many other jurisdictions. Mandated, systemic change has impacted teaching and learning in Ontario classrooms. The issue of boys' underachievement in literacy appears to resurface whenever student…

A study explored the school experiences of aboriginal female students (n=5) at Jen-Te Junior College of Medical Nursing and Management School in Miao-Li, Taiwan. The following research questions were addressed: (1) do aboriginal girls feel that their culture and background influences their schooling experiences? (2) what problems do aboriginal…