Discusses logic and interpretation problems inherent in doing quantitative syntheses of single-case research. Addresses the meta-analytic method of using percentage of nonoverlapping data, highlighting special concerns related to withdrawal designs, sensitivity to variability in behavior, social significance of behavior change, and variables that…

Factors contributing to American students' declining scores on the TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) between grades 4 and 8 include textbook size and U.S. educators' traditional views of middle-school years. Bad data probably invalidate claims about the grade 8 to 12 decline. International reading scores favor Americans.…

School-effectiveness research (SER) has been criticized for being a socially and politically decontextualized body of literature that supports inequitable reforms. Critics rightly address several problems within the SER field: overclaiming (that furthers the Right's political/social agenda), continued undertheorizing, and inability to control…

Examined factors associated with research attrition in a long-term follow-up study (48 months). Researchers attempted to contact all randomized participants, not just those who completed treatment. The analyses deal primarily with refusal, the main reason for attrition. Short-term outcome did not predict refusal. The findings, if generalizable,…

Rural respondents in the (English) Rural Lifestyles Project frequently denied rural "deprivation" through representations of rural areas as problem-free and idyllic, portrayals of deprivation as an individual fault, and constructions of deprivation as an urban feature. Argues that normative constructions of "deprivation"…

Discusses methodological difficulties in assessing resilience in maltreated children, including distinguishing between resilience and factors promoting or reducing resilience, choosing sources of measures, determining how many measures to use, selecting scoring criteria, determining when to measure resilience, and examining the stability of…

Five criteria are proposed for evaluating performance in research studies: the directness of sampling, the responsiveness of the target, the reliability of the observers, the frequent assessment of the target during the intervention period, and the critical nature of the target. A case study illustrates effectiveness of the criteria. (Author/CR)

Explored applicability of the Loevinger conception of ego development for early adolescence and developed a measure of earliest ego levels: Sentence Completion Test for Children and Youth. Found oral administration of test did not yield essentially different responses or significantly differing ego-level scores from the written version, regardless…

Discusses the emphasis on promoting policy and practice changes based on research evidence in projects (funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation) related to housing, social policy, social care, youth, and families. Discusses the difficulties in using random control trials for assessing the effectiveness of interventions with individuals. Concludes…

In this discussion of quantitative research synthesis, past criticisms of meta-analysis are reviewed along with the ways they have been addressed. Objections to single-subject synthesis methods are discussed, along with the advantages of using the percentage-of- nonoverlapping-data metric. The article concludes by questioning the veracity of…

Illustrates the use of auto- and biographical materials as part of a research process concerned with problematic aspects of learning science. Draws on an extended study of graphing among university students and research scientists, and on the autobiography and interview data from one of the authors to point out some of the sources of difficulties…

A winner of the Council for Exceptional Children Research Award reflects on the enabling effect of a supportive context for research, lessons learned relating to career successes and failures, and the value of applied research. The need develop a program of long-term research is discussed. (Contains references.) (CR)

This article examines contributions of teacher efficacy literature to the study of teaching students with severe disabilities. The self-efficacy construct is explained, followed by a review of associated research problems. Findings on relationships between perceived self-efficacy of teachers and perceptions of student abilities, classroom…

This article examines the social skills training research-to-practice process and argues that a logical and attendant line of rigorous study is lacking. Areas of social inquiry are drawn from to discuss the need for conceptual frameworks to guide investigation and offer a way for research to be designed and interpreted. (Contains references.)…

This article is a response to the critique by Joseph Maxwell on the article written by these authors entitled "Scholars Before Researchers: On the Centrality of the Dissertation Literature Review in Research Preparation". Maxwell argues that dissertations should emulate research articles and include a conceptual framework that only discusses…